> Bag of garlic powder sparks panic at Paris airport > > > PARIS - A bag of powdered garlic -- not something that would normally offend the French -- set > off alarm bells when it was left on a plane at Paris's Charles de Gaulle airport and officials > were unable to identify the substance. > > The bag, found Sunday on a US Airways plane that arrived from Orlando, Fla., sparked a security > alert when police feared the whitish-gray powder inside could be a deadly toxin. > > The abandoned carry-on luggage was taken away for laboratory analysis and several people who had > approached it were taken to a hospital for tests. > > The contents turned out to be powdered garlic and other spices that the owner later returned to > collect. > > The false alert came days after officials said an amount of powder found at a Paris train > station and initially believed to be the lethal poison ricin appeared to be crushed wheat and > barley. > > France has been on high alert in recent months amid fears of attacks by Islamic radicals. > > > > Politicians intend to seek 'reciprocity' from US Airways > > > The political leaders who will gather Wednesday in Harrisburg to craft a state response to US > Airways' demands for hundreds of millions of dollars in government largess are making brave > sounds about how the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia airports won't shrivel without the airline's > hubs, about how the airline will have to give to get. > > About how they will not give away the store. > > "It's a two-way street," Gov. Ed Rendell said. "I mean, there's hardly any bigger employer in > the state of Pennsylvania than US Airways, and we understand that. But this is also a business > ... and no one wants this to happen, no one, but if US Airways were to vanish from the face of > the earth tomorrow, there would be airlines coming into Philadelphia and Pittsburgh in > significant levels." > > > > Nice Work in PIT > > > A "Job Well Done" goes to employees at the Pittsburgh Base Maintenance Department Hangar Five, > North Dock, for their outstanding dedication and display of extra effort in completing Phase II > narrowbody Airbus flight deck door modifications six days ahead of the FAA's April 10 deadline. > With minimum notification and equipment in place, the Pittsburgh Maintenance base was assigned > the task and got to work after completing a three-day Airbus training session. > > The mechanics completed 37 aircraft between Jan. 2 and March 19, with an average three-day > completion schedule. As the deadline drew near for modification of the A319 and A320 fleets, the > crew pulled together to modify four Airbus aircraft in just two and a half days, even as they > were given the additional task of completing the A321 fleet. > > Thanks to the professionalism exhibited by all personnel assigned to the Pittsburgh Maintenance > Base North Dock and assistance from Engineering, Planning, Stores, the back shops, and the > Training Department, US Airways accomplished this enormous task well ahead of schedule. > > "This shows how the dedication of a group of employees can lead to such a positive outcome. I > appreciate their hard work and thank them for their efforts," said John Prestifilippo, senior > vice president of Maintenance. > > > > > US Airways may look to Indianapolis > > > The future of US Airways' Pittsburgh hub could hinge on United Airline's plans for its > maintenance facility at Indianapolis International Airport. > > If United exercises an option obtained through recent labor negotiations to permanently shutter > the facility, or if the airline moves from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection into Chapter 7 > liquidation, as some industry observers have speculated, the opening in Indianapolis could prove > very attractive to US Airways. > > Allegheny County Executive Jim Roddey told the Business Times that US Airways CEO David Siegel > traveled to Indianapolis to inspect the maintenance center, which was constructed specifically > for United in the 1990s. Former > US Airways chairman Stephen Wolf was CEO at United when the deal was brokered. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software http://sitebuilder.yahoo.com