And The Winner Is…

Aug. 31, 2015
2 min read
Airb 24 27 Cover Story Page 1 55e4757561155

Airport Business is pleased to announce that it joined the ranks of other prestigious Tabbie award winning magazines in July when it received a 2015 Tabbie Award for Best Feature from the Trade Association of Business Publications International for an article on cyber security. The 2015 Tabbie awards is an international writing competition, with entries coming from all over the globe. And while as an editor for the last 22 years, I’ve received approximately 12 Tabbie awards in my career, this one is special because it’s the first one awarded to me as editor of Airport Business.

Though it symbolizes an important first for me on the magazine, the award also embodies the type of content Airport Business is proud to present issue after issue, month after month, year after year. In fact, Airport Business has been delivering high-quality editorial for nearly 30 years—2016 marks our 30th year.

The article, titled “Cyber Insecurity” delves into the very real vulnerability of airport IT networks, and what can and should be done to help make these systems more secure. Written in October 2014, its message remains very timely. The reality is that airport networks are not as secure as we’d like them to be from attack by evil-doers.

This is a tough subject to discuss but an important one, and one Airport Business was more than happy to cover within the pages of the magazine.

This month we address an equally touchy subject—the TSA and the Inspector General’s recent test of TSA screening at eight airports. The tests found TSA screening is likely to miss weapons of mass destruction, firearms and more 96 percent of the time. The article looks at the good, the bad and the ugly as it pertains to the TSA, and where we go from here.

These articles represent the types of in-depth analysis Airport Business strives to present every issue. From TNCs, to the TSA, to every acronym in between, we want to deliver the content that matters most to you—and in an award winning manner. We consider it our job to keep you informed of the topics that matter to help you as you go about your jobs.

Please drop me a line at [email protected] any time you have a topic you’d like to see covered in greater depth. Some of the best article ideas—including the award-winning cyber security piece--have come from readers just like you.

Thumbs Down

Unable to catch the Spirit

If you are flying Spirit Airlines, there’s a 50-50 chance you’ll be arriving late. The U.S. Department of Transportation has released its latest Air Travel Consumer Report, and it’s a rough ride for the low-budget airline. Only 49.9 percent of its flights arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, which is the government’s definition of being on time. That figure, according to the Associated Press, is the worst on-time performance by a major airline in 10 years. That number is some ways behind United Airlines (66.3% of flights arrived on time) and Frontier Airlines (67.6% hit the on-time target) in the rankings.  Spirit also had the highest complaint rate of any U.S. airline, with around 19 complaints per 100,000 boarding passengers. To put that in perspective, the next highest rate was Frontier Airlines with around 7 complaints per 100,000 passengers.

 

Thumbs Up

Quiet Please

The Chicago Department of Aviation has proposed an experiment at O'Hare International Airport to rotate the runways used late at night, possibly on a weekly basis, to spread out jet noise. The CDA also seeks a change in federal rules so government funding can be used to replace or supplement the soundproofing on approximately 200 previously insulated homes near the airfield. Using public funds for re-insulation work is not permitted under the existing "once and done'' rules. Though both moves hope to address the noise issue plaguing nearby neighborhoods, the public may not view them as enough. Focusing on noise improvements on nighttime flights and in residential areas in close proximity to the airport may still be met with criticism because some of the public outrage over O'Hare expansion involves the seemingly incessant flights throughout the day and the whine of jet turbines miles away from the airport. Time will tell if these measures are enough, but they seem to be a step in the right direction.

 

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