Travel

Room reservations and sportsbooks were still dark across swaths of Las Vegas on Friday as the community trudged through its fifth day of a battle against hackers who struck the city’s biggest hotel chain. As of 1 p.m. PDT, visitors to the “book a room” tab on the MGM Resorts …

Delta Air Lines is changing how customers can earn elite frequent flyer status and is making it harder for many American Express cardholders to get into the carrier’s airport lounges, the latest reality check for air travel’s era of mass luxury. Starting Jan. 1, customers will earn Delta Medallion status solely based on their …

At least 11 people were taken to the hospital after a Delta Air Lines flight hit severe turbulence as it approached Atlanta, the airline said. Both passengers and crew members were injured after Delta Flight 175 from Milan, Italy “experienced severe turbulence” before landing safely in Atlanta on Tuesday, the …

LONDON — Britain’s air traffic control system said it was forced to restrict the flow of aircraft Monday after suffering a technical issue. “We are currently experiencing a technical issue and have applied traffic flow restrictions to maintain safety,” a spokesperson with Britain’s National Air Traffic Service told NBC News …

Spirit Airlines has agreed to pay up to $8.25 million to settle a class action lawsuit by passengers who said the low-cost carrier blindsided them with surprise carry-on bag fees on tickets bought through third-party travel services. Lawyers for the passengers disclosed the deal in a motion late Wednesday in federal court …

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s prime minister has ordered an investigation into how a bear escaped from its crate in the cargo hold of an Iraqi aircraft as it was due to depart from Dubai airport, leaving passengers disgruntled over the delay and causing a stir on social media. Iraqi Airways said …

At least three people were killed and others injured after a bus carrying as many as 50 people and a passenger vehicle crashed on a Pennsylvania freeway late Sunday night, authorities said. The collision unfolded just before 11:50 p.m. ET on Sunday on the southbound lanes of Interstate 81 in …

Some airport directors had discussed expanding their child care offerings before the pandemic, but “it has now become a larger focus,” said ACI-NA’s Russo. Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, which in the 1960s offered an in-terminal nursery so parents could dine or shop kid-free before boarding flights, is now in …

WASHINGTON — With the summer travel season in full swing, a bipartisan duo in the Senate is introducing a bill that would crack down on hidden resort fees for hotel stays. The bill, called the Hotel Fees Transparency Act, would establish federal guidelines for pricing transparency that have, up until now, …

MEXICO CITY — Deep in the Panamanian jungle, Venezuelan migrant Franca Ramirez was scrambling to reach higher ground as a rushing river broke its banks, he said, when something caught his eye: a group of young men, snapping photos of the landscape. The former police officer, who says he fled …

Amid an unprecedented surge in demand for U.S. passport processing, the State Department is expanding its application-processing call-center hours on weekends, as at least one U.S. senator says the agency should take additional measures to staff up. In a statement to NBC News, a Department official said the agency is …

WASHINGTON — Price transparency on airline tickets could be a thing of the past, as House Republicans push to roll back Obama-era rules that prohibit airlines from advertising anything but their all-in prices, including all required taxes and fees. But Democrats and consumer watchdogs are sounding alarms, saying the change …

As someone who travels frequently, Denise Smith, a San Francisco Bay Area resident, was thrilled to learn this spring about Frontier Airlines’ GoWild all-you-can-fly pass. For a flat fee of $699, the GoWild pass allowed her to fly anywhere — domestic or international — for three months at a time. …

It took a while, but people are just about done catching up on experiences lost during the pandemic. While a minority of high-dollar travelers are still confronting — and paying — four-figure airfares to Paris and Tokyo, prices are finally falling across the leisure economy, the last several months of …

An Alaska Airlines flight from Atlanta to Seattle was diverted to Spokane on Wednesday after a passenger made a “direct threat” to the aircraft’s safety, prompting a temporary shutdown of the airport in Washington State, officials said. Spokane International Airport was closed for over an hour after the Alaska Airlines …

Amid continued unprecedented demand for international travel, the State Department is advising Americans to submit applications for passports at least six months before their scheduled departure dates. A State Department official said in an email that current processing times are 10 to 13 weeks for routine processing. It takes seven …

HONOLULU — A Hawaiian Airlines flight from Honolulu to Sydney hit severe turbulence, injuring seven people on board. The plane was carrying 163 passengers and 12 crew members on Thursday when it “encountered unexpected severe turbulence approximately five hours into the flight,” said a statement from the airline. Airport medics …

