France suspends all Brazil flights due to virus variants
PARIS — France’s prime minister has announced the suspension of all flights between Brazil and France amid concerns over coronavirus variants. Prime Minister Jean Castex made the announcement Tuesday in parliament. He said: “We note that the situation is getting worse and so we have decided to suspend all flights...
2 new airlines await Americans looking to fly somewhere
Americans are traveling in the greatest numbers in more than a year, and soon they will have two new leisure-oriented airlines to consider for those trips. Both hope to draw passengers by filling in smaller strands on the spider web of airline routes crisscrossing the United States. Avelo Airlines said...
U.K. bans travel from 4 more nations over virus; 39 in all
LONDON — The British government is gearing up to ban international arrivals from four more countries — Bangladesh, Kenya, Pakistan and the Philippines — amid concerns over new virus variants but opted against including France and other European nations that are facing a resurgence of the virus. The Department for...
Celebrity Cruises to end yearlong pandemic hiatus in June
Two Royal Caribbean cruises will resume in June ending a yearlong hiatus, but passengers 18 and older must test negative for covid-19 before getting on a ship. The company’s Celebrity Cruises subsidiary said its Celebrity Millennium ship will relaunch on June 5 from St. Maarten. One itinerary will stop in...
Sheltered from virus, Kauai plans cautious return to tourism
As the coronavirus ravaged other parts of the U.S., residents of this rural Pacific island watched safely from afar. Kauai, one of the world’s most sought-after vacation destinations, has been nearly impossible to visit for most of the past year, with officials bucking pressure to ease quarantine rules as the...
Southwestern Pa. gas prices stabilizing; remain well above national average
After weeks of sharp price spikes, analysts say gasoline price increases in Southwestern Pennsylvania appear to be stabilizing. Regular unleaded gasoline increased only a penny per gallon last week following increases of 25 cents per gallon here over the last month. There were multiple factors behind the increases that drove...
Disney World workers get spit on, yelled at, and pushed trying to enforce covid safety rules
ORLANDO, Fla. — A security guard reminded a guest to put on his mask before he walked into Disney World’s Contemporary Resort near the Magic Kingdom last month. “I’m a guest,” argued the middle-aged, fedora-wearing man. He asked to be left alone. Then he spat, and some of his saliva...
Want to own an amusement park? This one comes with a lake and a roller coaster
Clementon Park and Splash World in New Jersey has thrill rides, a water park, a 23-acre lake and is for sale. It sits on 52 acres, has a 4,000-square-foot historic six-bedroom house on the property, picnic tables and concession equipment. Rides include Thunder Drop, Ring of Fire, Sea Dragon, Flying...
Allegiant Air announces flights between Pittsburgh, Key West
Allegiant Air will debut nonstop flights between Pittsburgh International Airport and Key West, Fla., beginning June 3. “From the historic sights at Dry Tortugas National Park to the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum, Pittsburgh visitors have a lot to explore in Key West,” Drew Wells, Allegiant’s senior vice president of...
Air travelers to Canada to isolate at hotels starting Feb. 22
Air travelers to Canada will quarantine in a hotel starting on Feb. 22 as they await the result of a coronavirus test, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday. Trudeau previously announced stricter restrictions would be imposed on nonessential air travelers in response to new, likely more contagious variants. Government officials...
Canada blocks cruise ships for a year, ending Alaska tripsVideo
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The Canadian government has extended a ban on cruise ships through February 2022, which is expected to block trips from visiting Alaska this year. Transport Canada on Thursday announced the extension of the ban enacted because of the covid-19 pandemic. Canada blocked cruise ships of more than...
U.K. to begin hotel quarantine amid criticism of delay
LONDON — Everyone arriving in the U.K. from countries identified as coronavirus hotspots will have to spend 10 days in hotel quarantine starting Feb. 15 in a bid to stop new virus variants reaching the country, the government said Friday. But authorities are facing criticism for delays in implementing the...
Canada to quarantine travelers, suspend flights south
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday announced stricter restrictions on travelers in response to new, likely more contagious variants of the novel coronavirus — including making it mandatory for travelers to quarantine in a hotel at their own expense when they arrive in Canada and suspending airline service to Mexico...
