Airports

With the economy in a tailspin, aircraft "boneyards" across the country are filling up with Boeing 747s and other jetliners no longer needed to ferry passengers. Call it airline limbo. Air carriers are grounding planes at a rate not seen since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and industry experts say this year is likely to set a record for planes sitting on the ground.

In a flat, piney river valley deep in the Alaska interior, the village of Takotna is marked by a dozen or so houses, a shop, a tiny post office and a school. Intrepid gold miners ventured here decades ago. A small tribe of Athabascan Indians has hunted and fished the woods and riverbanks for generations. This summer Takotna, population somewhere between 46 and 61, has become one of the best-known villages in Alaska -- thanks to the $18.7-million airstrip the federal government is funding on the edge of town.

As an American Airlines jet readied for takeoff on the runway at this city's airport recently, red lights embedded in the pavement at intersecting taxiways down the field blinked on, warning other aircraft to stay clear. Air traffic controllers watched from the tower as the slender silver MD-80 started rolling down the runway, gaining speed on its way to Dallas. Once it was safe, the red lights clicked off.

It's a huge building, much bigger than the Pentagon and a whole lot less clunky. It's expected to handle more passengers than any other air terminal in the world. It was built fast. Beijing's new international air terminal, which opened today in time for the Summer Olympics surge, attracts and embodies superlatives. It also embodies the new China, a country racing headlong into the future fueled by an economy on fire.

A Jamaican man accused of carrying pipe-bomb parts in checked luggage at Orlando International Airport is a U.S. Army veteran who recently served as a contractor in Iraq, sources said. Kevin Christopher Brown, whom FBI agents quoted as saying he wanted to show friends in Jamaica "how to build explosive devices like he saw in Iraq," worked as a contractor there through late 2007.

Next time you're lucky enough to jet into Aspen for a little rest and relaxation, one of the recorded voices greeting you at the Pitkin County airport won't be John McCain's. Until last month, the dulcet tone of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee was among those heard at the terminal, welcoming visitors and reciting various safety-related warnings. About 40 people have recorded the messages, a mix of celebrities (such as comic David Brenner and actress Jill St.

Reacting to United Airlines' decision to pull out of the L.A./Palmdale Regional Airport in December, officials for Los Angeles World Airports on Monday reiterated their support for spreading some of the future growth in air travel to other airports in the region instead of busy LAX. L.A.

Thailand's beleaguered Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat on Thursday declared a state of emergency around two Bangkok airports occupied by protesters but insisted he wanted a peaceful resolution to the crisis. "I do not have any intention to hurt any members of the public," he said in announcing the targeted restrictions on civil liberties aimed at reopening the country's main international airport.

Airports across the country are shelving or downsizing planned expansions because of a sharp drop in passengers, yet John Wayne Airport in Orange County is proceeding with a $652-million terminal project -- its first major improvement since 1990. John Wayne officials say the project will meet future demands for air travel and maintain the airport's position as an attractive alternative to the much larger Los Angeles International Airport, which handled more than 61 million travelers last year.