Temporary closings/Delays

Sri Lanka: Travel to North and East Still Dangerous, Yala Wildlife Sanctuary Closed

Date: October 25th, 2007 |

Travel to northern and eastern Sri Lanka remains risky because of ongoing conflict between the armed forces and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels. The government has controlled the eastern part of the country since July 2007, but some insurgents and paramilitary members remain active in the area and security cannot be guaranteed. The [read more]

Hawaii: National Park Service Suspends Bicycle Tours on Haleakala

Date: October 11th, 2007 |

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The National Park Service suspended commercial bicycle tours in Haleakala National Park following the third death on the long downhill run in a year. The bike trips are one of the most popular activities on Maui. Tour operators drive participants to Haleakala’s 10,000-foot summit and tourists then descend 38 miles on bicycles along a winding [read more]

Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur Hotels 98 Percent Full

Date: August 15th, 2007 |

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Hotels in Kuala Lumpur have an enviable problem: 98-percent occupancy rates that are making it hard for visitors to find rooms. To avoid difficulties, the Tourism Ministry is encouraging tourists to stay in cities near the capital such as Shah Alam, Nilai and Seremban. The shortage will be particularly acute around the hosting of the [read more]

Brazil: Air Traffic System in Chaos

Date: July 25th, 2007 |

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A deadly plane crash in Sao Paulo July 17 confirmed the danger of Congonhas airport’s short runway and a few days later a radar outage over the Amazon created havoc in Brazil’s airspace, forcing 20 international flights to divert to other airports or return to their points of origin. For the next three days more [read more]

Austria and Czech Republic: Border Crossing Blockades

Date: May 23rd, 2007 |

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Austrian anti-nuclear protesters have repeatedly blocked border crossings with the Czech Republic over complaints that a nuclear power plant at Temelin, Czech Republic, is unsafe. Activists claim that the Czech government has not fulfilled conditions agreed to between the two countries in 2000 to allow the plant to go into operation, and have demanded that [read more]

Ecuador: Guayaquil Airport to Close for Repairs

Date: October 18th, 2007 |

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Maintenance work on the runway at Guayaquil’s Jose Joaquin de Olmedo Airport will force the airport to close on four weekends in November and December. Closures will run from 1 a.m. Saturday to 7 a.m. Monday on the following dates: Nov. 10-12, 17-19, 24-26, and Dec. 1-3. Most international flights at those times will be [read more]

Haiti: U.S. Embassy Prohibits Personnel from Flying Caribintair Airlines

Date: September 19th, 2007 |

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The U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince now prohibits all U.S. government personnel from flying on Haiti’s Caribintair Airlines, and warns travelers to avoid the carrier. The airline has had two forced emergency landings in the past month and Haiti’s civil aviation authority has grounded its domestic flights while continuing to allow flights to Santo Domingo, Dominican [read more]

Italy: Baggage Chaos at Leonardo da Vinci Airport in Rome

Date: August 8th, 2007 |

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Officials scrambled to resolve a baggage impasse at Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci Airport Aug. 7 after thousands of bags for outbound flights were left unloaded and arriving passengers had long waits for theirs. Italy’s transport minister vowed to add some 80 new staff to clear out the congestion and try to improve normal operations. The [read more]

Australia: Aboriginal Elders Threaten to Ban Tourists from Uluru

Date: June 27th, 2007 |

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The sacred Aboriginal site of Uluru, or Ayers Rock, may be off limits to tourists if Aboriginal elders follow through on their threat to ban visitors on the landmark in protest of a new federal government policy. The government plans to clamp down on child abuse in some 70 Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory [read more]

Tibet: China Restricts Foreign Tourists

Date: May 16th, 2007 |

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Visiting Tibet is more complicated now that Chinese authorities have imposed new restrictions on foreigners following a protest by five Americans who unfurled a banner at the Mt. Everest base camp. Tourists can no longer travel independently outside Lhasa, and all permits for travel to Tibet now must be approved by the Tibetan Travel Bureau’s [read more]