Plus, GPS interference impacts Finnair and United passenger faces a heavy fine.
This week’s five major headlines will give you a glimpse of what’s happening in the travel world. To start with, bad tourists are still pestering authorities, and eliciting anger and punishment. And airlines are also in trouble for inaccurate claims around sustainability. Read on to learn the details.
GPS INTERFERENCE CAUSES FINNAIR TO SUSPEND FLIGHTS TO TARTU, ESTONIA
Last month, two Finnair flights from Helsinki to Tartu, Estonia, were diverted due to GPS interference. Now the airline has suspended flights to Tartu Airport until May 31, when it expects to have an approach method that doesn’t rely on GPS.
In a press release, Finnair’s Director of Operations said, “Most airports use alternative approach methods, but some airports, such as Tartu, only use methods that require a GPS signal to support them. The GPS interference in Tartu forces us to suspend flights until alternative solutions have been established.”
Russia is suspected of jamming (when pilots can’t tell their precise position) or spoofing (when systems are misled about their position) GPS signals. The airport at Tartu is 25 miles from the Russian territory. The statement also reports that incidents of interference have increased since 2022 and is also experienced near Kaliningrad, the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea, and the Eastern Mediterranean.
FLOODS HIT MORE COUNTRIES
After Dubai was ravaged by floods last month, more countries are facing severe storms and floods. In Brazil, at least 75 people have died and 100 are missing due to record-breaking floods. Authorities estimate that more than 80,000 people have been displaced. Kenya is also suffering after torrential rains inundated the country and claimed 170 lives and displaced more than 195,000. Tourists are also stranded in the Maasai Mara Game Reserve.
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Close to home, rescue operations in Texas are currently ongoing after rains swamped neighborhoods. A young boy was swept away by the rising waters along with two adults.
E.U. TAKES ACTION AGAINST 20 AIRLINES ACCUSED OF GREENWASHING
Airlines are advertising unproven claims of sustainability. Last month, a court ruled that KLM was misleading customers about the environmental benefits of flying with them and now European Union regulators are investigating greenwashing claims against 20 airlines in the bloc.
The airlines haven’t been specified, but the commission said that Spanish, Norwegian, Belgian, and Dutch national regulators are involved in the investigation. The E.U. authorities have sent letters to the airlines regarding their claims about carbon emission offsets or sustainable fuels, to which consumers can contribute by paying additional fees. “The airlines are yet to clarify whether such claims can be substantiated based on sound scientific evidence,” the statement said.
It is inviting responses within 30 days and asking them to bring practices in line with the EU law.
Related: Dutch Court Rules KLM Misled Customers
FAA FINES UNRULY UNITED AIRLINES PASSENGER $20,000
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is not letting unruly behavior fly. In a recent case investigated by the FBI, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the Bangor Police Department, a passenger from England was ordered to pay $20,638 in restitution to United Airlines after he disrupted a flight in March. He was also sentenced to time served.
Thirty-year-old Alexander Michael Dominic MacDonald was flying from London to Newark on March 1 when an argument with his girlfriend broke out. The flight crew tried to calm him, but the passenger allegedly became threatening towards them and said that he would “mess up the plane.” He was restrained and the flight was diverted to Bangor, Maine. He has been in custody since March 1 and pleaded guilty to interfering with flight crew on March 22.
NAKED TOURISTS ON ‘BIG DADDY’ DUNE ANGER NAMIBIA
Unidentified men posed naked on the “Big Daddy” Dune, a 325-meter tall (1,066 feet) dune in the Namib desert. The images and videos of them next to their clothes went viral on social media and it has drawn ire from the authorities.
Local officials were shocked by the behavior, and Romeo Muyunda, spokesperson for the ministry of environment, forestry and tourism, said that public indecency was punishable by law. The identity of the tourists was not disclosed and they had left the country before the authorities were notified. But the government is considering banning those tourists from entering any parks in the future.