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What's that smell at MCO?
Why rats of course! I'm not referring to the TSO's or Mickey.
Dead rats cause a big stink at Orlando International Airport Everyone, it seemed, smelled a rat. At least two dozen of the rodents died in hidden nooks and crannies at Orlando International Airport, creating a stench so foul it forced authorities last weekend to shut down a customs checkpoint and divert arriving international passengers to the opposite side of the airport. The odor at Airside 1, which remained closed Wednesday, nauseated passengers and U.S. Customs and Border Protection inspectors, said Special Agent Zachary Mann, an agency spokesman. He did not know the number of people who were affected. A $321 million renovation and expansion of the airport's two oldest satellite-gate areas caused the infestation. Construction crews working on Airside 1 and Airside 3 upset nests of rats living in the ground and sent them scurrying into the Airside 1 building, said airport spokeswoman Carolyn Fennell. Exterminators poisoned the rodents, and some of the creatures crawled into the ceiling and walls of Airside 1 to die. Their remains stank up the customs checkpoint on the first floor. "It's not something you want to happen, but we're in Florida. That's where we are," Fennell said. The customs checkpoint is scheduled to reopen Friday, she said. An average of 400 international passengers arrive daily at Airside 1. It services several flights a week from Aer Lingus, Air Canada and Martinair. Passengers deplane on the second floor, are processed at a first-floor customs area and return to the second floor to take a tram to the main terminal. Orlando International is the first stop for many foreign tourists visiting Walt Disney World and other Central Florida attractions. Last year, 2.3 million foreign tourists passed through the airport. During the shutdown, buses are taking passengers to a second customs checkpoint at Airside 4, which is on the opposite side of the airport, Fennell said. That gate area handles the bulk of foreign flights for major carriers such as British Airways and Lufthansa. Domestic flights and outgoing international flights at Airside 1 were not affected. No major customs delays were reported. Airside 1's problems peaked Friday, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials, who screen foreign visitors entering the country, and authorities familiar with the problem. Employees of the border-protection agency complained they smelled "dead carcasses" in their inspections area. A handful of inspectors, trained to catch drug smugglers, illegal immigrants and terrorists, went home sick that same day, according to agency employees. Customs operations were shut down and moved to Airside 4. "They [passengers] were diverted as a customer-service procedure," Fennell said. The checkpoint reopened Saturday, but the stench persisted, so it was closed again Sunday, Fennell said. Removing the vermin failed to squelch the stink, so workers began scrubbing everything from the carpet to ceiling tiles to remove the dead-rat smell, Fennell said. CBP and airport authorities hired air-quality inspectors, who said the air is safe to breathe, Fennell said. She said the dead rats do not pose a health problem. Officials from CBP's Tampa regional headquarters inspected the facility last week. CBP also wrote a letter to Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, which oversees airport operations, about the problem, agency officials said. GOAA officials have removed at least two dozen dead rats -- some workers say twice that number -- from the walls and ceiling of the first-floor customs facility. Renovations on Airsides 1 and 3 are expected to be complete in 2009. "You can say the rats fired the first volley," spokesman Mann said, "but CBP, in conjunction with the airport authority, subdued the threat of rodent infestation." http://www.orlandosentinel.com/busin...,1337376.story |
*shudders*
I hope TSA checked them to make sure they were legit mice, not illegal mice, with their loupes, tho, right? ;) |
TS/S?? :confused:
I'm pretty sure there is an existing thread, either here or in Newsstand. |
Originally Posted by Iworkhere
(Post 9450107)
Why rats of course! I'm not referring to the TSO's or Mickey.
Dead rats cause a big stink at Orlando International Airport [I] Everyone, it seemed, smelled a rat. At least two dozen of the rodents died in hidden nooks and crannies at Orlando International Airport, creating a stench so foul it forced authorities last weekend to shut down a customs checkpoint and divert arriving international passengers to the opposite side of the airport. MICKEY!!!!! MINNIE!!!!! |
Well customs is back up.
Customs area besieged by dead-rat stench reopens at OIA U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials reclaimed their inspection station at Orlando International Airport's Airside 1 building Friday morning after nearly a week scrubbing, cleaning and deodorizing the facility for dead rats. "All ends well that smells well," joked agency spokesman Zachary Mann. "We are back up with no issues. There have been no reported issues, complaints or illness." Friday's return to the first-floor customs inspections area for incoming international passengers caps a two-week battle to eradicate the rodents -- and their putrid, decaying stench. The problem started in early March with construction crews unearthing a rat's nest during expansion of Airside 1, causing them to infest the building, according to airport officials. Exterminators were then brought in to kill an unknown number of the vermin, and the smell of decomposing flesh overwhelmed and nauseated several inspectors and passengers March 8. Last week, customs and border officials complained about the lingering odor -- and powerful deodorizers, which led them to shut down their Airside 1 inspection area March 14, reopen it the next day, then close it again Sunday. Incoming international passengers were bused to Airside 4 for customs inspections. Meanwhile, airport workers cleaned carpets, ceiling tiles and air vents and pronounced it safe to return Thursday. They are continuing to monitor the situation and have exterminators available on 24-hour call, airport spokeswoman Carolyn Fennell said. "There have been a couple of flights and no incidents today," Fennell said. "The operation continues." Mann said his agency was grateful for the airport's thorough response. He said they maintain a "close" working relationship. |
Moving this thread to our Orlando Forum.
Please continue to follow in it's new home. Thanks. ________________________________ Cholula Travel Safety/Security Forum Moderator |
Would that really be any worse than the urine/sour milk/vomit medley wafting from the mini-typhoid Marys that are always running amok around that place?
:p |
So dead rats do not pose a health risk ?
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No, it's the live ones that work in the government that pose the health risk.
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