Thailand postpones introduction of tourism tax

Thailand has once again pushed back the introduction of its tax on tourists arriving in the country.

The new fee will now be imposed from mid 2026, local media reported.

The tourist fee was first approved in 2023 at THB 300 ($14).

Assistant Tourism Minister Chakrapol Tangsutthitham has confirmed that it would be shelved due to current market conditions.

Thailand tourism arrivals are currently down about 5%.

“We are delaying implementation until tourism demand rebounds,” the minister said.

The long-planned fee is locally referred to as the Kha Yeap Pan Din (literally, “stepping onto Thai soil” fee).

Chakrapol said the decision was made following a review by Minister Sorawong Thienthong.

“We must wait to assess international tourist demand during the upcoming high season in Q4 this year,” Chakrapol explained, saying the ministry needs more time to study the details and determine an appropriate fee structure based on the mode of travel - land, sea, rail, or air.

The revenue generated will be used to enhance tourist sites and fund insurance coverage for foreign visitors.

Image: Koh Samui

Pilot forgets passport; delays international flight

A United Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Shanghai diverted to San Francisco over the weekend after a pilot realised "they forgot their passport"

The Boeing 787-9 left LAX on Saturday for a 13 hours and 50 minutes flight to the Chinese city, Airlive.net reported.

The aircraft flew for about 1 hour and 45 minutes before the crew decided to turn around over Pacific.

The airline initially cited the incident as a “crew-related issue” but CNN reportedone of the pilots realized he forgot his passport. How he was able to depart LAX without a travel document was not explained, but this is the 'new" US.

The flight UA198 was diverted to San Francisco. Passengers were given $15 meal vouchers to make up for the inconvenience.

The flight with the new crew took off around 9 p.m. and landed in Shanghai about six hours behind schedule.

A replacement crew boarded the aircraft later to resume the flight to Shanghai.

United Airlines said in a statement: “Your flight diverted to San Francisco due to an unexpected crew-related issue requiring a new crew."

Novel excuse for lengthy flight delay

Passengers on board a flight scheduled to travel from Birmingham Airport to Doha in Qatar were this week delayed for several hours because the pilot and other crew members were stuck in a lift.

The Qatar Airways air crew had to be freed from the elevator by firefighters, delaying the flight for four hours, industry newsletter Travel Mole reported.

The pilot and crew were in the malfunctioning lift for well over three hours.

Passengers were given refreshment vouchers but there were complaints about disorganisation and a lack of updates given by airport staff.

Many passengers missed onward connections and faced long queues for meal vouchers and rebooking assistance.

“At 6am, airline crew members reported becoming stuck in one of our temporary lifts, the airport said in a statement.

“With our lift contractor unable to reactivate the lift system, West Midlands Fire Service removed a panel to allow the crew out just before 9.30am.

“We are very sorry to the airline crew members and customers affected by this.”

Image: Visit Birmingham 

A prickly delay at a New Zealand airport

An Air New Zealand flight was delayed taxiing to the terminal at Dunedin Airport (above) with a prickly problem. 

A stubborn hedgehog was blocking its route.

The pilot spotted the creature on the runway shortly after the flight touched down from Auckland, Travel Mole reported.

“I have to make an announcement I’ve never made before: 'there is a hedgehog on the runaway’,” the captain told passengers.

The plane stood still while firefighters were called to remove the stubborn critter.

They managed to coax the hedgehog off the runway and the plane the taxied to the gate.

“The hedgehog made if off the runway safely,” Air New Zealand said in a statement.

“Over the course of a year its not unusual to have a few hedgehogs walk across the runway,” an airport spokesperson said.

The Air New Zealand spokesperson confirmed flight NZ675 had a small delay of five minutes “while the aircraft waited for a hedgehog to be removed”.

It said: “The hedgehog made if off the runway safely.”

Long-awaited cruise ship debut pushed back

The official launch of a much-anticipated luxury cruise ship has been pushed back.

The debut of Cunard’s Queen Anne has been delayed several months due to energy shortages and global supply chain constraints, Travel Mole reports.

The Queen Anne will now make her maiden voyage from Southampton on May 3, 2024 after the date was pushed back from January 2024.

The new vessel will visit La Coruna in Spain on May 5, Lisbon on May 7 and then return to Southampton on May 10.

Cunard said it has automatically transferred guests to the new seven-night maiden voyage.

Queen Anne’s first season voyages will include sailings from Southampton to the Mediterranean, Scandinavia, the Canary Islands, and the Norwegian fjords.

Those voyages will go on sale from December 7.

The Queen Anne will be the 249th Cunard ship, joining a quartet alongside Queen Mary 2, Queen Victoria, and Queen Elizabeth.

Runaway on the runway: flights delayed by errant turtle

There are myriad reasons why a flight might be delayed.

Mechanical issues perhaps, a connecting flight arriving late; or perhaps a passenger lost in the departure lounge.

Perhaps the most unusual reason for a delay happened last week at Tokyo's Narita Airport, where take-offs and landings were delayed by a badly behaved turtle. 

The turtle, believed to be from a nearby pond, forced the airport to temporarily suspend operations after it was spotted on a runway by a pilot who was about to take off.

The pilot informed air traffic controllers and the runway was shut down causing a delay for five flights as the airport staff scrambled to rescue the creature, Mainichi Daily newspaper reported.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's Narita Airport office confirmed five planes were delayed.

Airport administrators said the turtle is about 30 centimeters long, and weighed 2.1 kilograms.

Although there have been occasional cases of cats, racoon dogs, rabbits and other animals entering the runway, the appearance of a turtle was very uncommon.

“The turtle might have crawled out of the reservoir near the runway to sunbathe since the weather has been warm the past few days,” an airport official said.