More than a third of $239 billion luxury travel market is driven by non-millionaires. They’re young, they want to explore the world and, increasingly, they are neither American nor European. 



A new crop of &#8220;aspiring luxury&#8221; travelers with net worths of under $1 million makes up more than a third of the segment.GETTY



Through the rest of this decade, demand for luxury tourism and hospitality will grow faster than any other segment, according to a new report released by McKinsey on Wednesday entitled “<a href="https://mckinsey.com/industries/travel-logistics-and-infrastructure/our-insights/the-state-of-tourism-and-hospitality-2024" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">The State of Tourism and Hospitality 2024</a>.” The study, based on a survey of over 5,000 travelers, shows how the profile of the global luxury traveler is changing.



The luxury traveler—defined by McKinsey as someone who spends at least $500 per night on accommodations—has been around for some time, but the demographics of this segment are shifting on various fronts.



Unsurprisingly, about two-thirds of the $239 billion luxury travel market is powered by the affluent class. What McKinsey defines as “ultrahigh net-worth” folks (worth more than $30 million) accounted for 15% of all luxury travel spending last year. “Very high net-worth” travelers worth between $5 million and $30 million represented 16% of the segment, and “high net-worth” travelers worth between $1 million and $5 million accounted for a full third (33%) of luxury market spending in 2023.



But the report also highlights “a large and expanding base of aspiring luxury travelers” whose net worths are significantly leaner—between $100,000 and $1 million. Last year, 35% of spending in the segment was powered by these “aspiring luxury” travelers, who collectively spent $84 billion on luxury travel—more than any other cohort.



“It’s crucial to understand this non-millionaire segment for two reasons,” write the report’s authors. “First, it is comparatively large. Second, its forays into select prestige elements present opportunities for brands that hope to attract its enduring loyalty—especially as some of its members graduate into higher tiers of income and wealth.”



Spending on travel peaks between the ages of 40 and 50, but younger travelers are showing an increasing willingness and ability to spend at luxury levels, per&nbsp;the McKinsey survey. “Aspiring luxury” travelers are typically under 40. Their salaries may not be astronomical. They may not own their own homes.



So how do these younger, less affluent travelers afford champagne experiences on what used to be called a beer budget? By being willing to devote out-sized shares of their wealth on experiences. More than four in five non-millionaire luxury travelers are motivated to “explore someplace new,” according to the survey, and nearly six in 10 said they were interested in taking a “cultural or historical” trip.



In general, luxury travelers are more likely than mainstream travelers to take a specialty trip. They want novelty. Seventy-two percent of luxury travelers place importance on visiting a new destination, compared with 44% of other travelers, per the report.



The geographic source market for luxury travelers is also shifting, according to McKinsey. “Although North America is still home to the most millionaires, it could be overtaken by Asia by the mid-2030s—largely as a result of growing wealth in China,” write the report’s authors.



Spurred by the growing wealthy class in Asia, the hospitality industry is responding with a boom in hotel construction. Last year, more than 40% of the global luxury-hotel pipeline was in Asia; of those, 43% were in China.



By the end of the decade, McKinsey projects that the biggest spending cohort be high net-worth travelers worth between $1 million and $5 million, a group that will be spending $154 billion by 2030. Still, the next-biggest spending group will remain aspiring travelers, who will pour a not-so-shabby $107 billion into the luxury travel market by the end of the decade.



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Business travel concept. Man walking on city street with yellow suitcase cabin bag

The New Luxury Traveler Isn’t Who You Think

South Africa joins other African nations like Cape Verde, Seychelles, Mauritius, and Namibia in attracting &#8216;digital nomads’.



South Africa is positioning itself as a beacon for global professionals through its latest visa regulation amendments, including the introduction of the &#8216;digital nomad&#8217; visa. Announcing these changes via his newsletter on Monday, President Cyril Ramaphosa underscored the urgency of attracting skilled individuals to propel the country&#8217;s competitiveness and economic growth. &#8220;To succeed in an ever-changing global economy, our country needs far more people with the right skills,&#8221; Ramaphosa articulated, emphasizing the initiative&#8217;s role in fostering employment and innovation.



The South African Department of Home Affairs has gazetted proposed amendments, including the digital nomad visa, inviting public feedback until March 29. This step towards modernizing immigration laws underscores the initiative&#8217;s potential but also its pending finalization. Additionally, South Africa joins other African nations like Cape Verde, Seychelles, Mauritius, and Namibia in attracting digital nomads, reflecting a continent-wide embrace of remote work trends. These countries offer unique opportunities for digital nomads, highlighting Africa&#8217;s growing appeal in the global digital economy.



&#8220;The story really is how the world of work has changed, and the world of work means that you can work anywhere at any point in time because of the internet, and disruption that has taken place because of technological innovation,&#8221; explains Judi Nwokedi, a tourism expert and Founding President of the Black Business Women&#8217;s Alliance to FORBES AFRICA. &#8220;So you have a new cohort of workers with possibly high levels of disposable income&#8230; to capture a fast, emerging sector that is in demand… You want to attract people like that, and their spending.”



The Department of Home Affairs aims to simplify the visa regime, recently introducing a points-based system for the critical skills visa and offering the &#8216;digital nomad&#8217; visa to remote workers employed by foreign companies. This approach not only acknowledges the shifting paradigms of work but also promises to make South Africa a lucrative destination for high-skilled professionals. According to the government gazette published on February 8 this year, these amendments are designed to attract talents that can contribute significantly to the South African economy by introducing a more flexible and welcoming visa policy for digital nomads and professionals with critical skills.



Nwokedi further emphasizes the need for ease of access, &#8220;Flight connectivity, and a visa regime that is seamless. Apply online, pay online and move into the digital economy&#8230; We are competing with many attractive destinations, and one of the hurdles is getting a visa.&#8221;



South Africa has already been a destination for remote workers, with the Covid-19 pandemic having accelerated remote work, allowing workers from economically strong countries to migrate and work – especially in Cape Town, voted as the most popular remote work destination according to a survey by Remote.io.



However, challenges in the form of visa processing delays and administrative complexities could potentially deter the talent South Africa seeks to attract. In December 2023, the Department of Home Affairs issued a waiver to visa applicants and visa holders requesting extensions due to the current backlog the Department is experiencing.



Despite these obstacles, the allure of South Africa as a destination for digital nomads remains strong. The country&#8217;s diverse culture, breathtaking landscapes, and vibrant tech scene present a compelling case for remote workers and critical skills professionals looking for a dynamic work-life balance.



Nwokedi also highlighted the economic dynamics affected by the influx of digital nomads, &#8220;I guess when you are in a free market, the free market forces reign&#8230; so you have to have dynamic pricing which protects the locals, but you also have to want locals who want to make money.&#8221;



The economic impact of this initiative could be transformative, with potential boosts to tourism, real estate, and local businesses.



Rental prices in desirable remote work destinations such as Cape Town have increased drastically, with the latest State of Cape Town Central City Report indicating an annual increase of 28% for one-bedroom apartments, driven in part by the influx of foreign remote workers.



In his newsletter, Ramaphosa expressed optimism about the initiative&#8217;s impact on innovation and competitiveness. &#8220;International experience shows that employees with critical skills contribute to improved productivity, enhanced innovation,&#8221; he noted, signaling a strategic move to bolster the country&#8217;s global standing through a skilled workforce.



Nwokedi concludes, &#8220;South Africa can do with as many positive components to redefine the narrative of our country and our brand. If it is an intervention that does not require huge capital, why not take the path less traveled where you can shift the needle on the dial?&#8221;



The introduction of digital nomad visas by South Africa represents a forward-thinking approach to economic growth, recognizing the value of integrating global talent into the local economy.



Ends

Male traveler at the airport using his cell phone while waiting for his flight

South Africa: Embracing Digital Nomads For Economic Growth

The Middle East kingdom is on massive building spree—creating private islands, luxury hotels, theme parks, cruise ports, even a desert ski resort. The question remains: If they build it, who will come? 



Whatever your preconceived notion of Saudi Arabia as a travel destination is, it’s about to be get a major renovation. Imagine Sindalah, for example, a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.vision2030.gov.sa/en/projects/sindalah/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">7-star private-island resort</a>&nbsp;with three ultra-luxe resorts, 38 high-end restaurants and multiple superyacht marinas. Or Qiddiya, a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.vision2030.gov.sa/en/projects/qiddiya/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">futuristic city</a>&nbsp;of 600,000 people rising from the desert floor, dedicated to e-sports and gaming. How about Trojena, a space-age&nbsp;<a href="https://www.vision2030.gov.sa/en/projects/trojena/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ski resort</a>&nbsp;built above the high desert? Or The Red Sea, a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.vision2030.gov.sa/en/projects/the-red-sea/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">vast waterscape</a>&nbsp;of 50 luxury resorts and 8,000 hotel rooms spread across 22 islands in a Maldives-style archipelago—powered entirely by wind and solar energy? Also in the works is The Rig, a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.vision2030.gov.sa/en/projects/the-rig/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$5-billion adventure theme park</a>&nbsp;built on an off-shore oil platform. In addition, Saudi Arabia is positioning itself as a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cruisesaudi.com/about#block-ourbusiness" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cruise destination</a>, having recently bought a $300-million ship. Across the Kingdom, new roads, airports, golf courses and cruise terminals are rising from the sand. The map is literally being redrawn in real time.



Then there are all the new hotels, with their thousands of freshly built rooms. The world’s most iconic hospitality companies—Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons, St. Regis, Fairmont, Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt and InterContinental—are falling over themselves to jump into a construction pipeline that’s churning faster than anywhere else in the world. Any one of these projects might momentarily pierce the travel industry’s fleeting attention span. But together, what’s going on in Saudi Arabia simply cannot be ignored.



Indeed, it can be often difficult to visualize the vastness of Saudi Arabia’s physical transformation. Some of the most notable ongoing projects—including Sindalah, the 7-star private island, and Trojena, the improbable desert ski resort—fall within NEOM, a $500-billion built-from-scratch region in northwest Saudi Arabia where the Kingdom is creating new cities, resorts and other developments. At 10,200 square miles and bounded by the Red Sea to the south and the Gulf of Aqaba to the west, it’s roughly the size of Albania.



Bankrolled mainly by the Kingdom’s $700-billion Public Investment Fund (PIF), the idea for NEOM was born out of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.vision2030.gov.sa/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Vision 2030</a>, Saudi Arabia’s grand plan to shake off its historic reliance on oil and diversify its economy. One the scheme’s pillars involves reinventing the country as a global tourism juggernaut. When first announced in 2016, the Kingdom’s tourism goals seemed fanciful: Attract 100 million foreign and domestic visitors to the country every year and grow tourism’s share of the economy from about 3% to 10%. Oh, and do it all in just 14 years.



That aspiration seemed all the more preposterous given that, in 2016, Saudi Arabia had not yet opened its doors to international leisure travelers. At the time, travel to the Kingdom was almost entirely restricted to three types of people: expatriate workers, those with business visas, and religious pilgrims visiting the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.



Then in 2019,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarabrittanysomerset/2019/09/27/saudi-arabia-opens-its-borders-to-tourists-but-not-cannabis/?sh=2823b4b36924">Saudi Arabia announce</a>d&nbsp;it would provide e-visas and visas on arrival to visitors from 49 countries, including the United States. Among other changes announced at the time: Female visitors would be exempted from wearing an abaya, the traditional and otherwise obligatory head-to-toe robe, in public places and would be allowed to travel without a male companion. Tourists would still be required to dress modestly and Mecca would remain off-limits to non-Muslims.



Since Saudi Arabia opened to the international travel market, the speed and spare-no-expense approach to its transformation has stunned even the most seasoned tourism analysts. “We’re seeing hugely ambitious plans, huge amounts of development,” says Caroline Bremner, head of travel and tourism research at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.euromonitor.com/travel" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Euromonitor International</a>. “Billions, ultimately trillions, worth of dollars being invested in infrastructure and in diversifying their economy.” The World Travel &amp; Tourism Council (WTTC) estimated the Kingdom has already spent $800 billion, and that doesn’t include the massive amounts of foreign investments pouring in.



The pandemic delayed some projects, of course, but rather than scaling back expectations, the Saudis ratcheted up their goal to 150 million annual visitors by 2030. Here’s where semantics come into play. In tourism parlance, a “visitor” is defined as someone who visits a site within the country, which is very different from what Euromonitor deems an “arrival,” someone who makes an overnight stay. (Other organizations sometimes call the latter “tourists.”) Saudi Arabia had over 24 million foreign arrivals in 2023 and will welcome nearly 37 million in 2030, according to Euromonitor projections. “So if each of those 37 million overnight tourists visits three sites, you pretty much have got your 100 million visits,” Bremner says. “Then add on top of that your domestic tourists, and their own set targets are quite achievable.”



A more meaningful measure of success is how much foreigners are expected to spend while in Saudi Arabia. Euromonitor predicts that international tourists will spend $38 billion in 2030. But the total economic impact for Saudi Arabia will be far greater after adding in domestic travelers’ expenditures and the ripple effect of one million new tourism jobs. The WTTC projects that, by 2032, Saudi Arabia’s tourism sector could contribute nearly $169 billion to its GDP, representing 17.1% of the total Saudi economy.



“Remember, they’re building this destination on the ledger, essentially from scratch, for the international market, and they are bringing in the best of the best in terms of the quality of people they’re working with” says Bremner. “I can see that they’ve thought through every single aspect of tourism, from the staff to the product, the brand, the service, the connectivity, the sustainability. So it really does feel like they’re building something for the next century ahead.”



Preparing for the future also means recognizing the seismic shift in what the next generations of global travelers will want. Roughly 90% of young Chinese travelers and 70% of Gen Z travelers in the UK, Australia and India say they are looking to discover new destinations, according to data from&nbsp;<a href="https://research.skift.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Skift Research</a>. In that sense, being the new kid on the tourism block is an enormous plus.



“New generations have a lot more information through social media,” Billy Canellas, head of asset management at NEOM,&nbsp;<a href="https://skift.com/2023/12/22/skift-global-forum-east-video-building-sustainable-luxury-cities/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">told conference-goers</a>&nbsp;at the Skift Global Forum East in December. “[Younger travelers] are very well educated about the effects of overtourism in traditional destinations,” he added, noting “a clear tendency towards the eco-friendly and sustainable destinations” and an eagerness to learn about a destination’s “culture and the traditions of diversity.”



“The luxury market is getting more diverse and younger, and it&#8217;s shifting to the emerging markets,” says Bremner, noting that the United Arab Emirates, India and China are all highly appealing to this demographic. “We have this fresh-faced luxury traveler, and it&#8217;s not the traditional older generation of travelers with lots of money. It’s the New World luxury traveler, highly digital, very environmentally conscious, and for whom social impact is important.”



“Make no mistake,” says Geoff Freeman, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, “what Saudi Arabia is doing is they’re identifying who are some of the most important travelers are—the people willing to spend a lot of money on experiences—and asking, How do we go get them?”



There are, of course, many ways for the Saudi grand vision to go sideways. First, there are enormous financial risks inherit in tackling so many giga projects all at once, even for a country with bottomless pockets. “The Saudis are running at 82% public debt compared to government revenue,” Bremner says, noting that official public debt as a percentage of GDP was 23.8% in 2023. Still, it’s all relative. The Kingdom’s debt-to-GDP ratio is nearly double what it was a decade ago, but still quite low compared to other countries. For example, Switzerland’s government debt is 41% of GDP. The U.S. and Canadian governments’ debt is 133% and 106% of GDP, respectively. The U.K.’s debt is 98% of GDP.



Bremner’s biggest concern is hotel overcapacity, which would ultimately suppress prices. “That luxury positioning is going to come under a little bit of erosion, because [the Saudis] are moving so quickly. With that level of supply, it is quite hard to balance,” she says, adding that Euromonitor International’s latest forecast model predicts that the average traveler’s spend will have already dropped by 2030. “Too many hotel rooms that aren’t being filled will drive prices down, so that’s a risk.”



In addition, Saudi Arabia has a persistent PR problem among many would-be travelers, especially those from the West. The Kingdom still has strict laws about drinking and severe restrictions for women, not to mention allegations of human rights abuses and attacks against journalists. In 2021, the U.S.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/andymeek/2021/02/25/the-white-house-is-releasing-a-bombshell-report-about-slain-washington-post-journalist-jamal-khashoggi/?sh=772fad154dcb">officially blamed</a>&nbsp;Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the 2018 murder of&nbsp;Washington Post&nbsp;journalist Jamal Khashoggi.



But any concerns about human rights haven’t stopped multinational corporations from investing in the Kingdom’s grand vision. “For some players, it will be a very important issue, perhaps a complete barrier to entry,” says Bremner. “However, we can see that the majority of luxury hotel brands have already shifted from China and the U.A.E. into Saudi Arabia.”



After all, the international travel market loves nothing more than a shiny, new destination in an emerging market and right now, the Middle East is having a moment. “You have the Middle East in the sort of perfect location,” says Bremner, “just like Turkey—within a five-hour flight of Asia and of Western Europe.”



Even with the start of the Israel-Hamas War last October, the Mideast was nevertheless the fastest-growing tourism region in 2023, with international arrivals 23% above pre-pandemic levels, according to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.unwto.org/tourism-data/unwto-tourism-recovery-tracker" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UN World Tourism Organization’s Tourism Recovery Tracker</a>. That’s 35% above the global average, as the rest of the world’s tourism is, on average, still at a 12 point deficit compared to 2019 visitor volume.



While just over three million American tourists visited the region in 2023—making up 12.6% of total outbound U.S. tourists—that’s a massive 39% jump from 2019. And though the Middle East’s portion of American tourists was smaller than those of Europe (40%) and Asia (15.7%) last year, it was the only one of the three regions that has grown since the pandemic.



