ReportWire

Tag: Transportation

  • Buses, Trams and Trains Grind to a Halt Across Germany at Start of Two-Day Strike

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    BERLIN, Feb 27 (Reuters) – ⁠Buses, ⁠trams and ⁠trains across Germany ground ​to a halt early ‌Friday as local ‌transport workers ⁠heeded ⁠a call by the Verdi public sector ​union to stage a strike on February ​27 and 28.

    The union is ⁠aiming to ⁠gain leverage ⁠in negotiations ​that cover working conditions, specifically ​working ⁠hours and shift work, allowances for night and weekend work, ⁠as well as salaries. Exact demands vary ⁠from state to state.

    Talks on a collective wage agreement affect about 150 bus, tram and local train companies with around 100,000 employees ⁠in states across Germany, including the cities of Berlin and Hamburg.

    (Writing by ​Friederike Heine; Editing by ​Michael Perry)

    Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters.

    Photos You Should See – Feb. 2026

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    Reuters

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  • A Florida airport shares it wants to ban pajamas. It was a joke, the airport says

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    Tampa International Airport said on social media Thursday that it wanted to ban people from wearing pajamas at the Florida facility. No, it wasn’t being serious.A post on the airport’s official X account said that after successfully going “Crocs-free,” Tampa International had “seen enough” of pajamas.“The madness stops today. The movement starts now,” reads the post, which had been viewed 5.7 million times by mid-afternoon Eastern time and generated a debate about airport attire in the comments.Beau Zimmer, an airport spokesperson, told The Associated Press the post was part of the airport’s longstanding social media persona — a tongue-in-cheek voice it has cultivated since its early days on Twitter, before the platform rebranded as X. The account has attracted a loyal global following, he said.“Our regular social media followers just eat this stuff up,” Zimmer said. “But obviously this is all in fun, and we encourage our travelers to be comfortable.”U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy reacted to the post with a GIF of actor John Krasinski from the TV show “The Office” looking into the camera and saying, “Yes!”Duffy has been encouraging passengers to dress more formally while flying, part of a civility campaign he launched last November — called “the Golden Age of Travel Starts with You.” The Transportation Department said the campaign was “intended to jumpstart a nationwide conversation around how we can all restore courtesy and class to air travel.”The airport released a statement Thursday clarifying its post was intended as a joke.“Today’s post about ‘banning’ pajamas was another playful nod to day-of-travel fashion debates,” it said. “We encourage our passengers to travel comfortably and appreciate our loyal followers who enjoy the online humor.”Zimmer said the airport’s online personality has been around for at least a decade. In the earlier days of what was then Twitter, a young intern started posting light-hearted jokes, like poking fun at rival sports teams and fans, “and it really took off.”Earlier this month, the day after the Tampa Bay Lightning rallied from a four-goal deficit to beat the Boston Bruins 6-5 in an NHL Stadium Series game in Tampa, the airport shared on X: “Oh, and safe flight home to all the Bruins fans today :)”Last month, alluding to an ongoing joke about passengers mixing up the airport’s code of TPA with TIA, an airport in Albania, the Tampa airport shared a New Year’s resolution “to stress out less.”“Unfortunately,” the post continued, “some of y’all’s resolutions is to continue calling us TIA so we will not be meeting our goal.”One X user responded that Tampa airport should just change its code to “GOAT so people don’t get confused,” referring to the acronym for “greatest of all time.”

    Tampa International Airport said on social media Thursday that it wanted to ban people from wearing pajamas at the Florida facility. No, it wasn’t being serious.

    A post on the airport’s official X account said that after successfully going “Crocs-free,” Tampa International had “seen enough” of pajamas.

    “The madness stops today. The movement starts now,” reads the post, which had been viewed 5.7 million times by mid-afternoon Eastern time and generated a debate about airport attire in the comments.

    Beau Zimmer, an airport spokesperson, told The Associated Press the post was part of the airport’s longstanding social media persona — a tongue-in-cheek voice it has cultivated since its early days on Twitter, before the platform rebranded as X. The account has attracted a loyal global following, he said.

    “Our regular social media followers just eat this stuff up,” Zimmer said. “But obviously this is all in fun, and we encourage our travelers to be comfortable.”

    U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy reacted to the post with a GIF of actor John Krasinski from the TV show “The Office” looking into the camera and saying, “Yes!”

    Duffy has been encouraging passengers to dress more formally while flying, part of a civility campaign he launched last November — called “the Golden Age of Travel Starts with You.” The Transportation Department said the campaign was “intended to jumpstart a nationwide conversation around how we can all restore courtesy and class to air travel.”

    The airport released a statement Thursday clarifying its post was intended as a joke.

    “Today’s post about ‘banning’ pajamas was another playful nod to day-of-travel fashion debates,” it said. “We encourage our passengers to travel comfortably and appreciate our loyal followers who enjoy the online humor.”

    Zimmer said the airport’s online personality has been around for at least a decade. In the earlier days of what was then Twitter, a young intern started posting light-hearted jokes, like poking fun at rival sports teams and fans, “and it really took off.”

    Earlier this month, the day after the Tampa Bay Lightning rallied from a four-goal deficit to beat the Boston Bruins 6-5 in an NHL Stadium Series game in Tampa, the airport shared on X: “Oh, and safe flight home to all the Bruins fans today :)”

    Last month, alluding to an ongoing joke about passengers mixing up the airport’s code of TPA with TIA, an airport in Albania, the Tampa airport shared a New Year’s resolution “to stress out less.”

    “Unfortunately,” the post continued, “some of y’all’s resolutions is to continue calling us TIA so we will not be meeting our goal.”

    One X user responded that Tampa airport should just change its code to “GOAT so people don’t get confused,” referring to the acronym for “greatest of all time.”