An Ohio man put a police officer in a chokehold — while also claiming the law enforcement agent “could’ve killed me” — after a wild confrontation at the Spirit Airlines counter at Orlando International Airport, officials said. Edward Hairston, 41, was arrested Tuesday night and accused of disorderly conduct, resisting …

AAA’s estimates are supported by data from the Transportation Security Administration showing daily passenger screening numbers now consistently eclipse 2019’s pre-pandemic figures. Earlier this month, screenings hit a new post-pandemic daily high of nearly 2.8 million. It’s one of the clearest signals yet that pandemic-era restrictions are fully in the …

MOORPARK, Calif. — An Amtrak train carrying nearly 200 passengers struck a county water truck and derailed on Wednesday in Southern California, critically injuring the truck’s driver, authorities said. Three of the train’s seven cars went off the tracks following the collision in Moorpark, said Ventura County Fire Department Captain …

The feared repeat of last year’s summer travel woes began to materialize this week, with thousands of flights delayed or canceled amid inclement weather and staffing shortages. The troubles began last weekend, with nearly 2,000 U.S. flights canceled according to FlightAware. Disruptions continued into Monday, when more than 11,000 U.S. …

Flights to D.C.-area airports were able to resume normal operations after being hit with delays and redirections Sunday after the Federal Aviation Administration ordered a ground stop due to issues with a communication system at an air traffic control facility in Virginia. “The FAA has paused departures to D.C.-area airports …

Air travelers picked up some bad habits during the pandemic that they can’t seem to shake. Unruly passenger incidents rose 47% globally last year from 2021, even as pandemic-related restrictions faded, according to recent data released this month by the International Air Transport Association, an airline trade group. Reports of …

Hundreds of U.S.-bound passengers have been left stranded in Russia after their flight was forced to make an emergency landing in the country’s far east. Air India dispatched a plane Wednesday to pick up the passengers, who found themselves diverted into the middle of geopolitical tensions over Russian airspace fueled …

Are middle-seaters on flights entitled to both armrests? Should passengers check the row behind them before reclining their seats? Can shoes come off during a flight? Depends on who you ask — or, if you’re on TikTok, depends on which influencer you follow. Videos of creators sharing their do’s and …

Add stepping on some scales to the preflight routine. New Zealand’s national airline is asking passengers to weigh in after checking in for international flights from Auckland International Airport. Air New Zealand wants to weigh 10,000 passengers during the monthlong survey. But the numbers won’t be flashing up on scales …

SAN FRANCISCO — Two airliners aborted landings at San Francisco International Airport last week after pilots spotted a Southwest Airlines jet taxiing across runways on which the other planes had been cleared to land. An air traffic controller told the Southwest pilots they should not have been on the runways …

ORLANDO, Fla. — The largest LGBTQ rights organization in the U.S. joined other civil rights organizations Tuesday in issuing a travel advisory for Florida, warning that newly passed laws and policies may pose risks to minorities, immigrants and gay travelers. The Human Rights Campaign joined the NAACP, the League of United Latin …

The eruptive volcano named Popocatépetl continued to impact air travel in Mexico City on Monday after it caused weekend flight cancellations and delays. On Monday, AeroMexico, the country’s national airline, blamed the 17,887-foot volcano’s spring outbursts for affecting more than 100 of its flights across that nation. Sergio Salomón, governor …

Meg Foster, a justice fellow at Georgetown University’s Center on Privacy and Technology, said there are concerns about bias within the algorithms of various facial recognition technologies. Some have a harder time recognizing faces of minorities, for example. And there’s the concern of outside hackers figuring out ways to hack into …

If you sat out last summer’s overcrowded, overpriced, booked-solid travel season in hope of cheaper and easier getaways this year, you may be out of luck. Sixty-three percent of U.S. adults plan to travel this summer, up from 61% this time last year, according to a recent survey by Bankrate, …

The Biden administration on Monday announced plans for new regulations to require airlines to provide compensation and cover expenses for meals and hotel rooms to stranded passengers when the companies are at fault for travel disruptions. “I know how frustrated many of you are with the service you get from …

Lindsey Ulin wasn’t feeling great when she boarded her flight from Phoenix to Austin, Texas, in early March. Lindsey Ulin, before her trip home from vacation in Arizona.Courtesy Lindsey Ulin Ulin, 28, had just spent four days on vacation, hiking and enjoying the warm weather in Scottsdale, Arizona, with her …

