Category: Destinations - Page 2

Weather Risk – Typhoon Pakhar impacts Hong Kong flights

Severe Tropical Storm Pakhar casus flight chaos at Hong Kong International Airport

The 2nd major storm to hit Hong Kong within a week leads to 206 flight cancellations and 471 delays

Forty-two landing attempts were aborted at Hong Kong International Airport between 7am and 7.30pm on Sunday as winds whipped up by Severe Tropical Storm Pakhar made conditions unsafe.

A review by the Post of data from Flightradar24, which tracks commercial flight movements, found some aircraft tried two or even three times to make a safe touchdown, as crosswinds and wind shear, which exerts a turning force on aircraft, wreaked havoc on operations.

Some pilots eventually opted to divert to other airports, with Xiamen, Kaoshiung, Haikou, Manila and Bangkok taking a large chunk of flights.

Diverted aircraft included Cathay Pacific flight 238 from London, which made no fewer than three failed attempts at landing before being diverted to Kaoshiung. Another flight, CX616 from Bangkok, made one failed attempt to touch down before flying back to the Thai capital.

A Hong Kong finance worker who asked not to be named said his flight to Singapore was supposed to depart at 11.15am on Sunday, but had been delayed twice.

On Twitter, affected fliers complained of delays, with one hitting out at Hong Kong’s flagship airline Cathay for bumping him to a flight on Tuesday.

Hong Kong’s Airport Authority said 44 flights had been diverted to other destinations.

A total of 206 flights were cancelled and 471 delayed due to the storm, with 50 planes left stuck on the tarmac at one point in the day as the city was pummelled by its second severe storm in a week.

The Hong Kong Observatory issued a T8 warning on Sunday morning as Pakhar lashed the city with heavy rain, but downgraded that signal to T3 at 1.40pm and T1 at 5.40pm.

Both of the airport’s runways were set to operate overnight instead of the usual one, to cope with a backlog of flights.

At noon on Sunday, all airlines closed their check-in services until 2pm.

Earlier in the week, more than 450 flights were cancelled due to Typhoon Hato, which hit the city on Wednesday and caused major damage.

The typhoon left 10 people dead in nearby Macau and at least 244 people injured.

On Sunday, as Pakhar lashed the city, an authority spokesman advised travellers to check the status of their flight before coming to the airport.

“Operations are quite severely affected,” he said.

The spokesman said flights were still coming and going from the airport on Sunday afternoon, but a flight attendant on a Delta plane waiting to take off said no planes were taking off or landing, according to a Post reporter on board an affected flight.

The pilot for flight DL38 to Seattle said that at one point 20 planes were stuck on the runway waiting for safer conditions, while another 30 were waiting to push off from the terminal.

He estimated that take-off could be a few hours away at the very least.

Now we are just stuck on the flight like sitting ducks

MARK STRANSON, BUSINESS TRAVELLER

Flights heading southeast of Hong Kong were largely cancelled, while planes to Thailand, Japan and the United States boarded their passengers, the pilot said.

Mark Stranson, aboard DL38 after visiting Hong Kong on business, said he was pleased with the decision not to fly.

“I’d prefer that they delayed us before boarding because now we are just stuck on the flight like sitting ducks, but I’m glad they’re not trying to fly in this weather.”

But Cheri Cheung Wing-lam, a Georgetown University student, expressed concern she would miss her connecting flight.

“I cannot believe we have to sit here for so long, they shouldn’t have boarded us if they were going to keep us waiting. I’m thankful they’re not risking anything and that they provided refreshments, but I cannot imagine sitting here for hours.”

Jet blast from a plane kills a tourist at St. Maarten airport

Jet blast from a plane kills a tourist at a Caribbean airport

A sign near St. Maarten's Princess Juliana International Airport warns people about the danger from airplane jet engines.

A sign near St. Maarten’s Princess Juliana International Airport warns people about the danger from airplane jet engines.

A tourist from New Zealand was killed by the blast of a plane at an airport in the Dutch Caribbean island of St. Maarten.

The 57-year-old woman, who was not identified, was hanging onto a fence to watch the plane leave Wednesday, the island’s police said on Facebook.

The jet’s blast was so powerful, it knocked her down, police said. She later died.

Watching planes land and take off at Princess Juliana International Airport is a well-known tourist attraction, as approaching aircraft tend to fly very low above their heads.

But both airport and local authorities warn against getting too close to the planes, calling the practice “extremely dangerous.”

Police didn’t say what kind of plane was involved in Wednesday’s incident.

Island authorities say they have taken necessary precautions to warn tourists not to get too close to planes. They’ve placed signs and they patrol the area to warn people, the police department said.

Thrill-seekers and tourists have been watching planes take off and land at the airport since it opened in 1943.

