In a press event at San Francisco International Airport this morning, SFist witnessed airport officials announce the grand opening of what they believe is the world's first in-airport free yoga studio. Because, well, of course San Francisco should have the first airport yoga studio. more ›

What's up with TSA inspectors these days? First they're leaving inappropriate notes for ladies who travel with (ahem) electronic accessories and now Freddie Gibbs, a rapper from Gary, Indiana, received the following note on his baggage inspection notice after those prying hands apparently found a stash of weed in his checked baggage: "C'mon son". more ›

A computer glitch that caused passenger data to disappear off of United Airlines computer systems caused the airline to have to cancel several dozen flights Friday night, including some out of SFO, and delay about 105 more worldwide, leaving thousands stranded. At SFO, a few hundred people were affected, and the lack of working computer systems led in some cases to the issuing of charming handwritten boarding passes like this one. more ›

According to the Chronicle, "Reports of lasers being shined at aircraft nearly doubled last year across the country, with the Bay Area being among the worst regions when it comes to the dangerous prank." With 201 reports of laser shinings at Bay Area airports in 2010, Bay Area incidents, according to the FAA, "made up more than 7 percent of the 2,800 laser shinings reported nationally." Pranksters (or merely the bored soul carrying a laser pen) "can be charged with federal as well as state crimes." Last year, a Massachusetts man was sentenced to three years in Federal prison for egregious laser pointing. [Chon] more ›

Hey, did you hear about that "Bikini Traveler" gal who was all over the news last week? Well, we somehow missed it until last night. In an effort to avoid the dreaded pat-down as part of the new heightened airport security measures, Sonoma County-native Corrine Theile, who is apparently a seasoned triathlete, wore a bikini under her coat and boots while going through LAX security en route to the Bay Area on Wednesday. more ›

A small prop plane bound for Bakersfield, a Cessna 182 to be exact, crashed shortly after takeoff from Napa County Airport this morning at around 4:30 a.m. The pilot, who was the only person aboard, was killed. That is all. more ›

Back in September, a certain baggage handler by the name of John Emil Victoria, age 21, fucked with the wrong man's luggage. A retired San Francisco police officer checked his custom-made handgun in his luggage, and it disappeared. This led to an undercover sting operation in which two other baggage handlers, Andrew Balamiento and Tauailapalapa Laulu, were also convicted of swiping expensive items from peoples' luggage. Balamiento and Victoria will both serve several months for felony embezzlement and Laulu will serve one month and two years of probation for misdemeanor embezzlement. Phew! You are now safe to check your custom handguns in your luggage again. more ›

Not sure if any of you caught this story in the Weekly this week, but just in case you didn't, and just in case you have kids, make sure to train them in the fine art of screaming as a molester deterrent. more ›

A company that provides a service we never even heard of called the Clear Registered Traveler Program has abruptly gone out of business, KCBS reports. Clear operated special security lanes at 20 airports around the country, including all 3 Bay Area airports, purporting to provide (for a $200 annual membership fee) a pre-screening service for frequent travelers that would allow them to scoot through security as if they were trusted government dignitaries. But as the WSJ puts it, "TSA never was comfortable with the notion of 'trusting' any travelers, so the security benefits of a Clear card boiled down to getting a special lane and some staff to help carry plastic tubs for you." Yeah, no wonder it flopped. more ›

Five Stanford doctoral students are flying to Paris this weekend as finalists in a competition sponsored by Airbus for the best fuel-saving idea for commercial airlines. Their idea is for the passenger jets to fly in formation the way military airplanes and birds do -- something that engineers have known for decades allows for a reduce in drag. They figure that the planes don't even have to leave from the same airports or go to the same destination to take advantage of the idea. Three planes crossing the Atlantic to Europe would just need to time their rendezvous points off the east coast, join formation for the transatlantic trip, and break the formation after they cross the pond. Good luck choreographing that ballet! more ›

So, this is sort of a math problem: Take a $130 million project; sit it on it and discuss for many years; watch costs rise to about $500 million; receive a $70 million chunk in transportation funds from the federal government; apply for $150 million more in federal transportation loans; figure that you can charge riders $12 round trip on top of their BART fare; decide that in a flagging economy it is better to go into deeper debt and add 13,000 jobs; wait five more years, give or take -- and what do you get? An AirTrain-like solution connecting the Coliseum BART station with Oakland Airport. more ›