Disney World: No more masks indoors for vaccinated visitors
ORLANDO, Fla. — Starting this week, the masks are coming off for vaccinated visitors to Walt Disney World in Florida. The theme park resort announced Tuesday that face coverings will be optional for fully-vaccinated visitors in all indoor and outdoor locations, with one exception. Face masks still will be needed...
Sparse yet inspirational, Fort Mose is site of nation’s 1st legally sanctioned free Black settlement
ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — Behind every state park, there is a story. Sometimes it’s a crazy story, really, like that of Fort Mose, almost hidden away in a tangled forest of scrub palmetto, oak and pine along U.S. Highway 1 just north of St. Augustine. Crazy, in that not many...
Delta asks Justice Department to put unruly passengers on national no-fly list
ATLANTA — Delta Air Lines is asking the U.S. Justice Department to create a national no-fly list of passengers who have been convicted for on-board disruptions. Ed Bastian, CEO of Delta, wrote a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland this past week saying such a “national, comprehensive unruly passenger...
As omicron peak passes, airfares surging for spring and summer travel
The covid-19 era of cheap flights is swiftly coming to an end, and travel firms are seeing signs that airfares will likely reach 2019 pre-pandemic levels as soon as April. With the wost of the omicron variant waning across the country, airlines struggling to ramp up flight schedules are set...
American Airlines reports $2 billion in losses for 2021 as omicron weighs on near future
American Airlines lost $931 million in the fourth quarter to finish a 2021 year that was as much about surviving the covid-19 and its variants as it was about recovering from the devastating pandemic, the company reported Thursday morning. American’s losses totaled $2 billion for the full 2021, a vast...
19-year-old woman sets record for solo global flight
BRUSSELS — Home! And no longer alone. The 19-year-old Belgian-British pilot Zara Rutherford set a world record as the youngest woman to fly solo around the world, touching her small airplane down in western Belgium on Thursday — 155 days after she departed. She made it count for herself, her...
Pittsburgh RV Show sees high attendance, continued interest in recreational vehiclesVideo
Ken and Katie Wakal recalled their early days of camping. “We put up a tent, which was fine 30 years ago. But now we have a recreational vehicle — which we love,” said Katie Wakal. “We don’t have to sleep on the ground anymore or worry about bears in the...
New year brings more canceled flights for air travelers
For air travelers, the new year picked up where the old one left off — with lots of frustration. By late morning Saturday on the East Coast, more than 2,400 U.S. flights and nearly 4,200 worldwide had been canceled, according to tracking service FlightAware. That is the highest single-day toll...
CDC warns against cruises, regardless of vaccination status
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned people on Thursday not to go on cruises, regardless of their vaccination status, because of onboard outbreaks fueled by the omicron variant. The CDC said it has more than 90 cruise ships under investigation or observation as a result of covid-19...
Omicron, storms disrupt air travel for 4th consecutive day
Flight cancellations that disrupted holiday travel stretched into Monday as airlines called off thousands more flights because crews were sick with covid-19 during one of the year’s busiest travel periods, and storm fronts added to the havoc. Flight delays and cancellations tied to staffing shortages have been a constant this...
Holiday travel on Pennsylvania Turnpike expected to jump by 40% over last year
Officials predict more than 5.4 million motorists will take to the Pennsylvania Turnpike between the 2021 Christmas and 2022 New Year’s Day holidays, approaching pre-pandemic travel figures. “Our holiday traffic projections are coming close to matching those of 2019 with an increase of 40% over last year,” PA Turnpike CEO...
Nonstop flights from Pittsburgh to London return in 2022 via British Airways
British Airways will return to Pittsburgh International Airport next year, after the covid-19 pandemic grounded the transnational flights in 2020, officials said Monday. Tickets for flights to London’s Heathrow Airport, which resume June 3, are available now. The airline re-upped service in Pittsburgh in 2019 after a two-decade hiatus. British...