In 2012, a woman was injured after she was flung into a nearby concrete barrier by a jet blast.

Reported by CNN on 14 July 2017.

It is worth highlighting a suggestion posted on Facebook by Paul Trueschler In know it’s a tourist attraction, but please install a small deflector to at least reduce the blast effects. It can still be exciting while becoming safer.

Hope the Dutch Caribbean island of St. Maarten Airport Authorities instal a small deflector, to reduce the risk of injury and death of future visitors.

Travelrisk – Parasailing Coupling Chute Failure in Phuket, Thailand

PHUKET – An Australian tourist fell to his death when the coupling on the chute apparently failed while he was parasailing at Kata beach.

An Australian man falls to his death when the coupling on the chute apparently failed while he was parasailing at Kata beach, Phuket on Wednesday. (Photo grabbed from a clip by his Thai wife Budsabong Thongsangka)

The tragedy occurred around noon in full view of his Thai wife, Budsabong Thongsangka, who was videoing the flight.

Roger John Hussey, 71, rose high into the air and then fell free, tumbling to the sea, shortly after the tow boat took off from the shore.

One of the beach crew was seen being pulled up into the air with him while still adjusting the coupling, and then climbing up into the shrouds, before Hussey fell free.

Volunteers at the beach rushed to bring him to shore. He developed breathing problems and was later pronounced dead, said Pol Lt Suwisit Khirirak, a duty-officer at Karon police station. The accident was not reported to police until about 3pm.

Police pressed charges against boat operator and driver Monthian Jandaeng of reckless driving causing the death of the tourist. Another member of the crew, identified as Runroj Rakcheep, was being interrogated.

The couple had been holidaying in Chiang Mai before visiting Phuket. They were scheduled to return to Australia on Friday.

Reported on 12 July 2017 by Bangkok Post.

Emerging Travel Risk: Australia’s mosquito-borne Ross River virus could become global epidemic

What is Ross River virus?

Most common mosquito-borne disease in Australia
Previously thought to be endemic to Australia and Papua New Guinea
Last breakout outside Australia/PNG was in 1979-1980 in American Samoa
Symptoms include swollen joints, fever/chills, rashes, debilitating pain
3,552 people infected Australia-wide in 2016
Previously understood to sustain itself only through marsupials

PHOTO: University of Adelaide Professor Philip Weinstein with a mosquito

University researchers warn that the virus now seems to be able to sustain itself outside marsupials.

Australia’s Ross River virus has the potential to become a global epidemic, similar to the Zika virus, researchers say.

It was previously thought that the mosquito-borne virus could only sustain itself among marsupials, which kept the disease endemic to Australia and Papua New Guinea.

But research fellow at the University of Adelaide Professor Philip Weinstein said he and his partners at the Australian National University (ANU) found the disease silently planting roots in the South Pacific.

“It’s really only in the last few years [it became apparent] when tourists returning to their home countries … were diagnosed with Ross River virus after travelling in the Pacific,” Professor Weinstein said.

“They’d never been to Australia or New Guinea. That’s when the little alarm bells started ringing that this was perhaps circulating outside Australia.”

Professor Weinstein said the new finding meant that even though there were no marsupials in the Pacific Islands, the virus was seemingly able to maintain itself there anyway.

He warned that if the virus could sustain itself in areas where there were no marsupials, “then it could sustain itself anywhere in the world”.

“That certainly means that it could be another global outbreak like Zika or Chikungunya a few years before that, another mosquito-borne virus that suddenly went global,” he said.

Professor Weinstein said all it could take was a “perfect storm” of a tourist carrying the virus, a set of animals who could harbour the virus, and the right conditions for mosquitos to bite those animals for an epidemic to take off.

In fact, he said, it was possible that was already happening.

“This has probably been chugging along quietly on different Pacific islands for a number of years, but because the symptoms are so general it’s not been identified as a Ross River Virus problem,” Professor Weinstein said.

In January alone 1,174 people were infected nationwide in Australia.

Source: ABC News reported 22 February 2017

Australia’s Ross River virus spike prompts mosquito warning across NSW Riverina

PHOTO: People are urged to use mosquito repellents and long clothing to avoid being bitten (ABC TV News – file image)

New South Wales Health authorities renew warnings for residents and holiday makers in the state’s Riverina region to protect themselves against mosquitoes after a fivefold increase in the number of Ross River virus infections compared to the average in previous years.

NSW Public Health Director Tracey Oakman said there were 34 cases of the virus in the Murrumbidgee Local Health District in December, five times the average for this time of year.

“The highest number of notifications have been in the 45- to 65-year-old age group and then the next age group most commonly notified is the 25- to 44-year-old age group,” she said.