But Freeman isn’t concerned about Saudi Arabia’s ability to lure large numbers of American tourists. “I&#8217;m worried about them trying to attract Europeans, high-spending Middle Easterners, and Asians, who might have otherwise come and spent their money in the United States,” he says.



After all, Freeman says, international tourism is an increasingly competitive sport where one country’s gain is another’s loss: “What gives us pause,” he says, “is that other nations now realize that travel is a global competition to figure out who can attract the customer.”

Traffic in Riyadh at sunset in Saudi Arabia capital city

Inside Saudi Arabia’s $800 Billion Tourism Moonshot

Micro-X is developing an automated screening process that could save time and minimize stress, but it’s likely to be expensive.



Inan industrial park near Seattle’s airport, an Australian company called Micro-X is developing a system that could make air travelers’ dreams come true: speedy security screening that promises minimal interaction with TSA officers.



Micro-X is using new technology to redesign airport checkpoints to resemble self-checkout lanes at supermarkets. If it works as planned, Micro-X’s process would not only be faster, it would be less stressful for passengers and Transportation Security Administration employees. Yet, in an environment where TSA often seems to be&nbsp;<a href="https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/5-9-2012-Joint-TSA-Staff-Report-FINAL.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">under fire</a>&nbsp;for some shortcoming —&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelgoldstein/2017/11/09/tsa-misses-70-of-fake-weapons-but-thats-an-improvement/?sh=cfd2ea12a38d">poor performance</a>&nbsp;on tests for detecting weapons, making the experience confusing and unpleasant for travelers, and, especially,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.oig.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/assets/2021-09/OIG-21-69-Sep21.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">its expensive bloat</a>&nbsp;— the new equipment may not satisfy critics. It would be pricey.



Micro-X’s target for the cost of the self-screening system is roughly twice that of the newest type of conventional security lanes, according to Brian Gonzales, Micro-X’s chief scientific officer and head of its U.S. operation. This year, the TSA has already committed to pay up to $1.3 billion for about 1,200 CT scanners to screen carry-on bags. As for the Micro-X system, the hope is the cost would end up being “competitive” on a per-passenger basis, according to John Fortune, who oversees the project as manager of a Department of Homeland Security technology-development program called Screening at Speed.



The company’s design “breaks the mold,” Fortune tells&nbsp;Forbes. “It would really shake up the way a checkpoint is built.”



Here’s how it would work. After getting their IDs checked, travelers enter an area with rows of booths, each big enough for two adults. An avatar on a screen tells them to put their belongings in the cabinet of a<a href="https://micro-x.com/products/miniature-baggage-scanner/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&nbsp;CT scanner</a>&nbsp;that’s one-quarter the size of anything else on the market. The scanner uses X-rays to create a 3-D image that’s automatically analyzed for prohibited items by software powered by machine-learning algorithms. Meanwhile, a camera system and an electromagnetic body scanner examine the traveler and the avatar prompts them if they’ve forgotten to take something out of their pockets — or seem to be hiding something.



TSA officers would step in only if the system detects a suspicious item or if a traveler needs help.



From 2020 through 2022, DHS committed $4.9 million for Micro-X to develop its concept and deliver initial prototypes. In July, the agency awarded the company a contract extension worth up to $14 million to build six screening booths, with the goal for the first to be delivered for testing within the next 12 to 18 months.



Airport security officials, especially since 9/11, have been navigating a delicate balance, weighing travelers’ convenience with the imperative of keeping them safe. That task only grows harder when more people fly, and more people are flying. Air travel has bounced back from pandemic doldrums, with a record 264 million people passing through airport security checkpoints during the summer travel season —&nbsp;2 million more than in the same period in 2019. If passenger growth rates return to their pre-pandemic trajectory — about 4% annually — that means bigger challenges, Fortune says. “At some point you’re not going to be able to keep up with both the evolving threats, but also the number of travelers that continue to go through the system,” he says.



Micro-X promises its revamped checkpoints would keep foot traffic moving, with passengers able to complete the screening process in an average time of 60 seconds and in as little as 30 seconds. Its design features eight screening booths in the same space as the current single-line lanes. That way, if a passenger dawdles or sets off alarms, other travelers could still flow through the remaining booths.



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-faster-future">Faster Future</h2>



DHS’ goal is for the self-service system to be capable of screening 400 passengers per hour per lane, with less than 5% requiring officer intervention. Micro-X thinks it could do better — 500 passengers an hour per lane, Gonzales says. TSA won’t disclose statistics on its current performance, but Gonzales says his understanding is that 500 an hour would be well above the flow of PreCheck lanes, which he says tend to handle 300 an hour at best. A jammed-up standard lane might only process 150 travelers an hour, he says.



The goal is to have seven TSA officers staffing a lane, down from 11 currently, Gonzales says. If the image-analysis algorithms can be made accurate enough, he says it may be possible to reduce that to as few as three officers.



The system would reduce stress for officers. They would spend more time helping passengers rather than conducting often tense pat-downs and bag searches. They could also be freed up to remotely examine images of bags flagged by the detection algorithms.



The process could be particularly helpful at smaller airports with light traffic. A single Micro-X pod could be all the capacity needed.



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-take-two">Take Two</h2>



DHS is also funding a project led by a Dutch company, Vanderlande, to develop a self-screening checkpoint with current technology. It’s added a gating system and automated instructions to its<a href="https://www.vanderlande.com/us/systems/security-screening/pax-mx2/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&nbsp;two-lane checkpoint</a>, which uses a conventional CT machine paired with a Rohde &amp; Schwartz<a href="https://www.rohde-schwarz.com/us/products/aerospace-defense-security/security-scanner/rs-qps-quick-personnel-security-scanner_63493-332676.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&nbsp;body scanner</a>&nbsp;kitted out with a virtual assistant that cues passengers to check their pockets if the scanner picks up anything.



The Vanderlande project is further along than Micro-X’s. DHS tested it this spring and hopes to launch a trial by year-end on the PreCheck lanes at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas. It has some features that could speed up the flow of passengers — there are three stations where travelers line up to put their bags on a conveyor — but it doesn’t have the same potential to accelerate the process as the system Micro-X is developing, Fortune says.



Fortune cautions that there’s much about the new technologies that still needs to be proved out.



Micro-X has already commercialized light, mobile medical X-ray machines based on the same technology in its CT scanner. Standard X-ray machines still work pretty much the same as they did when they were first developed around the turn of the 20th century. A filament heats up in a vacuum tube, similar to an old-fashioned light bulb, generating a stream of electrons that create X-rays when they’re rapidly slowed down by a dense metal. Micro-X has perfected technology first developed by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill that applies an electric field to carbon nanotubes to generate a current of electrons. The benefits: its X-ray tubes are about a quarter of the size and a tenth the weight of standard ones. It also provides more precise electronic control of timing and dosing, the company says.



The success of the self-screening security project could mean a big future for a small company. Micro-X had sales of $9.7 million in the fiscal year that ended June 30. With a market capitalization of just $35 million on the Australian Securities Exchange, Gonzales says it will need outside investment or partnerships to get the system to market.



The project also depends on Munich-based<a href="https://www.dhs.gov/science-and-technology/news/2021/10/13/news-release-st-awards-funding-design-passenger-self-screening-hardware-system" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&nbsp;Voxel Radar</a>&nbsp;delivering on its claim that its next-generation millimeter wave body scanner is capable of taking accurate images of travelers while they’re moving in the booth and providing quick feedback about items they’re carrying. Current millimeter wave scanners require travelers to stand still with their arms extended.



Another key will be whether detection algorithms can be created that accurately interpret the images that both types of scanners create.



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-computer-vision">Computer Vision</h2>



Image-analysis algorithms are already used with CT scanners to detect explosives in checked luggage. TSA told&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;that 75% to 80% of checked bags are cleared without human intervention. But carry-on bags are trickier. They need to be checked for a wider variety of banned items, including guns and knives.



It can be difficult for algorithms to pick up the shape of a gun depending on the orientation, or to recognize if a gun has been broken up into pieces, or those pieces are split among different bags, says Norman Shanks, a baggage screening expert who ran security at London Heathrow in the late 1990s. “I’m not that convinced that we’ve got the image recognition for every prohibited item,” he tells&nbsp;Forbes. “It will come but we’re not there yet.”



While accuracy will need to be high and false-alarm rates low to achieve the reductions in checkpoint staffing that the Micro-X project envisions, it’s not clear that human beings pose stiff competition to detection algorithms. In tests in 2017, DHS investigators were able to smuggle mock weapons and explosives past TSA officers at checkpoints&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tsa-screenings-fail-to-detect-explosives-guns-knives-70-percent/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">at least 70% of the time</a>.



Still, cutting staff poses a risk, according to Shanks. It means fewer officers who might notice if a traveler is acting suspiciously. “Technologists want to talk about technology being the answer for everything, and it isn’t,” he says. Also needed are “the soft skills of behavior detection and observation techniques.”



Another question is whether automated instructions will enable enough passengers to use the new systems without help. Experience has shown that signs and videos are no substitute for a person giving directions, says Jeffrey Price, an aviation security consultant and professor at Metropolitan State University of Denver, who calls it “one of the inside secrets of our industry.”



“You have to tell them what to do every time or else they stand there and get confused,” Price says of air travelers. “Even if they do nothing else other than walk down a corridor, you still have to tell them to walk down the corridor.”



The holy grail of the industry is to boil down the process to just that — do away with checkpoints and have passengers scanned continuously while walking. DHS has been funding research at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to develop technology to make that possible.



Fortune says a prototype for that dream may still be a couple of years away.

Delays And Cancellations Continue To Plague Airline Industry Heading Into Holiday Weekend

Through Airport Security In 30 Seconds? That’s The Goal Of This New Technology

<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



Canada has updated its travel advisory to warn LGBTQ residents visiting the United States about local laws and policies that may &#8220;infringe on your human rights&#8221; amid a rise in legislation targeting gay and transgender people, adding Canada to a list of countries that warn visitors to America about gun laws, mass shooting events and hate crime regularity.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">KEY FACTS</h2>



Spurred by what Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland&nbsp;<a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/canada-issues-warning-lgbtq-travelers-united-states/story?id=102674189&amp;cid=social_twitter_abcnp" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">called</a>&nbsp;a need to prioritize the “interests and the safety of every single Canadian,” the country’s advisory page tells residents to check relevant state and local laws and&nbsp;<a href="https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/united-states#laws" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">now links</a>&nbsp;to several maps outlining where anti-LGBTQ+ laws are in place worldwide.



Mexico&nbsp;also&nbsp;<a href="https://portales-sre-gob-mx.translate.goog/guiadelviajero/index.php/103-ficha-de-paises/326-estados-unidos?_x_tr_sl=auto&amp;_x_tr_tl=en&amp;_x_tr_hl=en&amp;_x_tr_pto=wapp" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">warns</a>&nbsp;residents that the state of Florida has passed several laws “that could have an unfavorable impact” on LGBTQ+ people, specifically noting anti-trans bathroom bills, and&nbsp;New Zealand&nbsp;<a href="https://www.safetravel.govt.nz/united-states-america" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">warns</a>&nbsp;that LGBTQ+ people or those with “diverse ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds” could be the targets of “violent crime.”



Venezuela, which is&nbsp;<a href="https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/venezuela-travel-advisory.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">listed by&nbsp;</a>the United States as a do-not-travel country, warns travelers about “indiscriminate hate crimes,” as does&nbsp;Uruguay, which adds a warning about “racism and discrimination” to its travel advisory—the<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/06/americas/venezuela-uruguay-travel-warnings-us/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&nbsp;South American warnings&nbsp;</a>came in 2019 after the U.S. saw two large-scale&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelsandler/2019/08/04/2-mass-shootings-leave-at-least-29-dead-in-under-24-hours-suspects-identified/">mass shootings</a>&nbsp;kill 31 people within 24 hours.



Canada,&nbsp;Australia&nbsp;and the&nbsp;United Kingdom&nbsp;also warn about common mass shootings—typically defined as gun-related violence with four or more casualties or injuries—as the United States<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2022/11/25/611-mass-shootings-recorded-so-far-in-2022-second-worst-year-for-gun-violence-in-almost-a-decade/">&nbsp;saw more&nbsp;</a>than 600 mass shootings in 2022 compared to 2 in the United Kingdom, 1 in Australia and 4 in Canada.



Germany&#8216;s Ministry of Foreign Affairs <a href="https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/de/service/laender/usa-node/usavereinigtestaatensicherheit/201382#content_1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tells its residents</a> that Americans are “facing increases in violent crime” and easy access to guns leads to “occasional killing sprees.” Such travel warnings are not uncommon—the U.S., for example, warns travelers of increased terrorist threats in<a href="https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/united-kingdom-travel-advisory.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> the United Kingdom</a>, civil unrest <a href="https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/spain-travel-advisory.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">in Spain</a> and crime <a href="https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/brazil-travel-advisory.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">in Brazil</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">TANGENT</h2>



Canada also warns that the gender notation of X on a passport, indicating an unspecified gender, could cause entry problems in some countries (the U.S.&nbsp;<a href="https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/need-passport/selecting-your-gender-marker.html#:~:text=At%20this%20time%2C%20you%20can,facility%20or%20renew%20by%20mail." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">allows</a>&nbsp;X as a gender marker for American passports).



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



The Human Rights Campaign&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hrc.org/press-releases/roundup-of-anti-lgbtq-legislation-advancing-in-states-across-the-country" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">says</a>&nbsp;more than 530 anti-LGBTQ bills had been introduced in U.S. state legislatures by May of this year, with 220 specifically targeting transgender and nonbinary people. Of those, 70 had been enacted by the start of the summer. More than&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tylerroush/2023/08/25/judge-temporarily-blocks-texas-ban-on-gender-affirming-care-here-are-all-the-states-with-similar-bans-or-restrictions/?sh=a15020222a8c">a dozen states</a>&nbsp;have placed restrictions on gender-affirming care for transgender people this year, including Missouri, Kentucky and Alabama, where it is now a felony to prescribe puberty blockers and hormones to transgender minors under 19 years old. Other bills have banned drag shows and censored school curriculum. The Department of Homeland Security&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hrc.org/press-releases/roundup-of-anti-lgbtq-legislation-advancing-in-states-across-the-country" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">warned in May</a>&nbsp;that threats against LGBTQ people were on the rise and FBI hate crime statistics said 20% of all hate crimes in 2021 were motivated by LGBTQ bias.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">BIG NUMBER</h2>



356. That’s how many anti-LGBTQ hate crimes were documented by the Anti-Defamation League and GLAAD between June 2022 and April 2023.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">SURPRISING FACT</h2>



Journalists Lyric and Asher Fergusson earlier this year published a report on the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.asherfergusson.com/lgbtq-travel-safety/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">safest places</a>&nbsp;for LGBTQ people to travel in 2023. They used ten factors to rank countries and included things like whether people were protected from discrimination, if violence against LGBTQ people is illegal, if same-sex marriage is legal and transgender murder rates. The United States was ranked 25th on the list with an overall grade of B+ and the report noted that some states don&#8217;t offer protections against discrimination while others prohibit “advocacy of homosexuality” in schools. Canada was rated as the safest country, followed by Sweden, the Netherlands and Malta.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurabegleybloom/2023/06/27/new-lgbtq-safety-report-ranks-trans-friendly-travel-destinations/?sh=6ed4a8252930">New LGBTQ+ Safety Report Ranks Trans Friendly Travel Destinations</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tylerroush/2023/08/25/judge-temporarily-blocks-texas-ban-on-gender-affirming-care-here-are-all-the-states-with-similar-bans-or-restrictions/?sh=a15020222a8c">Judge Temporarily Blocks Texas Ban On Gender-Affirming Care—Here Are The Other Trans Health Restrictions Facing Court Battles&nbsp;</a>(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollybohannon/2023/08/07/florida-will-let-schools-teach-entirety-of-ap-psychology-reversing-course-after-dispute-over-lgbtq-topics/?sh=6f83ba152504">Florida Will Let Schools Teach ‘Entirety’ Of AP Psychology—Reversing Course After Dispute Over LGBTQ Topics </a>(Forbes)

Crowd raising and holding rainbow gay flags during a Gay Pride. Trans flags can be seen as well in the background. The rainbow flag is one of the symbols of the LGBTQ community

Here’s Why These Countries—Not Just Canada—Warn Citizens Visiting The U.S.

<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



Hundreds of Airbus jets are being recalled for an inspection after an issue was discovered in the engines, which are made by Pratt &amp; Whitney, a third party subsidiary of RTX (formerly called Raytheon Technologies), according to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/rtx-raises-2023-sales-outlook-boosted-by-aviation-recovery-2023-07-25/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">multiple</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-engines-on-hundreds-of-airbus-jets-recalled-for-inspection-ab206106?mod=hp_lead_pos2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reports</a>—the latest in a series of reliability issues with Pratt &amp; Whitney’s flagship engine.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



RTX reportedly said it recently discovered contamination in the metals used to make some engine parts on its geared turbofan engine, or GTF, from 2015 to 2020, requiring the planes to be grounded for inspection.



RTX will be inspecting about 1,200 engines over the next year.



RTX said this isn’t a flight safety issue, and that it won’t impact new shipments of planes as those were built after a change in the production process.



The engines are used in about 40% of Airbus’ A320neo single-aisle jets, which make up a large portion of the global airplane fleet and was the fastest selling airplane in history after its launch in 2014, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-10-15/airbus-wins-accord-from-india-s-indigo-for-250-a320neo-airliners" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bloomberg</a>.