Utah’s Arches National Park to require timed tickets as visitation swells
A Utah national park famed for its otherworldly sandstone arches will require visitors to get timed entry tickets during its high season next year, the second Utah park to implement such a system as visitation swells. Arches National Park officials said Friday they’re not trying to decrease the number of...
Famously soggy Seattle sees its wettest fall on record
Seattle, a city known for soggy weather, has seen its wettest fall on record. The National Weather Service says 19.04 inches of rain fell between Sept. 1 and Nov. 30, breaking a record set in 2006. A series of wet storms caused by so-called “atmospheric rivers” pounded the Pacific Northwest,...
Omicron unravels travel industry’s plans for a comeback
Tourism businesses that were just finding their footing after nearly two years of devastation wrought by the covid-19 pandemic are being rattled again as countries throw up new barriers to travel in an effort to contain the omicron variant. From shopping districts in Japan and tour guides in the Holy...
Egypt unveils renovated ‘Avenue of the Sphinxes’ in Luxor
Egyptian authorities were unveiling Thursday a renovated ancient promenade in the city of Luxor dating back 3,000 years, the latest government project undertaken to highlight the country’s archaeological treasures. Egypt has struggled to revive its tourism industry, battered by years of political turmoil following the 2011 popular uprising that toppled...
As tourism brightens, Times Square hopes to regain luster
NEW YORK — David Cohen has been yearning for a return to the days when business boomed at his family’s souvenir shop in Times Square. While tourists have begun returning, foot traffic into Grand Slam souvenirs is still not what it was before the coronavirus pandemic, when hordes of global...
TSA makes travel safer, though security remains imperfect 20 years later, experts say
Since the Transportation Security Administration was created in the wake of 9/11, terrorists haven’t carried out any large-scale attacks involving commercial airliners or U.S. airports. Some say that’s a testament to the TSA and proof that its security measures are working. But some aviation security experts say the TSA, created...
AAA predicts more than 53 million people will travel for Thanksgiving
AAA Travel is predicting that 53.4 million Americans will travel for the Thanksgiving holiday, an increase of 13% from 2020. According to AAA Travel’s latest data, the combination of 6.4 million more people traveling for the holiday this year and the reopening of the U.S. borders to fully vaccinated international...
Disney now requiring cruise guests 5 and older to be vaxxed
Disney Cruise Line will require all guests ages 5 and up to be fully vaccinated against covid-19 before setting sail starting early next year, the company announced. In a statement posted on its website on Wednesday, Disney announced the new rules will begin on Jan. 13, 2022. The vaccine was...
Times Square is back open on New Year’s Eve — with vax proof
Crowds will once again fill New York’s Times Square this New Year’s Eve, with proof of covid-19 vaccination required for revelers who want to watch the ball drop in person, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Tuesday. “Yes, we are proud to announce that Times Square, wonderful celebration in Times Square,...
Despite reopening, the U.S. is still closed to many in the world
NEW YORK — The U.S. says that it’s inviting the global community to visit now that the government has ended the ban on travelers from 33 countries. In reality, however, it will still be difficult — if not impossible — for much of the globe to enter the country and...
Ligonier Borough to receive award recognizing its scenic appeal
Ligonier Borough’s scenic appeals include its reconstructed 18th- century fort and its green spaces — in particular, its central Diamond Park and iconic bandstand. Because of those attractive assets, nonprofit Scenic Pittsburgh is set to present its Community Scenic Achievement Award to the borough on Saturday. The award is given...
Egypt says 47 tourists got food poisoning at Red Sea resort
CAIRO — Egypt’s chief prosecutor has ordered the detention of three hotel workers pending an investigation into the food poisoning suffered by about 50 foreign tourists at a hotel in a popular Red Sea resort. Public Prosecutor Hamada el-Sawy said in a statement late Sunday that the workers, including the...
Flooding in Venice worsens off-season amid climate change
After Venice suffered the second-worst flood in its history in November 2019, it was inundated with four more exceptional tides within six weeks, shocking Venetians and triggering fears about the worsening impact of climate change. The repeated invasion of brackish lagoon water into St. Mark’s Basilica this summer is a...
