Here are some interesting stories about travel and other topics that appeared in recent news reports.
According to bne IntelliNews Lufthansa may be planning to set up a special lounge in Moscow, isolated from the rest of the airport, where foreigners can receive the Sputnik V vaccine without the need to clear the border, and then immediately fly out again before returning a few weeks later for the booster jab. The medical tourism package involving flights between Germany and Moscow would cost about €1,000. It would be quite a coup for Putin if rich westerners traveled to Moscow for the vaccine. Reportedly, nearly half of all Russians want nothing to do with Sputnik V.
On February 28, 2021, a brilliant yellow-green meteor flashed across the skies of Southern England accompanied by a sonic boom. Fragments of the meteor likely landed in rural areas near Gloucester. The fireball was seen by observers as far away as Ireland and the Netherlands.
United Airlines Inc., the world’s third largest airline, agreed to pay over $49 million to resolve criminal charges and civil claims relating to fraud on postal service contracts for transportation of international mail.
A Sudanese Tarco flight from Khartoum, Sudan to Doha, Qatar was forced to return to the Sudanese capital city of Khartoum after a cat attacked the pilot shortly after take-off.
Penalties for on-board misbehavior can be severe.
A man is serving 14 months in prison for multiple offenses on a Ryanair flight from Tenerife to Manchester, England on January 29, 2021. The passenger downed about 750 ml of vodka on the flight, threatened flight attendants, regaled the passengers with fascists salutes and refused to wear a mask.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration is proposing a $27,500 fine for a passenger who punched a Delta flight attendant in the face on while the flight was preparing to depart from Detroit Metro Airport in October 2020.
Some of these stories make me think maybe I don’t miss traveling as much as I thought I did.
Salsaworldtraveler'sblog 
A vaccine trip certainly sounds unique, what an interesting concept. The meteor stuff made relatively big news here, I’m pretty sure they eventually found a piece as people were out searching for it.
The Ryanair news is perhaps the least surprising here. I think it’s largely unavoidable in normal times to not have a few drunken Brits on any given Ryanair flight. Probably moreso between Spain and the UK as it’s such a popular destination to visit. I’ve certainly experienced my fair share over the years.
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Thanks for the updates… The news about the meteor in England did not get here 😀
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You are welcome, Morishige. Be well. John
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that’s funny about the cat; and that is a lot of vodka!
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Alcohol is involved in many of these situations. Sometimes, though, the passengers are just asses.
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and when an ass starts drinking, it’s a lethal combo…
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lol a cat? other sadder cases, but that was funny
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It must have been a ferocious kitty cat 😄
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Fun post!
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Good to know the post was fun. Thanks.
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Vaccine tourism? Cats? You’ve got some good stories there!
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I may try to share more bits of information like this as I come across them. Thank you for taking the time to read and comment.
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Odd facts are always fun! — You probably know already that Berlin finally has an international airport! We just don’t get to travel anymore?!
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I’ve seen reports on Brandenburg Airport and am looking forward to experiencing it one day. It looks like a huge improvement over Tegel.
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Oh Tegel … The place where you land and no staircase is available … It has a special place in our hearts 😅
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Tegel did have a certain “charm.” 😄
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I wonder how a cat made its way to the cockpit of the airliner.
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They think the cat got onboard when the plane was in a hanger for maintenance the previous night. How and why the cat would lodge itself up under the instrument panel is another mystery.
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The ever-growing presence of neo-Nazis is a feature of contemporary media we can all do without. I would be willing to sacrifice some travel if it meant my existence shared no proximity with fascists.
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For some reason a simple thing like being required to wear a mask brings out the evil side in some people. I haven’t traveled by air in almost exactly one year so haven’t witnessed these things first hand fortunately.
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Since early childhood, I have admired and studied East Asian cultures, and I find it remarkable that wearing masks inspires no ire or controversy there. Yet, here, the average person’s interior life is so shallow that they cannot bear the inconvenience of masks despite the mutual benefit of all concerned. I’m surprised there aren’t more stories of air marshals beating the crap out of people who refuse to wear masks.
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Led by some political leaders, masks became political. Airplanes were already tense enough with airlines cramming more people into smaller seats. I feel naked without a mask in public now.
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It’s been so long since I’ve been on a plane that I forgot about how stressed many travelers had become. I feel the same without my mask. Our household will continue wearing masks for the rest of our lives, even after vaccination. The severe cases of COVID-19 are too scary to risk infection.
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I’ll probably wear them on airplanes or in large crowds just to avoid colds and flu.
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Fights in a flight can be frightening!
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Agreed. I’ve never seen one in person. The videos are scary enough.
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