Spirit Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Germany’s Lufthansa and India’s IndiGo all reportedly use Airbus jets with the GTF engine.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h2>



“It’s going to be expensive,” RTX CEO Greg Hayes said Tuesday on an earnings call, adding that it’s too early to know the final cost, but said it will likely cost around $500 million in 2023 alone.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">TANGENT</h2>



Raytheon Technologies’ stock price plummeted over 15% after the news, but slightly recovered later in the trading day Tuesday. The share price sat at $85.77 at 2:55 p.m. Eastern Time—still down nearly 12% from Monday’s close.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



The GTF engine has had reliability issues since it hit the market in 2015, with airlines complaining about the engine’s durability issues virtually from the start. Hawaiian Airlines was recently forced to ground five of its 18 Airbus A321neos due to engine issues,&nbsp;<a href="https://aviationweek.com/mro/aircraft-propulsion/mro-memo-operators-feel-impact-gtf-issues" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Aviation Week&nbsp;reported</a>. Spirit Airlines CFO Scott Haralson recently said in an earnings call that the company has been forced to remove many of the engines, and that while it’s hopeful these issues improve, “it will likely remain a drag on utilization for the rest of the year.” Go Airlines India has gone so far as to blame the engines for its bankruptcy in May,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-05-02/go-airlines-files-for-insolvency-after-25-aircraft-were-grounded" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">citing</a>&nbsp;that the engines “suffered from a multitude of defects and a high rate of failure effectively from day one.” (Pratt &amp; Whitney deny responsibility for Go Airlines India’s bankruptcy.)&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-06-16/pratt-s-gtf-engines-for-airbus-a320neo-hit-turbulence" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bloomberg reported</a>&nbsp;that in May, about one in eight A320neos and related aircraft with the GTF spent 30 days or more in storage. While that number includes airplanes that were taken out of service for any reason, only 4% of airplanes using the rival Leap engine from CFM were sidelined for 30 days or more.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeremybogaisky/2018/07/12/pratt-whitney-geared-turbofan-united-technologies/?sh=a4bd7e2b7007">Pratt &amp; Whitney Struggles To Get Its Dream Engine Program Humming</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-engines-on-hundreds-of-airbus-jets-recalled-for-inspection-ab206106?mod=hp_lead_pos2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">New Engines on Hundreds of Airbus Jets Recalled for Inspection</a>&nbsp;(Wall Street Journal)



<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-06-16/pratt-s-gtf-engines-for-airbus-a320neo-hit-turbulence" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Airlines Are Rankled About Pratt &amp; Whitney’s Jet Engine Problems</a> (Bloomberg)

ITA Airways Unveil New Airport Lounge And Aircraft At Fiumicino

Hundreds Of RTX-Made Jet Engines Recalled Over Metal Contamination—Sending Stock Tumbling

Remember the thousands of flight cancellations, endless lines and lost baggage nightmares from last year? Experts warn it could be even worse in 2023. Here’s how to book smarter and fly right in the midst of another Air-mageddon.



Pack your patience, travelers. Those hoping that last summer’s <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/suzannerowankelleher/2022/07/19/why-delayed-flights-not-going-away-soon/?sh=207391ee5727">“airport chaos” headlines</a> were a distant memory are in for a nasty case of déjà vu.



The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) expects 2023 summer air travel volumes to surpass pre-pandemic levels, and industry experts are warning that many of the problems that led to last year’s meltdown have not been resolved.



“This summer’s travel demand will be as strong as we’ve seen since before the pandemic, and potentially the strongest ever,” says Geoff Freeman, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association. “That kind of demand in a system that is woefully underfunded and understaffed is likely to create substantial frustrations among travelers.”



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<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
The FAA asked airlines to pull back slots in New York and Washington, D.C. airports this summer, reducing the number of available flights.
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As the head of the non-profit trade organization representing the $1.2 trillion U.S. travel industry, Freeman worries that a repeat of last year’s air travel mayhem will hurt overall tourism spending. “More than half of Americans would travel more often, they say, for leisure in the next six months if the experience were not as much of a hassle as it is today,” Freeman says, adding that “it did not need to be this way.”



It’s virtually impossible to overstate the Air-mageddon of Summer 2022. After the aviation industry ground to a virtual halt during the pandemic, it could not ramp up fast enough to handle the massive post-pandemic crush of people finally traveling again. Tens of thousands of flights were delayed and cancelled, travelers were left stranded, countless pieces of baggage were lost, and an aging and outdated infrastructure creaked and strained under the stress of it all.



While many of those flight disruptions were blamed on airlines’ supply-chain issues and pilot shortages, the meltdown also exposed cracks in the country’s aviation infrastructure and staffing deficiencies. Flash forward one year and many of those same problems still exist.



First, the United States has been woefully slow to update its aging aviation infrastructure. The issue was fully exposed in January when an outage of one of the Federal Aviation Administration’s critical systems led to a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/suzannerowankelleher/2023/01/11/faa-us-flights-temporarily-grounded-due-to-systems-outage/?sh=7b9060662219">nationwide ground stop of all flights</a>&nbsp;for several hours.



Since then, the FAA has been ramping up its ambitious, multi-year, multi-billion-dollar effort, known as NextGen, to modernize the system. Of the agency’s 2023&nbsp;<a href="https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/2022-03/FAA_Buget_Estimates_FY23.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">annual budget of $23.6 billion</a>, $1 billion is earmarked for NextGen.



“Aviation infrastructure and technology have been chronically underfunded for years,” says Freeman. “These problems have been driven by a slate of missed opportunities over the years from Congress and within the federal government.”



Another salient challenge is the ongoing shortage of air traffic controllers. Travel Cassandras were quick to recognize a bad omen when the FAA asked airlines to pull back slots in New York and Washington, D.C. airports this summer, reducing the number of available flights.



Delays in two major markets can easily create a ripple effect nationwide, but the issue is of particular concern to airlines like JetBlue with strongholds in the Northeast. The New York-based carrier posted a loss for the first quarter of the year and its $3.8 billion&nbsp;<a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-sues-block-jetblue-s-proposed-acquisition-spirit" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">acquisition of Spirit Airlines is being challenged</a>&nbsp;by the Department of Justice. On JetBlue’s earnings call earlier this week, CEO Robin Hayes noted the “very challenging [air traffic control] backdrop” and said the FAA’s request for 10% voluntary reductions by carriers “creates a significant headwind for the American travelers flying this summer.”



Few people understand the challenges of air traffic control better than Paul Rinaldi, a former 16-year air traffic controller at Washington Dulles International Airport and 12-year president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA).



He believes the U.S. should pull the Air Traffic Organization (ATO), the agency’s operational air navigation arm, out of the FAA, which is also responsible for regulatory oversight. This separation is already in place in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and most other countries, and it is the longstanding recommendation of the International Civil Aviation Organization.



Next, says Rinaldi, the U.S. should fund the ATO through a tax-funded program we already have called the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.faa.gov/about/budget/aatf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Aviation Trust Fund</a>, which was established in 1970. When a passenger buys an airline ticket, the price includes aviation-related excise taxes that go into the trust fund, he explains, “which could fund the ATO to the point that the FAA wouldn’t have to interrupt modernization projects while hiring and it would have some financial stability.”



The current shortage of air traffic controllers is hardly new—it can be traced back to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/saranyakapur/2013/02/13/the-budget-sequester-explained-and-what-it-means-for-you/?sh=3438d0bd2b20">2013 United States budget sequestration</a>, says Rinaldi. “They closed the air traffic control academy,” he explains “They looked at reducing hours and many air traffic facilities. They looked at closing and cutting more than 100 federal contract towers, and stopped most modernization projects.”



“And when you look at our short staffing now,” Rinaldi continues, “we have never made it back up since sequestration. And now here we are 10 years later, almost to the date and we’re looking at the same type of draconian cuts.”



It’s not clear that Congress has learned anything from past mistakes. The proposed budget by House Republicans would cut the FAA’s operations by $1.4 billion. One-time budget cuts would reduce staffing not just for the coming year, but for the next decade.



“Every time there’s a threat of a government shutdown, the agency spends weeks preparing for it. And then Congress, at the eleventh hour, kicks the can,” Rinaldi says. “We keep going through the same exercise, and nobody&#8217;s really working on modernizing the system or getting a system that works. We’re just waiting on Congress, to see if they’re going to fund the system.”



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<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
How to Protect Yourself from Flight Disruptions
</blockquote>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-in-a-summer-filled-with-massive-flight-disruptions-it-will-be-everyday-airline-passengers-who-bear-the-pain-here-are-some-steps-that-can-reduce-your-risk">In a summer filled with massive flight disruptions, it will be everyday airline passengers who bear the pain. Here are some steps that can reduce your risk:</h2>



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<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-choose-the-earliest-possible-flight-of-the-day">🛫&nbsp;Choose the earliest possible flight of the day.</h3>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-statistically-your-flight-is-less-likely-to-get-canceled-the-earlier-in-the-day-you-fly-kathleen-bangs-a-former-commercial-airline-pilot-and-current-spokesperson-for-flightaware-told-forbes-last-year-in-the-summer-stormy-weather-tends-to-be-more-problematic-in-afternoons-and-evenings-but-any-time-of-year-early-flights-have-the-least-cancellations">“Statistically your flight is less likely to get canceled the earlier in the day you fly,” Kathleen Bangs, a former commercial airline pilot and current spokesperson for&nbsp;<a href="https://flightaware.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">FlightAware</a>, told&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;last year. “In the summer, stormy weather tends to be more problematic in afternoons and evenings. But any time of year, early flights have the least cancellations.”</h4>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-s-more-there-is-often-a-domino-effect-where-one-canceled-flight-leads-to-a-second-and-then-a-third-late-day-flights-get-canceled-more-often-because-planes-never-make-it-to-their-departure-airport-one-of-bangs-favorite-flightaware-tools-can-give-travelers-an-early-heads-up-that-a-problem-may-be-brewing-enter-your-flight-information-and-then-click-the-where-is-my-plane-now-link-just-under-the-flight-number-you-ll-be-able-to-see-if-the-plane-is-ahead-of-schedule-on-time-or-behind-schedule-and-act-accordingly">What’s more, there is often a domino effect, where one canceled flight leads to a second and then a third. Late-day flights get canceled more often because planes never make it to their departure airport. One of Bangs’ favorite FlightAware tools can give travelers an early heads-up that a problem may be brewing.&nbsp;<a href="https://flightaware.com/live/findflight" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Enter your flight information</a>, and then click the “Where is my plane now?” link just under the flight number. You’ll be able to see if the plane is ahead of schedule, on time or behind schedule and act accordingly.</h4>



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<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-keep-an-eye-on-the-weather-forecast">⛅&nbsp;Keep an eye on the weather forecast.</h3>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-storms-and-other-weather-events-can-compound-the-country-s-already-fragile-air-travel-map-what-s-important-to-understand-especially-as-america-enters-hurricane-season-on-june-1-is-that-bad-weather-in-a-specific-region-can-quickly-turn-into-a-national-air-travel-problem-because-of-how-airlines-reuse-planes-and-crews-for-multiple-trips-during-the-day">Storms and other weather events can compound the country’s already fragile air travel map. What’s important to understand—especially as America enters hurricane season on June 1—is that bad weather in a specific region can quickly turn into a national air travel problem because of how airlines reuse planes and crews for multiple trips during the day.</h4>



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<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-be-flexible">😎&nbsp;Be flexible.</h3>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cancellations-on-friday-can-have-an-echo-effect-on-saturday-as-the-previous-day-s-passengers-scramble-to-be-re-accommodated-before-your-departure-day-think-ahead-to-what-you-would-do-if-your-flight-is-canceled-stay-flexible-with-your-dates-as-it-may-be-hard-to-catch-another-on-the-same-day-or-even-the-next">Cancellations on Friday can have an echo effect on Saturday, as the previous day’s passengers scramble to be re-accommodated. Before your departure day, think ahead to what you would do if your flight is canceled. Stay flexible with your dates, as it may be hard to catch another on the same day or even the next.</h4>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-for-large-fixed-events-such-as-weddings-or-cruise-departures-it-can-be-wise-to-pad-a-getaway-with-an-extra-day-to-give-yourself-extra-wiggle-room">For large fixed events such as weddings or cruise departures, it can be wise to pad a getaway with an extra day to give yourself extra wiggle room.</h4>



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<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-use-your-phone">📱&nbsp;Use your phone.</h3>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-before-flying-download-the-airline-s-app-and-program-the-customer-service-number-into-your-contacts-the-moment-a-flight-is-canceled-there-will-be-a-stampede-to-the-service-counter-but-you-ll-likely-be-able-to-book-yourself-on-a-new-flight-much-faster-on-a-smartphone">Before flying, download the airline’s app and program the customer service number into your contacts. The moment a flight is canceled, there will be a stampede to the service counter. But you’ll likely be able to book yourself on a new flight much faster on a smartphone.</h4>



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<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-know-your-rights">📖&nbsp;Know your rights.</h3>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-if-your-flight-is-canceled-or-delayed-consult-the-department-of-transportation-s-aviation-consumer-protection-website-which-shows-side-by-side-comparisons-of-what-each-airline-offers-in-the-event-of-a-controllable-delay-or-cancellation-for-example-vouchers-are-provided-if-disruptions-are-caused-by-an-issue-such-as-understaffing-or-a-mechanical-glitch-but-not-if-flights-are-delayed-or-cancelled-for-reasons-outside-an-airline-s-control-such-as-weather">If your flight is canceled or delayed, consult the Department of Transportation’s <a href="https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/airline-customer-service-dashboard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Aviation Consumer Protection website</a>, which shows side-by-side comparisons of what each airline offers in the event of a controllable delay or cancellation. For example, vouchers are provided if disruptions are caused by an issue such as understaffing or a mechanical glitch but not if flights are delayed or cancelled for reasons outside an airline’s control, such as weather.<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/suzannerowankelleher/"></a></h4>



By Suzanne Rowan Kelleher, Forbes Africa

US-AIRPLANE-TRAVEL-TRANSPORT

Get Ready For Another Hellish Summer Of Air Travel

The aircraft are already here. Pilot unions are preparing for battle. And the FAA is playing it cool. Autonomous flight is coming to civil aviation sooner than anyone thinks, and it may prove to be a surprising boon for flyover country.



InJanuary, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun revealed an open secret in the world of aviation. “I think the future of autonomy is real for civil,” he told&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2023-01-31/boeing-ceo-on-747-end-china-orders-and-autonomous-jets" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bloomberg TV</a>, before quickly offering some qualifiers. “It’s going to take time. Everyone’s got to build confidence. We need a certification process that we all have faith and believe in.”



The U.S. military has been flying autonomous planes for decades, of course, but always in a segregated airspace. Now it’s becoming increasingly clear that self-flying planes are coming to commercial aviation, and not in some distant&nbsp;Jetsons&nbsp;future world. Aircraft manufacturers are working toward it. Airlines are eager for it. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is preparing for it. And pilot unions acknowledge the threat is looming on the horizon.



A decade ago, the conversation was largely speculative. But today, many in the aviation industry believe that small, self-flying planes could be carrying passengers by the end of this decade. Then, barring no major safety incidents, it could take as little as another decade before larger passenger jets operate without a pilot on the flight deck.



“It’s all about money,” says Dennis Tajer, a pilot for 35 years and the spokesman for Allied Pilots Association, which represents 15,000 American Airlines pilots. “Manufacturers are looking for the next innovative technology to deploy so that they can sell it and make money, and airlines are looking at how they can do this more cheaply.”



It’s a charge that’s difficult to rebut. Six years ago, a report from the Swiss bank UBS estimated that autonomous planes could save the air transportation industry more than $35 billion per year. Still, the same report flagged a bright red public perception problem. A 2017 global survey found that a majority of people would be unwilling to fly in a plane without a pilot, even if the airfare were cheaper. The next year, a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ipsos.com/en-us/news-polls/Few-Would-be-Comfortable-with-Flying-on-Pilotless-Airliners" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">public survey from Ipsos</a>&nbsp;found that 81% of Americans would not be comfortable traveling on a self-flying plane. Notably, that survey was sponsored by the Air Lines Pilots Association (ALPA), whose 65,000 members make up the largest pilot union in the country.



The introduction of autonomous aircraft into the civil aviation mix will begin with small cargo planes, led by companies like&nbsp;<a href="https://xwing.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Xwing</a>, a Northern California-based startup. “We took an existing Cessna airframe,” says Xwing CEO Marc Piette, “which is the most widely used express cargo airframe, and we’ve been modifying that vehicle to convert it to a remotely-supervised vehicle. We think the cargo market is the best first place to deploy this. And we’ve been very deliberate.”



For the past few years, Xwing has been running automated test missions, mainly in California. A flight plan is submitted, just as if there were a human pilot, and the flight’s parameters are pre-programmed before takeoff. “It’s really a one-click thing,” Piette says. “You engage the system and it runs its mission.”



Until the technology is certified by the FAA, however, there will need to be a safety pilot on board. This allows Xwing to fly without jumping through regulatory hoops. “The safety pilot can disconnect a system and revert the aircraft to manual flying, but otherwise doesn’t do anything but monitor the system. It’s a very boring job,” Piette explains. Meanwhile, the Cessna is operated from the ground, with two human controllers watching a moving map on screens and interfacing with air traffic control.



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<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
“All of these companies are really looking forward to the day where there will not be a pilot on board.”
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Once the technology is certified, Xwing plans to introduce and operate these vehicles by late 2025 and then make it available to other operators. “To give you an example, FedEx has about 240 Cessna 208s for its U.S. network,” Piette says, alluding to the scalability of the venture. He expects his autonomous aircraft to be transporting human passengers by the end of this decade.



Xwing is certainly&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeremybogaisky/2023/01/30/this-robot-electric-cargo-plane-could-be-the-start-of-a-wave-that-transforms-shipping">not the only manufacturer</a>&nbsp;working on autonomous cargo aircraft, but it has a secret weapon in its chief compliance and quality officer. Earl Lawrence knows a thing or two about FAA regulations, having recently left the agency, where he was the head of aircraft certification. Prior to that, Lawrence had started the FAA’s unmanned office. “One of the key things of bringing this category of aircraft to the cargo market is that we are not changing the rules. We are following the regulations,” he says, noting that some companies in the space have made proposals that do not comply with FAA regulations. “That’s what significantly slows things down.”