Federal officials said Thursday they have referred more than 250 unruly airline passengers to the FBI for possible criminal prosecution since late 2021, including one as recently as last month, when a man tried to stab a flight attendant with a broken-off spoon. The pace of the criminal referrals is slowing, however. …

American Airlines is getting rid of its traditional frequent flyer award chart as the carrier moves toward dynamic pricing for mileage redemptions, the latest shift in its lucrative AAdvantage loyalty program. Starting late Wednesday, the carrier will publish starting levels for how many frequent flyer miles are likely required to redeem for a ticket in …

MEXICO CITY — Authorities in the Mexican resort of Cancun said Monday they have found four bodies in the city’s hotel zone near the beach. There was no immediate information on the nationalities or identities of the victims. The announcement of the deaths came less than a week after a …

“Locals felt the city was too small for the influx of people coming into town,” said Sonia Wheeler, community service officer for the South Lake Tahoe Police Department. “People couldn’t get home from the grocery store sometimes because there was too much traffic from tourists heading to or from the …

JetBlue Airways is preparing to cut scores of weekly flights in the New York City area this spring and summer in response to a shortage of air traffic controllers, a measure that will have a financial impact on the airline, CEO Robin Hayes told CNBC on Wednesday. Last week, the Federal …

Los Angeles Chargers defensive tackle Sebastian Joseph-Day accused a male TSA officer of sexually assaulting him before a recent flight out of Southern California. The incident unfolded Friday morning at John Wayne Airport, in Orange County, according to the 28-year-old who won a 2022 Super Bowl ring with the L.A. …

Six girls, including a 1-year-old baby, were killed in a car crash on a Tennessee highway in the early hours of Sunday, officials said. First responders arrived to find a vehicle upside down with extensive damage when they responded to the incident in Robertson County, about 30 miles north of …

HARTFORD, Conn. — A business jet flying over New England violently pitched upward then downward, fatally injuring a passenger, after pilots responding to automated cockpit warnings switched off a system that helps keep the aircraft stable, U.S. transportation investigators reported Friday. The National Transportation Safety Board didn’t reach any conclusions …

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A small plane crash in Tennessee that killed weight-loss guru Gwen Shamblin Lara and six others likely happened when her husband piloting the plane — actor Joe Lara — became disoriented in heavy clouds, a final report by the National Transportation Safety Board says. Joe Lara, who …

A pilot from another airline helped land a Southwest Airlines flight Wednesday after its captain became “incapacitated” and required medical attention, forcing the plane to turn back to Las Vegas, according to the airline and radio traffic data. Southwest Flight 6013 was bound for Columbus, Ohio, on Wednesday when one …

Zika has now spread locally in Florida and Texas, infecting more than 200 people presumably bitten by local mosquitoes. The virus has infected hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people across Latin America and thousands have carried it back to the U.S. Mosquito season is done in most of …

The Federal Aviation Administration issued an alert on Wednesday to key personnel in the airline industry after a series of near collisions and a safety summit last week aimed at avoiding a catastrophe. The Safety Alert for Operators was issued for integral industry personnel such as directors of operations, chief …

A United Airlines flight was grounded for hours in Vermont after a note threatening a bomb was reportedly found in a plane lavatory shortly before landing Sunday afternoon, officials said.  The threat was reported on board flight 3613, which departed from Newark, New Jersey, and was scheduled to land at …

As reports of near-miss incidents at U.S. airports pile up early into 2023, the Federal Aviation Administration is set to hold a summit next week to assess safety risks for travelers. FAA Acting Administrator Billy Nolen called the March 15 meeting last month, writing in a memo that “we are …

American Airlines is prepared to raise pilot pay to match that of Delta’s, including 40% cumulative increases in a potential four-year deal, CEO Robert Isom said in a message to pilots. Last week, Delta became the first of the biggest U.S. airlines to reach a new contract with its 15,000 pilots. They ratified a four-year deal that …

Last November, the city raised its hotel bed tax to 5.5%, up from 2%, and earmarked funds from the increase — an estimated $5.3 million in 2023 — for the housing and child care initiatives, said Kara Franker, the CEO of Visit Estes Park, a local tourism group. That beefed-up …

Chaos erupted aboard a Southwest Airlines plane in Dallas when one passenger unleashed a torrent of punches on another, in an attack captured in viral video, officials said Wednesday. In the latest incident of unruly passenger behavior, Phoenix-bound travelers were boarding Flight 117 at Love Field when a man in …