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Keep up to date with today’s travel news headlines.
Hong Kong airport scraps green, orange ‘travel zone’ separation
Hong Kong airport will no longer be split into two separate zones based on if a traveller is headed to mainland China or in transit, following the reopening of China to Hong Kong and the rest of the world of Sunday January 8.
The once-teeming hub was segregated into green and orange travel zones in November 2021 to avoid Covid cross-infection among inbound passengers, with physical barriers erected at Gate 24 – about a third of the way along Terminal 1’s concourse – serving as the dividing line for travellers as well as airport and airline staff.
Read more: https://www.executivetraveller.com/news/hong-kong-airport-scraps-two-travel-zone-restriction
Travel insurance warning after Thailand motorbike crash
The sister of a man who is facing a large medical bill after a motorbike crash in Thailand has urged others to check their travel insurance policies.
The Boxing Day crash left 28-year-old Adam Davies with serious injuries, including a fractured skull.
Adam, from Dinas Cross, Pembrokeshire, now faces large medical costs which are not covered by his travel insurance.
His provider, Lloyds Bank encouraged customers to check the terms and conditions of their insurance.
Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-64187351
Qantas reclaims world’s safest airline title
Qantas has once again been named the world’s safest airline for 2023, after losing the top spot last year.
A typical presence at the top of the list, Qantas last year was just edged out by Air New Zealand.
The safety list is compiled annually by Airline Ratings, an online site that compiles data from 400 international websites.
Read more: https://www.9news.com.au/national/qantas-named-worlds-safest-airline-2023-reclaim-top-spot/4275a9bf-c3c1-453e-9860-59ee3211f904
Passenger gets probation and $9,123 restitution charge for interfering with flight crew
A woman was sentenced to 24 months of probation in US District Court for Arizona on Tuesday for interfering with flight crew members, a Class C felony offense, aboard an American Airlines plane in 2021.
In addition to probation, Leeza S. Rodriguez was ordered by the court to pay $9,123 in restitution to American Airlines Corporate Security as well as a $100 special assessment.
The court determined that Rodriguez did not have the ability to pay a fine, and that was waived.
Read more: https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/airline-passenger-sentenced-interfering-with-flight-crew/index.html
American Airlines to suspend Miami-Tel Aviv service
American Airlines will halt service between Miami and Tel Aviv on March 24.
American launched the route as a thrice-weekly service in June 2021, then increased the frequency to daily in November. The airline will now change course.
“Unfortunately, when compared to other international routes, the MIA-TLV service wasn’t meeting performance expectations,” the carrier said in an email Monday.
Read more: https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Airline-News/American-Airlines-suspend-Miami-Tel-Aviv-service
China: Reviving travel rush indicates colorful Spring Festival despite pandemic
Despite the concerns of some epidemiologists and virologists that large-scale human mobility could more expeditiously spread the Omicron variant and subvariants across the country, hundreds of millions of people living away from home are packing their bags to travel back home for the Spring Festival family reunion.
The tradition of Spring Festival family reunion came to a stop three years ago because of the novel coronavirus outbreak in January 2020. People were then advised to celebrate the festival in the city (or town) they were stationed and avoid travelling unless absolutely necessary.
Read more: https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202301/10/WS63bca7a5a31057c47eba894e.html
