USA: Air Canada Flight From Toronto To LAX Diverted To Salt Lake City After Passenger Was Found Dead

A plane flying to Los Angeles had to be diverted after a passenger was taken ill onboard and later died.

The Air Canada service from Toronto, Canada, to LAX was diverted to Salt Lake City after a passenger reportedly suffered a medical emergency.

He could not be revived and sadly died.

The Air Canada service from Toronto, Canada, to LAX was diverted to Salt Lake City after a passenger reportedly suffered a medical emergency.

He could not be revived and sadly died.

Speaking to US media, Air Canada confirmed flight AC795 left Toronto International bound for Los Angeles when it was diverted to Salt Lake City in Utah.

The plane left Toronto at 4.35pm local time on Monday afternoon (9.35pm BST).

It was expected to land at LAX at 6.53pm Pacific Summer Time (2.53am Tuesday BST).

The plane was expected to touch down at LAX in Los Angeles last night

But instead, it was diverted to Salt Lake City.

It finally landed at LAX at 9.24pm local time (5.24am BST).

According to Air Canada, the aircraft was met by medical services after landing.

The airline didn't give an update on the passenger's status.


Tourism Observer

Virgin Atlantic, Delta, Jet Airways To Expand Codeshare Cooperation

Delta Air Lines and joint venture partner Virgin Atlantic will expand the airlines’ existing cooperation agreement with India’s Jet Airways, the carriers announced Oct. 31.

Beginning Nov. 2, Delta and Virgin Atlantic passengers flying from the US into London Heathrow (LHR) will be able to make connecting flights to Mumbai and Delhi on Jet Airways.

Simultaneously, Jet Airways passengers will be able to connect through London Heathrow onto Delta routes to nine US cities: Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia, Portland, Salt Lake City and Seattle.

The new London-Mumbai/Delhi connections complement Delta and Jet Airways codeshare agreements already offered out of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) airport.

“With up to 11,000 people flying daily between India and North America, and with trade and tourism flows increasing between the US, UK and India, we are giving our customers more … options between North America and India,” Delta SVP-Europe, Middle East, Africa and India Nat Pieper said. “Customers will be able to hold a single Delta ticket from North America through London to India.”

Virgin Atlantic already has a codeshare agreement with Jet Airways on flights between five Indian cities and London Heathrow via Delhi. In 2017, subject to government approval, the airlines plan to expand their codeshare agreement when Virgin Atlantic places Jet Airways’ marketing code on flights from London Heathrow to 10 North American cities.

USA: Police Arrest Pilot, Delta Flight Grounded

A Skywest crew member was taken off a plane Wednesday morning by a Rapid City police officer but the airline just told passengers there was “a crew issue.”

A Delta flight to Utah was delayed Wednesday morning when Rapid City police took a crew member off the plane.

Rapid City Police Chief Karl Jegeris said in a tweet - "RCPD has arrested a Skywest Airlines pilot for operation of an aircraft while intoxicated."

The pilot is 38-year-old Russel Duszak of Salt Lake City.

Police were called a little after 8 a.m., less than a half hour before the Skywest Airlines flight was to take off for Salt Lake City. Police were told by a TSA agent that the pilot “smelled of alcohol.”

Dayrn Farmer, a hunter on his way home to Oregon, said that when the passengers started the boarding procedures he noticed there wasn’t a flight crew.

“They first told us the plane wouldn’t start,” Farmer said.

After passengers saw a police officer on the gangway with a flight crew member, passengers were given a little more but still not exactly what was happening.

“They airline representatives just said they had a crew issue,” Farmer said.

Management at Regional Airport deferred questions to the Rapid City Police Department.

The flight, which was supposed to take off at 8:30 a.m., was delayed until 10:30 when another flight crew took over.

Skywest flies out of Rapid City as Delta Connection.

Many of the passengers missed connecting flights because of the incident, including Farmer. “Now we have a long day getting home,” he said.

Drunk Delta Pilot Arrested

A SkyWest pilot scheduled to fly a Delta Connection flight out of South Dakota's Rapid City Regional Airport was arrested Wednesday morning on charges that he was intoxicated, the Rapid City Police Department says.

The local Argus Leader newspaper reports that Rapid City Police were notified that a pilot smelled of alcohol shortly after 8 a.m. local time Wednesday, according to public information officer Brendyn Medina.

Rapid City Police Chief Karl Jegeris said via Twitter at 12:55 p.m. ET that police had arrested a Skywest Airlines pilot for “operation of an aircraft while intoxicated.” To be arrested for operating an aircraft while intoxicated, the blood alcohol level has to be above .04, according to the Argus Leader. The pilot taken into custody is 38 years old, the newspaper reports.

SkyWest flies regional aircraft on feeder routes for major airlines Delta, American and Alaska Airlines.

SkyWest told Today in the Sky the pilot had been removed from flying duty while the company investigates the charges.

