MOROCCO: Royal Air Maroc New Route To Miami From Casablanca Starts April 3, 2019

Moroccan national carrier Royal Air Maroc (RAM) has announced it will begin the first ever Miami to Casablanca flights on April 3, 2019, giving Miami International Airport its first passenger flights to Africa since the year 2000 and Florida’s only nonstop service to the continent.

I offer my congratulations and thanks to Royal Air Maroc for its decision to make Miami its first destination in Florida, said Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez.

Casablanca is one of the most historic, picturesque and influential cities in Africa, and we are proud to establish this first-ever connection between our two world cities.

Royal Air Maroc will operate three weekly roundtrip flights between Miami and its Casablanca hub, where it offers dozens of connections to North African, West African and Middle Eastern destinations.

The new route will be operated with new-generation Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft configured to accommodate 18 business class and 255 economy class passengers.

Flights will depart Casablanca at 11:20 a.m. Eastern time and arrive at Miami at 7:05 p.m., to then depart Miami at 8:45 p.m. and arrive at Casablanca at 5:55 a.m. the following day.

Royal Air Maroc, born in June 1957 following the merger of Air Atlas and Air Maroc, is Morocco’s largest airline.

With a fleet of 55 aircraft and more than 90 destinations with regular frequencies, RAM connects Morocco to five continents.

Royal Air Maroc’s announcement is a major milestone in the 90-year history of Miami International Airport, said Miami-Dade Aviation Director Lester Sola.

We have long sought to re-establish nonstop passenger service to Africa, and to accomplish that with an airline and a destination of this caliber is an added bonus.


Tourism Observer

POLAND: LOT Polish Airlines Announced Warsaw To Miami Nonstop Flights From June 1, 2019

LOT Polish Airlines has announced the launch of Miami-Warsaw nonstop passenger service scheduled for June 1, 2019, giving Miami International Airport the only nonstop route between Florida and Eastern Europe, as well as the airport’s first-ever service to Poland.

Warsaw will further expand Miami International Airport’s current network of twenty European destinations, while Miami will join LOT’s five other nonstop destinations in North America.

LOT Polish Airlines is an exciting addition to MIA’s growing roster of international carriers, said Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez.

This new connection to Eastern Europe will go a long way toward expanding MIA’s role as a true global gateway.

LOT will operate four weekly flights with new generation Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft that seat 252 passengers.

LOT’s hub operation at Warsaw Chopin Airport provides passengers more than 350 daily flights to 100 destinations worldwide, as well as extensive connections throughout Central and Eastern Europe.

Miami is currently one of the largest markets in the U.S so far not served by LOT, said Rafał Milczarski, LOT Chief Executive Officer.

It is the first such convenient connection between Central and Eastern Europe and Florida with almost half a million passengers per year traveling between the two regions.

Thanks to our broad network of connections and the most convenient transfers offered via the hub in Warsaw, I am sure that many passengers from Miami will take advantage of our latest offer and fly on our board to Budapest, Prague, Kiev or Tel-aviv.

LOT, which launched operations in 1928, is considered one of the fastest-growing airlines in Europe today, with seven million passengers onboard each year.

LOT’s fleet of 73 aircraft is also one of the youngest and most modern in Europe.

We eagerly look forward to welcoming LOT Polish Airlines’ Warsaw service next summer, said Miami-Dade Aviation Director Lester Sola.

We are proud to be their first destination in Florida and to be part of their ongoing expansion into North America.


Tourism Observer

BARBADOS: American Airlines Has Introduced Daily Flights To Barbados From Charlotte

American Airlines has announced the addition of non-stop, daily service from Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) to Grantley Adams International Airport (BGI) beginning December 19, 2018.

This announcement comes just weeks after the carrier unveiled its third daily flight from Miami International Airport (MIA) to Barbados, which is also set to launch December 19.

The island anticipates a demand for additional flight service given the growth in US arrival numbers, which have risen year after year.

In 2017, Barbados welcomed 188,970 US visitors – a 30-year high – and the country is showing no signs of slowing down.

Our airline partners have been instrumental in the growth of visitation from the United States.

This new service signals tremendous confidence in Barbados and constitutes a 100 percent increase in seat capacity into and out of the island said Barbados’ newly appointed minister of tourism and international transport, Kerrie Symmonds.

Increased service to these important cities will help to ensure another year of record passenger arrivals to our destination.

High-level airline partnerships have been a cornerstone effort for the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. (BTMI). This strategy has led to increased airlift and the introduction of new gateways including Fort Lauderdale, Boston and Newark.

Alfredo Gonzalez, managing director – Caribbean, American Airlines, described Barbados as a destination in high demand and noted.

