Editor’s Note — Sign up for Unlocking the World, CNN Travel’s weekly newsletter. Get news about destinations opening and closing, inspiration for future adventures, plus the latest in aviation, food and drink, where to stay and other travel developments.
(CNN) — All around the world, restrictions are easing for vaccinated travelers, and more and more people will soon be on the move. But with traffic set to rise, airlines are keen to put a stop to bad behavior in the skies.
Here’s what’s been happening in travel this week.
The latest reopenings
Blow the cobwebs off your passport; there have been some big relaxations of Covid travel rules.
Australia will open to vaccinated international travelers in late February, and India is relaxing its testing and quarantine rules.
In Europe, Greece, Portugal and the UK are all making plans to relax test requirements for the fully vaccinated or recently boosted.
Travelers going to Hawaii won’t need boosters to be considered fully vaccinated, and the Caribbean islands of Aruba and Bermuda are making entry easier.
Despite all this, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now has close to 135 destinations in its highest-risk travel advisory category.
That’s because it’s based on Covid case numbers. And while Omicron is rife around the world, many governments are deciding international travel curbs aren’t a solution to its spread.
Big trouble in little cabins
To paraphrase Samuel L. Jackson, Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian has had it with these motherflipping unruly passengers on these motherflipping planes. He’s been calling for a no-fly list for offenders, and the US Justice Department has responded.
Southwest Airlines is bringing back alcohol on planes for the first time since March 2020, a move its flight attendants’ union says is “unsafe and irresponsible.” Both United and Delta resumed some alcohol sales in economy class last year, but American Airlines is holding out.
Sports and leisure
World-class athletes work hard and often play hard, too. Luxury concierge Johnny Vegas is a travel agent for sports stars. Here’s how he plans their lavish trips.
The Winter Olympics in Beijing are almost halfway through, but the allure of winter sports in China will last longer than that. Indoor ski slopes, skating rinks, snow simulators and other attractions have been popping up all over the country in recent years.
If Chinese cuisine is more your speed, check out Anthony Bourdain’s “Parts Unknown” podcast from when he visited Shanghai back in 2014.
Ancient, abandoned or looking for love?
With Valentine’s Day around the corner, what are you longing for?
However you lean, CNN Travel has stories to fit your mood.
Get set, travel
One of the most tiresome things about Valentine’s Day — for the grand gesture set — is how to get all those precious jewels home from that surprise Paris weekend.
Fortunately, our partners at CNN Underscored, a product reviews and recommendations guide owned by CNN, have put together this roundup of the best travel jewelry cases. Problem solved.
Wildlife photography
A mischievous kea parrot grabbed the Verheul family’s camera and captured a bird’s eye view of a hiking trail in the Fiordland National Park, in New Zealand.
But if you prefer images captured by actual wildlife, then there’s always this video where a parrot stole a New Zealand family’s GoPro and filmed its escape.
In case you missed it
A Las Vegas tourist missed out on $230,000 because of a slot machine glitch.
After more than 1,000 years, this English pub is closing down.