Few people know more about autonomous aircraft than Stephane Fymat, who heads up Urban Air Mobility (UAM) and Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) at&nbsp;<a href="https://aerospace.honeywell.com/us/en/about-us/blogs/aviations-future-is-safer-more-efficient-and-more-autonomous" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Honeywell</a>, which has a long history producing autopilot systems for Boeing Dreamliners, Gulfstream and Embraer jets as well as other aircraft.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://imageio.forbes.com/specials-images/imageserve/63f7cb3a3307e5f9d18ba85a/autonomous-plane-Pipistrel-and-Textron/0x0.jpg?format=jpg&amp;width=960" alt="autonomous plane Pipistrel and Textron"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">No Flying Zone: Pipistrel&#8217;s autonomous plane has plenty of room for cargo, but no cockpit for a pilot.COURTESY OF PIPISTREL AND TEXTRON</figcaption></figure>



Fymat shared with&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;a PowerPoint deck for a speech he has given at invitation-only industry conferences. After a brief introduction, a slide appears with six images laid out in a grid. Each shows an aircraft produced by one of Honeywell’s clients. Some are designed for cargo and others for passengers. In one photo, men are loading boxes into a cargo plane made by Slovenian light aircraft manufacturer Pipistrel, which Rhode Island-based Textron acquired last year. The plane does not even have a cockpit.



“Basically, most of them will start with a pilot now and move to having no pilot on board,” Fymat says of Honeywell’s partners. “A few of them want to do it within four or five years and some think it’s more like a 10-year range.”



One immediate advantage of pilot-free small planes is the increased capacity. Autonomy can immediately turn a six-passenger plane into seven-seater. “All of these companies are really looking forward to the day where there will not be a pilot on board,” Fymat says. “They’re all planning for it, in fact, and we’re helping them get there.”



“Cargo is an entryway drug for them,” Tajer says. “The script is to start with something that doesn’t sound like it’s going to hurt people. But the reality is that it’s still the same sky, and it’s still a metal tube in the air and passenger jets will be sharing the sky with them.”



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<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-readying-for-take-off">Readying for Take Off</h3>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-self-flying-passenger-jets-will-be-airborne-by-the-2040s">How self-flying passenger jets will be airborne by the 2040s.</h3>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
2023
<cite>Various aircraft manufacturers are working with the FAA on certifying autonomous aircraft.</cite></blockquote>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
2025-2026
<cite>The first self-flying cargo planes will enter civil aviation, sharing the skies with piloted airplanes.</cite></blockquote>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
2030-2035
<cite>Small, self-flying planes will begin carrying passengers on short, regional flights.</cite></blockquote>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
2040-2050
<cite>Larger passenger jets will begin operating without a pilot on the flight.</cite></blockquote>



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For manufacturers, bringing new aircraft into the mix requires navigating the regulations of the FAA and the world’s other aviation authorities. “We have an application on an all-electric autonomous airplane that we refer to as Wisk,” Boeing’s Calhoun told Bloomberg. “That application is in and the FAA will begin working with us today on building out a certification program for autonomy and for Wisk. There’s so much to learn, so much to do, but it is being done.”



Some worry that the FAA may be too accommodating. “The FAA ebbs and flows between being a monolithic oversight authority to slowly, over time, becoming too cozy with the manufacturers and the airlines,” Tajer notes. “That’s a funding issue, it’s experience, and then it also can become a culture issue, which you don’t have to look too far back [<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2023/01/26/boeing-arraigned-in-court-over-737-max-crashes-two-years-after-25-billion-settlement/">to the 737 Max crashes</a>], to see what happens when there’s too cozy a relationship. The FAA just needs to stand firm on delivering the safest possible system out there.”



During the pandemic, some airlines quietly lobbied the agency to amend what’s known as Part 121 of the Federal Aviation Regulations, which requires scheduled carriers to have at least two qualified pilots on the flight deck, arguing that a single-pilot approach would help alleviate the pilot shortage. The FAA’s European counterpart&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/suzannerowankelleher/2023/02/07/europe-aviation-2-pilots-in-cockpit/?sh=55960bde1e4c">recently ruled against</a>&nbsp;making such a change until 2030 at the earliest.



It’s a rationale echoed by manufacturers. “Look at the airliners that we fly in every day,” Fymat says. “They don’t yet take off by themselves. They don’t taxi by themselves. But once they’ve taken off, they’ll do the entire flight by themselves, and they will land by themselves if you wanted them to. Airplanes have been doing this for years.” He adds that it’s just a matter of time before jets can do it all. “Adding in the ability to divert and redo a flight plan because of an emergency or whatever, communicating with air traffic control, those are the next pieces. But the basics already there.”



Naturally, the idea of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexledsom/2022/11/21/airlines-move-to-have-one-pilot-not-two-in-cost-cutting-solution/?sh=6e68e5374bc4">single-pilot flight decks</a>&nbsp;doesn’t sit well with pilots. “They’re talking about taking out that backup human system,” Tajer says. “Having that second pilot can be the difference between people getting hurt or them getting through an incident safely. And that’s because no matter how much technology you have, the importance of having another human being who has as much at risk and is committed to protecting those passengers in the back is what makes our safety system so successful here in the U.S.”



Meanwhile, automation is advancing. “AI technology is a big opportunity to establish the next generation of products in the industry, the epicenter of really, really powerful core technologies,” says Arne Stoschek, the head of machine learning and autonomy at Acubed, an Airbus innovation center. At Toulouse Airport, near Airbus headquarters in southwestern France, the manufacturer is testing a suite of pilot-assistance technologies in a demonstrator it calls&nbsp;<a href="https://www.airbus.com/en/newsroom/stories/2023-01-could-the-humble-dragonfly-help-pilots-during-flight" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">DragonFly</a>. Much like how actual dragonflies can recognize landmarks while in flight, the aircraft’s systems use artificial intelligence and sensors on the outside of the plane to “see” features in the landscape and safely maneuver autonomously within its surroundings. To date, the capabilities include automated emergency diversion in cruise, automatic landing and taxi assistance.



In the near term, the greatest challenge for self-flying planes may be getting the public to accept them. Xwing’s Lawrence expects public perceptions to evolve with time. “As the technology gets rolled out, people will understand it better and trust it more,” he says.



Advocates point out that among the first beneficiaries will be people who live in rural locales far from major airports. “This isn’t just about getting somebody from downtown Wall Street to JFK in eight minutes flat, which is very valuable by the way,” Honeywell’s Fymat says. “It’s also about the rural community, who right now has no air service. Or the essential air service that they have is, like, once a week.”



Xwing’s Piette agrees. “The impact is going to be dramatic,” he says. “Among the reasons [regional airports] are losing commercial traffic today is that there’s a significant pilot shortage, which makes it very challenging to staff some of these routes. If you’re in places like Wichita or Louisville, good luck trying to find direct routes to wherever you want to go.” With a large volume of smaller aircraft, there can be a higher frequency of flights between any small-city destination pair, according to Piette. “And we can reinstate access to flights to small localities.”



Ultimately, Tajer argues, “it’s going to come down to whether people eventually get used to the idea. And I don’t know, but when you’re in the sky, and it’s noisy, and the aircraft is doing things you’ve never felt before, and nobody’s in the cockpit, you might be thinking, ‘I sure hope that kid down on the ground at the computer has got this stuff figured out, because my family’s lives depend on it.’ That’s a big hump to get over.”



By Suzanne Rowan Kelleher, Forbes Staff

No Pilot, No Problem? Here’s How Soon Self-Flying Planes Will Take Off

Covering five of South Africa’s nine provinces, FORBES AFRICA looks at some gorgeous getaways as the year wraps up and it’s time to hit the road.



If you’re looking for forest trails, waterfalls and rock pools, sand dunes by the sea, mountains and majestic views, long plains and starlit nights, or elephants and giraffe, South Africa has every kind of vista you can visit. Here’s a list of a few choice getaways – ranging from cheap to chic.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">KwaZulu-Natal</h2>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Sasi-Bush-Lodge-KwaZulu-Natal-by-Rogan-Kerr-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-57079" width="620" height="413" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Sasi-Bush-Lodge-KwaZulu-Natal-by-Rogan-Kerr-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Sasi-Bush-Lodge-KwaZulu-Natal-by-Rogan-Kerr-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Sasi-Bush-Lodge-KwaZulu-Natal-by-Rogan-Kerr-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Sasi-Bush-Lodge-KwaZulu-Natal-by-Rogan-Kerr-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Sasi-Bush-Lodge-KwaZulu-Natal-by-Rogan-Kerr-2048x1365.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px" /><figcaption>Photo by Rogan Kerr</figcaption></figure></div>


In the Northern Drakensburg sits Sasi Bush Lodge; with luxury tents, hikes, massages, bush breakfasts and more. Just 3.5 hours from O R Tambo Airport in Johannesburg and three hours from King Shaka Airport in Durban, this destination holiday provides an inexpensive experience than a stay at the Kruger National Park, starting from R2,000 ($117) per night for adults. Sasi Bush Lodge has also tried to re-wild the lands and remove the alien vegetation in the area.



Emzemvelo accommodation covers an incredible range of scenery, from the Big Five to the stunning mountains of the Drakensburg. If you get the Golden Rhino card at R250 ($15) per person, there’s discounts out of season and free entry at Emzemvelo Parks. One of the many options with accommodation include a two-bedroom mountain view chalet at Giant’s Castle, breakfast included, for R1,400 ($82), during peak season. Another great spot is Hluhluwe, replete with the Big Five, at R1,750 ($102) for a two-bedroom chalet. Campsites like Cobham go for R85 ($5) during peak season, while Garden Castle camping goes for the same.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Western Cape</h2>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Africamps-view-in-Cederberg-by-Rogan-Kerr-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-57074" width="672" height="448" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Africamps-view-in-Cederberg-by-Rogan-Kerr-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Africamps-view-in-Cederberg-by-Rogan-Kerr-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Africamps-view-in-Cederberg-by-Rogan-Kerr-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Africamps-view-in-Cederberg-by-Rogan-Kerr-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Africamps-view-in-Cederberg-by-Rogan-Kerr-2048x1365.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 672px) 100vw, 672px" /><figcaption>Photo by Rogan Kerr</figcaption></figure></div>


In Cederberg, Western Cape, there’s de Pakhuys, a camping, glamping or chalet style accommodation, nestled in a valley, with a rocky terrain to go bouldering on or hiking, a waterfall walk and stunning stars over fields of flowers. The Africamps&#8217; custom-designed glamping tents go for R977 ($57) per person sharing, complete with a private wood-fired hot tub and bathroom with luxurious rain shower, among other facilities.



Also in Cederberg, Western Cape, is the Gecko Creek Wilderness Lodge, a self-catering private nature reserve that borders the Cederberg Reserve, and a short distance away is the Olifants River. It offers twin cabins and tents overlooking the valley full of Fynbos and wildflowers, and a salt water swimming pool. Activities include waterfall walks, hiking to caves and treks such as the Wolfberg Cracks and Wolfberg Arch, Maltese Cross and Sneeuberg. There’s also Leopard’s Rock with indigenous San Rock Paintings, and the famous Elephant Rock formation, bouldering, horse-riding, wine-tasting nearby, and canoeing – if you have your own canoe. Self-camping is between R150-R190 ($8-$11) per person a night, safari tents sleeping two are R250-R290 ($15-$17), cabins are R450-R490 ($26-$29) per person per night, and cottages are R1,250-R1,500 ($75-$87) per person per night. None of them have electricity, as manager Shivani Ghai says, “It’s more about the rugged outdoors and the stars without any light pollution.” They do have WiFi. They’re already quite booked up for December and January, so email to inquire about available days.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Eastern Cape</h2>



Hogsback in the Amatola Mountains is perfect for hikes through moss-covered forests and views of mist in the morning in valleys below. Named after the rocky ridge that resembles a hog’s back, it offers many places to stay – quintessentially, The Edge, replete with cottages perched on a cliff overlooking a valley or Airbnbs in the forest. The latter can cost less than R1,000 ($58), with pet-friendly or family friendly options available. Mountain and waterfall hikes abound, with a tiny village of chocolate shops and places to eat.



In Morgan’s Bay is In The Green Backpackers, a pet-friendly and eco-friendly accommodation, one kilometer away from the beach and lagoon, surrounded by greenery. The whole house is built out of recycled material, with a vegetable patch, and various walls made out of cob, a natural building material made from subsoil, water, fibrous organic material like straw, and sometimes lime. In the



Green Backpackers is a small establishment, but a personal one, says Corlia Perry, the manager. The outside double room with a view costs R450 ($26) per night, the inside double room goes for R350 ($20) a night, and the safari tent with two single beds is R300 ($17.5) a night, with a five-person dorm room at R150 ($9) per person. There’s also a tree house, made of tin, for the real adventure seekers, which sleeps three people at R250 ($15) a night.



“We bought the property next to us and have started planting fruit trees. This is obviously a long-term project. The idea is to always have some sort of food source available. We have planted avocado trees and macadamia trees, paw paw trees, banana trees, plum and naartjie, plus coffee plants. Also lemon and grapefruit,” concludes Perry.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Gauteng</h2>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Screenshot-2022-12-13-at-15.15.31-1024x564.png" alt="" class="wp-image-57082" width="669" height="368" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Screenshot-2022-12-13-at-15.15.31-1024x564.png 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Screenshot-2022-12-13-at-15.15.31-300x165.png 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Screenshot-2022-12-13-at-15.15.31-768x423.png 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Screenshot-2022-12-13-at-15.15.31-1536x846.png 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Screenshot-2022-12-13-at-15.15.31.png 1576w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 669px) 100vw, 669px" /><figcaption>Photo by Woodland Gardens Lodge</figcaption></figure></div>


Woodland Gardens Lodge in Magaliesburg, an hour outside of central Johannesburg, is a pet-friendly self-catering accommodation of chalets, a pool, a shared bonfire, as well as a charming garden also containing goats, pigs and many dogs, along with a little forest. Nearby, there’s hikes into the mountains, resplendent rock pools and hot air ballooning. Ibis Garden Cottage has an enclosed outside bath, with a view of the stars. Chalets range in size – perfect for romantic getaways or family trips, with braai areas and water features. Some are fenced for peace of mind with dogs. They have mid-week specials, and normal rates range from R445 ($26) per person to R830 ($48).



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-free-state">Free State</h2>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/GettyImages-170486697.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-57083" width="680" height="451" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/GettyImages-170486697.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/GettyImages-170486697-300x199.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/GettyImages-170486697-768x510.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /><figcaption>(Photo by: Majority World/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>


The quaint town of Clarens in the Free State, just 20kms from the Golden Gate Highlands National Park, is surrounded by red sandstone mountains, dotted with orange and red fauna and flora. A rocky yet lively landscape, it has a vibrant town of small shops and 27 restaurants. If you’re looking to get out of the city but still see the New Year in with some dancing, Clarens has the perfect mix. New years’ see the streets turn into a lively mix of eating and dancing outside.



Clarens Eddies Bed &amp; Breakfast has a two-sleeper room for R590 ($34), a four-sleeper room for R864 ($51), and a six-sleeper for R1864 ($109), with breakfast not included in the base rate. They offer free guided mountain walks every day. Around Clarens, there is horse-riding, white river rafting, hot air ballons, day visits to Lesotho with 10 different programs, a cherry picking festival in November, and a steam train ride through the cherry orchards. Through the conservancy, there are 15 different hiking and cycling trails, where you can rent a bicycle. With all the recent rain, the mountain streams have turned this usually dry vista into a “Niagara falls”, says owner of Eddies, Dawn Trevelyan.

Overview of Sasi Bush Lodge in KwaZulu-Natal, by Rogan Kerr

Planning A Holiday? Cheap To Chic Getaways In South Africa

Dubai International (DXB), the world’s busiest airport by international passenger numbers, has announced a robust Q3 with prospects for a stronger Q4. In addition, the airport says it has recorded “tremendous growth” in traffic between DXB and the African continent, making it the third busiest region for the airport in terms of passenger traffic.



DXB increased its annual forecast for passenger traffic to 64.3 million following a strong performance in the third quarter, and the prospects of a stronger surge in the offing for the rest of 2022.



&#8220;The growth in passenger traffic has been terrific throughout the year and continues to exceed our expectations by a margin,” says Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, in a press statement.



Speaking to FORBES AFRICA, on Africa’s significance for the airport, he adds: “Traffic on routes between Dubai International (DXB) and Africa, which has been a key market for DXB for many years, has grown tremendously in 2022 making it the third busiest region for us in terms of passenger traffic.



“A total of 4.6 million passengers travelled between DXB and the multiple city destinations across Africa in the first nine months of 2022. We expect the region’s strong performance to continue throughout the remainder of the year.&#8221;



UAE-based carrier Emirates recently announced it will be increasing its flight schedule to South Africa in 2023, with Durban benefitting even sooner, with daily flights scheduled to start before the end of the year.



India was DXB’s top country destination in terms of traffic volume, recording 6.8 million passengers in the first nine months of the year

Aircraft at DXB

‘Africa Is Third Busiest Region For Us’: Dubai Airports CEO On Growth In Passenger Traffic

On JetBlue Airways’ third-quarter earnings call on Tuesday, in which the company reported its first pandemic profit of $57 million, executives repeatedly cited air traffic control staffing challenges as an ongoing issue.



JetBlue’s president Joanna Geraghty characterized the air-traffic-control environment as “fragile” and “constrained” while commending the agency for being “a great partner, bringing a ton of transparency around what they&#8217;re seeing in terms of staffing challenges.”&nbsp;



The airline’s CFO, Ursula Hurley, said the airline was operating in a “challenging environment throughout the network, given ATC delays.”