“SkyWest holds its employees to the highest standards of professionalism and the safety and security of our customers and people are our top priority,” SkyWest said in the statement. “We apologize to our passengers for the delay of SkyWest flight #4574, operating as Delta Connection from Rapid City to Salt Lake City, due to a crewmember issue. The crewmember has been placed on administrative leave and removed from flying duties as we investigate this situation. We are cooperating fully with law enforcement’s investigation into this matter."

From Rapid City, SkyWest flies under the Delta Connection brand to Delta’s hubs in Atlanta, Minneapolis/St. Paul and Salt Lake City. The flight in Wednesday’s incident was Delta Connection Flight 4574 to Salt Lake City. The flight -- a Canadair CRJ200 regional jet, according to flight-tracking service FlightAware -- had been scheduled to depart Rapid City at 8:30 a.m. local time. Delta’s website shows the flight departed late at 10:38 a.m. local time.

"The system worked the way it is designed to ensure passengers' safety was not compromised," Jegeris, the Rapid City Police Chief, said in a tweet.

USA: Delta Apologized For Forced Flight Diversion Due To Misunderstandings Between Flight Attendants

Delta Air Lines has issued an apology over a fracas that broke out on a flight between Los Angeles and Minneapolis last month.

The two combatants were flight attendants. Their scrum forced the pilot to land in Salt Lake City to quell the tussle.

“Some of our team members did not display their best behavior,” Delta said in a statement after the incident. “We expect our flight crew to be nothing but courteous and professional at all times and what you experienced was far from that.”

To make it up to passengers on the diverted flight, Delta gave loyalty reward members extra miles and handed out travel vouchers to everyone else. The airline wouldn't say if the employees were disciplined.

This was not the first clash between flight attendants.

In 2010, a regional carrier for Delta canceled a flight from Rochester, N.Y., to Atlanta when two flight attendants began to brawl. A Rochester television station quoted a passenger who said the flight attendants “got into a fistfight on the plane. The pilot decided to kick everyone off the plane.”

USA: Tourism Commission To Revisit Awarding Of Grants

The Nevada Commission on Tourism will review how it awards grants to rural tourism entities that seek state help expanding their markets.

Board members also will consider whether it will expand how much it provides to promote some urban special events.

The department is entitled to three-eighths of 1 percent of collected room tax revenue, but rarely does it receive the full amount from the state. In the current budget, legislators appropriated the department $16.7 million, even though its cut of room-tax revenue was $20.5 million in 2015. When room tax revenue comes in over the budgeted amount, it automatically is transferred to a reserve account.

Lt. Gov. Mark Hutchison, who chairs the commission, tasked the commission’s marketing committee with exploring how other states distribute grant money and how the state can get its best return on investment.

The action came at a Tuesday quarterly meeting at which the board unanimously approved allocating $238,000 in grants to 24 rural entities after receiving 31 requests totaling $511,997. The commission also has $100,000 available to promote urban special events, such as Hot August Nights, the Reno Air Races and the Great Reno Balloon Races in Northern Nevada and the Red Rock Rendezvous in Southern Nevada.

Organizations within the state’s largest cities — Las Vegas, Henderson, North Las Vegas, Reno and Sparks — aren’t eligible for rural grants, but one Clark County entity was among the 24 that won approval.

The Moapa Valley Revitalization Project, which requested $16,756, half the amount needed to undertake the entire project, was awarded $12,200.

Funds will be used to build a visitor information kiosk, install benches, a shade shelter and trash receptacles in downtown Overton.

Moapa Valley Boulevard is the main street through Overton consisting of five blocks of storefronts, restaurants and commercial properties. The three-phase revitalization program is designed to make the street more accommodating for tourists.

The commission acknowledged that the purpose of grant system is to assist rural entities that don’t have resources such as the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority to turn to for marketing assistance.

Longtime commission member Ryan Sheltra, general manager of the Bonanza Casino in Reno and an advocate for rural programs, said the commission should analyze what events provide the best potential return in room-tax revenue. Added to the marketing committee Wednesday, Sheltra said he also wants to evaluate the special events the commission supports.

“It’s not a question of whether these are good events,” Sheltra said. “It’s a matter of whether we can afford all of them.”

In other business Wednesday, the board unanimously approved the department’s $2.3 million spring-summer marketing campaign, which runs May through August in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Phoenix and Boise, Idaho.

Commissioners were encouraged with results from the fall-winter campaign, the first featuring the “Go home with more stories than souvenirs” theme behind the backdrop of the Las Vegas band The Killers singing “Don’t Fence Me In.” Department marketing experts said in some markets, television ads scored well while digital content online was better in other markets.

Department director Claudia Vecchio also confirmed that this year’s Governor’s Global Tourism Summit would be Oct. 11-12 at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno.

USA: Delta Airlines Female Flight Attendants Fight At 37,000 Feet,Flight Diverted !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A Delta Air Lines flight from Los Angeles to Minneapolis had to make an unscheduled landing in Utah because two flight female flight attendants got into a fistfight at 37,000 feet.

