Southwest Airlines Jet bridge at BWI airport collapsed: What will be done about it?

A defective metal bracket on the jet bridge that collapsed and injured six people at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport on Saturday will be replaced also on five other jet bridges made by the same manufacturer.

The department said 33 jet bridges made by the manufacturer were inspected and deemed safe to use. The rest of the airport’s jet bridges also will be inspected.

All six people injured in the collapse were released from the hospital early Sunday.

Southwest Airlines said the jet bridge failed while paramedics were helping a passenger with a medical problem off Flight 822 after it arrived from Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

Southwest said the jet bridge, which connects the plane to the terminal, failed while medics were helping the passenger outside the aircraft. Remaining passengers safely exited the plane using air stairs, the airline said.

The state transportation department said airport operations will not be affected by the work on the six jet bridges that will be taken out of service so the brackets can be replaced.

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Juergen Thomas Steinmetz has continuously worked in the travel and tourism industry since he was a teenager in Germany (1979), beginning as a travel agent up through today as a publisher of eTurboNews (eTN), one of the world’s most influential and most-read travel and tourism publications. He is also Chairman of ICTP. His experiences include working and collaborating with various national tourism offices and non-governmental organizations, as well as private and non-profit organizations, and in planning, implementing, and quality control of a range of travel and tourism-related activities and programs, including tourism policies and legislation. His major strengths include a vast knowledge of travel and tourism from the point of view of a successful private enterprise owner, superb networking skills, strong leadership, excellent communication skills, strong team player, attention to detail, dutiful respect for compliance in all regulated environments, and advisory skills in both political and non-political arenas with respect to tourism programs, policies, and legislation. He has a thorough knowledge of current industry practices and trends and is a computer and Internet junkie.