Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
January 12, 2012 A newly built terminal for an airport in northwestern Costa Rica was opened to the public. Construction on the terminal had started on October 19, 2010. Those visiting this building on its first day of operations included Laura Chinchilla, who served as president of Costa Rica from 2010 to 2014. The first... Continue Reading →
December 19, 1946 In the South Pacific, an airfield on the island of Viti Levu in what was then the British colony of Fiji was handed over by the U.S. military to civilian control under the auspices of the New Zealand government. (New Zealand had likewise been a British colony until gaining semi-independent status as... Continue Reading →
December 7, 2017 Blaise Diagne International Airport, which is located in the western part of the Republic of Senegal, was formally opened for scheduled flights. This facility replaced Léopold Sédar Senghor International Airport in that region as the main airport for Dakar, the capital and largest city of Senegal. Blaise Diagne International Airport is 27... Continue Reading →
December 5, 1919 The airline popularly known today as Avianca was established as Sociedad Colombo-Alemana de Transporte Aéro (the Colombian-German Air Transport Society), or SCADTA, in the city of Barranquilla, Colombia. The founders of SCADTA were -- on behalf of business interests in Colombia -- Ernesto Cortissoz (who served as its first president), Rafael Palacio, Cristóbal... Continue Reading →
In October 2022, NASA astronaut Nicole Aunapu Mann became the first enrolled female member of a Native American tribe to travel into space. John Herrington, an enrolled member of the Chickasaw Nation, had made history in 2002 as the first enrolled member of a Native American tribe to fly in space. (William R. Pogue, who... Continue Reading →
November 7, 2009 A new state-of-the-art terminal for Larnaca (also spelled as Larnaka) International Airport in the Republic of Cyprus made its formal debut. This airport, which opened in 1974, is located 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) southwest of the city of Larnaca on the island country’s southeastern coast. The inaugural ceremony for the new terminal... Continue Reading →
October 25, 1985 A newly built international airport in the Republic of Ireland began operations with three charter flights of Aer Lingus (the country’s flag carrier) traveling to Rome. Ireland West Airport, which is officially known as Ireland West Airport Knock, is located in County Mayo in the western part of Ireland. This airport is... Continue Reading →
October 18, 2016 In the Republic of Indonesia, Nop Goliat Dekai Airport was inaugurated in the part of the province of Papua that would be reorganized in 2022 as the province of Highland Papua. This airport serves the town of Dekai, which is the administrative center for Yahukimo Regency in that region of present-day Highland... Continue Reading →
Scientist and NASA astronaut Fernando “Frank” Caldeiro was born in Argentina’s capital city of Buenos Aires on June 12, 1958. As a young immigrant to the United States, however, he regarded both New York City and the Florida community of Merritt Island as his actual hometowns. Caldeiro graduated from William Cullen Bryant High School in... Continue Reading →
September 28, 2019 In the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina, a new terminal for a longtime airport near the municipality of Florianópolis was officially opened. (Florianópolis is the capital of Santa Catarina.) This airport, which traces its origins to the 1920s, was named after Hercilio Pedro da Luz (1860-1924). Luz’s public service on behalf of... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 