Mauna Loa volcano, the world’s largest active volcano, erupts for the first time in nearly four decades

The US Geological Survey assures that even though lava is flowing down one side of the volcano, the eruption does not pose any threat to the communities. The volcano is in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. The agency issued an advisory and said - “All indications are that the eruption will remain in the Northeast Rift Zone.” Referring to an area where the volcano is splitting, allowing for lava flow, it added - “Volcanic gas and possibly fine ash and Pele’s Hair (strands of lava glass) may be carried downwind.” However, a “trace to less than one quarter inch” of ashfall could accumulate on parts of the island. That is what the National Weather Service in Honolulu. The state Transportation Department also issued an advisory for those who plan to fly. It said - “Passengers with flights to Hilo International Airport (ITO) or the Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keahole (KOA) should check with their airline prior to heading to the airport due to the volcanic activity at Mauna Loa.” The airline also announced that Southwest Airlines is not operating from Hilo International Monday because of the eruption. It has canceled five flights to and from Honolulu. Hawaii’s Mauna Loa is erupting for the first time since 1984. The US Federal Aviation Administration issued a statement saying – it is “closely monitoring the volcanic eruption and will issue air traffic advisories once the size of the ash cloud is determined.”

The agency confirmed there is no threat to nearby communities, and no evacuation orders issued. However, as a precaution, two shelters have opened. The weather service says falling ash can damage vehicles, buildings, and lead to contamination of water supplies, disruption in sewage and electrical systems, and damage or destruction of vegetation. Moreover, abrasive volcanic ash could lead to irritation of eyes and lungs. Those who suffer from respiratory illnesses should remain indoors to avoid inhaling the ash particles and anyone outside should cover their mouth and nose with a mask or cloth. Hawaii, or the Big Island, has an area of about 4,000 square miles. It is the largest of the Hawaiian chain but has a population of just over 200,000 people. This works out to less than 50 people per square mile. Most of them live in cities and communities around the coast.

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Ukraine imposes sanctions on Russia – direct flights between the two countries to stop

Ukraine imposes sanctions on Russia by banning direct flights between Ukraine and Russia when flights between the two countries would stop at midnight on Saturday. Moscow initially termed it as ‘madness’ but retaliated by banning flights from Russia to Ukraine. The ban would affect up to 70,000 passengers every month.
This has been reported in bbc.com dated 24 October 2015.

The sanctions that have been imposed are to punish Russia for annexing Crimea and also for supporting armed rebels in eastern Ukraine. However, Russia feels Ukraine is shooting itself in the foot because most passengers who fly to Russia are Ukrainian travelling to work in Russia, visiting relatives or in transit.
Russia's transport minister has estimated that the loss in ticket sales to both countries will be of the order of around $110m every year.
The net result would be suffering of passengers who will have no other alternative but to go in for longer, more expensive routes via third countries, or to brace themselves for a 13-hour trip by train.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Air travel becomes cheap for British children due to reduction in Air Passenger Duty

Thanks to Chancellor George Osborne scrapping the controversial air tax for the under-12s from next May, families who would be flying abroad could save up to £71 per child. More good news - from March 2016, all children under the age of 16 traveling in economy will be exempt from the Air Passenger Duty.
Moreover, airlines would have to display on tickets the breakdown of the various elements of the cost so that the passenger knew exactly how much of the fare was spent on fuel surcharges and also know at a glance where their money is going.
This benefit to passengers is due to the fact that in this year’s Budget an announcement has been made on the two highest bands in the four-band system of Air Passenger Duty – this would be scrapped from April 1, 2015.
By virtue of this, with effect from May 1, a family of five flying to Florida could save £213, or £71 for each child under 12. However, those who would fly premium economy, business or first class will not get the benefit. Moreover, it is not clear as to whether those who have already booked flights on or after the May 1 start date will be eligible to get refunds.
It seems EasyJet has already taken the lead and announced that it would refund APD to any customers who had booked tickets for children on or after the May 1 deadline.
Incidentally, the Air Passenger Duty is an airport departure tax, and the charge, which had initially been introduced as an environmental measure has now become a pure measure to increase revenues.
Pressure is also being put on airlines to curb the fuel surcharges that had been imposed on passengers when fuel costs go up – and which take an unusually long time to be removed when the prices fall.

Do not go in for aisle seats in flights – it could be dangerous

Many passengers prefer to choose the aisle seat in flights because that way they can avoid getting squeezed in between other passengers or between the wall of the aircraft and the passenger sitting next to him.
However, choosing aisle seats in flights are fraught with unseen dangers – in the opinion of Chuck Gerba, a microbiologist from the University of Arizona who is a leader in infectious diseases, these seats are the ones that could carry the highest number of germs because of the number of people it gets exposed to as they walk by or even touch so that they do not lose their balance.
Therefore, people should avoid aisle seats since whoever occupies that seat would be more likely to come in contact with, and be contaminated by, other passengers on the flight.
It seems when members of a tour group with norovirus came down with symptoms of uncontrollable vomiting and diarrhea during a flight from Boston to Los Angeles, they had to make regular visits to the bathroom. The extent of contamination forced the plane to go in for an emergency landing in Chicago to enable the infected passengers to be taken to the hospital.
Subsequently, the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention in the US contacted all passengers on the plane to establish if anyone else had contracted the virus from the flight and their findings revealed that most of those who had caught norovirus were sitting in an aisle seats.
Hence, they were more likely to have made contact with the infected passengers who were walking back and forth to the bathroom because the affected passengers would have been holding onto the aisle seats to maintain their balance – accordingly, the risk of contamination was increased.