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  • NTSB chair slams House aviation bill as ‘watered-down’ after 67 deaths near Washington

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    The head of the National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday it’s misleading for members of the House to say their package of aviation safety reforms would address the recommendations that her agency made in January to prevent another midair collision like the one last year near Washington, D.C., that killed 67 people.NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said the House bill’s “watered-down” requirements wouldn’t do enough to prevent a future tragedy, and wouldn’t be nearly as effective as a Senate bill that came up just one vote short of passing in the House earlier this week. The full NTSB followed up Thursday afternoon with a formal letter to two key House committees, saying that they can’t support the bill right now“We can have disagreements over policy all day. But when something is sold as these are the NTSB recommendations and that is not factually accurate, we have a problem with that. Because now you’re using the NTSB and you’re using people who lost loved ones in terrible tragedies,” Homendy said. “You’re using their pain to move your agenda forward.”The key concern of Homendy and the families of the people who died in the crash on Jan. 29, 2005, is that they believe all aircraft should be required to have key locator systems that the NTSB has been recommending since 2008, which would allow the pilots to know more precisely where the traffic around them is flying. The Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast Out systems that broadcast an aircraft’s location are already required around busy airports. It’s the ADS-B In systems that can receive data about the locations of other aircraft that isn’t yet standard.The House bill would ask the Federal Aviation Administration to draft a rule to require the best locator technology instead of just requiring ADS-B In, and even when it does suggest that technology should be required, the bill exempts business jets and small planes in certain parts of the airspace. Homendy said the bill is also weak in other areas, such as limits on when the military will be able to turn those locator systems off and the steps they must take to ensure those systems are working.House leaders defend their billThe leaders of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee declined to respond to Homendy’s criticism Thursday, but Reps. Sam Graves and Rick Larsen have said they believe the ALERT bill they crafted effectively addresses the 50 recommendations that NTSB made at the conclusion of their investigation into the collision between an American Airlines jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter.They defended their bill and pledged to work with the families, the Senate and the industry to develop the best solution as soon as possible. The committee will likely markup the bill within the next few weeks.“From the beginning, we have stressed the importance of getting this right, and we are confident that we will achieve that goal,” Larsen and Graves said. House Speaker Mike Johnson also said he is committed to getting the bill done.Victims’ families say they can’t support the bill as writtenThe NTSB released a side-by-side comparison of its recommendations and the House bill to highlight all the ways the bill falls short of fully addressing the needed changes.Doug Lane, who lost his wife and son in the crash, and many of the other victims’ families said the House bill “is not really a serious attempt to address the NTSB recommendations.” He said the introduction of this bill just a few days before the vote on the ROTOR Act, which the Senate unanimously approved, seemed designed to “scuttle” that bill and send the ADS-B In recommendation into limbo to be considered in a lengthy rulemaking process.Matt Collins, who lost his younger brother Chris in the disaster, said that the bill must require ADS-B In to be acceptable to the families.“As far as the ALERT act — the way it’s written now, I can’t endorse the way its written now. It needs to include ADS-B In,” Collins said. “It’s non-negotiable for us as family members, extremely non-negotiable.”Missed warnings led to the crashThe NTSB cited systemic weaknesses and years of ignored warnings as the main causes of the crash, but Homendy has said that if both the plane and the Black Hawk had been equipped with ADS-B In and the systems had been turned on, the collision would have been prevented. The Army’s policy at the time of the crash mandated that its helicopters fly without that system on to conceal their locations, although the helicopter involved in this crash was on a training flight, not a sensitive mission.But Homendy said the House seemed to pick and choose what they wanted to include from the NTSB recommendations.“We were very explicit of what needed to occur,” Homendy said. “When we issue a recommendation, those recommendations are aimed at preventing a tragedy from happening again. And if you’re just going to give us half a loaf, it’s not going to do it. We’re not gonna save lives.”

    The head of the National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday it’s misleading for members of the House to say their package of aviation safety reforms would address the recommendations that her agency made in January to prevent another midair collision like the one last year near Washington, D.C., that killed 67 people.

    NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said the House bill’s “watered-down” requirements wouldn’t do enough to prevent a future tragedy, and wouldn’t be nearly as effective as a Senate bill that came up just one vote short of passing in the House earlier this week. The full NTSB followed up Thursday afternoon with a formal letter to two key House committees, saying that they can’t support the bill right now

    “We can have disagreements over policy all day. But when something is sold as these are the NTSB recommendations and that is not factually accurate, we have a problem with that. Because now you’re using the NTSB and you’re using people who lost loved ones in terrible tragedies,” Homendy said. “You’re using their pain to move your agenda forward.”

    The key concern of Homendy and the families of the people who died in the crash on Jan. 29, 2005, is that they believe all aircraft should be required to have key locator systems that the NTSB has been recommending since 2008, which would allow the pilots to know more precisely where the traffic around them is flying. The Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast Out systems that broadcast an aircraft’s location are already required around busy airports. It’s the ADS-B In systems that can receive data about the locations of other aircraft that isn’t yet standard.

    The House bill would ask the Federal Aviation Administration to draft a rule to require the best locator technology instead of just requiring ADS-B In, and even when it does suggest that technology should be required, the bill exempts business jets and small planes in certain parts of the airspace. Homendy said the bill is also weak in other areas, such as limits on when the military will be able to turn those locator systems off and the steps they must take to ensure those systems are working.

    House leaders defend their bill

    The leaders of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee declined to respond to Homendy’s criticism Thursday, but Reps. Sam Graves and Rick Larsen have said they believe the ALERT bill they crafted effectively addresses the 50 recommendations that NTSB made at the conclusion of their investigation into the collision between an American Airlines jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter.

    They defended their bill and pledged to work with the families, the Senate and the industry to develop the best solution as soon as possible. The committee will likely markup the bill within the next few weeks.

    “From the beginning, we have stressed the importance of getting this right, and we are confident that we will achieve that goal,” Larsen and Graves said. House Speaker Mike Johnson also said he is committed to getting the bill done.

    Victims’ families say they can’t support the bill as written

    The NTSB released a side-by-side comparison of its recommendations and the House bill to highlight all the ways the bill falls short of fully addressing the needed changes.

    Doug Lane, who lost his wife and son in the crash, and many of the other victims’ families said the House bill “is not really a serious attempt to address the NTSB recommendations.” He said the introduction of this bill just a few days before the vote on the ROTOR Act, which the Senate unanimously approved, seemed designed to “scuttle” that bill and send the ADS-B In recommendation into limbo to be considered in a lengthy rulemaking process.

    Matt Collins, who lost his younger brother Chris in the disaster, said that the bill must require ADS-B In to be acceptable to the families.

    “As far as the ALERT act — the way it’s written now, I can’t endorse the way its written now. It needs to include ADS-B In,” Collins said. “It’s non-negotiable for us as family members, extremely non-negotiable.”