Hikers told to forgo entire Appalachian Trail due to virus
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Hikers are being told by the agency that oversees the Appalachian Trail to postpone plans to cover the nearly 2,200-mile (3,540 kilometer) distance this year due to COVID-19. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy made the suggestion because it feels the pandemic makes long-distance hikes unsafe, the Asheville Citizen...
More cancellations for Carnival amid jumbled vaccine rollout
Carnival Cruise Line is canceling and delaying more U.S. trips with new cases of covid-19 averaging about 170,000 per day in the country amid a jumbled rollout of vaccines. Carnival’s planned seasonal service out of San Diego has been suspended until further notice, and cruises scheduled through April 2023 were...
An airport named after Donald Trump? Palm Beach County says ‘no’ to that
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Former President Donald Trump won’t see his name on the airport in his home turf of Palm Beach County — and it also might be difficult to engrave it anywhere else in South Florida. A majority of Palm Beach County commissioners told the South Florida Sun...
Spirit Airlines expands flights from Arnold Palmer Regional Airport to Florida, Myrtle Beach
After months of commercial flight slowdowns and outright shutdowns, the terminal at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport is about to become bustling again with airline passengers. While covid-19 and an $18 million runway widening and facility improvement project took their toll on commercial flight offerings over the last 11 months, officials...
Elvis Presley’s Graceland starting live virtual tours
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Elvis Presley’s Graceland is now offering live online tours for fans around the world, including those who can’t travel to the Tennessee tourist attraction during the coronavirus pandemic. Graceland said the two-hour guided tours will take virtual visitors into Presley’s former Memphis home, which has been turned...
Airbnb to block, cancel reservations in D.C. next week
NEW YORK — Airbnb says it will be blocking and cancelling reservations in the Washington, D.C. area during the week of the presidential inauguration. The decision, announced Wednesday, came two days after it said it was reviewing reservations in the area ahead of next week’s presidential inauguration and said it...
TripAdvisor adds new tool to detect overcrowding in U.S. cities
Travelers hitting the road during the ongoing coronavirus outbreak are concerned about overcrowding, but TripAdvisor has launched a new platform to help avoid those issues in cities around the United States. Engineers with TripAdvisor, Slack, Amazon Web Services and nine other technology companies developed the platform, dubbed Crowdfree.me, to help...
Spirit Airlines holds off on resuming flights from Arnold Palmer airport to Ft. Myers
Passengers flying from Arnold Palmer Regional Airport may be limited to Orlando as a destination for the immediate future, part of the continuing hit air travel is taking from the covid-19 pandemic. While Spirit Airlines flights from the Unity airport to Myrtle Beach, S.C., are expected to resume Feb. 12,...
National Park Service shuts Washington Monument citing threats surrounding inauguration
The National Park Service is shutting down public access to the Washington Monument until Jan. 24, citing threats surrounding Joe Biden’s inauguration. The agency said Monday that it was implementing the temporary closure “in response to credible threats to visitors and park resources.” Park officials say that groups involved in...
Pandemic-era Mardi Gras: No big crowds, but plenty of cake
NEW ORLEANS — A subdued Carnival season began Wednesday after the coronavirus pandemic put an end to the crowd-heavy balls and street parades that draw thousands of people to the city every year. The Mardi Gras season always starts on Jan. 6 and ends on Fat Tuesday, which this year...
Boeing Max returns to U.S. skies with first passenger flight
American Airlines flew a Boeing 737 Max with paying passengers from Miami to New York on Tuesday, the plane’s first commercial flight in U.S. skies since it was grounded after two deadly crashes. American flight 718 carried 87 passengers on the 172-seat plane, and the return flight from LaGuardia Airport...
Mallard to go? Dig of Pompeii fast-food place reveals tastes
ROME — A fast-food eatery at Pompeii has been excavated, helping to reveal dishes that were popular for the citizens of the ancient Roman city who were partial to eating out. Pompeii Archaeological Park’s longtime chief, Massimo Osanna, said Saturday that while some 80 such fast-foods have been found at...
