In Travel News for September 22nd, 2022 we have good news from Japan, we talk about European Air Travel strikes, and a new addition to Disney Land.
MagicBand+ Coming to Disney Land
Earlier this summer Disney launched MagicBand+ for use in their Walt Disney World resort in Florida. It’s been recently announced that this fall MagicBand+ will be available at Disney Land in California. MagicBand for those that are unfamiliar is a wearable band that allows guests in the theme park the ability to unlock their hotel room, or pay for items while on the property as well as extra, in-park experiences. The band detects the users motions and can detect gestures, it lights up and has haptic feedback.
Europe Air Travel & Union Strikes
Air Travel in and around Europe has been difficult this year with continuing staffing shortages and a tremendous surge in demand, which of course has been followed by numerous union Strikes in Spain, Portugal, France, and other countries. It looks as if strikes will continue to disrupt air travel in Europe. The cabin crews for Ryanair and Vueling have announced they will be striking across Italy starting October 1st. And that’s not all, United workers at London Heathrow Airport have started voting on if they too will be striking. The voting will last through October 11th. A United strike in London would cause up to 18 flights each day to be cancelled. Its important to remember that demand for air travel is still very high, when there is a decrease in available capacity it puts strain on the other airlines, which in turn lead to more delays and cancellations. If you plan on traveling in Europe this fall be sure to have a backup plan in case your flight is canceled.
Japan to Fully Reopen
Unlike many countries Japan has taken a slow and cautious approach to reopening to travelers but that is coming to and end. The Prime Minister of Japan has recently announced that starting October 11th Japan will resume visa-free entry to the island. This means that travelers to Japan will be free to travel as they want without having to be part of an escorted tour group or have an approved Japanese travel agent supervising their trip. Visa-free entry applies to short term visitors from approved countries such as the United States. The daily cap on arrivals will also be removed on October 11th. This will bring Japans entry rules close to where they were pre-pandemic.
Today in Travel is brought to you by The Adept Traveler, a travel agency that specializes in Accessible Travel. Our goal is to help all travelers, from the novice to the expert, from the able-bodied to the disabled, to travel well.
Until next time, travel well my friends.