Today’s travel briefing highlights growing pains in the ever-changing airline industry. Headlines include the nation’s busiest airport; cancelled strikes at Heathrow and Gatwick; the possibility of a new passport card and more. While airlines continue to figure out the best ways to usher passengers from one point to another, the train system is looking better and better. We’ve included information from Daily Green and Travel Matters that illustrate the benefits of taking the train.

For third year in a row, Atlanta airport is nation’s busiest

Atlanta Three-peats! Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is the busiest airport in the United States based on data released by the government on Wednesday. “The Atlanta airport logged 994,466 flights in 2007, up 1.8 percent from 976,447 flights in 2006, the Federal Aviation Administration said. Flights include takeoffs and landings.”

United cancels more flights, pilots dispute cause

Sadly, United Airlines canceled dozens of flights Wednesday. The carrier blames bad weather. The pilots blame insufficient staffing. Hopefully these issues will be resolved in the near future. More than 1,100 cancellations have occurred since Dec. 23.

New passport card may be ready by April

Today the LA Times reports on a new card that Americans can use to cross the Mexican and Canadian borders. The card may be issued as early as April and will cost less than half the price of a passport.

Airport strikes cancelled

“Strikes that would have shut down seven airports including Heathrow and Gatwick twice over the next fortnight have been cancelled. Union officials meeting this morning decided a concession made by the airport authority BAA on a controversial new pension policy was adequate to call off the union action.”

Take the Train

Green Daily provides a few tips for taking the train. “Ever explore taking the train as an alternative method of getting where you are going? It is a simple way to reduce your carbon output.”

Calculate your daily carbon output here compliments of travel matters.