We’ve done all the hard work, so you don’t have to! Read on for the top ten travel news stories we think you need to know today.
1. Vanuatu rolls out extra precautions after Air NZ & Qantas suspend Port Vila services
Vanuatu’s government and tourism leaders have rolled out extra precautions at Port Vila Bauerfield International Airport to ensure airlines continue to operate to and from the gateway.
The announcement comes after Air New Zealand suspended services to the destination and Qantas pulled its codeshare with Air Vanuatu.
Air New Zealand said on Friday that it would cease flights due to ongoing concerns about the condition of the runway at Port Vila Bauerfield International Airport.
2. US airports resume services after record-setting snowfall
Thousands of stranded travellers can slowly start making their way to and from the northeast of America today after a weekend of record snowfall in Washington DC and New York.
Around 25 inches (or 64 centimetres) of snow and hurricane-force winds saw millions of locals spend the last day of the weekend indoors, while tourists stayed warm in hotels and in airport terminals.
Some 3,750 flights were cancelled on Sunday alone, forcing domestic and international travellers to find alternative accommodation for the evening. Another 700 flights are believed to be cancelled today.
3. Debris found in Thailand being examined amidst MH370 rumours
Experts are downplaying speculations that a piece of wreckage found in Thailand is connected to the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.
The large piece of curved metal was found by locals off the coast of southern Thailand on Saturday and was reported to authorities with suspicions that it might belong to an aircraft.
The wreckage is believed to measure around two metres wide and three metres long.
4. 2016 is shaping up to be a good year to work in travel
The year is off to a good start for those with travel industry experience, with C&M Travel Recruitment reporting a steady amount of new jobs during the first three weeks.
In a statement, the recruitment company said jobs from all areas of the industry are recruiting right now, from those within retail travel, travel technology and cruise sector.
Travel agents are particularly lucky, with the biggest increase in positions coming from retail travel. There’s also a lot of interest for more people looking to try out phone retail reservations.
5. APT takes guests to Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre
Travellers will have the chance to see the natural floorshow that occurs after the flooding of Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre during APT’s new seven-day Lake Eyre & Flinders Ranges small group 4WD adventure.
Operating between March and April this year, guests will be able to book one of 16 departures to the South Australian water basin.
Travelling aboard one of APT’s custom built 4WD drive coaches in small groups of just 20 people, guests will visit Port Augusta, Lake Eyre, Birdsville, the Flinders Ranges, Wilpena Pound, Clare Valley and Adelaide.
The first port of call on the tour is a visit to the award-winning Wadlata Outback Centre in Port Augusta, which provides a detailed backdrop to the region. It then travels onward to Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre via Marree to see the lake in full flood.
Other highlights include the chance to explore the site of Brachina Gorge; the chance to admire the Aroona Dam; and drive through the ghost town of Farina.
The is priced from $4,495 per person, twin share. Couples that book early can save $600 when booked before 29 February 2016.
6. More tourists biting into the Big Apple
New York City continued to break records in 2015, with 58.3 million arrivals – up 1.8 million on 2014.
Visitation was comprised of 46 million domestic and 12.3 million international visitors, mainly from the UK, Canada, Brazil and China.
With such a sharp increase in arrivals, it also meant hotel demand was at its highest, and according to latest figures, some 33.7 million hotel room nights were sold, while meeting delegates reached 6.1 million attendees.
NYC & Company President and CEO Fred Dixon attributed the increase to the destination’s rich offerings and expects more work will be needed in 2016 to overcome the “continuing pressure on the global economy and the strengthening dollar”.
7. Virtuoso teams up with Captain’s Choice
Virtuoso agents will be able to secure their clients exclusive prices with Captain’s Choice, as part of the luxury tour group’s new arrangement.
As part of the agreement, consultants aligned with Virtuoso will have access to the company’s luxury tours (which encompass land, rail and cruise) as well as its Private Jet program.
“What makes the ‘Journeys by Private Jet’ experience particularly attractive is the ability to experience some of the world’s most astonishing destinations in a journey you would find difficult to create on your own.”
Dan Kotzmann, Captain’s Choice Managing Director
“These are one-off itineraries that you can only experience with Captain’s Choice and being able to share these, along with our extended portfolio of exclusive journeys, through Virtuoso agents is an exciting prospect.”
8. INCENTIVE: Win an alpine adventure
American Airlines has teamed up with Mammoth and North Lake Tahoe King of the Mountain to offer agents the chance to win a spot on a famil to the Californian snow destinations.
To celebrate the launch of its new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft in Australia, eight lucky agents will fly on the aircraft to the skiing spots where they’ll spend three nights in North Lake Tahoe and two nights in Mammoth.
The trip includes flights, accommodation, ski/board hire, lift tickets and most meals.
To be int he running sell a minimum of five passengers on American Airlines ex-AU international tickets – must include AA72 SYD-LAX sector – during the incentive period 22 January– 7 February 2016.
Keep a note of PNRs and fill in a form, which can be found by clicking here. Winners will be drawn on 9 February.
9. Turkish Airlines receives another bomb threat
A Turkish Airlines flight from Houston, Texas to Istanbul was diverted over the weekend after a note was found in the lavatory with the word ‘bomb’ written on it.
It’s the latest in a number of hoax threats made to the airline over the past year, The Australian reported.
An airline spokesperson said the flight touched down in Ireland where it was searched and authorities confirmed there was no explosive device onboard.
All 209 passengers and crew aboard the Boeing 777 disembarked from the aircraft safely and will be flown to their original destination today.
The incident will be followed up by Irish police.
Earlier this month, Turkish Airlines’ operations were hit by heavy snowfall in Istanbul, with some 400 flights cancelled. Read on
10. Flight attendant performs a little ‘Happy’ dance
.@SouthwestAir Dallas-bound flight attendant “happy” to leave D.C. before #blizzard2016 pic.twitter.com/afszTBeXnf
— Marc Cota-Robles (@abc7marccr) January 22, 2016
A flight attendant whose plane missed Washington’s snowfall over the weekend was so happy to takeoff she performed a little happy dance to the song ‘Happy’ by Pharrell.
The plane just missed a dumping of 25 inches of snow, which shut down operations to and from the gateway.
While preparing the cabin for takeoff, the flight attendant bounced around to the catchy record playing over the plane’s loudspeakers.
An ABC7 reporter was onboard to capture the dance before sharing it to his followers on Twitter.
Check out her infectious dance in the tweet above.