    Missed warnings led to the crash

    The NTSB cited systemic weaknesses and years of ignored warnings as the main causes of the crash, but Homendy has said that if both the plane and the Black Hawk had been equipped with ADS-B In and the systems had been turned on, the collision would have been prevented. The Army’s policy at the time of the crash mandated that its helicopters fly without that system on to conceal their locations, although the helicopter involved in this crash was on a training flight, not a sensitive mission.

    But Homendy said the House seemed to pick and choose what they wanted to include from the NTSB recommendations.

    “We were very explicit of what needed to occur,” Homendy said. “When we issue a recommendation, those recommendations are aimed at preventing a tragedy from happening again. And if you’re just going to give us half a loaf, it’s not going to do it. We’re not gonna save lives.”

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  • BART service halted through Transbay Tube due to communication issues

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    BART riders looking to get from the Peninsula to the East Bay, or vice versa, were in for an unpleasant surprise late in the day on Sunday when trains were halted through the Transbay Tube.

    The stoppage was necessary “due to a loss of communications,” according to BART news release. The trains were halted right around 4 p.m. — at the Embarcadero Station on the San Francisco side and, at the other side of the Tube, at West Oakland, according to information provided on the BART media line.

    Crews are working to address the problem.

    No other details regarding the situation — such as when the trains would once again be up and running through the Transbay Tube — was immediately available.

    Those impacted by the stoppage are recommended to use other forms of public transportation.

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    Jim Harrington

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  • Department of Homeland Security suspends Global Entry

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    DALLAS — The Department of Homeland Security said Sunday that the Global Entry program would be shut down as long as the partial government shutdown remains in effect.

    The announcement comes after the department said Saturday night that it planned to shut down both Global Entry and the Transportation Security Administration’s PreCheck program as well, but DHS canceled the PreCheck closure.

    What You Need To Know

    • The turmoil at security and customs lanes is tied to a partial government shutdown that began Feb. 14 after Democrats and the White House were unable to reach a deal on legislation to fund the Department of Homeland Security

    • Democrats have been demanding changes to immigration operations that are core to President Donald Trump’s deportation campaign
    • The security disruptions come at a time when a major winter storm will hit the East Coast from Sunday into Monday

    • Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement that “shutdowns have serious real-world consequences”

    “As staffing constraints arise, TSA will evaluate on a case-by-case basis and adjust operations accordingly,” the agency said.

    The turmoil at security and customs lanes is tied to a partial government shutdown that began Feb. 14 after Democrats and the White House were unable to reach a deal on legislation to fund the Department of Homeland Security. Democrats have been demanding changes to immigration operations that are core to President Donald Trump’s deportation campaign.

    The security disruptions come at a time when a major winter storm will hit the East Coast from Sunday into Monday. Nine out of 10 flights going out of John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia Airport and Boston Logan Airport have been canceled for Monday.

    Global Entry is a U.S. Customs and Border Protection program that allows pre-approved, low-risk travelers to use expedited kiosks when entering the United States from abroad. There’s no specific government data that shows how much time passengers save at airports or other ports of entry from Global Entry but travel industry experts estimate that Global Entry cuts the amount of time passengers getting through customs from an average of 30 to 90 minutes to 5 to 10 minutes in Global Entry lines.

    Those who purchase Global Entry also receive TSA PreCheck. In 2024, the Department of Homeland Security said more than 20 million Americans had TSA PreCheck, and millions of those Americans have overlapping Global Entry memberships.

    Airport lines seemed largely unaffected Sunday, with security check line wait times listed as under 15 minutes for most international airports, according to TSA’s mobile app.

    Blair Perkins, 39, of Dallas, had seen the news about the shutdown of Global Entry before she left Cancun to return home Sunday morning to Dallas. She said after she and her friends arrived at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport that the regular line was long but moved fairly fast.

    “We went around about four or five different corners to get to the end of the U.S. line,” she said.

    With Global Entry, it usually takes less than five minutes to get through customs. she said. Sunday, it took about 30 minutes.

    Perkins said the shutdown was frustrating. “It feels like Washington is using travelers as a pawn to try to, I guess, persuade the other side to do what they want,” she said.

    Homeland Security previously said it was taking “emergency measures to preserve limited funds.” Among the steps listed were “ending Transportation Security Administration (TSA) PreCheck lanes and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Global Entry service, to refocus Department personnel on the majority of travelers.”

    “We are glad that DHS has decided to keep PreCheck operational and avoid a crisis of its own making,” said Geoff Freeman, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association.

    Before announcing the PreCheck shutdown, Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement Saturday night that “shutdowns have serious real world consequences.” Noem said she would take away courtesy escorts from members of Congress at airports during the partial government shutdown as well.

    Jean Fay, 54, said she had no issues going through TSA PreCheck at the Baltimore airport for her 6 a.m. Sunday flight back home to Texas. She didn’t hear about the shutdown until she was changing planes in Austin, Texas, on her way to Dallas Love Field.

    “When I landed in Austin I started getting the alerts,” she said.

    Airlines for America, a trade group representing major carriers, said Saturday night that “it’s past time for Congress to get to the table and get a deal done.” It also criticized the announcement by saying it was “issued with extremely short notice to travelers, giving them little time to plan accordingly.”

    “A4A is deeply concerned that TSA PreCheck and Global Entry programs are being suspended and that the traveling public will be, once again, used as a political football amid another government shutdown,” the organization said.

    Democrats on the House Committee on Homeland Security criticized Homeland Security handling of airport security after the initial announcement on Saturday night. They accused the administration of “kneecapping the programs that make travel smoother and secure.”

    Sen. Andy Kim, a New Jersey Democrat, said Noem’s actions are part of an administration strategy to distract from other issues and shift responsibility.

    “This administration is trying to weaponize our government, trying to make things intentionally more difficult for the American people as a political leverage,” he told CNN on Sunday. “And the American people see that.”

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    Associated Press

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  • NCDOT focuses on putting EV charging stations in rural areas

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    Charlotte, N.C. — The North Carolina Department of Transportation is shifting gears when it comes to electric vehicles.