On Wednesday, airports around the world tallied more than 14,000 flight delays and 2,600 cancellations, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://flightaware.com/live/cancelled/today" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">FlightAware tracking data</a>. In the United States, four airports saw at least 20% of their flights delayed.&nbsp;



That’s a significant improvement from this past summer, which saw&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/suzannerowankelleher/2022/07/19/why-delayed-flights-not-going-away-soon/?sh=4ad1d89b5727">more than 20,000 flights delayed every day</a>&nbsp;worldwide. During those months, it was typical to see up to 20 U.S. airports a day with more than 20% of their scheduled flights delayed. Industry analysts have chalked up the vast majority of those delays to a widespread pilot shortage.



Yet the airlines have also pointed fingers at the FAA. Last April, officials at JetBlue, Southwest and Spirit charged that staffing issues at the Federal Aviation Authority’s center in Jacksonville, Florida, had led to delays and cancellations to thousands of Florida bound flights. Just before the July 4th holiday weekend, Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian suggested that a “stressed” air traffic control was the leading cause of flight disruptions in the U.S.&nbsp;



Last month at the Global Aerospace Summit, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby told CNN that the air traffic controller shortage was the carrier’s top concern. “It was tight before the pandemic and they don’t have enough people today and they need more,” he said.



The FAA has repeatedly suggested that airlines should get their own houses in order.&nbsp;



“Airlines should focus on restoring customers’ faith by being transparent about the cause of interruptions and by delivering what they promise,” said the FAA in a statement provided to&nbsp;Forbes. “Airline data show that the vast majority of delays are not from air traffic controller staffing.”



That is true. In the first eight months of 2022,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.transtats.bts.gov/ot_delay/ot_delaycause1.asp?qv52ynB=qn6n&amp;20=E" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">U.S. airlines reported</a>&nbsp;951,181 delayed flights, or nearly 119,000 per month, to the Department of Transportation. Of those, airlines attributed 40% of delays to the carriers themselves compared to 17% attributable to the national aviation system.&nbsp;



Another 37% flights were delayed due to aircraft arriving late to departure gates. But again, the airlines themselves attributed 63% of those delays to the carriers compared to 10% blamed on the national aviation system.



“The agency is investing significant resources to eliminate the Covid training backlog and continues hiring a new, more diverse generation of controllers to meet demand as air travel increases,” said the FAA.



The median pay for an air traffic controller is $129,750 per year — about four times higher than the median for all occupations in the U.S., according to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bls.gov/ooh/transportation-and-material-moving/air-traffic-controllers.htm#tab-5" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics</a>.&nbsp;



Job candidates typically need an associate’s or a bachelor’s degree, often from the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.faa.gov/jobs/students/schools" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Air Traffic Collegiate Training Initiative (AT-CTI) program</a>&nbsp;available at several dozen two- and four-year colleges that partner with the FAA to prepare students for a career in air traffic control. Other candidates must have three years of progressively responsible work experience, have completed four years of college, or have a combination of both.



While the AT-CTI program is not funded by the FAA, the broad-based aviation degrees are designed with air traffic curricula provided by the agency. The program is “a valuable source of applicants for air traffic controller positions,” said the FAA.&nbsp;



Of three schools that have recently joined the AT-CTI program, two — Florida Memorial University and North Carolina’s Elizabeth City State University — are Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The third new AT-CTI partner is Farmingdale State College in New York.



With the largest U.S. airlines&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/suzannerowankelleher/2022/10/20/economic-slowdown-airline-industry-booming/?sh=783cad9f5fea">reporting soaring third-quarter revenue</a>&nbsp;this month, strong travel demand and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/suzannerowankelleher/2022/10/14/airfare-inflation-five-times-higher-than-overall-inflation/">significantly boosted fares</a>&nbsp;have more than offset higher costs from fuel, staffing and other expenses.&nbsp;



Meanwhile, the government has pushed airlines to be more transparent with customers when flight disruptions occur. The Department of Transportation recently launched a new&nbsp;<a href="https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/airline-customer-service-dashboard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Aviation Consumer Protection dashboard</a>, which shows side-by-side comparisons of what each airline offers in the event of a controllable delay or cancellation.



The median pay for an air traffic controller is $129,750 per year — about four times higher than the median for all occupations in the U.S., according to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bls.gov/ooh/transportation-and-material-moving/air-traffic-controllers.htm#tab-5" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics</a>.&nbsp;



Job candidates typically need an associate’s or a bachelor’s degree, often from the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.faa.gov/jobs/students/schools" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Air Traffic Collegiate Training Initiative (AT-CTI) program</a>&nbsp;available at several dozen two- and four-year colleges that partner with the FAA to prepare students for a career in air traffic control. Other candidates must have three years of progressively responsible work experience, have completed four years of college, or have a combination of both.



While the AT-CTI program is not funded by the FAA, the broad-based aviation degrees are designed with air traffic curricula provided by the agency. The program is “a valuable source of applicants for air traffic controller positions,” said the FAA.&nbsp;



Of three schools that have recently joined the AT-CTI program, two — Florida Memorial University and North Carolina’s Elizabeth City State University — are Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The third new AT-CTI partner is Farmingdale State College in New York.



With the largest U.S. airlines&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/suzannerowankelleher/2022/10/20/economic-slowdown-airline-industry-booming/?sh=783cad9f5fea">reporting soaring third-quarter revenue</a>&nbsp;this month, strong travel demand and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/suzannerowankelleher/2022/10/14/airfare-inflation-five-times-higher-than-overall-inflation/">significantly boosted fares</a>&nbsp;have more than offset higher costs from fuel, staffing and other expenses.&nbsp;



Meanwhile, the government has pushed airlines to be more transparent with customers when flight disruptions occur. The Department of Transportation recently launched a new&nbsp;<a href="https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/airline-customer-service-dashboard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Aviation Consumer Protection dashboard</a>, which shows side-by-side comparisons of what each airline offers in the event of a controllable delay or cancellation.



By Suzanne Rowan Kelleher, Forbes Staff

Hamburg Airport after warning strike

FAA: Airlines, Not Air Traffic Control, Are To Blame For Majority Of Flight Disruptions

While, technically, it may not be autumn quite yet, Labor Day Weekend is behind us. For travelers, that means the arrival of the fall shoulder season full of deals and falling prices.



Savvy travelers know this is nothing new. Airfare and other key travel costs tend to plummet after the busy summer travel season, creating a great opportunity for those looking for affordable getaways.



Kayak reports that domestic flight prices this fall are down 19%, averaging $359 per round trip compared to $444 during the summer. International flight prices, meanwhile, are down 21%, with average airfares coming in around $856 instead of $1,078 at the peak of summer.



According to Expedia data, the average price for domestic plane tickets is falling fastest if you’re heading to the West Coast. Compared to summer prices, flights to Seattle are down a hefty 45%. Tickets to Los Angeles are down 35%, while Portland flights are down 35%, and San Francisco airfare is down 25%. A plane ticket to Chicago costs 20% less, on average, than just a few weeks ago.



Need wheels? According to Kayak data, domestic rental car prices are down 21% for fall, averaging $77 per day compared to $97 per day over the summer. Getting around this fall will be even cheaper overseas.&nbsp;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-eye-on-europe">Eye on Europe</h3>



European getaways haven’t been this affordable in decades. The last time the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2022/08/22/euro-falls-below-dollar-as-europe-gears-up-for-energy-crisis/">euro fell to parity with the dollar</a>&nbsp;was in 2022, meaning that your travel funds will stretch further than they did a decade ago, a year ago or even a few months ago. Even better, the British pound is currently worth $1.16 U.S., a figure not seen since 1985.



According to Expedia, flights to Barcelona are down 30% compared to summer, while airfare to London has dropped by 20% and tickets to Rome and Paris are down 15% on average.



Kayak found that renting a car outside of the U.S. will cost $70 per day on average compared to $102 in the summer, for a big 31% savings.&nbsp;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Timing is Everything</h3>



For those with vacation days to spare, it makes sense to time a trip for when airfares will be at their cheapest. For domestic flights, Expedia Travel found that the week of September 26 will be the sweet spot, with flights nearly 45% cheaper on average compared to summer. For international trips, aim for the week of October 10, when average international ticket prices will be 20% lower than they were in summer.



Still, the most reliable trick to snagging a great price is not waiting until the last minute.



Last month, Google published&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/suzannerowankelleher/2022/08/31/best-time-to-book-a-cheap-flight/">new insights</a>&nbsp;based on five years worth of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.google.com/travel/flights" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Google Flights</a>historical airfare data. For U.S. domestic flights, the study found that prices were usually at their lowest three weeks to two months out, with average prices bottoming out 44 days before departure.&nbsp;



Other top booking sites also endorse the idea that travelers should book at least 21 days in advance of their departure dates. “Prices will be lowest three to six weeks before your trip, rising rapidly in the last three weeks before departure date,” according to analysts at the deal-finding site&nbsp;<a href="https://hopper.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hopper</a>.



The upshot: If you’re eyeballing an early October trip, you’d be wise to book now.



By Suzanne Rowan Kelleher, Forbes Staff

PTO Alert: Travel Is Suddenly A Whole Lot Cheaper

Most travelers know that booking a flight at the last minute means paying through the nose. Travel experts, travel agents, online travel booking sites will all tell you that booking earlier is better.



But the sweet spot for exactly when to snag the cheapest airfare? That’s always been the Holy Grail, and much harder to pin down.&nbsp;



On Wednesday, Google&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.google/products/travel/how-to-find-the-best-deal-on-your-next-flight/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">published new insights</a>&nbsp;based on five years worth of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.google.com/travel/flights" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Google Flights</a>&nbsp;historical airfare data. For U.S. domestic flights, the study found that prices were usually at their lowest three weeks to two months out, with average prices bottoming out 44 days before departure.&nbsp;



For travelers looking for a cheap flight, the report finds that when you book definitely matters. “The timing of how far ahead you&#8217;re looking is really the most important factor,” says James Byers, senior product manager for Google Flights.



But here’s where things get more complicated. Google also found that the very best day for booking was a moving target, depending on the season and holiday. For example, spring break tickets were cheapest 38 days before departure, while for Thanksgiving travel, airfares hit their lowest point 52 days out. For a summer vacation in July or August, the cheapest airfare popped up just 21 days before the travel date. Those are some pretty wild swings.



So is there an ironclad golden rule for when to book? Other top booking sites also endorse the idea that travelers should book at least 21 days in advance of their departure dates, though their “sweet spots” vary.



The deal-finding site <a href="https://hopper.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hopper</a> also advises booking at least three weeks in advance to find the best deals for domestic trips. “Prices will be lowest three to six weeks before your trip, rising rapidly in the last three weeks before departure date,” according to the site’s analysts. That puts the optimal booking window range from 21 days to about 45 days before travel.



For <a href="https://www.cheapair.com/blog/the-best-time-to-buy-flights/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CheapAir.com’s Annual Flight Report</a> published in March, the company crunched the numbers on more than 917 million domestic airfares in more than 8,000 markets across the United States. The verdict: The best time for travelers to book airfare this year is three weeks to three or four months before a trip. The report found that the best day to book, on average, is much further out, about 76 days — about two and a half months — before your travel date.



Airlines will frequently raise flight prices at the 21-day mark, the 14-day mark, and seven days prior to the departure date, according to the report’s authors. “Travelers who wait to book their flights within three weeks of travel dates can risk paying double, or even triple the amount,” they wrote. “If you have an emergency or unexpected trip, you’ll likely pay about $150 more than you would if you shopped in the prime booking window.”



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-best-day-of-the-week-to-buy">Best Day of the Week to Buy</h3>



There’s an often-repeated wives’ tale that Tuesday is the best day of the week to buy plane tickets. Travel booking sites agree that’s overblown.



After analyzing five years worth of data, Google found no big savings to be had by targeting any particular day of the week, though buying midweek may save you a few dollars. Flights were about 1.9% cheaper if bought midweek — on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday — compared to those purchased on a weekend.&nbsp;



“Actually, the average low fare only varies by about $1, no matter the day of the week that you buy an airline ticket,” wrote the authors of CheapAir.com’s report.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Best Day of the Week to Fly&nbsp;</h3>



Historically, it’s been cheaper to fly in the middle of the week than on the weekend, especially on Sunday. On average, domestic flights that depart on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday have been 20% cheaper than weekend departures.&nbsp;



But the two-year Covid-19 pandemic has impacted this metric. “One of the trends we&#8217;ve seen, especially when comparing 2020 through 2022, is we&#8217;ve seen a shift towards some flexibility around weekend travel,” says Byers. “So for example, on Memorial Day weekend, we see a shift towards Thursday departures and pulling some of that travel earlier into the week versus prior years. And we think that&#8217;s in some part due to increased flexibility and, and a some&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/suzannerowankelleher/2022/03/12/covid-changed-business-travel/">changing patterns in work</a>.”



But what has not changed is the inflection point when prices jump. “Roughly two to three weeks out from a flight is the time when we very often see prices rise. That effect is has remained consistent, despite the big changes over the last few years,” says Byers.



By Suzanne Rowan Kelleher, Forbes Staff

Cancelled Flights Cause Concern Ahead Of July 4 Weekend Travel

The Very Best Time To Book A Cheap Flight? It’s Complicated

Didn’t get around to taking a summer vacation? It’s time to book your trip, as airfares are dropping fast to pre-pandemic levels.



As demand for summer travel abates, Americans who held out for a late-August or post-Labor Day getaway will be rewarded for their patience.



Domestic airfare will drop to $286 round-trip later in August, down 25% compared to the $400 peak price for summer airfare in May, according to the third-quarter travel index from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hopper.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hopper</a>, the online booking platform. The average airfare will remain at or below $300 through September, before beginning to rise in October &amp; November and eventually peaking over $390 for last minute holiday bookings in mid to late December.&nbsp;



That brings prices back in line with 2019 levels, says Hayley Berg, Hopper&#8217;s lead economist and author of the report. Late-summer airfares typically drop between 10% and 15% between late August and early October as demand declines for back-to-school season in the U.S. But this year’s tumble from the highs of summer is steeper than usual.



So what is driving airfares down so quickly? In large part, this is a market correction. “Prices this summer were elevated beyond normal seasonal airfare increases by high jet fuel prices and pent-up demand coming out of two depressed summer seasons, and by traveler demand peaking earlier in the summer than in a normal year,” says Berg in her report.



Meanwhile, other factors continue to put upward pressure on airfares. Jet fuel prices have risen rapidly this year following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February. U.S. Gulf Coast jet fuel is averaging 85% higher than in 2019 and 86% compared to 2021, according to data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA).



And passenger capacity is also down compared to pre-pandemic levels. “Available domestic seat capacity in July was at about 95% of 2019 levels, averaging 2.7 million available seats per day compared to 2.87 million per day in 2019,” notes Berg.



The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is consistently&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tsa.gov/coronavirus/passenger-throughput" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">screening 10% fewer travelers</a>&nbsp;than in 2019, exceeding pre-pandemic volume on only a handful of days this year, over the long Memorial Day and Fourth of July weekends.&nbsp;



As airfares plummet, beach destinations top the Hopper’s trending list for domestic travel, with all cities in Hawaii (airfares are averaging $500 or less) and Hilton Head, South Carolina ($315 roundtrip) in the top three destinations for fall. Mountain towns are also trending upward, with Jackson, Wyoming ($460 roundtrip) the destination rising the fastest in popularity for this autumn.



By Suzanne Rowan Kelleher, Forbes Staff

Mother holding daughter at airport

What Inflation? Airfares Are Plummeting 25% This Month

Another day, another onslaught of flight disruptions for air travelers. Even before 9 a.m. Eastern Time, airports around the world were already tallying more than 10,000 flight delays and 1,700 cancellations, according to <a href="https://flightaware.com/live/cancelled/today" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">FlightAware tracking data</a>. Those number could easily double by day’s end.



Nearly four in five travelers (79%) who have taken an overnight trip outside their local area this year have experienced at least one travel-related issue, according to a new&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bankrate.com/finance/credit-cards/travel-woes-survey/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bankrate.com survey</a>. These issues include high prices (57%), long waits (29%), poor customer service (27%), hard-to-find availability (26%), lost money due to cancelled or disrupted plans (14%) or something else (4%).



With the July Fourth holiday weekend now in the rearview mirror, Asia and Europe have emerged as hubs of air travel nightmares, with flight cancellations and delays surpassing the levels seen recently in the United States, demonstrating the global headwinds faced by the air travel industry.



At seven Chinese airports, more than one in five flights were cancelled today.



On Monday in Australia, 40% of flights operated by Virgin Australia and 35% by the Qantas-owned budget carrier Jetstar were delayed, as were 29% from Australian flag carrier Qantas.



London&#8217;s Heathrow Airport cancelled 60 flights Monday and apologized for rocky traveler experience. “Despite our best efforts there have been periods in recent weeks, where service levels have not been acceptable, with long queue times, delays for passengers with reduced mobility, bags not travelling with passengers or arriving late, and we want to apologize to any passengers who have been affected by this,” according to a&nbsp;<a href="https://mediacentre.heathrow.com/pressrelease/details/81/Corporate-operational-24/14048" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">statement</a>.



Blaming “exponential growth in passenger numbers,” the airport is signaling the need to cut even more flights in weeks to come. “We will review the schedule changes that airlines have submitted in response to the government’s requirement to minimize disruption for passengers this summer and will ask them to take further action if necessary,” said Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye.



On Monday, 30% of flights out of London Gatwick Airport have been delayed, followed by airports in Split, Croatia (28%), Frankfurt (25%), Nice, France (23%) as well as Amsterdam Schipol (18%). More than a quarter (26%) of Air France flights have been delayed, in addition to 22% of Lufthansa flights and 21% of British Airways flights.



Last week, SAS — the flag carrier of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden —&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/suzannerowankelleher/2022/07/05/air-travel-summer-pilot-strikes-labor-unrest/">filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection</a>&nbsp;in the United States, one day after a thousand of its pilots called for a strike.



One week later, the fallout continues. Today, the airline has axed 75% of its total flight volume, according to FlightAware. In Norway, these include 20% of flights departing Oslo Gardermoen Airport; 16% leaving Tromso Airport, and 12% of flights departing Stavanger and Trondheim airports.



By comparison, operations at North America’s airlines and airports look downright sunny on Monday morning, with the exception of Air Canada, where 18% of flights are delayed.&nbsp;



Then again, the day is young.



By Suzanne Rowan Kelleher, Forbes Staff



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/suzannerowankelleher/2022/06/30/the-smart-travelers-survival-playbook-for-summer-flight-cancellations/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"></a>

More Than 10,000 Flight Delays Today Worldwide — Here Are The Big Trouble Spots

<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



An uncrewed Boeing Starliner spacecraft reached Earth’s orbit Thursday evening and is now en route to the International Space Station, marking what could become the capsule’s first successful test launch following an unsuccessful 2019 attempt, a major step in Boeing and NASA’s quest to eventually use the Starliner for crewed missions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



The Boeing Starliner successfully&nbsp;<a href="https://starlinerupdates.com/launch-and-ascent-phase-complete-orbital-insertion-up-next/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">lifted off</a>&nbsp;at 6:54 p.m. Eastern in Cape Canaveral, Florida, and separated from various stages of the Atlas V rocket within 15 minutes, after which the capsule&nbsp;<a href="https://starlinerupdates.com/orbital-insertion-burn-complete/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">used its engines</a>&nbsp;to enter a final orbit and head toward the ISS—a process known as “orbital insertion burn” that had previously failed in a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanocallaghan/2019/12/20/boeing-starliner-spacecraft-launches-to-the-international-space-station-heralding-a-new-era-for-american-human-spaceflight/?sh=2013f2fe338b">late 2019 test</a>.



The spacecraft is scheduled to reach the ISS on Friday at around 7:10 p.m. and will test its docking systems on the way, before returning to Earth after several days and&nbsp;<a href="https://boeing-jtti.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/13104930/Tri-fold-brochure-OFT2-Starliner-Flight-Timeline-May19launch-FINAL.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">touching down on land</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://starlinerupdates.com/orbital-insertion-burn-complete/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Boeing said</a>.



The Starliner is&nbsp;<a href="https://starlinerupdates.com/starliner-proceeding-toward-flight/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">carrying</a>&nbsp;about 800 pounds of cargo to the ISS, along with a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.space.com/rosie-rocketeer-dummy-boeing-starliner-oft-2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">test dummy</a>&nbsp;named “Rosie the Rocketeer.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-to-watch-for">WHAT TO WATCH FOR</h2>



The Starliner may be ready for its first crewed test flight by the end of the year, Boeing’s Mark Nappi said before the flight, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/19/boeing-starliner-oft-2-launch-whats-at-stake.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CNBC</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



In 2014, NASA struck a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nasa.gov/press/2014/september/nasa-chooses-american-companies-to-transport-us-astronauts-to-international" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$4.2 billion contract</a>&nbsp;with Boeing to carry its astronauts to the International Space Station, as the agency&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/17/science/space/boeing-and-spacex-win-contracts-to-carry-americans-to-space-station.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sought to return</a>&nbsp;to using American-built spacecraft after retiring the space shuttle and outsourcing its crewed missions to Russia. At the time, NASA aimed to start using American craft to transport astronauts as early as 2017, but Boeing’s program has been mired in delays and technical setbacks. A December 2019 test launch&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanocallaghan/2019/12/20/boeing-starliner-spacecraft-launches-to-the-international-space-station-heralding-a-new-era-for-american-human-spaceflight/?sh=48636bf3338b">went awry</a>&nbsp;after the Starliner separated from its rocket but&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/20/boeings-starliner-flies-into-wrong-orbit-jeopardizing-trip-to-the-international-space-station.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">failed to point itself</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/20/science/boeing-starliner-launch.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">onto the correct</a>&nbsp;orbit due to a clock malfunction, and a planned August 2021 test was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/03/science/nasa-boeing-starliner-launch.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cancelled</a>&nbsp;before takeoff after staffers discovered a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/exclusive-boeing-clashes-with-key-supplier-ahead-starliner-spacecraft-launch-2022-05-11/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">valve issue</a>. Boeing has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/boeings-starliner-space-capsule-set-launch-key-test-flight-orbit-2022-05-19/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reportedly</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/19/boeing-starliner-oft-2-launch-whats-at-stake.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">spent</a>&nbsp;$595 million on the Starliner program since the unsuccessful 2019 test.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">TANGENT</h2>



NASA also awarded a crewed spacecraft contract to SpaceX—Elon Musk’s startup rocket company—in 2014. After <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanocallaghan/2019/07/16/spacex-reveals-how-its-crew-dragon-spacecraft-exploded-but-may-not-launch-humans-in-2019/?sh=30551f1321f8">facing apparent testing problems</a> of its own, SpaceX <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanocallaghan/2020/05/30/spacex-makes-history-with-first-ever-human-rocket-launch-for-nasa/?sh=6ca5dc995321">launched its first</a> <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanocallaghan/2020/05/31/spacexs-crew-dragon-spacecraft-docks-with-international-space-station-in-historic-first/?sh=2cd5ce5165ab">crewed mission</a> to the International Space Station in May 2020, and its Crew Dragon spacecraft has flown four operational missions for NASA since then.



By <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/joewalsh/"></a>Joe Walsh, Forbes Staff

Atlas V Boeing CST-100 Starliner

Boeing Starliner Reaches Orbit In Test Launch After Years Of Struggles

Breaking the mundanity of everyday urban living in London are the vibrant ring-necked parakeets, a species indigenous to Africa and with a squawky story.



BY ALASTAIR HAGGER



LONDON, AT ANY TIME OF YEAR, CAN BE stubbornly, oppressively grey; it is not unusual to wonder, after weeks of overcast skies, what grudge the sun holds against this part of our world. So when an explosion of lime green flies chattering across a city park, or alights on a street wall, or settles on a telephone line, it can stop the most city-hardened Londoner in their tracks, and bring unexpected joy to the mundanity of everyday urban living.



These bursts of sound and color are flocks of ring- necked parakeets, a species indigenous to Africa and the Indian subcontinent but that has now taken up permanent residence in these far cooler and less sun- kissed climes. As strangely incongruent as they are aesthetically irresistible, the birds have also spawned a variety of enduring and eclectic urban myths about how they even arrived in the British Isles in the first place.



“In 2016, we estimated there were 12,000 pairs in the UK,” says David Noble, Head &amp; Principal Ecologist at the British Trust for Ornithology.



“And that’s growing every year. We have surveys done on 4,000 sites across the UK every year; we’ve 



had a good index since about 1995, and we know the population has increased about 20 times over that period. They’re in London, Cardiff, Sheffield, Manchester&#8230; as far as Edinburgh.”



The species is hardy and resourceful, and prefers to tough out the winters in urban United Kingdom (UK) centers rather than migrating to southern Europe or the hotter ecosystems of their homeland.



“There are a lot of good reasons why they like cities, apart from the microclimate,” he says. “In urban places, people feed birds, and they really exploit that resource.” They can be seen on bird tables across the country, competing with indigenous species for seeds and fruit, and their preference for nesting in tree hollows make them regular visitors to city parks, where they often enjoy the patronage of a cooing human fan base and its tasty proffered treats. Noble says the birds will even kill competing tree-dwellers, such as squirrels, but can also be easy pickings for European birds of prey such as sparrow hawks and goshawks.



So which bird was the ‘parakeet zero’ of this UK invasion? In 2019, a team of researchers from Queen Mary University, University College London (UCL), and Goldsmiths University of London undertook a spatial analysis to trace the journey of these vibrant visitors, using a methodology usually reserved for catching a human killer.



“The original idea came from a colleague of mine, the late Steven Le Comber at Queen Mary University, who was an expert on this method called geographic profiling,” says Tim Blackburn, Professor of Invasion Biology at UCL.



“It was originally developed in criminology to try and catch serial offenders. One thing you can do is use the locations of crimes to try and work out where the offender is traveling from. That gives you a likely source. In the UK we have an organization called the National Biodiversity Network, and they collate systematic records from the public about the occurrence of these birds, going back 50 years, that we can mine from.”



This geoprofile of more than 5,000 unique records showed that Britain’s parakeet population was the result of intentional releases of pets in the late 1920s and early 1950s. “Keeping birds as pets was a pretty widespread hobby – more people were keeping birds as pets at that time than had cats or dogs,” he says.



The dates coincide with outbreaks of the ‘parrot fever’ psittacosis, which can lead to pneumonia in an infected human host. While the 



1929-1930 outbreak affected less than 800 people worldwide, the media ran with the story &#8211; and encouraged parakeet owners to run their beloved pets out of town. The parakeets thrived on their freedom, and the rest is history.



But history loves a squawkier narrative, and so the 2019 academic study also interrogated the more romantic urban myths surrounding the parakeet’s enduring presence in the UK – including the belief that the birds were released into the London skies by American musician Jimi Hendrix, or escaped from the set of The African Queen during filming at Ealing Studios.



“As a south Londoner, I’ve also heard a rumour that a pair escaped during a row between George Michael and Boy George at a flat they shared,” says Sarah Elizabeth Cox, Press Officer at Goldsmiths, who assisted with the study.



“Essentially with this research paper we just wanted to spoil peoples’ fun! My work in the British Newspaper Archive did not uncover any evidence to support these origin myths. The maps Steven’s team created supported the theory that the birds’ establishment in Britain is more likely to be a consequence of repeated releases and introductions in different times and places.”



Though the parakeets’ story is much less strange than fiction, there is a perhaps an appropriately heartwarming ‘truth’ at its core. “If you or your child were a keeper of exotic birds, and kept reading stories about how being near them might put you at risk of disease and death, what would your natural reaction be?” asks Cox. “Kill a much-loved pet – or let it out the window?”

Screenshot 2022-04-09 at 13.42.53

The African Parakeets Ruling Britannia

What a difference two years makes. Just a few months into the Covid-19 pandemic, a trend survey from American Express Travel found that for nearly half (48%) of respondents, not being able to travel was making them feel anxious and stressed. And nearly eight in 10 (78%) said travel was one of the top activities they missed the most.



Today travelers are by and large putting the pandemic behind them, according to the American Express travel trends report for 2022 released today. The global study — fielded in seven countries — found that travelers plan to spend more, go farther, and dust off their bucket lists in 2022.



The online Amex Trendex survey of 3,000 regular travelers earning at least $70,000 a year was conducted last month in the U.S., Japan, Australia, Mexico, India, the U.K., and Canada.



“People are going to take more trips this year,” said Audrey Hendley, president of American Express Travel, where 2022 bookings are already up 35% compared to 2019. Six in 10 (62%) survey respondents said they want to take between two and four trips this year.



“Eighty-six percent of respondents expect to spend more on travel in 2022—that’s a staggering number,” she said. “They are splurging a bit, upgrading to premium.”



“People have been at home and they&#8217;ve been thinking about intentionality, the idea that ‘where I spend my dollars matters.’”- Audrey Hendley, president of American Express Travel



Significant jumps in key metrics indicate that travelers’ confidence in planning trips has exploded in the last year as pandemic worries wane. First, from the study, nearly three out of four travelers (74%) say they are willing to book a trip for 2022 even if they might have to cancel or modify it later. “That number was 56% last year,” said Hendley.



Second, Amex Travel is seeing that people are willing to venture further from home. “Sixty-one percent of our trips will be international versus 39% this time last year,” said Hendley, adding that, “customers are looking to book further out,” another bellwether of consumer optimism.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-millennials-are-driving-the-major-trends">Millennials are Driving the Major Trends</h3>



Millennials, aged between 26 and 41, are driving major travels identified in the Amex Travel report, starting with a&nbsp;demand for bucket-list trips to Europe, Africa, the Galapagos Islands and Antarctica.



“Dream destinations are coming back into focus,” said Hendley, noting that an overall majority (55%) of respondents say they want to book a once-in-a-lifetime vacation in 2022—and that desire is strongest among Millennials (67%) and GenZers (65%). Two thirds (65%) of respondents say they&nbsp;would rather take their dream vacation than purchase a new car, and nearly half (49%) of Millennials are willing to travel solo to their bucket-list destination.



Another big trend, impact travel — improving the world through travel — is resonating with every demographic group, and led by Millennials. Four out of five (81%) overall respondents want to go where they can immerse themselves in the local culture, with Millennials ticking a bit higher (84%). Similarly, 81% of respondents want their money to go back to the local community, especially Millennials (83%). And nearly eight in 10 (79%) of respondents said they are trying to be more purposeful in how they plan their trips and which companies they book with, with Millennials (83%) again coming in higher than the average.



While the pandemic has left a mark on the traveler’s psyche, Hendley says it has also brought a renewed sense of purpose. “People have been at home and they&#8217;ve been thinking about intentionality, the idea that ‘where I spend my dollars matters,’” she says. “Impact and sustainability are driving booking decisions. People are really thinking about what&#8217;s important to them.”



By <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/suzannerowankelleher/"></a>Suzanne Rowan Kelleher, Forbes Staff

Travelers Want To Spend Big, Go Far In 2022, Amex Survey Finds

To how many countries can your passport take you without needing a visa? For the average traveler, it’s a fun fact for a trivia quiz or geography bee. For the ultra-rich, it can be a metric of financial security, and a motivator behind&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/suzannerowankelleher/2020/08/15/got-100k-500k-3m-ultra-rich-americans-are-spending-big-on-second-passports/">purchasing a second or third passport</a>&nbsp;for prices that can soar into seven figures.



Visa-free travel is the foundation of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.henleypassportindex.com/passport" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Henley Passport Index</a>, a ranking of the world’s most powerful passports from the London-based global citizenship advisory firm Henley &amp; Partners. Since 2006, the firm has monitored which of the world’s passports deliver the most and least global mobility, based on exclusive data provided by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).



In general, the freedom to travel has expanded worldwide over recent years. Back in 2006, the average international traveler could visit 57 countries without needing to obtain a visa in advance. Today, the average has climbed to 107. But that apparent inclusivity is not what it seems, for it cloaks what Henley &amp; Partners calls a “growing disparity between countries in the global north and those in the global south.”



Henley’s latest ranking, released today, shows that when it comes to travel freedom, the world can be divided into haves and have-nots. At the top of the haves heap sit Japan and Singapore, whose passport holders are entitled to visa-free entry to 192 destinations.



At the bottom of the have-nots pile is Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, whose citizens can access fewer than 30 countries without a visa, while nations like Cameroon, Angola and Laos can access 50 — less than half the average number.



The map below shows which countries’ passports have gained the most power between 2006 and 2022. The darker blue countries have been most effective in increasing the number of destinations their citizens can access visa-free or with a visa-on-arrival. Two of the biggest movers have been Ukraine, with 109 additional destinations, and the United Arab Emirates, with 140. During that same period, the U.S. added 56 destinations, while Canada and Mexico have added 60 and 61, respectively. For much of Africa and the Middle East, global mobility has been outpaced by the rest of the world.



The deepening divide between wealthier countries and poorer ones when it comes to international mobility was exacerbated with the arrival in late November of the omicron variant of the coronavirus. The discovery was met with a flurry of punishing restrictions against mainly African nations, which U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described as a “travel apartheid.” Last month, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2021/12/24/white-house-lifting-omicron-travel-restrictions-on-african-countries/">U.S. lifted travel restrictions</a>&nbsp;to those African countries.



This year’s ranking is not so much as a rebound as a stabilization for the American passport, which had been in decline even before the pandemic hit, sliding from first place to a nadir of eighth. This year, the American passport is tied with six other countries for sixth place, delivering visa-free access to 186 countries. But because multiple countries have equivalent visa-free scores, there are actually 15 countries outranking the U.S.



The top 10 rankings are below.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-henley-passport-index-2022-top-10">Henley Passport Index 2022 &#8211; Top 10</h3>



192 countries &#8211; Japan, Singapore



190 countries &#8211; Germany, S. Korea



189 countries &#8211; Finland, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain



188 countries &#8211; Austria, Denmark, France, Netherlands, Sweden



187 countries &#8211; Ireland, Portugal



186 countries &#8211; Belgium, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, U.K., U.S.



185 countries &#8211; Australia, Canada, Czech Rep., Greece, Malta



183 countries &#8211; Hungary, Poland



182 countries &#8211; Lithuania, Slovakia



181 countries &#8211; Estonia, Latvia, Slovenia



By Suzanne Rowan Kelleher, Forbes Staff

American Passports

‘Travel Apartheid’: Inequalities Widen On The World’s Most Powerful Passports List In 2022

<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



The World Health Organization&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/articles-detail/who-advice-for-international-traffic-in-relation-to-the-sars-cov-2-omicron-variant" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">recommended</a>&nbsp;Tuesday that those at risk of developing severe Covid-19 symptoms, including those over the age of 60, postpone travel over concerns that the omicron variant could be more infectious.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



The WHO also asked countries to take mitigation measures to “delay or reduce” the spread of the variant, including screening departing and arriving passengers for Covid-19 and implementing a quarantine for international travelers.&nbsp;



The agency noted “blanket travel bans” won’t prevent the international spread of the variant and may instead “disincentivize” countries from reporting and sharing data on the omicron variant.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



The WHO’s recommendation comes after&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kimberleespeakman/2021/11/27/israel-bans-foreigners-from-entering-for-two-weeks-over-threat-of-omicron-variant/?sh=5eff2396635b">Israel</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/28/world/middleeast/israel-morocco-travel-bans-omicron.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Morocco</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/japan-borders-shut-omicron-variant/2021/11/29/2ebb56be-50e5-11ec-83d2-d9dab0e23b7e_story.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Japan</a>&nbsp;announced this week they would temporarily bar foreign travelers from entering their countries due to concerns over the variant. Numerous other countries have restricted travel from countries in southern Africa, where the variant was first spotted, including the U.S., Australia and Brazil. The World Health Organization has designated the omicron variant as a “variant of concern” due to preliminary evidence that it has numerous mutations and could increase the risk for reinfection.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">BIG NUMBER</h2>



20. That’s how many countries the omicron coronavirus variant has been detected in, with 226 cases having been reported so far, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the federal government’s top infectious disease official,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/30/fauci-says-omicron-covid-variant-has-already-been-found-in-20-countries-but-not-yet-in-the-us.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>&nbsp;Tuesday.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">TANGENT</h2>



U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Wallensky&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/omicron-covid-19-variant-11-30-21/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>&nbsp;Tuesday the agency would expand its surveillance for the omicron variant by increasing Covid-19 testing for certain international arrivals at four of the busiest international airports in the country, JFK, San Francisco, Newark and Atlanta. The omicron variant has not yet been detected in the U.S., but Wallensky said they are continually assessing the situation.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/johndrake/2021/11/28/what-we-know-about-the-omicron-variant/?sh=74e34ea5358d">What We Know About The Omicron Variant</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2021/11/29/no-new-federal-covid-restrictions-due-to-omicron-variant-biden-says---at-least-for-now/?sh=3013533e5d71">No New Federal Covid Restrictions Due To Omicron Variant, Biden Says — At Least ‘For Now’</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/coronavirus-omicron-variant-travel-restrictions/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Travel restrictions by country following the Omicron variant outbreak</a> (CNN)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kimberleespeakman/"></a>By Kimberlee Speakman, Forbes Staff

U.S. Lifts Travel Ban For Vaccinated Travelers From 33 Countries

WHO Recommends Seniors Postpone Travel Over Omicron Concerns

<h2 class="wp-block-heading">TOPLINE</h2>



The World Health Organization on Friday assigned the name “<a href="https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1464295764809637898?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">omicron</a>” to a new, heavily mutated variant of coronavirus found in South Africa that has sparked fears of a more transmissible, possibly vaccine-resistant virus and sent shockwaves through global markets as governments around the world bar travel from the region.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



Omicron — or B.1.1.529 — was designated as a variant of concern by the WHO, which encouraged countries to boost virus surveillance and sequencing efforts, to study the variant and to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/news/item/26-11-2021-classification-of-omicron-(b.1.1.529)-sars-cov-2-variant-of-concern" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">report any cases and clusters</a>&nbsp;driven by omicron to the global health agency.



Scientists fear the variant may be more transmissible than other strains and able to evade the immunity from vaccination due to the high number of mutations it has, including more than 30 on the spike protein, which many vaccines train the immune system to target.



The U.S. became the latest country to announce&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2021/11/26/biden-limits-travel-from-south-africa-and-surrounding-countries-amid-fears-of-new-coronavirus-variant/">new travel restrictions</a>&nbsp;for South Africa and surrounding countries over the variant, following the U.K., France, Italy, Germany, Israel and Japan.



Novavax said Friday it had begun&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/novavax-testing-vaccine-that-targets-new-covid-19-variant-2021-11-26/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">working on a coronavirus vaccine</a>&nbsp;designed to prevent omicron infection, saying doses could be ready for testing and manufacturing within weeks, according to Reuters.



BioNTech is investigating whether its vaccine with Pfizer is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/nov/26/biontech-says-it-could-tweak-covid-vaccine-in-100-days-if-needed" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">effective against omicron</a>, saying Friday the the company will know within two weeks and could ship out doses of an updated vaccine within the next 100 days, according to the&nbsp;Guardian.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">TANGENT</h2>



News of the variant triggered a&nbsp;<a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2021/11/26/investing/global-markets-oil-covid-variant-intl-hnk/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">selloff</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-11-25/asian-stocks-set-for-mixed-open-amid-firm-dollar-markets-wrap?srnd=premium-europe" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">across</a>&nbsp;global markets, with the Dow and Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropping more than 2.5% and the FTSE100, France&#8217;s CAC40 and Germany&#8217;s DAX all down by between 3.2% and 4.3%.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



Researchers detected B.1.1.529 in South Africa this week, where it&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-03552-w" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">appears</a>&nbsp;to be driving a dangerous surge of infections in the country’s Gauteng province and cases have since been found in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/26/world/asia/variant-hong-kong-covid.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hong Kong</a>, Belgium,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/8245c992-4a4d-4110-b10c-b294c41d501c" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Israel</a>&nbsp;and Botswana, where the variant was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-03552-w" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">first</a>&nbsp;identified using genome sequencing.&nbsp;Experts believe the new variant may be rapidly replacing the delta variant in affected regions and already accounts for some 75% and 90% of the cases being sequenced in&nbsp;<a href="https://qz.com/india/2095047/what-we-know-about-b-1-1-529-the-southern-african-covid-variant/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Botswana</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-59418127" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Gauteng</a>, respectively. Mutations are a normal and expected part of viral evolution and many have no impact on the virus’ behavior at all. A great deal remains unknown about the variant and scientists are racing to figure out whether it is able to evade vaccine protection or is more transmissible. The very high number of mutations—and in areas relevant to vaccine-derived immunity—are what surprised and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-59418127" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">shocked</a>&nbsp;scientists. The WHO has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2021/nov/26/covid-news-live-new-variant-sparks-tougher-restrictions-in-india-and-singapore-ahead-of-who-meeting?filterKeyEvents=false&amp;page=with:block-61a0e5548f08a201d9c7c6ab#block-61a0e5548f08a201d9c7c6ab" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">stressed</a>&nbsp;caution and urged countries to make decisions like travel bans rationally and in proportion to the known risks.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/lisakim/2021/11/25/uk-and-israel-impose-new-travel-restrictions-on-travelers-from-southern-africa-over-new-covid-variant/?sh=610d1aef6d03">U.K. And Israel Impose Restrictions On Travelers From Southern Africa Over New Covid Variant</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2021/11/26/biden-limits-travel-from-south-africa-and-surrounding-countries-amid-fears-of-new-coronavirus-variant/?sh=1f5ff3f66e92">Biden Limits Travel From Southern African Countries Amid Fears Of New &#8216;Omicron&#8217; Coronavirus Variant</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/scientists-think-new-variant-may-have-emerged-hiv-patient/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Why scientists think the new variant may have emerged in an HIV patient</a> (Telegraph)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/"></a>By Robert Hart, Forbes Staff

gettyimages-1224293933-594×594

Travel Restrictions, Stocks Down: Here’s What To Know About Omicron, The New Highly Mutated Covid Variant

<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



The U.K. and Israel have each imposed<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-59424269" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&nbsp;new travel</a><a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/israel-bars-travel-to-and-from-south-africa-over-new-covid-strain-1.10416908" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&nbsp;restrictions</a>&nbsp;on travelers from some southern African countries due to concerns over a new Covid variant, known as B.1.1.529, which is believed to have many<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/25/who-calls-special-meeting-to-discuss-new-covid-variant-from-south-africa-with-large-number-of-mutations.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&nbsp;mutations</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



Flights from six countries—South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho and Eswatini–will be temporarily suspended, Sajid Javid, the U.K.’s Health Secretary,<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-59424269" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&nbsp;said</a>.



Anyone entering the U.K. from the six countries starting Sunday is required to quarantine in a hotel, according to the<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-59424269" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&nbsp;BBC</a>.



Javid said the new variant has &#8220;double the number of mutations that we have seen in the Delta variant,” which suggests it could be “more transmissible” and the vaccines could be “less effective.”



Over in Israel, non-Israeli travelers or residents from six African countries—Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia and Eswatini—have been barred entry due to the new variant found in those countries, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/israel-bars-travel-to-and-from-south-africa-over-new-covid-strain-1.10416908" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&nbsp;said</a>.



59 cases of the new variant have been confirmed in South Africa, Hong Kong and Botswana, according to the BBC.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



The WHO has convened a meeting for Friday to<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/25/who-calls-special-meeting-to-discuss-new-covid-variant-from-south-africa-with-large-number-of-mutations.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&nbsp;discuss</a>&nbsp;the new variant. South African scientists have found some&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/25/who-calls-special-meeting-to-discuss-new-covid-variant-from-south-africa-with-large-number-of-mutations.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">30 mutations</a>&nbsp;to the spike protein. Experts at the meeting are expected to discuss what the variant means for Covid vaccines and treatments. The WHO said South Africa has seen a small number of the variant. “We don’t know very much about this yet,” Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead on Covid-19 at the WHO, said Thursday. “What we do know is that this variant has a large number of mutations,” she said, adding that mutations can impact how the virus behaves.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-59424269" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Covid: Africa travel restrictions over variant fear</a>&nbsp;(BBC)



<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/25/who-calls-special-meeting-to-discuss-new-covid-variant-from-south-africa-with-large-number-of-mutations.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">WHO calls special meeting to discuss new Covid variant found in South Africa with ‘a large number of mutations’</a> (CNBC)



By Lisa Kim, Forbes Staff

Views Of Heathrow Airport As The Coronavirus Pandemic Continues

U.K. And Israel Impose Restrictions On Travelers From Southern Africa Over New Covid Variant

As I traveled through Lesotho on assignment, I was struck by the resilience, innovation and hospitality of its people despite the land-locked kingdom being affected badly by the Covid-19 pandemic. 



Travel is something of a luxury&nbsp;in life, more so&nbsp;during&nbsp;the pandemic – and while as a journalist and photographer,&nbsp;I was fortunate to be in the field for most of the lockdowns, I did feel very privileged leaving&nbsp;Johannesburg to Lesotho&nbsp;by road&nbsp;at 5AM&nbsp;last Monday, for what would be my first cross-border trip in over a year.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; If you haven’t been to Lesotho, here’s a travel brochure summary;&nbsp;it’s a small kingdom with a population of some two million, entirely surrounded by some of the most beautiful mountainous scenery in this world and to both its benefit and detriment, South Africa.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Populated primarily by the Basotho people, anyone familiar with South Africa would find themselves very much at home, but also notice subtle differences.     Crossing the border is a painless but expensive process. Entering Lesotho requires a negative PCR test, which costs around $60, and is valid for 72 hours. I was in the country for a few days and required another test before leaving.    Once through the Maseru bridge border post, you are greeted with the capital city itself, a bustling, vibrant town reminiscent of the provincial capitals in South Africa. Street vendors ply their wares, taxis overtake at speed but with a friendly wave, and none of the traffic lights are functional, which made for a perilous drive to my accommodation. 



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Forbes-Lesotho-2-of-2-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-53119" width="748" height="499" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Forbes-Lesotho-2-of-2-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Forbes-Lesotho-2-of-2-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Forbes-Lesotho-2-of-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Forbes-Lesotho-2-of-2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Forbes-Lesotho-2-of-2-2048x1365.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 748px) 100vw, 748px" /><figcaption>Photographs: Yeshiel Panchia</figcaption></figure></div>



“It’s been a hard year,” said Khethisa, a security guard who works at the Avani Hotel, in which I stayed during my time in the capital. “Covid has taken away many jobs. Things are getting a bit better now.”    As with almost everywhere else in the world, the lockdowns aimed at preventing the spread of Covid-19 had an incredibly detrimental impact on Lesotho’s economy, with its most recently reported unemployment rate at 23.9% as of 2019. Data isn’t readily available from during the pandemic, but it can be readily assumed to be much worse.    Despite this, the welcome in Lesotho is always warm and friendly. Humanist approaches to business appear to merge seamlessly with hustle; in a stationery store in Pioneer Mall in Maseru, a person is employed to sanitize and check the temperature of everyone on entry. Another person is employed to check receipts for sales theft or errors. Sales personnel abound. Despite wages not being high and many of these jobs being easily automated, Lesotho seems to have a high reliance on people, not machines, to provide many functions – and with each of these comes a wage.    Wandering through the nearby central market, everything from second-hand clothing to illicit cigarettes are on sale, and every vendor is pushing their wares. Groups of people play a musical game in the sun around the taxi rank where money is thrown at a speaker while music plays – each participant then dances closer to the money. If you are touching the money when the music stops, the pot is yours. In none of those hours of walking or photographing was there any sense of unsafety – markedly different from Johannesburg.     Moving out of the city and into the Lesotho highlands you are greeted by arresting panoramic views – rolling hills, now green since the end of a brutal drought in 2016. Sheep graze on the steppes, while herdsmen in traditional blankets and balaclavas on foot or on horseback stand watchfully, reminiscent of my last trip into the country, where I covered the traditional horseraces in Semonkong.    This journey into the mountains and a chance meeting in Maseru also led to another story of innovation and rejuvenation in this small nation, battered by Covid-19.  



A company called MG Health, a medical cannabis manufacturer, has become the first country in Africa to obtain a&nbsp;Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)&nbsp;license from Germany, allowing the export of their product&nbsp;into that&nbsp;country.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; The licensing is a massive task, and the&nbsp;growery&nbsp;itself, nestled in one of the quietest parts of the mountains, is looking to expand&nbsp;its&nbsp;production massively. Making use of&nbsp;cutting-edge&nbsp;technological advancements,&nbsp;and building the business hand in hand with the community, Director Andre Bothma is pioneering&nbsp;in both the literal and economic sense&nbsp;in the remotest part of Lesotho, providing community infrastructure and employment in a region that sorely needs it.&nbsp; &nbsp; “My vision here is that we are going to create thousands of jobs. We have the potential of making a difference to the country here,” says Bothma.&nbsp; &nbsp; I’d say more on this, but it’s a story in its own right and one for&nbsp;another&nbsp;day, but I think these vignettes accurately reflect the hospitality, resilience and warmth of Lesotho and its people. There was a sense of loss on the drive back toward the border, and I would have loved to have had the time to explore the relationships and stories that seemed to lurk on every&nbsp;street corner.&nbsp; &nbsp; On arriving at South African Customs and Immigration, I was confronted with the usual confusion of where to go and what process to follow. As my passport was stamped, I do wish I’d stayed&nbsp;on&nbsp;in Lesotho.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Forbes Lesotho (1 of 2)

Highlands, Hustle, And Humanism: A Road Trip To Lesotho

With Covid-19 becoming a reality for countries across the globe, the remote working mode has become the new normal. Nestpick released a study in July highlighting the destinations most attractive to digital nomads in search of a new home, taking into account legislation as well as livability factors such as weather, cost of living, and equality.



In their methodology, a number of factors were taken into consideration such as cost of accommodation, speed of internet, access to home office rentals, remote workers’ immigration etc. Each country was overall rated out of 100. The only African country to be on the index is South Africa with Cape Town ranked 16. The top five cities globally are Melbourne, Australia; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Sydney, Australia; Tallinn, Estonia, and London, United Kingdom.



<h1 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-most-expensive-cities-in-africa">Most expensive cities in Africa</h1>



Prior to the pandemic, the cost of living was already a question up in the air. Mercer’s 2021 Cost of Living City Ranking of 400 global cities has in a recent report cited N’Djamena (Chad) as the most expensive city in Africa for expatriates with Lusaka (Zambia), the least expensive.



“The rankings provide an important insight for multinationals on the cost of recruiting or relocating an expatriate in Africa, and also help human resources leaders to structure a remuneration package to attract the right skills for an assignment,” Mercer said in the report.



 Based on the ranking, N’Djamena moved up two spots in 2021 from 15th to 13th place, while Lusaka moved from 201 to 208 in the rankings. The report went on to say that given the impact of the pandemic on African economies, organizations could use the cost of living rankings to consider implementing regional pay structures. This will enable people to move more efficiently across borders by mitigating some of the key challenges when it comes to cost of living, pay competitiveness, and purchasing parity.

Clouds Over Lion’s Head and Table Mountain from Helicopter

The Global Cities Digital Nomads Will Love

For a great many of the 16 million people who work in the $2.6 trillion U.S. tourism industry, getting an accurate assessment of travel demand is akin to finding the Holy Grail. For destination organizations and visitor bureaus at the national, state and local level, pinning down where people want to travel is the key to efficiently managing budgets and spending. Airlines gauge travel demand when deciding where to open new routes. Hotels and other tourism-related businesses use demand forecasting to right-size supply and determine how many employees to hire.



But predicting travel demand has become harder over the past decade, and the Covid-19 pandemic has upended traditional forecasting models that rely on recent historical data.



“I used to be able to close my eyes and tell you, ‘Here’s what we’re going do, and this is our audience,’” says Butch Spyridon, president of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.visitmusiccity.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nashville Convention &amp; Visitors Corporation</a>. “And I can’t do that anymore.”



Today, Spyridon and other U.S. tourism professionals are about to get an eyeful from Google. The technology company is launching&nbsp;<a href="https://travelinsights.withgoogle.com/intl/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Travel Insights with Google</a>, a brand new suite of free tools that leverage Google Search data to deliver insights into real-time travel demand.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://thumbor.forbes.com/thumbor/960x0/https%3A%2F%2Fspecials-images.forbesimg.com%2Fimageserve%2F60eece71c0c0a16f7b59d7a9%2F0x0.jpg%3Ffit%3Dscale" alt="Google travel trends tool"/><figcaption>Destination Insights lets travel marketers glean quick &#8220;focusing facts&#8221; that highlight major trends.&nbsp;GOOGLE</figcaption></figure>



The first tool,&nbsp;<a href="https://destinationinsights.withgoogle.com/intl/en_ALL/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Destination Insights</a>, gives travel businesses, governments and tourism boards a clear picture of where travel demand is coming from so they can plan accordingly. A second tool,&nbsp;<a href="https://hotelinsights.withgoogle.com/intl/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hotel Insights</a>, has been customized to help hoteliers analyze search trends so they can attract new guests based on where interest is coming from.&nbsp;



“It’s really difficult to find any anchor of data to forecast the future, and so we felt it was a good time right now to share some of our search data with the industry to help travel companies understand what users are looking for. And here’s the kind of queries they’re doing, and here’s the data and information they’re interested in,” says Gianni Marostica, Managing Director of Global Business Development for Google Travel.



