Connect with us

News

Contact 2: Protecting yourself amid travel chaos

Published

on



ST. LOUIS – For hours Wednesday morning, airport runways across the U.S. were at a standstill after the Notice To Air Missions (NOTAM) System went down. Inside America’s airports, chaos for travelers.

Dani Murphy’s Southwest Airlines flight from St. Louis to Denver was canceled due to the outage. Thankfully, she was able to rebook with Frontier.

“We were a little frustrated and just a little nervous about whether or not we’d actually be getting out, but we made it happen,” she said.

Top Story: Pritzker threatens to fire police for not enforcing Illinois gun ban

NOTAM is a non-emergency system that alerts pilots to things like weather issues or closed runways. The backup system is a direct phone call to pilots, impossible to do with thousands of flights each day.

“It’s government technology, so it’s obviously behind the private sector, but this particular system is feeding data points from almost every single airport in the country,” aviation analyst Kyle Bailey said. “Not just large airports, but small airports, too.”

“From the time you book to the time you travel, something is going to change. It just is. It’s the nature of travel,” Christina Royer, CEO of Sky High Travel in St. Louis, said.

“My advice, of course, is always to book with a travel professional, book with a reputable company, and make sure you’re protected with some form of insurance.”

Coverage varies from policy to policy, but Royer says on the heels of Southwest’s holiday meltdown that resulted in thousands of canceled flights, and now Wednesday’s disruptions, getting covered has never made more sense.

“For all those expenses that just kind of get thrown at you, now you’re covered. You’re worry free and if you booked with an advisor, you’re not the person standing there on hold. You’re not the person standing in line, your advisor is doing it for you,” Royer said.

Trending: Winning $1M Mega Millions ticket sold in Florissant

And if Spring Break travel is on your radar, she recommends you act fast.

“I would call now, because the availability is smaller. The price has gone up. The more you wait, it’s going to get worse,” Royer said.

The White House has said there’s no evidence a cyberattack caused the NOTAM System to go down, but the Department of Transportation is investigating.

Additional information: How to handle canceled, delayed flights

Close Modal

Suggest a Correction

Suggest a Correction



Source link

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

News

Man attacks Jeff Co. deputy with screwdriver during attempted arrest

Published

on



JEFFERSON COUNTY, Mo. – Two people are behind bars after a man reportedly attacked a Jefferson County deputy with a screwdriver during an attempted arrest over the weekend.

Prosecutors have charged Nicholas Davis, 47, and Amanda Davis, 45, of Dittmer, Missouri, with felonies in the investigation.

Illinois man charged with sharing sex video of former St. Louis County official

The alleged attack followed a traffic stop of a driver in the 9500 block of Jones Creek Road on July 7, though the driver was not Nicholas or Amanda.

According to court documents obtained by FOX 2, Nicholas reportedly came out of his nearby home, yelled at a deputy and started approaching him while holding a screwdriver. The deputy initially ordered Nicholas to back away, then used pepper spray.

Per court documents, the deputy attempted to arrest Nicholas, who then struck him in the chest with the screwdriver. Amanda reportedly approached the deputy and pulled him away from Nicholas before both ran inside their home.

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office says the situation prompted an hours-long standoff involving negotiators, a SWAT team and a K-9 deputy. The situation led to Nicholas refusing warnings and being bitten by a K-9.

Nicholas and Amanda are both jailed in the Jefferson County Jail without bond. Nicholas is charged with first-degree assault on a special victim and armed criminal action. Amanda is charged with resisting/interfering with arrest.

Close Modal

Suggest a Correction

Suggest a Correction



Source link

Continue Reading

News

St. Louis Public Schools superintendent to be sworn in

Published

on



ST. LOUIS — The new St. Louis schools superintendent will be officially sworn into office today. Dr. Keisha Scarlett took over the job in July after the retirement of Dr. Kelvin Adams. She was assistant superintendent in the Seattle Public School District. The installation ceremony is at 6:15 p.m. before the regular school board meeting.

Close Modal

Suggest a Correction

Suggest a Correction



Source link

Continue Reading

News

Gas tanker crashes into St. Louis Metro transit center

Published

on



ST. LOUIS — A gasoline tanker truck crashed into a Metro transit center near Riverview and Hall Streets early Tuesday morning and knocked over a power pole. The pole is leaning on other power lines. Police have the area blocked off here because there is a downed power line. Ameren and Metro crews are also on the scene.

The incident happened around 12:30 a.m. It’s still unclear exactly what caused the crash, but we do that there was a second vehicle somehow involved. The airbags on that second vehicle did deploy.

Accused killer’s case thrown out over one question at trial

Police at the scene have not been able to give us a lot of details. Metro officials tell FOX 2 that the transit center here is operating this morning for passengers and buses. Access to certain areas will be limited here as clean up unfolds.

A Metro spokesperson says half of the station isn’t being used right now because of safety issues. It isn’t impacting overall bus operations, everything is just happening on the other side of transit center.

The extent of the damage to the actual transit center is still unclear, but I’m told it does not appear to be extreme. A Metro spokesperson tells me there were no injuries to any metro workers or passengers. The tanker driver also was not injured.

Close Modal

Suggest a Correction

Suggest a Correction



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending