National Airport

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Wreath Ceremony At Arlington National Cemetery — Volunteers helped to lay some 24,000 wreaths on the graves of military personnel at Arlington National Cemetery on Saturday. More from NECN.

Flight Delays at DCA — It was a miserable Sunday for many air travelers, as bad weather caused some big delays for flights arriving and departing at Reagan National Airport. More from the Washington Post.

Christening Set for USS Arlington — A new naval vessel bearing the county’s name will be christened in March. The USS Arlington will essentially serve as a means of transportation for Marines, landing craft and helicopters. The county board heard a presentation about the warship at its meeting on Saturday. More from the Sun Gazette.

Bungalow Billiards Sells Its Shirlington Location — The Bungalow in Shirlington has been sold, according to a blurb picked up the the Shirlington Village Blog. No official word yet on what changes, if any, may be in store, but the blog reports that renovation plans are in the works.

Flickr pool photo by Team Rank

Reagan National Airport Update

By ARLnow.com

So far it looks like smooth sailing at Reagan National Airport.

Currently, the FAA is not reporting any significant arrival or departure delays at the airport. As of about 9:00 this morning, the security lines at Terminal B were virtually non-existent.

In fact, the only thing crowded at the airport was the media truck parking area. We spotted at least 10 media vehicles parked on either side of the terminal.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Passenger Protests, Midwest Weather Could Cause Airport Delays — Flying out of Dulles or Reagan National Airport today could be a challenge. On the busiest travel day of the Thanksgiving holiday, thousands of passengers are planning a nationwide, grassroots revolt against the TSA’s use of full-body scanners. Instead of going through the machines, they will protest by insisting on a time-consuming pat-down. That, combined with a storm system in the upper Midwest could cause delays. So far, however, flights at DCA and IAD are on time. More from the Washington Post.

Crystal City Renaissance Hotel To Open in March — A new LEED-certified Renaissance Hotel is coming to the quickly-developing area south of Crystal City and north of Potomac Yard. The hotel, located at 2800 South Potomac Avenue, is expected to open in March 2011. Rooms will initially start at $299 per night, according to HotelChatter.com.

Wilson’s on Whitlow’s is “Coming Soon” — TBD has photos of Wilson’s on Whitlow’s, the new Tiki bar above Whitlow’s on Wilson. Owner Greg Cahill says the bar’s opening is “coming soon,” pending county permits. Place your bets in the comments section on what will come first: the area’s first snowfall or the opening of Whitlow’s rooftop bar. More from TBD.

Flickr pool photo by BrianMKA

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

It’s Election Day — See our election day guide here.

Don’t Give Money To Panhandlers, Say Advocates — What should you give when a panhandler approaches you on the street? Whatever you do, don’t give money, say advocates for the homeless. The Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network recommends giving its new “Arlington County Street Guide,” a pocket-sized information packet for the panhandlers. More from the Sun Gazette.

JetBlue Now Flying Out of DCA — Yesterday marked the first day of JetBlue flights out of Reagan National Airport. The airline is operating seven daily nonstop flights to Boston’s Logan airport, one daily nonstop to Orlando and one daily nonstop to Fort Lauderdale, each out of Terminal A. JetBlue is currently offering a special $49 fare to and from Boston for travel between Dec. 1 and Jan. 31. More from JetBlue.

Arlington Dentist Buys Back Candy — Dr. Michael Rogers of Fairlington Dental has a special offer for trick-or-treaters. He’s offering to pay kids $3 per pound for cavity-causing Halloween candy. He’ll even throw in a free toothbrush. What’s Dr. Rogers going to do with all that candy? He’s going to ship it to our troops in Afghanistan. More from TBD.

Flickr pool photo by Plaszloc.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Shirlington Oktoberfest Draws a Crowd — Lines that nearly stretched around the block didn’t deter thousands from enjoying a sunny afternoon of beer samples, German food and oompah music. See more photos here and here.

Savannah Wants Michael Brown Back — Now that Michael Brown has “resigned” as Arlington’s county manager, editorial writers are beckoning him back to his former job as city manager of Savannah, Ga. However, Savannah’s city council doesn’t seem too enthusiastic about his potential return.

Possible Measles Exposure at DCA — In an abundance of caution, Arlington’s health department is warning anybody who was in Reagan National Airport’s Terminal C from 8:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Sept. 23 that they may have come in contact with an individual who had the measles.

Arena Stage’s Crystal City Era Coming to a Close — Say goodbye to Arena Stage, which is leaving the Crystal City Underground for a newly-renovated, $135 million theater just across the river in southwest DC. But the Crystal City theater won’t be dark for long. Synetic Theater is moving in. More from Connection Newspapers.