Google started piloting the Travel Insights tools last December in the Asian Pacific region, where some destinations were already bouncing back early from Covid-19 and looking for directional data to guide where they should spend marketing dollars.



“The launch is very timely for Vietnam as we are looking at reviving tourism and restructuring destination markets post Covid-19,” says Ha Van Sieu, deputy chairman of&nbsp;<a href="https://vietnamtourism.gov.vn/english/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Vietnam’s tourism organization</a>. “The tool is extremely useful for us to understand domestic, inbound and outbound travel demand based on real-time digital data, and to develop marketing strategies.”



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://thumbor.forbes.com/thumbor/960x0/https%3A%2F%2Fspecials-images.forbesimg.com%2Fimageserve%2F60eec53a5c09d5e76d59d7a9%2F0x0.jpg%3Ffit%3Dscale" alt="travel trend data Google"/><figcaption>Which destinations are growing in popularity? Destination Insights pulls data from Google Search.&nbsp;GOOGLE</figcaption></figure>



During the initial six-month pilot in Asia, Google received valuable feedback from the governments and travel organizations that test-drove the new tool. “They provided some great insights as to some additional data or different cuts of data that we should have in the tool,” says Marostica. “And hopefully now, moving forward, as we roll this out in the U.S., we’ll get even more insights and maybe do different cuts of data based on what U.S.-based users would like to see.”



As chairman of the board for&nbsp;<a href="https://destinationsinternational.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Destinations International</a>, a trade group representing over 650 destination organizations, convention and visitors bureaus and tourism boards worldwide,&nbsp;Spyridon helped forge a partnership with Google.&nbsp;Now he can’t wait to use Travel Insights to glean insights into where travel demand is strongest for Nashville.



The Music City’s $10 billion tourism industry has traditionally relied on a heavy leisure drive market, says Spyridon, but in recent years it&#8217;s become almost impossible to get a handle on where demand is most concentrated. “The whole country has become our market in the last 10 years. Now it&#8217;s 50-50 fly-drive and just as strong West Coast and Northeast as it is Atlanta,” he says. “That&#8217;s good news for us. But it&#8217;s also hard to retarget that audience.”



Spyridon says his biggest obstacle has been a lack of good intel. “By the time we look at, the data is weeks, months and in some cases, a year old,” says Spyridon. “Putting our arms around current real-time data, we have never had that opportunity.”



The destination tool offers quick insights such as “fastest growing destination globally,” “country with the most inbound interest” and “top city in demand.” Marketers can dive deeper into each data set, and toggle the date range to see how that changes results.



Spyridon sees today’s launch is a game changer for travel marketers. “Google is the best in the business for gathering this data,” he says. “This is the best, most accurate and most real-time data that we will have access to. It will allow us to understand the search trends and meet the demand more effectively and be more current.”



“Responsibly reinvigorating the tourism sector will take ingenuity and effort across the industry,” writes Marostica on <a href="https://www.blog.google/products/ads-commerce/tools-partnerships-help-travel-recover-thrive/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Google’s blog</a>. “As we make progress toward recovery, we’ll continue to seek to find new ways to support the global travel and tourism sector by sharing data and insights that can help the industry rebound.”



By Suzanne Rowan Kelleher, Forbes Staff

Man walking with suitcase at airport terminal

Google Just Unlocked The Mysteries Of Travel Demand—And The Tourism Industry Can’t Wait To Have At It

TOPLINE The U.K. is working towards dropping mandatory quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated travelers from other countries, transport minister Grant Shapps announced on Friday, a move that follows an earlier rule tweak that had extended the privilege only to fully vaccinated U.K. residents.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h3>



In an&nbsp;<a href="https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-plan-to-allow-vaccinated-expats-into-uk-without-quarantining-to-be-revealed-in-next-couple-of-weeks-12352084" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">interview</a>&nbsp;with Sky News on Friday morning, Shapps said the country’s ministers are “actively working” on proposals that would extend the quarantine exemption to travelers from the so-called “<a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/red-amber-and-green-list-rules-for-entering-england" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">amber list</a>” or medium risk countries if they are fully vaccinated.



While Shapps did not provide a timeline for the implementation of this move, he suggested that people from the European Union—which has a unified digital vaccine passport system—could be granted this exemption before those from the U.S.—where such a system does not exist.



Shapps indicated that the policy would accommodate all vaccines that have been certified by the World Health Organisation, including ones that have not been approved for use in the U.K.



The minister warned that in case of a worsening outbreak, an amber-list country could move to the red list of higher risk nations, meaning all incoming travelers regardless of their vaccination status would be required to quarantine in a government-approved hotel.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h3>



The U.K. government is set to lift most of its remaining Covid-19 restrictions on July 19, in what it has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/uk-looks-set-ease-restrictions-july-19-sun-cites-pm-saying-2021-06-28/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">begun calling</a>&nbsp;“freedom day.” After being forced to delay reopening for a month due to a fresh outbreak fuelled by the more infectious delta variant of the coronavirus, the government led by Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been steadfast on fully reopening the country later this month. As part of the move, Shapps&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/jul/08/shapps-confirms-no-quarantine-fully-vaccinated-amber-list-returnees-england-covid" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announced</a>&nbsp;on Thursday that British travelers who plan to visit amber list countries will not be required to quarantine on arrival in England if they have been fully vaccinated by the U.K.’s National Health Service. The government considers a person to be fully vaccinated 14-days after they have received their second jab.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h3>



<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/britain-plans-scrap-quarantine-non-uk-vaccinated-arrivals-weeks-2021-07-09/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Britain plans to scrap quarantine for non-UK vaccinated arrivals in weeks</a>&nbsp;(Reuters)



<a href="https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-plan-to-allow-vaccinated-expats-into-uk-without-quarantining-to-be-revealed-in-next-couple-of-weeks-12352084" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Plan to allow vaccinated people from abroad into UK without quarantine to be revealed in &#8216;next couple of weeks&#8217;</a> (Sky News)



By Siladitya Ray, Forbes Staff

Britain Is Planning To Allow Fully Vaccinated Foreign Travelers To Enter Without Having To Quarantine

An annual super and hyper-car event that saw the rich and famous and 68 high-performance vehicles – worth over $25 million – burn rubber on South Africa’s open roads. What’s needed? A cool $7,000 and a lot of va va voom.



Pitched as the “most epic super-car rally in the southern hemisphere”, the 2021 Daytona Rally went ahead with much fanfare this year, seeing 68 luxury car owners completing a six-day trip of 1,500km from the South African port city of Gqeberha to Mossel Bay in Cape Town, from May 20. Drivers were treated to five-star hotel stays and red-carpet treatment every step of the way.



“It really is the best thing, a mind-blowing experience every time,” says participant Ismail Peck, who traveled with two friends in a Lamborghini and Audi R8 V10 Performance Quattro. Drivers were treated to a variety of events, from hill-climbs to ¼ mile drift events and more. Sponsored by New York-based IoT company Justworx, the rally is the intersection of high-speed and the high life, with an entrance fee of around $7,000 to participate and drivers treated to luxury accommodation and experiences during the trip. Originally limited to 50 participants, numbers were upped to 68 drivers due to high demand, with many wanting a freeing experience after a year of pandemic restrictions. “The race draws the cream of the crop in South Africa,” says Killarney International Raceway commentator Gary Fleming. With the total estimated value of participant vehicles being in excess of $25 million, it’s no surprise there were some ancillary benefits, with Mossel Bay Deputy Mayor Dirk Kotzé making clear that the city’s participation was part of a broader plan to stimulate local businesses, and luxury goods worth $20,000 being auctioned to support local charity efforts. Local residents were primarily excited at the opportunity to see many of these rare, high-performance vehicles up close, with many taking to social media to express their enjoyment and share images and videos of the event, which included some previously unseen vehicles in South Africa including the McLaren Senna and Ferrari F8 Tri Turbo.



“I was so lucky to have seen the convoy on the N2 into Cape Town this morning,” one attendee said. “What an awesome spectacle.” While the event was not spectator-driven due to Covid-19 concerns, hundreds of spectators did end up being able to view the rally, with the hope that the next event will be post-pandemic.



“It can become a public spectacle… I think it will be one of the biggest events in South Africa…” says Fleming. Phoenix Events CEO Mark Castell, who co-ordinated the logistics and transport of the vehicles, support and security, ensured that pedestrian and road safety was a priority. Commenting on the extension of the rally to six days for this year’s event, he says: “The feedback is always fantastic but the drivers wish for more time behind the wheel… It’s for the love of racing.” “I can’t say what we did on the roads, but we got there quick,” quipped another excited driver.

daytona

Fast, Furious And Fancy In South Africa: Strapping Up In A Lamborghini Over 1,500Kms

As per this year’s&nbsp;latest&nbsp;<a href="http://wt-mail.henleyglobal.com/c/6/?T=NDQzMjAyNzc%3AcDEtYjIxMTAzLTAxZjY0NTQyY2U0NDRlZmY5ZjY1ZWZjNGIzNTgzMDgw%3AcmVudWthLm1ldGhpbEBhYm4zNjAuY29t%3AY29udGFjdC05YjQ5MGI4M2Y4OTJlNzExOWRiZjAwNTA1NmJjMDdmMy1lM2E0ZGM1ODkxNDQ0ZGQ5OTIyZjhmNmYyZTE1MjhkOQ%3AZmFsc2U%3AMA%3A%3AaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuaGVubGV5Z2xvYmFsLmNvbS9wYXNzcG9ydC1pbmRleD9fY2xkZWU9Y21WdWRXdGhMbTFsZEdocGJFQmhZbTR6TmpBdVkyOXQmcmVjaXBpZW50aWQ9Y29udGFjdC05YjQ5MGI4M2Y4OTJlNzExOWRiZjAwNTA1NmJjMDdmMy1lM2E0ZGM1ODkxNDQ0ZGQ5OTIyZjhmNmYyZTE1MjhkOSZlc2lkPTQxZWQ5MGM3LTJkOWMtZWIxMS04YmMwLTAwNTA1NjhkOWExOA&amp;K=vJWLaK0qWC7j9BwnzD83sg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Henley Passport Index</a>&nbsp;— the original ranking of all the world’s passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa – Japanese passport holders theoretically are able to access a record 193 destinations around the world visa-free. &nbsp;



Singapore remains in second place, with a visa-free/visa-on-arrival score of 192, while Germany and South Korea again share joint-third place, each with access to 191 destinations. &nbsp;The index provides exclusive insight into what post-pandemic travel freedom might look like as countries around the world&nbsp;selectively begin to open their borders&nbsp;to international visitors.&nbsp;



 Based on exclusive data from the&nbsp;<a href="http://wt-mail.henleyglobal.com/c/6/?T=NDQzMjAyNzc%3AcDEtYjIxMTAzLTAxZjY0NTQyY2U0NDRlZmY5ZjY1ZWZjNGIzNTgzMDgw%3AcmVudWthLm1ldGhpbEBhYm4zNjAuY29t%3AY29udGFjdC05YjQ5MGI4M2Y4OTJlNzExOWRiZjAwNTA1NmJjMDdmMy1lM2E0ZGM1ODkxNDQ0ZGQ5OTIyZjhmNmYyZTE1MjhkOQ%3AZmFsc2U%3AMQ%3A%3AaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuaWF0YS5vcmcvP19jbGRlZT1jbVZ1ZFd0aExtMWxkR2hwYkVCaFltNHpOakF1WTI5dCZyZWNpcGllbnRpZD1jb250YWN0LTliNDkwYjgzZjg5MmU3MTE5ZGJmMDA1MDU2YmMwN2YzLWUzYTRkYzU4OTE0NDRkZDk5MjJmOGY2ZjJlMTUyOGQ5JmVzaWQ9NDFlZDkwYzctMmQ5Yy1lYjExLThiYzAtMDA1MDU2OGQ5YTE4&amp;K=GPVhmx3NNGZER0Qshw6TlA" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">International Air Transport Association</a>&nbsp;(IATA), and as has been the case for most of the index’s 16-year history, the majority of the remaining top 10 spots are held by European Union countries. &nbsp;



The United Arab Emirates continues its stellar ascent. In 2011, it was ranked 65th&nbsp;with a&nbsp;visa-free/visa-on-arrival score of 67, while today, it is ranked 15th&nbsp;with a score of 174. &nbsp;Closer home, Seychelles and Mauritius are in the top 50.&nbsp;



Seychelles, the archipelago country in the Indian Ocean, is Africa’s top-ranking African passport in this regard, at 27 with access to 152 destinations worldwide.&nbsp;



It is followed by Mauritius which is at 30 with a score of 146 destinations passport-holders of this country can visit.&nbsp;



Ranked 53, the number of global destinations South African passport-holders can travel to is 103.&nbsp;



The rest of the African continent dominates the bottom quarter of the rankings with weaker passports than most.&nbsp;

Man holding passport and boarding pass at airline check-in counter

What Travel Freedom Looks Like In The Pandemic World

Animals, adventure, and a pit stop for riders off Johannesburg’s city limits.



It’s sunrise on a Saturday morning in South Africa and I am wide awake. Spring is one of my favorite seasons. With spring, comes the uplifting scent of the Jacarandas as they start to bloom, the smell of the wet earth and freshly-cut grass mixed with the smell of exhaust fumes as I pass the sights and sounds as a pillion passenger on a motorbike.



Just before the expedition, I ensure all necessary safety checks are done and take the winter lining off my jacket. I stand, rubbing my hands together to beat the misty morning cold as my fiancé turns on the ignition, warming up in preparation for our daytime two-wheel adventure.



Helmet on, inhibitions off and we’re on our way. The silence on the roads is rattled by the noise of the engine revving up at each red robot and my ears slowly adjust to the muffled noises of the outdoor world as I wear ear plugs to protect myself from the whistling wind and the screaming engine.



I hold on tightly as the city and red robots fade away and the views begin to unfold of open, uninterrupted roads. We encounter other bikers and a respectful nod is passed between riders in the split second they’re able to glance at each other. There is an assault of fresh air through an opening in my helmet.&nbsp;



Riding around the Cradle of Humankind site northwest of Johannesburg gifts us with sceneries of green rolling hills and sleepy farm life. The long and winding roads are adorned with bikers and cyclists alike, all of whom pause at certain points on this Saturday morning to take in the valleys and knolls that dot the landscape.



The last few kilometers to our destination prove tenuous to me at best as the pot holes and speed bumps are a challenging experience. The Black Horse Brewery &amp; Distillery is a hidden gem nestled away in the rocky green mountains of Magaliesburg. Stopping here is the norm for bikers.&nbsp;



Accompanying the delightful breakfast spread here are the animals who roam between tables looking for nibbles. A stoutly Pekingese and genteel Maltese wait patiently as they receive attention from loyal patrons.



Outside, horses trot around rather majestically as they return to their stables from their morning canter. Meandering through the property reveals a garden and grounds that could be the picture for a postcard.&nbsp;



The rustic feel of the buildings and intimacy of the architecture make this a popular venue, as evidenced by a wedding party preparing for their special day. &nbsp;



Having meandered through the grounds one last time and thanking the warm staff, we don our gear and make our way to the exit. Mounting the bike, I smile because our journey begins again. More adventure awaits.

Visitors center, Cradle of Humankind, Tumulus Building exterior earth covered

South Africa On Two Wheels

Topline: After 20 long and turbulent months of being grounded, the Boeing 737 MAX is ready to take off into the skies as it gets approval to return to commercial service, says the U.S.  Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Wednesday, November 18.  This follows after The Boeing Company had to suspend the services of the airplanes due to the crash of Ethiopian Airline’s Boeing 737 MAX in March 2019.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Key Facts</h4>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>The FAA released a <a href="https://www.faa.gov/foia/electronic_reading_room/boeing_reading_room/media/737_RTS_Summary.pdf">comprehensive and methodical safety review process</a> report on Wednesday that took 20 months to complete. The report is to address the safety issues regarding the plane.&nbsp;</li><li>Boeing 737 MAX was grounded in March 2019 when 346 lives were lost within a five-month timeline.&nbsp;</li><li>On October 29, 2018, a Lion Air&nbsp; Boeing 737 MAX crashed after taking off from Jakarta, Indonesia. 13 minutes after takeoff, Flight 610 crashed killing 189 people.</li><li>Five months later, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed shortly after take-off on March 10 killing all 149 people on board.&nbsp;</li><li>This led to many big airlines having to ground their Boeing 737 Max planes due to safety concerns. This included the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) who ordered all Chinese airlines to ground their Boeing 737 MAX 8 jets a day after the fatal Ethiopian crash. American Airlines, Comair Airways, and Ethiopian Airlines are just to name a few that also made the decision to ground their 737s.&nbsp;</li><li>“Throughout our transparent process, we cooperated closely with our foreign counterparts on every aspect of the return to service. Additionally, FAA Administrator Steve Dickson personally took the recommended pilot training and piloted the Boeing 737 MAX, so he could experience the handling of the aircraft firsthand,” the FAA statement read.&nbsp;</li><li>This stamp of approval allows airlines that are under the FAA&#8217;s jurisdiction to take the necessary steps to resume services.&nbsp;</li></ul>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Crucial Numbers</h4>



According to <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/11/17/business/boeing-737-max-grounding-cost/index.html">CNN</a>, Boeing stated that this longest grounding in commercial aviation history has cost the company $20 Billion. This includes $8.6 billion to compensate customers who had their planes grounded, $5 billion for unusual costs of production, and $6.3 billion for increased costs of the 737 Max program.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Crucial Quote</h4>



&#8220;We will never forget the lives lost in the two tragic accidents that led to the decision to suspend operations,&#8221; said David Calhoun, chief executive officer of The Boeing Company. &#8220;These events and the lessons we have learned as a result have reshaped our company and further focused our attention on our core values of safety, quality, and integrity.&#8221;

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