    What You Need To Know

    • NCDOT plans to prioritize installing electric vehicle charging stations in rural areas
    • The department will focus on 16 locations, such as along I-26 in western North Carolina and U.S. 74 in Anson County
    • North Carolina received $109 million in funding from the Federal Highway Administration to build out a fast-charging network across the state


    The department announced plans to scale back the number of EV charging stations it had initially committed to build along interstates and highways.

    Instead, it’ll put more of the state’s National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) funds toward infrastructure in communities, rural areas and highways “where less coverage exists.”

    Tatiana Pisarski and her husband are among 140,000 North Carolina drivers who’ve pulled the plug on gas-powered travel, according to NCDOT registration data from Oct. 2025.

    “It was something new and different,” Pisarski said. “We wanted to try it out and haven’t looked back since then.”

    Pisarski believes more charging stations are needed to help meet demand.

    “We’ve noticed most of [the chargers] are stationed around highways, major intersections,” Pisarski said. “And I think for those that live outside the big cities, it would be good for them to have access to charging stations as well.”

    North Carolina received $109 million in funding from the Federal Highway Administration to build out a fast-charging network across the state.

    NCDOT originally planned to build 50 stations along major highways in so-called “Alternative Fuel Corridors.”

    But, NCDOT says that new federal guidance allows them flexibility to focus on areas where fewer chargers exist.

    As a result, NCDOT says it’s scaling back to 16 locations in rural towns and along highways, such as I-26 in western North Carolina and U.S. 74 in Anson and Richmond counties.

    “Right now, there are some charging stations, but having more would give us different options,” Pisarski said.

    As the state moves in a new direction, Pisarski believes building more EV stations in rural communities may help convince other drivers to make the switch.

    “Based on my personal experience, once you switch over, I have not seen people back to gas cars,” Pisarski said. “Most people love it, and stick to EVs, and you know, only driving EVs, such as my family.”

    NCDOT says it plans in late March to issue a request for proposals for businesses interested in applying for NEVI funds to build and operate charging stations in those rural areas.

    The NEVI Program provides up to 80% reimbursement for private companies building these stations for a five-year period. After five years, the charging stations will continue to operate without government support, according to NCDOT.

    Follow us on Instagram at spectrumnews1nc for news and other happenings across North Carolina.

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    Nick Buffo

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  • 4 killed in 30-vehicle crash on I-25 during wind-blown ‘brown out’ in southern Colorado

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    Four people were killed and 29 injured in a Tuesday morning crash on Interstate 25 in southern Colorado involving more than 30 vehicles, according to the Colorado State Patrol.

    Heavy winds blew dirt across I-25 south of Pueblo around 10 a.m., causing “brown out” conditions along the interstate, state patrol officials said.

    “Visibility was next to nothing,” Maj. Brian Lyons of the Colorado State Patrol said.

    As of 4 p.m., northbound I-25 remained closed between exit 91 for Stem Beach and Colorado 45 in Pueblo, near milemarker 94, according to state transportation officials. The interstate’s southbound lanes were cleared and reopened around 2:30 p.m..

    The northbound lanes will remain closed “for an extended period of time” as the crash cleanup and investigation continue, state patrol officials said in an afternoon update.

    Colorado State Patrol troopers responded to the pile-up crash on northbound I-25 involving commercial trucks and passenger cars about two miles south of Pueblo at 10:02 a.m. Tuesday, according to the state patrol. When troopers arrived, they also found a secondary crash in the southbound lanes.

    Together, the two crashes involved more than 30 vehicles, including six semitrailers, and four people were confirmed dead, state patrol officials said.

    The fatalities and injuries all occurred in the large crash in the northbound lanes, state patrol officials said. The crash in the southbound lanes only resulted in damage to vehicles.

    Paramedics took 29 people injured in the crash to hospitals, state patrol officials said. The extent of their injuries is unknown. Another 10 uninjured people remained on scene after the crash.

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  • Amtrak unveils new Airo fleet of trains – WTOP News

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    Amtrak plans to keep you on the rails. Ridership’s climbing and Amtrak’s answering with one of the biggest fleet overhauls in its history.

    Amtrak is rolling out a new class of trains: Airo.
    (Courtesy Amtrak)

    Courtesy Amtrak

    Amtrak Airo Fleet
    Amtrak unveils its new Airo fleet, which the company expects will help to meet increasing ridership demands.
    (Courtesy Amtrak)

    Courtesy Amtrak

    Amtrak’s new Airo fleet is scheduled to start running on the Cascades route once manufacturing for all eight trainsets ends this year.
    (Courtesy Amtrak)

    Courtesy Amtrak

    Amtrak plans to keep you on the rails.

    As ridership climbs, Amtrak is meeting increasing demand with one of the biggest fleet overhauls in its history, the company said.

    At a preview event, Amtrak rolled out its first next-generation Airo train — built for more comfort, better reliability and modern connectivity.

    The first Airo sets will run on the Cascades route in the Pacific Northwest, with production wrapping in 2026.

    Northeast Regional trains are next, that means D.C., with testing starting this year and service expected in 2027.

    Paired with the new Acela trains, Amtrak says 83 Airo sets will anchor a nationwide push to expand capacity and modernize service coast to coast.

    Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.

    © 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Will Vitka

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  • 4 killed after plane crashes in Colorado mountains near Steamboat Springs

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    Four people, including three from the same family, were killed when a plane crashed in the northern Colorado mountains near Steamboat Springs early Friday, law enforcement officials said.

    An Epic Aircraft E1000 headed to Steamboat Springs crashed in a remote area on the south side of Emerald Mountain just after midnight Friday, Routt County Sheriff Doug Scherar and the National Transportation Safety Board confirmed.

    County officials are working to notify next of kin before releasing the names of those who died, but believe three of the people who died belonged to the same family, Routt County Coroner Mitch Locke said.

    In a statement, Scherar said the plane crashed as it was approaching the Bob Adams Airport in Steamboat Springs from the south. The crash site is near the top of Emerald Mountain in a remote area.

    The area near the crash site is marked with yellow tape, and access is restricted. Scherar asked the public to respect the closure.

    The circumstances around the crash are unknown and an NTSB investigator is headed to the scene and expected to arrive shortly, federal officials said Friday evening. The investigator will document the scene and examine the aircraft, which will then be moved to a secure facility to be evaluated further.

    Federal flight data shows the turboprop plane was owned by ALS Aviation LLC in Franklin, Tenn., and was purchased in 2024, while the company was formed on Dec. 7, 2021.

