Travel

BERLIN — At least seven passenger flights across Europe were searched or diverted on Tuesday after bomb threats that all proved false. Four of the flights were Ryanair. The others were Wizz Air, LOT and SAS. The flights left from the UK, Ireland, Denmark, Portugal and Italy. Italian fighter jets escorted a Ryanair flight from Dublin into Rome. A LOT flight from London was sent to Modlin instead of Warsaw's Chopin airport, and Modlin briefly closed during the search. Two UK departures, from Heathrow and Manchester, were among those threatened. Downing Street called the threats malicious hoaxes, and a Department for Transport source called them not credible. Monday's Wizz Air flight from London Luton, bound for Sofia, was diverted to Budapest after a threat made in flight. No cause or link between the incidents has been established. An aviation-risk adviser cited by AP said possible explanations include copycat behavior, a single caller making multiple threats, or state-linked hybrid operations.

DUBAI — British Airways restarted its London Heathrow to Dubai service this week. Flight BA105 left Heathrow on the evening of Tuesday, November 3, and landed in Dubai on Wednesday. The route had been suspended since the Middle East conflict began at the end of February. An earlier restart date of October 25 was postponed. BA will fly one daily round trip this winter and plans two a day in summer 2027, which would double weekly departures from seven to 14. Its Abu Dhabi service remains suspended until the 2027-28 winter season. Other European carriers are returning later. Gulf News lists Lufthansa, Swiss and Eurowings for November 25 and Austrian Airlines for December 12. Etihad has extended its Riyadh and Dammam suspensions to November 19, while planning to resume some Jeddah flights on November 6.

FUVAHMULAH, Maldives — A peer-reviewed paper in Marine Biology (May 2026) examined the tiger sharks that gather at Tiger Harbour, a shallow dive site on the island's southern coast. Researchers from the Maldives, Germany and Qatar logged 877 dives between August 2021 and March 2024 and identified 220 individual sharks. Sightings were significantly higher in the northeast monsoon, December to April, and fell in the southwest monsoon, June to October. Warmer sea-surface temperature was the strongest predictor of sightings. The sharks are resident year-round, so November is a shoulder month. Operators say thresher and scalloped hammerhead sightings are more seasonal, and published calendars disagree on exact months. The Maldives is also phasing in dive limits, mandatory briefings and sanctuary zones through 2025 and 2026. Conditions are open-ocean and best suited to advanced divers. From Memphis there is no nonstop service. Expect at least two connections to Malé, then a domestic transfer south, well over a day of travel.

MALAPASCUA, Philippines — Malapascua, a small island off northern Cebu, is known for pelagic thresher sharks that rise at dawn to a cleaning station on Kimud Shoal. The sharks relocated there from Monad Shoal in 2022, according to dive operator Thresher Shark Divers. The operator says dives run daily all year, with cleaning-station depths of 12 to 22 metres and a boat ride of about an hour. It reports a sighting rate of about 99 percent. The same operator lists a 200-peso per-dive low-season discount for bookings before Dec. 1, 2026. Independent guides say November and December bring reduced visibility, and that January to April is clearest. Advanced Open Water certification is the usual standard, and departures are before sunrise. The island is three to four hours from Cebu airport. From Memphis, expect a multi-stop trip across the Pacific to Cebu.

MONTEGO BAY — Jamaica's tourist board says it expects about 90 percent of hotel rooms to be open by Dec. 1. More than 75 percent are operating now, as the island recovers from Hurricane Melissa in 2025. Winter air service is growing: Breeze Airways will fly twice weekly from Tampa, Porter is adding Montego Bay flights from three Canadian cities, and Copa is flying 10 weekly flights from Panama to Montego Bay. Green Island, a coastal community in Hanover parish on the northwest coast, has been named among Tripadvisor's fastest-growing international destinations. Two adjacent Princess all-inclusive resorts anchor it, one built for families and one adults-only. For Memphis travelers, the practical route is a one-stop itinerary through a major hub to Montego Bay. Winter and early spring are the usual dry-season window. Check the State Department's current Jamaica advisory and individual resort reopening dates before booking.

ISTANBUL — Turkish Airlines will begin Istanbul–Chengdu Tianfu service on Nov. 11, according to Aviation Week's list of November route launches. The 787-9 will fly three times a week. Flights leave Istanbul on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays and return from Chengdu on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Chengdu joins Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou in Turkish's mainland China network, and Sichuan Airlines already serves the Istanbul–Chengdu market. Chengdu is the usual jumping-off point for Sichuan's mountain country to the west, where spring and autumn generally bring milder conditions. From Memphis there is no direct option. The likely routing is a connection to Istanbul through a major U.S. gateway, then the new flight. Travelers should check the State Department's current China advisory and Chinese entry and visa rules before booking.