One month after announcing additional service to Barbados from our Miami hub, we’re thrilled to continue growing our presence in the island with new daily service from our Charlotte hub, both operating during the winter.

As the demand continues to grow over the years, today we’re proud to serve as the leading U.S. airline in the island with up to 28 weekly flights.

Tickets for the new route went on sale June 17.


Tourism Observer

BONAIRE: American Airlines Adds More Flights To Bonaire

In addition to its weekly Saturday service launching June 9, 2018, American Airlines will be adding three new non-stop flights from Miami International Airport (MIA) to Bonaire International Airport (BIA) from December 15, 2018, through March 30, 2019.

The additional flights will operate on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

We are extremely pleased to have reached an agreement with American Airlines to provide additional non-stop service to Bonaire, commented Maurice Adriaens, director of Tourism Corporation Bonaire.

According to the American Airlines Network & Planning Department the Saturday flight is booking extremely well, and therefore they are confident that the extra flights will do well.

These flights will to allow us to generate more traffic to the island concurrent with the expansion of our hotel and villa inventory.

American Airlines flight AA1379 will depart MIA at 12:05pm, arriving in BON 4:13pm. The return flight AA1379 will depart BON 5:05pm, arriving in MIA 7:15pm.

These flight times allow for several convenient connections from the feeder banks on both flight segments.

American Airlines will utilize an Airbus 319 with eight first class seats and 120 economy seats.


Tourism Observer

USA: Florida Airports Halt Flights As A Result Of Hurricane Irma

Mattresses are spread on the floor at Miami International Airport
Three of Florida’s busiest airports — Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Orlando — are among those that have announced flight suspensions as Hurricane Irma gets close toward the state.

Hurricane Irma has been dubbed the most powerful Atlantic storm in a decade.

At 9:50 p.m. on Friday, Miami International Airport (MIA) airport said on Twitter: Last flight has departed from MIA. There are no scheduled flights for Saturday and Sunday. It is not certain whether flights might resume on Monday.

The airport of Fort Lauderdale (FLL) halted all commercial flights as of Friday evening and all airline flights at Orlando (MCO) will halt starting at 5 pm on Saturday.

Other airports in Florida that have announced suspended flights include Daytona Beach (DAB), Key West (EYW), Fort Lauderdale (FLL), Gainesville (GNV), Jacksonville, Melbourne (MLB), Orlando/Sanford (SFB), Punta Gorda (PGD), St. Petersburg/Clearwater, Sarasota-Bradenton (SRQ) and Tampa (TPA).

Passengers traveling through other airports in Florida through September 11 should contact their airline to get the most current information about flights that may be impacted by Hurricane Irma.

National Hurricane Center on Hurricane Irma

According to the latest National Hurricane Center’s advisory, Irma has been downgraded to a Category 3 hurricane, with sustained 125-mph winds.

The core of Irma will continue to move near or over the northern coast of Cuba on Saturday. According to a CNN report, Irma will reach the Florida Keys on Sunday morning and the southwestern coast of Florida on Sunday afternoon.

Irma is expected to make landfall in Florida as an extremely dangerous hurricane.

At a news conference on Saturday, Florida Gov. Rick Scott, underlined that Millions of Floridians will see major hurricane impacts with deadly storm surge and life threatening winds. He advised residents in an evacuation zone to leave immediately.

If you have been ordered to evacuate, you need to leave now. Do not wait. Evacuate. Not tonight, not in an hour. You need to go right now.

According to the latest information, Hurricane Irma has killed 22 people in the Caribbean and left thousands homeless.

Meanwhile, as Irma is on its way to Florida, two other storms in the region have been upgraded to hurricane status: Katia in the Gulf of Mexico and Jose. The latter storm is following Irma in the Atlantic and has made landfall in eastern Mexico.

Miami International Airport hopes to reopen for limited passenger service Tuesday after Hurricane Irma forced a days-long closure and damaged parts of the terminals and gates.

The high winds pushed water through window seals and through roof joints, causing minor flooding through the sprawling complex. Even the war room where airport managers met Monday morning was damaged by water.

The storm also knocked out portions of the airport's security fence and damaged some gate areas and awnings, airport CEO Emilio Gonzalez said.

He said the gradual reopening would allow airport staff, airline workers and security screeners time to return to their posts following the mandatory evacuation. Airlines will decide for themselves how to restart their operations once the airport declares itself ready.

Miami International Airport last year served 44.5 million passengers on more than 80 airlines.

On Monday, airport officials didn't know which airlines would begin flying first. "Nobody wants to get planes in and out more than me," Gonzalez said. "But we can't just flip a switch."