Photo courtesy Jason Peschau

UPDATED: Two Injured By Turbulence on DCA Flight

By ARLnow.com

A US Airways flight arriving at Reagan National Airport hit severe turbulence this morning, injuring at least two flight attendants.

Flight 1223 from Providence, R.I. hit the turbulence as it was preparing to land at Reagan National, according to US Airways spokesperson Andrew Christie.

The flight landed safely and no other people on board were hurt. An ambulance met the plane at the terminal and took the two women to Virginia Hospital Center with non-life threatening injuries.

The Airbus A319 jet was carrying 64 passengers and 5 crew members at the time.

“Our top priority at US Airways is always the safety and well being of our customers and employees,” Christie said.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

More on Southwest at Reagan National — Southwest Airlines’ deal to acquire AirTran Airways will likely result in Southwest taking over AirTran’s slots at Reagan National Airport. But Greater Greater Washington’s Rob Pitingolo argues that the long-awaited arrival of Southwest at DCA — should the deal go through — won’t have much of effect on fare prices, as some might hope.

Arlington’s Highways Clogged During Evening Commute — Dr. Gridlock reports that the Arlington stretches of I-395 and I-66 were each backed up 3-4 miles during last night’s commute.

Sen. Ted Stevens Buried At Arlington National Cemetery — Former Alaska Senator Ted Stevens, a military pilot during World War II, was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery yesterday afternoon. Four F-22 fighter jets roared overhead as a bugler played taps at the private burial. Stevens, who served in the Senate for 40 years, was killed in a plane crash last month. More from McClatchy Newspapers.

Flickr pool photo by Chaita_1

Southwest “Protest” Outside Rosslyn Metro Station

By ARLnow.com

Southwest Airlines is doing some sort of protest/promotion outside the Rosslyn Metro Station this morning.

A tipster tells us that Southwest reps, armed with ID cards, free peanuts and a bullhorn, are promoting their “bags fly free” campaign.

Our tipster notes: “When asked if they would be flying into DCA, the response was ‘we’re trying.'”

Curiously, Southwest just announced that it’s acquiring AirTran Airways. Unlike Southwest, AirTran currently flies out of Reagan National Airport.

Photos from Saturday’s DCA Plane Crash Drill

By ARLnow.com

In case you missed the fake gore of Saturday morning’s elaborate plane crash drill at Reagan National Airport, photographer Tim Lundin took plenty of pictures to satisfy your curiosity. See his photo gallery on Facebook.

Also from Tim comes this description of the drill scenario:

A Bombardier Q400 inbound to land on Runway 4 at Reagan National experiences severe flight control problems for unknown reasons approximately 200 feet prior to the approach end of the runway. The aircraft impacts the water and breaks apart. Parts of the airplane strike three vehicles driving on Thomas Avenue, pushing them into the parking lot south of Runway 4 and creating a debris field. The fuselage bursts into flames as it skids onto the parking area southwest of the runway. Four victims are flung into the Potomac River with multiple victims located in the parking lot. Additional, two airport shuttle buses have collided in the parking lot.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Capital Bikeshare Launches Today — Just three weeks after the first Capital Bikeshare station was installed in Crystal City, the system is set to officially launch today. By this time, the bright red Bixi bikes should be in place and ready for their first riders. Capital Bikeshare stations are located throughout Crystal City, Pentagon City and the District. See a map of the station locations here.

Stabbing Suspect May Face New Charges — A murder charge may be filed against suspected serial stabber Elias Abuelazam as soon as today.  Abuelazam, who was arrested and released by Arlington police in the midst of his alleged stabbing spree, stands accused of stabbing 18 people in three states. More from CNN.

Lawmakers Call for Investigation into Airports Authority — Upset at the Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority’s resistance to long-haul flights out of Reagan National Airport, two senators are using their position on the Commerce Committee to call for a “formal investigations and future hearings related to the governance of the airport.” Sen. John D. Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) and Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) are calling for the probe in order to “provide greater transparency and accountability regarding the Authority’s operation and maintenance of National Airport and Dulles Airport.” More from the Washington Post.

Photo courtesy BikeArlington.

Plane Crash Exercise to be Conducted Near DCA on Saturday

By ARLnow.com

Don’t be alarmed if all hell breaks loose on the Potomac Saturday morning.

The Airports Authority will be conducting a simulated plane crash exercise, featuring numerous boats and helicopters, river rescues of live “victims,” and some pyrotechnics to boot.

The exercise will take place from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m., primarily on the southern end of the airport.

“There will be numerous emergency vehicles operating in the area of the George Washington Parkway near Reagan National Airport, smoke and fire may be visible from the south area of the Airport, and river rescue boats and helicopters will be operating on the Potomac River near the south end of the Airport—all part of the exercise,” the Airports Authority advises in a press release.

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