On Travel Archives - Christopher Elliott

This is why you need to get through airport security faster

August 14, 2020August 9, 2020

You need to get through airport security faster this summer. Your life could depend on it.

“Airports are major hubs for pandemic viral spreading,” says Yang Cai, a senior systems scientist at Carnegie Mellon University. “It is critical to avoid packed areas with restrictions of space capacity.”

Passengers are doing everything they can to avoid standing in long security lines, even as the Transportation Security Administration has implemented new screening rules. Although there are new social distancing measures in place, airport security checks aren’t risk-free.
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Why it might not be safe to book a flight this fall

August 13, 2020August 9, 2020

Is it safe to book a flight this fall? Andy Fine wants to know, and he has every reason to be worried. Under the terms of the federal airline bailout, airlines may start laying off staff or cutting pay Oct. 1.

Fine and others are concerned that their flights might not exist after that date.
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These pandemic surcharges are outrageous! 😠

August 7, 2020August 2, 2020

James Irwin had to pay an outrageous pandemic surcharge when his tour operator canceled his upcoming trip to Germany. He asked for his money back and the company deducted $1,150 from the refund.

“We had not canceled,” explains Irwin, a retired supply systems analyst from Boothwyn, Pennsylvania. “The coronavirus had canceled the trip.”

Pandemic fees are spreading nearly as fast as the coronavirus.

Some, like Irwin’s, have always existed, but we’re seeing more of them now as trips are being canceled. Others, like service fees automatically added by restaurants and spas, are a recent development. But the worst pandemic fees may be the ones that disappeared at the start of the outbreak and are poised to make a comeback.
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Can’t travel? Here’s how people are dreaming about their next vacation

July 31, 2020July 24, 2020

So where are you going next? It’s OK to dream about your next vacation if you can’t travel. You’re in good company.

Rob Hall is here. He skipped his family cruise to Italy this summer but is optimistic that the worst of the COVID-19 outbreak will be over by fall. He’s planning to fly to Maui for a few days in October – at least that’s his dream.

“We so badly need to get away,” says Hall, a retired financial services manager from Walnut Creek, California.
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#*@+ the travel ban! These travelers are taking a vacation anyway

July 24, 2020July 17, 2020

#*@+ the travel ban!

That’s what some travelers are saying this summer. They’re shrugging off the resurgence of COVID-19 infections and ignoring the shutdowns – and they’re taking a vacation anyway.

Half of Americans plan to stay put this summer, according to a new survey by LuggageHero. But 31% have taken a domestic trip since lockdown restrictions were eased, and a remarkable 19% have traveled internationally.

That’s a shocking number of travelers who refuse to heed the travel bans and are planning a vacation anyway.
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