Airport managers urged passengers to check with their airline before heading to the airport, in case of any hiccups or unforeseen delays.

The FAA must re-certify the airport meets security standards. That may mean airport workers would have to stand guard over any fence breaches or areas that should have been patrolled but weren't during the storm.

Other challenges: ensuring the airport's 9 million gallons of aviation fuel are uncontaminated, and draining the 2-3 feet of water sitting atop the employee parking lot.

At least one international carrier was flying Monday in a jet filled with the staff needed to get its ticketing and flight operations running again.

Many airlines flew their planes and staff elsewhere in the country before the storm, and local staff may still be dealing with storm damage at their own homes, Gonzalez said.

Monday afternoon, the airport remained almost entirely empty except for a few hundred staff, as well as customers with nowhere else to go.

Pre-recorded TSA security admonishments and greetings from Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Giménez echoed through the deserted concourses as a skeleton crew of workers emptied trash and cleaned up storm debris.

Several dozen mattresses covered a portion of one terminal floor, temporary beds for stranded travelers, while the airport's Storm Rider essential staff met to strategize reopening plans

Many stranded travelers declined to be interviewed or photographed, citing their lack of showers.

Their legs covered by a blanket, Jennie Langtofl, 25, and Simone Hoeier, 24, watched a movie on an iPad and waited for their flight — which might leave Tuesday.

The two Denmark residents have been vacationing in the U.S. for three weeks and were supposed to fly out Saturday, when the storm's intensity peaked.

They checked into a hotel but were forced to leave for a shelter. "It wasn't fun being kicked out, but since then everyone has been very nice," Hoeier said.





Tourism Observer

HAITI: Haiti Welcomes Tourists Again

Not many people consider Haiti a serious tourist destination.

The Caribbean nation is one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, with a history of grinding poverty, civil unrest and violence. Haiti is also still recovering from the devastating 2010 earthquake that left well over 100,000 dead and more than 1.5 million survivors homeless.

But 2014 was a blossoming of tourist industry investment in Haiti. Just this week Carnival Corporation (CCL), the parent company of Carnival Cruise lines, said it signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a $70 million port facility on Tortuga, an historic island off Haiti's northern coast.

The port project "represents a major commitment to the people of Haiti by Carnival Corporation the largest cruise company in the world, with nine industry-leading brands and dozens of ships operating in the Caribbean, the world's most popular region for cruise vacations," David Candib, the company's vice president, development and operations, told the Caribbean Journal.

Candib added the facility would generate "significant development and construction activities," with the creation of an estimated 900 direct and indirect jobs.

"The project will be an anchor for further development on the island," he continued. "We are working together with the Haitian people and government to build Tortuga into popular and economically sustainable Caribbean destinations."

The Carnival project would create the second major cruise ship port in Haiti. Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) has had a private resort facility in Labadee, on the country's northern coast, that it leased from the Haitian government until 2050.

Meanwhile, American Airlines (AAL) recently announced the start of daily service between Miami International Airport and Cap-Haitien, Haiti's second city, beginning in October.

"This is a big deal," said Art Torno, American's senior vice president of operations for Mexico, the Caribbean and Latin America, told the Miami Herald. "That area of the country has about 35 percent of the population, and has always been a desirable place for us."

Torno notes the Cap-Haitien region also includes Labadee as well as a $300 million, U.S.-backed industrial park project.

And this past April Hilton Worldwide (HLT) signed an agreement to build a new Hilton Garden Inn at Louverture Airport in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince. The hotel is scheduled to open in 2016.

Tourism reportedly accounts for about five percent of Haiti's GDP, and those numbers are expected to change dramatically in the next several years.

But not everyone is convinced the Carnival port deal will, in the long-term, end up benefiting Haiti's economy and its people.

Jim Walker, a Miami-based maritime attorney and author of the cruiselaw.com blog, recently wondered if any Haitians will be employed at the new facility and if the construction of a pier designed to accommodate large cruise ships will lead to long-term environmental damage.

Also, he added, "will this be a private island for the exclusive benefit of Carnival and its passengers? Will this be a lease similar to the 260 acres of prime waterfront property (Labadee) which Royal Caribbean leased (ripped off) from Haiti?"

USA: Shooter Opens Fire at Ft. Lauderdale Airport

A shooter killed “multiple people” at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Friday before being taken into custody, officials said.

Five people died in the shooting, at least nine were shot, citing unnamed law enforcement sources.

The Broward County Sheriff’s office tweeted “multiple people” had died and one person was in custody.

The shooter appeared to be a man in his 20s wearing a Star Wars T-shirt who was shot by police as he attempted to reload.