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  • RTD plans to significantly increase frequency of G and B trains to Arvada and Westminster

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    RTD tests trains on the G Line in Arvada, Sept. 4, 2018.

    Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite

    Trains and buses could soon run more frequently on lines around Denver, reversing pandemic-era cuts to the Regional Transportation District.

    RTD staff presented plans for June 2026 adjustments this week. The proposal, which is still up for debate, would increase the frequency of several rail lines. 

    The G Line to Arvada would come every 15 minutes for most of the day, while the B Line to Westminster would start running every 30 minutes at peak times.

    Currently, the G arrives every 30 minutes and the B every hour.

    “When I found out about this the other day, if I could have done a back flip, I would’ve done a back flip,” said Ian Harwick, a member of the RTD Board of Directors, as he discussed the G Line changes at a recent meeting.

    Meanwhile, changes on the light rail lines will result in greater frequency along the “trunk” that runs from Lone Tree’s RidgeGate Parkway Station to downtown Denver, with trains coming as often as every 7.5 minutes.

    The proposal also includes more frequent shuttles on 16th Street downtown and extending the 15 bus route to serve an Amazon warehouse in Aurora.

    But, it also would scale back or even eliminate service on some bus lines, including the Platte Valley FlexRide.

    “These service changes represent a coordinated effort to strengthen reliability, restore key frequencies and better align service with customer demand,” said Patrick Preusser, RTD’s chief operations officer. 

    “Everyone I’ve spoken to so far about these service changes is over the moon. It’s a great example of what we can do with more funding,” said Chris Nicholson, a member of the RTD Board of Directors.

    The proposal comes as RTD faces continued political pressure. Its board chair, Patrick O’Keefe, recently said that the district can not afford to complete the FasTracks program that voters approved more than 20 years ago — meaning RTD might never finish planned extensions of the B Line to Longmont, the N Line to Thornton, the L Line to the A Line, and the D Line to Highlands Ranch.

    The planned train to Longmont could instead be replaced by service on the planned Front Range Passenger Rail project.

    Meanwhile, O’Keefe said the agency should instead focus on its next 25 years.

    The service proposal is expected to return to an RTD board committee on March 11 and then to the full board on March 24, taking effect in June.

    The proposed changes for rail lines include:

    • Increasing frequency on the G Line, running trains every 15 minutes from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends. Trains had been running every half hour for years. The change would restore pre-pandemic frequency.
    • Increasing frequency on the B Line, running trains every 30 minutes on weekdays from 6 to 9 a.m. and 3 to 6 p.m. The change would restore pre-pandemic frequency.
    • Increasing frequency on the R Line to every 15 minutes from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m to 6 p.m. weekends. This is in response to suspension of H Line service.
    • The D Line will run to Union Station instead of 18th and California, “establishing a stable operating pattern that improves customer experience.”
    • Timing adjustments to the W Line.
    • Suspension of the H and L rail lines due to the downtown rail reconstruction project.

    Proposed changes for bus service include:

    • Increasing frequency of the 16th Street FreeRide, with buses arriving every 3 minutes instead of every 4.5 minutes.
    • Extension of Route 15 on Colfax to the Amazon warehouse at 21000 E. 13th Ave. in Aurora.
    • Increasing frequency of routes 0L 37, 43, LD3 and the ART line.
    • Reinstatement routes 53 and 80.
    • Elimination of the Platte Valley FlexRide due to low ridership
    • Reductions of evening and late-night trips on routes 7, 112, 120, 520, among other changes

    RTD staff said the changes are not expected to increase costs. Some of the changes would be supported by Clean Transit Enterprise grant funding from the state, which is paid for with fees on retail deliveries. 

    More details of the proposed changes are available in this PDF.

    Public hearings to hear about the proposed changes are planned for the following dates via Zoom, with details to come:

    • Feb. 23, 2026, at noon and 5:30 p.m.
    • Feb. 24, 2026, at noon

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  • Douglas County woman billed Medicaid for patient who already died, federal officials allege

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    Federal officials unveiled a slew of charges Tuesday against two Coloradans accused of ripping off a program that provides free rides to Medicaid patients, the first criminal charges filed in response to a sprawling fraud bonanza identified by state officials more than two years ago.

    The indictments allege that Ashley Marie Stevens and Wesam Yassin separately participated in the transportation program and fraudulently collected seven-figure payouts — more than $3.3 million for Yassin alone, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Colorado. The two drivers, who ran separate companies, allegedly fabricated rides for appointments that didn’t exist. Stevens is accused of billing for rides for her husband while he was incarcerated, and Yassin allegedly billed $165,000 for driving a patient who was dead.

    Both Stevens, of Mesa County, and Yassin, of Douglas County, were charged with multiple counts of wire fraud, money laundering and health care fraud for their participation in the driving service.

    The program pays drivers to ferry Medicaid patients to and from doctor’s appointments, but it became a haven for fraud in 2022 and 2023, after state officials increased the service’s reimbursement rates. State officials told The Denver Post last month that an estimated $25 million was lost in the broader fraud.

    Yassin’s indictment was still sealed Tuesday evening. In a statement, federal officials alleged that Yassin billed Medicaid for hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of rides that never occurred between March 2022 and October 2023. She raked in $283,000 from rides for just one patient, most of which was paid to Yassin after the patient had already died.

    Yassin allegedly used the proceeds to buy a home and furnishings, along with luxury vehicles, jewelry and cosmetic surgery. She was released on bond earlier this week, according to court records.

    Stevens billed the state for more than $1 million between July 2022 and February 2023, according to the indictment. More than $400,000 came from rides she provided to herself or to her family members, for which there were “very few” actual medical appointments, federal authorities allege.

    The trips included rides for her husband, who was incarcerated during some of the time when Stevens claimed she was driving him to the doctor. Another $150,000 was billed for rides that either never took place or were for trips that didn’t involve Medicaid services.

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  • US Judge Sets Friday Hearing on Suit to Restore New York Tunnel Funding

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    WASHINGTON, Feb ‌4 (Reuters) – ​A U.S. ‌judge will ​hold a hearing ‍on Friday on ​the ​emergency ⁠request of New York and New Jersey to force the ‌restoration of funding for ​the massive $16 ‌billion ‍Hudson River ⁠tunnel before construction is set to halt on Friday.

