Logan business falls after tunnel ceiling collapse

Huge traffic problems following the July 10 ceiling collapse in a Big Dig tunnel are being blamed for a drop in business at Logan International Airport last month. Data from the Massachusetts Port Authority, which runs Logan, show that overall July passenger volume at Logan was down 0.8 percent compared to the same month a year earlier, even though for the first half of the year Logan has had passenger growth of over 2.1 percent. Hassles for motorists and truckers tyring to get to Logan were apparently a big reason why domestic express and small package shipments plummeted 20.9 percent in July, leading air-freight carriers to divert business from Logan. Total express and freight volume fell 16.5 percent during the month. Private-plane operations fell 14.3 percent, to 2,892 takeoffs and landings, which apparently reflected private travelers opting to steer clear of Logan because of the tunnel woes, airport spokesman Phil Orlandella said. (Peter J. Howe)

Delta Air Lines Inc. is seeking operators for about one-quarter of its Delta Connection regional jet service, including several routes from New England cities to Atlanta, Cincinnati, and John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. The move could lead to the replacement affiliates such as Comair and Chautaqua Airlines. As part of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring, Delta is soliciting bids from commuter airlines to operate 93 of its 450 existing regional jets. (Peter J. Howe)

Robert F. Burns has been named senior vice president for production operations at The Boston Globe, the newspaper said. Burns, 53, who will start Sept. 11, will be responsible for newspaper production and commercial printing at the Globe, reporting to president and general manager Mary Jacobus . The production duties at the Globe, which is owned by The New York Times Co., most recently were overseen by Gregory L. Thornton , senior vice president for employee relations, but now are being split off as a separate job. Burns joins the Globe from Newspaper Agency Corp., the Utah publisher of the Salt Lake Tribune and the Deseret Morning News, where he was senior vice president of operations. Before that, he worked at Knight Ridder for 23 years in senior newspaper production and operations roles. (Robert Weisman)

Bausch & Lomb Inc.'s global recall of the ReNu with MoistureLoc contact lens solution in May appears to have stopped the spread of a serious eye infection but US scientists still do not know what caused the outbreak, according to a study released yesterday. Researchers at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found no infection within the solution but do not believe improper lens hygiene practices by consumers alone are enough to explain the outbreak of fusarium keratitis, which in some cases required a cornea transplant. (Reuters)

About 230,000 Medicare recipients are receiving checks that erroneously reimburse them for monthly premiums they have paid for prescription drug coverage. The checks, which are sure to leave many beneficiaries confused, average about $215. They are accompanied by a letter that tells them the Social Security Administration will no longer deduct the premiums from their Social Security check. Medicare officials say they caught the glitch just as the checks were sent out. A second letter began going out instructing the elderly and disabled not to cash the checks and assuring them that their prescription drug coverage will continue. (AP)

Brazilian prosecutors asked a federal judge for permission to file a lawsuit against Google Inc., claiming the firm was withholding user information required for a separate criminal investigation. The prosecutors want Google to pay a $61 million fine and asked that if it refuses to comply with its information request, its Brazilian unit be dissolved. In its request, the federal prosecutor's office alleges several community pages on Google's social network site, Orkut, have been used to organize criminal activity and promote child pornography. Last week when prosecutors first said they were considering filing the complaint, a Google spokeswoman said the company was cooperating with Brazilian authorities. (Reuters)

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