Aviation

Federal Aviation Administration chief Randy Babbitt has resigned after being arrested over the weekend on charges of drunk driving.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told reporters Tuesday that he was "very disappointed" in Federal Aviation Administration chief Randy Babbitt's arrest on drunk driving charges.

The Washington Post reported that LaHood told reporters after testifying in a hearing on Capitol Hill Tuesday that he learned of Babbitt's arrest last Saturday from news reports that were released on Monday.

“We’re looking into the matter," the paper reported LaHood said. "I’ve talked to Randy about it and we’ll see where it takes us. What I told Randy is that I was very disappointed with the way that I learned about this, through a press release from Fairfax." 

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Your morning transportation speed-read:

An airport worker in Nevada was fired for refusing to put an injured dog on an airplane.

A second elderly woman has said she was strip-searched by the Transportation Security Administration.

Swedish automaker Saab is in talks with a Chinese bank as it tries to avoid going out of business.

A carjacking in Florida was foiled because the burglars did not know how to drive a stick-shift.

Department of Transportation officials are in discussions with legal counsel about Babbitt's employment status.

A bill introduced by Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.) to make it easier to disband unions is a "smokescreen" distracting from an authorization bill for the Federal Aviation Administration, a Washington union is arguing.

The Washington-based Communication Workers Association (CWA), which is the parent group for the union for flight attendants, sharply criticized Mica's bill to make it easier for transportation employees to vote to decertify unions, saying workers already had the right to do that. 

Mica, who is chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said the bill would mirror rules adopted last year by the National Mediation Board to ensure that absentee votes were not counted as votes against forming an union.

Your morning transportation speed-read:

Federal Aviation Administration chief Randy Babbitt says changes will be made to tarmac delay rules before Christmas.

The automobile industry is not in favor of a freight rail strike.

Charlotte, N.C.'s Douglas International Airport is getting into the energy business.

United and Continental airlines have been approved by the FAA to operate as a single airline.

FAA chief Randy Babbitt flew jetliners for Eastern Airlines for 25 years, but he never hit this kind of turbulence.  

A tentative agreement isn’t likely to quell Republican criticism of the National Labor Relations Board. 

Your morning transportation speed-read:

New York City is writing its newest street signs in Haikus.

Google will soon map airports.

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport is preparing for uncertain after American Airlines filed for bankruptcy.

Car sales received a boost from Black Friday too.

The Washington lobbying group for airlines, the Air Transport Association, is taking flight with a new name.

The group, which has been known as the ATA, said Wednesday it would go by the name "Airlines for America." The group plans to unveil the name in a reception at the Capitol on Wednesday evening.

President Nicholas Calio said the new name would reflect the aviation industry's importance to the American economy.

"In the 75-plus year history of our association, we have supported America's airlines as they grew into today's indispensable facilitators of the global economy, now transporting more than 90 percent of all U.S. airline passenger and cargo traffic," Calio said in an email to supporters. "That growth and new direction are reflected in our new name: Airlines for America, new tagline We Connect the World, and new visual identity."