The Boeing 757 was south of Salt Lake City when the fist fight broke out between Delta employees servicing the flight. The pilot asked air traffic control for a diversion to Salt Lake City because he wanted to hear from his flight attendants. Delta Air Lines Flight 2598 then diverted to Salt Lake City and safely landed.

A Delta Airlines Boeing 757-200, registration N751AT performing flight DL-2598 from Los Angeles,CA to Minneapolis,MN (USA), was enroute at FL370 about 180nm south of Salt Lake City,UT (USA) when the captain decided to divert the aircraft to Salt Lake City telling ATC he wanted to hear from his flight attendants. The aircraft landed safely on Salt Lake City's runway 16R about 40 minutes after leaving FL370.

A passenger reported that three cabin crew were sent off due to "bad behaviour". The airline subsequently sent a letter of apology stating: "... some of our team members did not display their best behavior. We expect our flight crew to be nothing but courteous and professional at all times and what you experienced was far from that. I am sorry we didn’t deliver on our brand promise for you today."

The aircraft remained on the ground for about 80 minutes, then continued the flight reaching Minneapolis with a delay of 75 minutes.

On Jan 28th 2016 The Aviation Herald learned that two flight attendants disagreeing over work issues engaged in a fist fight, a third lady trying to calm the other two down was hit by the flying fists, the purser informed the flight deck and the captain decided to divert.

Delta boasts that "Main Cabin customers can access more complimentary entertainment than ever before and premium entertainment is available for purchase. First Class and Delta Comfort customers enjoy it all for free."

USA: Air France Diverts Two Planes Due To Terrorist Threats

Two Paris bound Air France flights from the United States were diverted Tuesday night due to bomb threats.

Both flights – an Airbus A380 and a Boeing 777 - landed safely.

Air France Flight 65 a 500-seat A380 was operating from Los Angeles to Paris and was diverted to Salt Lake City after the threat was received according to a US government spokesman.

Shortly afterwards, Air France Flight 55 a Boeing 777 with 298 passengers a crew operating from Washington's Dulles International Airport to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport diverted to Halifax, Nova Scotia also due to a similar bomb threat.

Salt Lake City FBI Special Agent Todd Palmer said that “several law enforcement agencies are working to determine the nature of the threats which caused the aircraft to divert."

However no US military aircraft were scrambled.

Diversion of flights is the most draconian response to a bomb threat.

I think right now we take this seriously until we hear some explanation to the validity of the bomb threat.

However one safety analyst warned that this could be new phase in the terrorism war by ISIS.

“They [ISIS] could cripple aviation with hundreds of bomb threats,” the analyst warned.

Separately Russia has said that a bomb brought down Metrojet Flight 7K-9268 from Sharm el Sheikh to St. Petersburg (Russia) which crashed on Saturday October 31 killing all 224 on board.

USA: Delta Airlines Adds New Trans-Atlantic Routes In 2016

Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic Airways will strengthen their trans-Atlantic network next year with the introduction of new nonstop Delta services from London Heathrow to Salt Lake City and Edinburgh to New York-JFK.

“For the second summer in a row, Delta will be launching new routes, that give customers more options when flying between the UK and the United States,” said Nat Pieper, Delta senior vice president, Europe, Middle East and Africa.

“Delta and Virgin Atlantic are committed to offering an extensive network on the trans-Atlantic and our new flights from London and Edinburgh will offer more connections to destinations throughout the U.S. and beyond.”

Starting May 2nd, 2016, Salt Lake City will be Delta’s eighth US destination served from Heathrow and will be the only nonstop service between the Mountain West and Heathrow, offering one-stop connections to many Mountain West cities such as Reno, Boise Idaho, Albuquerque and Idaho Falls.

The airline has scheduled a 210-seat, Boeing 767-300ER aircraft for the flight, which will be operated on a seasonal basis linking Heathrow nonstop to all seven Delta hubs in the United States.

Known as “The Crossroads of the West”, Salt Lake City is situated within easy reach of some of North America’s most famous national parks, with more than 20 located within a few hours’ drive of the airport.

As the largest airline operating in Salt Lake City, Delta offers connections to more than 50 destinations throughout the West and into Canada.

The region offers many travel options for tourists wanting to enjoy outdoor pursuits, with some of the United States’ best hiking, mountain biking and rafting nearby.

Delta’s daily nonstop flight between Edinburgh and New York-JFK will launch on May 27th, 2016, offering customers up to 60 convenient onward connections.

The flight will be Delta’s only service from Scotland but joins Virgin Atlantic’s three times weekly summer seasonal service from Glasgow to Orlando.

The new flight offers convenient transfers to popular destinations including Miami, Orlando, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Francisco via the newly extended Terminal 4 at its JFK hub.

The airline will operate a 163-seat, Boeing 757-200 aircraft on the route