
Why the sky is still full of empty 'ghost' flights
CNN
More than two years into the coronavirus pandemic, airlines are still being forced to run empty or near-empty "ghost flights" in order to hold onto coveted airport slots.
(CNN) — In the early days of the pandemic, when demand for air travel abruptly flatlined and international borders closed, "ghost flights" became a common phenomenon.
These were empty or near-empty planes traversing the skyline as airline schedules kept to their contractual obligations to fly. The problem is that, more than two years on, they're still haunting the skies above us.
A new report by the Guardian, based on a freedom of information request, found that at the end of last year there were around 500 "ghost flights" departing from the UK per month.

Andrew Cuomo and Zohran Mamdani bitterly clashed over age and experience Thursday in the final debate before New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary, as Cuomo warned that electing the progressive state assemblyman is unprepared for the job and Mamdani hammered the former governor over scandals during his time in Albany.

On Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security posted a striking graphic on its official X account. Uncle Sam, a symbol of American patriotism, is depicted nailing a poster to a wall that reads, “Help your country… and yourself.” Written underneath the poster is the sentence, “REPORT ALL FOREIGN INVADERS,” and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement hot line.