    The states, ​which filed suit late on Tuesday, have asked for a temporary restraining order that would bar the U.S. Transportation Department ​from withholding funding.

    (Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington; ​Editing by Chris Reese)

    Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters.

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  • SEPTA will stop posting bus, trolley delays on social media starting next week

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    SEPTA is moving away from using social media to alert riders about bus and trolley delays, shifting instead to real-time updates on its website, app and third-party platforms like Google Maps.

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    Molly McVety

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  • Storm response costing NC millions as state scrambles to buy more salt, pay overtime

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    In the middle of back-to-back weekends with snow and ice blanketing North Carolina, state government officials made the call to spend $5 million on more salt to help clearing roads throughout the state.

    Even after buying that mountain of salt — about 30,000 tons — the state is still not quite back to the level officials would like to see as they prepare for the potential of more winter weather this week. So additional purchases to further replenish the state’s salt supply are expected.

    It’s just one example of the millions of dollars the extended storm response has cost North Carolina. As of noon on Tuesday, the state Department of Transportation alone has spent at least $24.8 million — costs that include buying salt and other supplies, or hiring private contractors to supplement the people and vehicles out treating and plowing roads.

    That figure doesn’t count the overtime DOT workers logged, since those numbers aren’t available yet. It also doesn’t include any of the other state agencies that have also faced additional costs due to the storm.

    Much of the cost has been for personnel, including paying overtime to state workers who had to pull double shifts to help keep highways clean — or leave their families to sleep in their office over one or both weekends, to make sure that state government functioned even if roads were impassable.

    Those workers won high praise from Gov. Josh Stein Tuesday.

    “So many people turn their lives upside down when there’s an event like this, just to try to help the rest of us have a more normal life,” Stein said during a regular meeting of the Council of State, a gathering of North Carolina’s top executive-branch officials. 

    He added: “I’m filled with immense appreciation for the remarkable state employees, local government employees and private sector employees, to just work their tails off for two straight weeks.”

    Stein also mourned the three people who died due to the storm this weekend, in separate car crashes and a house fire. 

    Last week, during a lull between the weekend storms, Stein visited a state Department of Transportation facility and met some of the people working long hours there. “They were just finishing trying to do the work from the first storm and prepare for the next storm,” he said. “One guy worked 91 hours. Another guy worked 101 hours. And they were just coming into this weekend.”

    Part of that work: Laying down more than 160,000 tons of salt in the past two weeks in all 100 counties of the state. And their work isn’t finished yet; more snow is possible in central North Carolina on Wednesday night.

    Stein said DOT is hoping to spread another 20,000 tons of salt on Tuesday and Wednesday ahead of that next round of winter weather.

    What happens if there’s another big storm?

    The state could feasibly see more snow later this winter, and Stein told WRAL Tuesday after the meeting that he’s confident the state has enough salt on hand to respond to one more large snowstorm.

    That’s less than the ideal amount, he said. State officials typically want to have enough salt and other supplies on hand to respond to two or three storms, in case of situations like what just happened, with back-to-back emergencies.

    “We think that at the end of the next couple of days, we’ll have about 50,000 tons of salt, which is enough for a major storm,” he said. “But we had enough for three major storms before we started spending out of our salt bank. So we need to replenish it.”

    That’s easier said than done. Stein said one major problem is that these storms haven’t only hit North Carolina. They’ve been massive storms, affecting nearly the entire country. So competition for the nation’s quickly dwindling salt supplies could complicate the state’s efforts to get fully stocked up.

    Regardless, spending several million dollars more on salt would be just a drop in the bucket of the state’s $32 billion budget. Stein also told WRAL that, regardless of how much these past two weeks of disaster recovery have cost, he’s confident that the state will also have enough money for emergency responses later this year if hurricanes or other extreme weather pose a threat.

    However, he cautioned, the state still doesn’t have a new budget. He said he’s working on an updated budget request now that he plans to present to the state legislature in the coming weeks. “We constantly need to replenish our storm relief fund, in case a big storm hits, so that we’re ready to respond,” Stein said.

    Other state agencies stayed busy

    While the road crews and first responders have been the most visible of the state and local government workers pulling long and uncomfortable hours due to the storms, Stein said, he wanted to acknowledge the many others whose work went unseen.

    He singled out a number of state agencies, including the Department of Information Technology, which worked through the snowy weekend to fight off cybercriminals who seemed to target the state’s systems during the storm.

    “They said that there was a big upsurge in cyber attacks, and so they were working overtime,” Stein said. “They didn’t go home for the weekend. They were working the entire weekend, just trying to ensure that our data systems are protected.”

    He also praised workers putting in long hours for the state Department of Health and Human Services, which runs mental hospitals, the state’s Medicaid system and more, and the state Treasurer’s office, which runs the State Health Plan. Keeping its office and phone lines open meant that any state workers or retirees who needed help with a health issue could get that help, Stein said, crediting State Treasurer Brad Briner and employees in his office.

    Stein also thanked behind-the-scenes employees at the Department of Environmental Quality for making sure wastewater systems were functioning.

    “We don’t always appreciate it,” Stein said. “So I’m grateful.”

    Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler added his own thanks to DOT officials, noting that they worked with his staff to make sure all the necessary roads were plowed to ensure that feed trucks could make their way to big livestock farms, keeping the animals fed and helping out a key part of the state’s economy.

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  • Flyng without your REAL ID? TSA $45 ‘ConfirmID’ fee is now in effect

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    Travelers without a REAL ID are required to pay a $45 identity verification fee.

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    Nick Buffo

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  • Blue laser struck flight landing at Charlotte airport, FAA investigating

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    The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating after someone pointed a blue laser at an American Airlines flight early Thursday morning in Charlotte, according to a release.

    What You Need To Know

    •  FAA investigating a reported laser strike on an American Airlines flight near Charlotte Thursday morning

    •  The FAA says laser strikes can pose a serious safety risk to pilots and passengers on board 

    •  Pointing a laser at an aircraft is a serious crime, officials say, that can include various fines and prison time


    American Airlines flight 3114 was “illuminated by a blue laser about 5 miles from Charlotte Douglas International Airport” around 7 a.m., a statement from the FAA said.

    The flight landed safely, officials said, and local authorities were alerted to the situation.