The shooting took place at the Terminal 2 baggage claim, said a post on the airport’s Twitter account.

Security officials corralled passengers underneath jetways and on the runway apron, according to images on cable news networks.

Ari Fleischer, a former press secretary for U.S. President George W. Bush, said on Twitter shots were fired and “everyone is running.”

“All seems calm now but the police aren’t letting anyone out of the airport – at least not the area where I am,” he said.

A woman tended to a bleeding, seated man outside an airport building, according to a photo posted on Twitter by a Michigan information technology company.

The Broward Sheriff’s Office received a call at about 12:55 p.m. local time about shots fired at 100 Terminal Drive at the airport, the department wrote on Twitter.

All services were temporarily suspended, the airport’s Twitter feed said.

Florida Governor Rick Scott was traveling to Fort Lauderdale to be briefed by law enforcement, his office said in a statement.

The FBI’s Miami office was “aware of the situation” and in contact with local authorities, a spokesman said in an email. No further information was immediately available.

Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport is the second largest in South Florida, serving as an intercontinental gateway, with Miami International Airport known as the primary airport for international flights in the area.

USA: Airport Workers Stealing From Luggage

Inside a plane at Miami International Airport, baggage handlers are going on a shopping spree with passengers' bags.

What they don't know is that they are being recorded on a hidden camera. The Miami-Dade Police Department set up the camera as part of an ongoing police investigation into luggage thefts by the very airport workers who are supposed to get bags safely onto planes.

"It's a problem we all face," said police Lt. Pete Estis. "We will continue to be proactive until we can see that the claims of pilfering through luggage will actually decrease."

Miami Aviation Director Emilio T. González said the insider theft cases "are indeed the exception among the thousands of decent, hardworking employees at MIA, and they have been prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law for their crimes."

And these insider thefts just don't happen in Miami. Passenger property loss claims filed with the TSA from 2010 to 2014 shows 30,621 claims of missing valuables, mostly packed in checked luggage. The rest occurred at security checkpoints. Total property loss claimed: $2.5 million.

John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York topped the list of airports with the most claims of thefts from luggage, followed by Los Angeles International, Orlando International and Miami International, according to the data.

The problem has been so serious at JFK that in 2013, El Al Airlines set up a hidden camera in a baggage hold. The camera showed baggage handlers stealing items on flights bound for Israel, including a $5,000 Seiko watch, iPhones, an iPad, cameras, gold rings and cash. Six of those arrested pleaded guilty to possession of stolen property or petty larceny and the seventh suspect's case was sealed, according to the Queens District Attorney's Office.

The high-profile case, though, didn't stop the thefts. Two more baggage handlers at JFK were arrested in 2014 after authorities said they stole two designer handbags from a suitcase, and then tried to sell them on eBay.

Then, in December, seven more JFK baggage handlers were charged with stealing valuables from checked luggage. The items were stolen from suitcases of passengers traveling to or from Hawaii, Japan, Johannesburg, London, Bangkok, Dubai, Milan and various U.S. cities.

In Miami, which aggressively goes after luggage thieves, police have arrested 31 baggage handlers and ramp workers since 2012, including six so far this year.

Police set up a hidden camera inside the belly of a plane last year and caught baggage handlers rifling through luggage and stealing various items.

Another hidden camera caught a baggage handler rummaging through bags in a secure luggage room inside the airport while a security guard looked the other way.

"Insider threat is very scary for us in law enforcement, and certainly someone taking somebody's cell phone, iPad, computer -- what's next?" Estis said.

This year Miami and Orlando are the only two major airports in the country that require employees to be screened through metal detectors. Miami even checks employees when they leave work to go into the main terminal. But that apparently hasn't stopped the luggage thieves.

"As far as being able to get the property off the airfield, that's a great question," Estis said. "We have theories."

In Los Angeles, police last year executed search warrants on 25 locations after getting complaints about thefts in two terminals. Among the valuables found were computers, watches, jewelry and cameras and designer bags. Sixteen airport workers were fired.

"We cut theft in those two terminals by 60% because of doing that aggressive investigative work," said Patrick Gannon, police chief of Los Angeles International Airport.

Luggage theft could definitely lead to more serious problems, he said.

"I absolutely think that if we don't pay attention to the small things that happen around here, that it could lead to much larger things. So there is, I believe, a connection between baggage theft and terrorism," Gannon said.

Even the TSA has had problem employees. Since 2002, the agency has fired 513 officers for theft. It employs about 50,000 officers today, and last year screened more than 443 million checked bags and nearly 1.7 billion carry-ons.

Luggage theft isn't confined to airport workers. Outsiders have been caught on surveillance cameras stealing luggage from carousels.