The city of Griffith has been flagged as a hotspot for the virus, with seven cases reported in the region last month.

Ms Oakman also said a number of holiday makers in the Riverina who contracted the disease were unlikely to have been picked up in the latest figures.

“If we’ve got holiday makers that have been bitten and gone home, they’ll be recorded as having the virus from the postcode that they’re living in,” she said.

Ms Oakman said the numbers were concerning and she urged people to be vigilant, use quality mosquito repellents and wear long clothing.

How is the virus spread?

Ross River virus is spread among humans by the bite of certain types of infected female mosquitoes, which generally pick up the virus when feeding on the blood of infected animals.

Outbreaks can occur when local conditions of rainfall, tides and temperature promote mosquito breeding.

Tips to beat bites

Wear long, loose-fitting clothing
Use effective mosquito repellents containing DEET or picaridin
Control mosquitos with sprays or vaporising devices for inside use, including caravans
Install fly screens
Make sure mosquitos can’t breed by removing stagnant water every week
Empty children’s wading pools when not being used
Limit outdoor activity at dusk and dawn

Source: Department of Health

Ms Oakman said mosquito numbers had flourished after months of wet weather.

“That’s really concerning because we don’t normally see such a high level of Ross River virus in December.

“We normally get higher cases in February, March and April, the tail end of summer.

“Seeing them this early is a real concern,” she said.

Ms Oakman warned that wet conditions were likely to lead to even more people contracting the virus across the region in the coming months. She called on people who became infected to visit the doctor.

“The symptoms … joint aches and pains, headaches, fever, a chill and sometimes a rash,” she said.

“Sometimes the symptoms persist for weeks and even months.

“It’s quite a miserable time for someone who contracts it.”

Reported by ABC News on 6 January 2017.

25% of Americans Will Cancel, Delay, Relocate, Change or Reconsider Travel Plans Before Taking a Vacation

American Travelers are Taking Terror Risk into account in Vacation Planning

Allianz Travel Insurance Vacation Confidence Index Reveals almost a Quarter of Americans Will Cancel, Delay, Relocate, Change or Reconsider Travel Plans Before Taking a Vacation

RICHMOND, VA, 7.25.2016 — The majority of Americans (86 percent) are concerned about terrorist attacks occurring while on vacation in various regions of the world in the future, prompting many to make major changes to their travel plans, according to the annual Vacation Confidence Index released by Allianz Global Assistance.

The region Americans are most concerned will be the site of an attack is the Middle East (75 percent), followed by Europe (66 per cent) and Africa (63 percent).

With recent attacks in Istanbul, Israel, Paris, Brussels, and Nice, almost a quarter of Americans (22 percent) say that the fear of further violence has influenced their vacation planning in some way; whether that be cancelling (6 percent); changing locations (5 percent), travel dates (4 percent), mode of transportation (4 percent), local tours (4 percent) or accommodations (3 percent); or by purchasing travel insurance (3 percent).

As Americans age, the fear of terror attacks happening while traveling to different regions of the world increases significantly. That trend, however, is reversed for travel within the U.S. and Canada, where millennials aged 18 to 34 have the greatest fear of an attack happening on home soil (57 percent) compared to generation X (51 percent) and baby boomers (48 percent).

Those Americans influenced by an act of terrorism are more likely to be traveling within the U.S. or Canada (50 percent), likely due to the higher number of domestic vs. international vacations planned. Internationally, Americans who have changed their plans were most likely to be visiting Europe (42 percent), followed by Asia (29 percent), Latin America (26 percent), Australia and the South Pacific (26 percent), the Middle East (22 percent) or Africa (21 percent).

An analysis of flight bookings showed a 10 percent overall increase in travel to Europe during the summer, despite recent acts of terror in Brussels, Istanbul and France. While these targeted destinations saw a significant decrease or virtually no change in U.S. travelers visiting during the upcoming summer, Europe as a whole recorded an overall increase to 515,676 travelers in 2016 compared to 471,823 in 2015.

“What we’re seeing is that the American traveler is a complex demographic that shares common fears and concerns, but deviate greatly on where they find those fears and how they face them,” said Daniel Durazo, director of communications at Allianz Global Assistance USA. “But we’re pleased to see that whatever those differences are, one thing that remains consistent is that they are finding ways to follow their passion of seeing the world despite the challenges that come with traveling in a time of terror.”

Methodology: These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of Allianz from May 3 to 10, 2016. For the survey, a sample of n=2,007 Americans were interviewed online via Ipsos’s American online panel. The precision of Ipsos online surveys is measured using a Bayesian credibility interval. In this case, with a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within ± 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had all Americans been polled. The margin of error will be larger within sub-groupings of the survey population.

Source: Allianz Travel Insurance Vacation Confidence Index