    The FAA says nearly 11,000 laser strikes were reported by pilots to the administration last year. Officials say shining a laser at an aircraft poses serious safety risks to both the pilot and people on board.

    People have pointed lasers at airplanes intentionally, but some may not know how powerful a laser can be, the FAA said.

    The FAA does warn that shining a laser at an aircraft is a federal crime and can include the following punishments:

    • FAA fines of up to $32,000
    • Federal crime penalties of up to 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine
    • State and local penalties can be applied as well

    The FAA said it is investigating Thursday’s incident with the help of local law enforcement agencies.

    Follow us on Instagram at spectrumnews1nc for news and other happenings across North Carolina.

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    Justin Pryor

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  • Icy Highways Leave Drivers Stuck in Mississippi as Freezing US Temperatures Persist

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    Emergency crews dispatched to icy interstate highways in Mississippi worked overnight and into Wednesday morning to clear stranded vehicles as the eastern U.S. endured what forecasters said could become its longest period of freezing cold in decades.

    Officials sent tow trucks and drones to help drivers stuck in snarled traffic on Interstate 55 in northern Mississippi and other major highways, Gov. Tate Reeves said in a social media post. He said crews were still working Wednesday morning and urged people to stay off the roads.

    “And pray for the first responders that are doing what Mississippians do — going above and beyond for their fellow man,” Reeves posted Wednesday on X.

    Most of the eastern U.S. was still grappling with frigid weather days after a weekend storm blasted the Northeast and parts of the South with snow and ice.

    More than 380,000 homes and businesses, most of them in Mississippi and Tennessee, remained without electricity, according to the outage tracking website poweroutage.us. And at least 50 people had been reported dead in states afflicted by the dangerous cold.

    The toll includes three Texas brothers — ages 6, 8 and 9 — who perished after falling through the frozen surface of a pond in Texas. Another child, a toddler, died at a Virginia hospital after being pulled from a frigid pond Monday, according to local police.

    Temperatures in the Midwest and Northeast were forecast to remain well below freezing throughout the day Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.

    Residents still shivering in the South were getting little relief. In Nashville, Tennessee, where nearly 100,000 power outages lingered early Wednesday, high temperatures were to rise just above freezing before plunging to 13 F (minus 10 C) overnight.

    Forecasters predicted even colder weather for much of the U.S. this weekend. A new blast of arctic air is expected Friday and Saturday from the northern Plains to the Southeast. The weather service said the prolonged freeze “could be the longest duration of cold in several decades.”

    Forecasters said there’s an increasing chance of heavy snow this weekend in the Carolinas and parts of Virginia, with more snowfall possible from Georgia to Maine.

    Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia.

    Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

    Photos You Should See – January 2026

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  • How the lessons learned from the Challenger disaster apply to Artemis rockets

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    NATIONWIDE — As NASA prepares for the wet dress rehearsal of its Artemis II moon rocket and capsule, many are noticing similarities between the cold temperatures this week and how they played a part in the demise of the space shuttle Challenger and its crew 40 years ago.

    However, an expert at Florida Tech explains why the cold weather should not impact Artemis II.

    What You Need To Know

    • A lot of lessons were learned after the Challenger incident
    • Get more space coverage here  ▶

    • 🔻Scroll down to watch interviews with Don Platt, director of Florida Tech’s Spaceport Education Center🔻

    The Artemis II will see NASA’s Cmdr. Gregory Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut mission specialist Jeremy Hansen do a flyby of the moon in the Orion spacecraft.

    However, the wet dress rehearsal of Orion and the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket that is currently set for Saturday will see cold temperatures of 40 degrees Fahrenheit (4.4 Celsius).

    Forty years ago on Jan. 28, the space shuttle Challenger blew up 73 seconds after launch, killing its crew. The explosion took the lives of Michael J. Smith, Francis R. “Dick” Scobee, Ronald E. McNair, Ellison S. Onizuka, S. Christa McAuliffe, Gregory B. Jarvis, and Judith A. Resnik.

    The explosion was caused when the O-rings failed at cold temperatures. The rings on the rocket create a seal to prevent exhaust gases from leaking.

    The O-rings were rated to be flown at 39 degrees Fahrenheit (3.9 Celsius) or higher. But when the launch happened at 11:38 a.m. ET, the temperature was at 36 degrees Fahrenheit (2.2 Celsius).

    With the chilly temperatures that are currently sweeping through the Sunshine State, many are worried about Artemis II’s wet dress rehearsal for Saturday and the earliest launch attempt on Friday, Feb. 06.

    However, Don Platt, director of Florida Tech’s Spaceport Education Center, shares how the lessons learned after the Challenger incident were already applied to other shuttle missions, which do impact Artemis II.

    “Well, even in the shuttle program itself, there was about a three-and-a-half-year delay or so, after the Challenger disaster, and so that time was spent reviewing the entire shuttle program, but specifically reviewing these these segment joints that I just talked about and redesigning how the O-rings, these rubber seal material segments fit into that joint. And they added additional redundancy, essentially another layer,” Platt said.

    He continued how these improvements are still being used.

    “Now, of course, you know, after these 40 years, NASA has spent a lot of time looking at ways to improve the joint and materials have, of course, come a long way since the 1980s as well. And so now the the feeling is that the SLS solid rocket booster joints are robust and will not be a major concern at temperatures even down into the 30s and 20s,” Platt shared.

    He explained that with crewed missions, where humans will be on board a spacecraft, extra caution takes place, especially during wet dress rehearsals.

    And this caution goes beyond the SLS rocket and the Orion capsule. It also includes other things.

    [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7XHOPa2x0U[/embed]

    “And all of the components that connect to the rocket to provide propellent into the rocket and to provide electrical power, to make sure that all the interfaces for when the astronauts take the elevator up into the top of the rocket, all of that stuff is working fine and everybody knows exactly what they’re doing,” he said, adding, “You don’t want to have some sort of thing pop up there when they’re actually ready to go and and ready to get into the vehicle and and fly to the moon.”

    In many ways, the uncrewed Artemis I mission in 2022 was a wet dress rehearsal for the Artemis II, Platt said. It was during this test flight of the Orion capsule that an issue with the heat shield was discovered.

    A material called Avcoat that was on the heat shield broke off in chunks during the re-entry phase of Artemis I.

    The Avcoat material is designed to protect a spacecraft from extreme temperatures by burning away as it heats up, instead of sending that heat to the capsule itself.

    However, during re-entry, it broke up into chunks instead of burning away. This issue pushed back the Artemis II and III missions, but NASA has stated it has resolved the problem.

    Platt shared how the Artemis missions will have a profound impact on people.

    [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9jmlwQzsK8[/embed]

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  • Spain to Pay $24 Million in Compensation to Victims of High-Speed Train Crash

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    MADRID, Jan 27 (Reuters) – Spain will pay out ‌20 ​million euros ($24 million) in compensation ‌to the victims of last week’s high-speed train crash ​that killed 45 people and left more than 150 injured, Transport Minister Oscar Puente ‍said on Tuesday.

    The nation is ​still reeling from the January 18 disaster in Adamuz near the southern ​city of ⁠Cordoba that caused one of the highest death tolls from a train crash in recent European history and the highest in Spain since 2013. 

    The families of those killed will receive 216,000 euros each within no more than three months, ‌made up of 72,000 euros in tax-exempt aid from the government and an ​advance ‌insurance payment of 72,000 ‍euros. Another ⁠72,000 euros will be paid from passengers’ mandatory travel insurance. 

    “We know that ordinary procedures and legal timelines do not always respond to the vital urgency of a tragedy like this,” Puente said, adding that victims could not afford to wait years to receive support.  

    “Economic uncertainty cannot be compounded on top of the emotional pain.”

    Payments to those ​injured will range from 2,400 euros to 84,000 euros, according to Puente.

    The minister has come under public pressure since the Adamuz crash and other incidents that same week, including the death of a train driver in Catalonia and two other accidents without fatalities. The main opposition People’s Party has demanded his resignation. 

    Asked about his future, Puente told reporters he had a calm conscience, performing his job to the best of his abilities and making every effort to communicate all available information to ​citizens.

    Catalan commuter rail service Rodalies also faced heavy disruptions last week after many drivers refused to work over safety concerns, leaving thousands stranded, while a software failure collapsed its train traffic control centre on ​Monday.

    (Reporting by Victoria Waldersee; Writing by David Latona; Editing by Andrei Khalip and Sharon Singleton)

    Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters.

    Photos You Should See – January 2026

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  • More than 11,400 flights canceled Sunday across the U.S.

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    NASHVILLE — A massive winter storm made for a brutal travel day Sunday, with widespread cancellations and delays at some of the nation’s busiest airports.

    What You Need To Know

    • Widespread snow, sleet and freezing rain threatened nearly 180 million people — more than half the U.S. population — in a path stretching from the southern Rocky Mountains to New England, the National Weather Service said Saturday night

    • After sweeping through the South, the storm moved into the Northeast Sunday, and was expected to dump about 1 to 2 feet of snow from Washington through New York and Boston

    • Aviation analytics firm Cirium said that as of Sunday morning, the storm is the highest experienced cancellation event since the pandemic
    • New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport had 466 flights canceled, about 80% of flights, according to FlightAware

    Widespread snow, sleet and freezing rain threatened nearly 180 million people — more than half the U.S. population — in a path stretching from the southern Rocky Mountains to New England, the National Weather Service said Saturday night. After sweeping through the South, the storm moved into the Northeast Sunday, and was expected to dump about 1 to 2 feet of snow from Washington through New York and Boston.

    More than 11,400 flights were canceled on Sunday, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware. Aviation analytics firm Cirium said that as of Sunday morning, the storm is the highest experienced cancellation event since the pandemic.

    By Sunday afternoon, the majority of flights were canceled at busy airports in the Northeast and elsewhere. LaGuardia Airport in New York closed Sunday afternoon, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The agency said on its website the busy Queens airport grounded flights until 8 p.m.

    In Philadelphia, 94% of flights, 326 flights, were canceled. Ninety-one percent of flights, 436 flights, were canceled at LaGuardia Airport in New York. New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport had 466 flights canceled, about 80% of flights, according to FlightAware.

    Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport said on its website that all airlines had canceled departing flights for the day, about 421 flights.

    Significant disruptions also hit major airport hubs in Dallas-Fort Worth, Charlotte, Philadelphia and Atlanta, home to the nation’s busiest airport.

    Allan Lengel of Detroit planned to return Monday from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where the temperature has been in the 80s. But he’s staying until Wednesday after Delta suggested he change his reservation because of the weather impact on flights.

    “Can’t say I’m disappointed. Frankly, I had been thinking of returning later because of frigid weather,” Lengel, 71, said, referring to conditions in Michigan.

    American Airlines had canceled over 1,790 flights for Sunday, about 55% of its scheduled flights for Sunday, according to FlightAware. Delta Air Lines reported over 1,470 cancellations and Southwest Airlines reported over 1,340 cancellations for the day, while United Airlines had about 1,016. JetBlue had more than 590 canceled flights, accounting for roughly 72% of its schedule for the day.

    Vikrant Vaze, a Dartmouth professor specializing in commercial aviation logistics, said recovery from the storm cancellations and delays will take days if not longer. And even for travelers who aren’t in areas that were directly affected by weather, cascading delays could still affect their travel plans.

    “Because there are so many different airlines involved, I think it’s going to come down heavily to the individual airline’s network structure, the extent of hit that each of them has had, and just the intrinsic capacity of the airlines to handle these massive disruptions,” he said.

    My flight was canceled, now what?

    If you’re already at the airport, get in line to speak to a customer service representative. If you’re still at home or at your hotel, call or go online to connect to your airline’s reservations staff. Either way, it helps to also research alternate flights while you wait to talk to an agent.

    Most airlines will rebook you on a later flight for no additional charge, but it depends on the availability of open seats.

    Can I get booked on another airline?

    You can, but airlines aren’t required to put you on another carrier’s flight. Some airlines, including most of the biggest carriers, say they can put you on a partner airline, but even then, it can be a hit or miss.

    Am I owed a refund?

    If your flight was canceled and you no longer want to take the trip, or you’ve found another way to get to your destination, the airline is legally required to refund your money — even if you bought a non-refundable ticket. It doesn’t matter why the flight was canceled.

    The airline might offer you a travel credit, but you are entitled to a full refund. You are also entitled to a refund of any bag fees, seat upgrades or other extras that you didn’t get to use.

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