Happy Memorial Monday, get ready for your weekly roundup of the latest travel news and insights. From high-altitude horror stories to upcoming high-speed rail projects, we have everything you need to stay informed. - If you’re not a subscriber yet - click here

🛩️ Air Turbulence Turns Deadly  
🛑  Ticking Time Bombs
🚄  High Speed Choo-Choos
⚙️ And More…

🚀⏰ Ready, Set, Let’s Go…

| Weekly Travel Tidbit

World’s Shortest Commercial Flight: Takes less than 2 minutes and is between Westray and Papa Westray, Scotland. If the wind flow is right, passengers can travel between these regions in just 47 seconds.

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| High-Altitude Horror 

Chaos in the Skies: A Clear Air Turbulence Incident 🛩️

Singapore-bound flight SQ321 from London ran into severe turbulence over the Indian Ocean on Tuesday. Within three seconds, the plane surged up at 1,664 feet per minute and then plunged down -1,536 feet per minute. Luckily, most passengers are okay, but 20 people needed serious medical attention. Sadly one passenger, 73-year-old Geoff Kitchen, didn't make it.

It was caused by clear-air turbulence (CAT), which is unpredictable and invisible to radar.

• Singapore Airlines’ policy on seatbelts has changed as it prepares to compensate injured passengers.

• There's an international rule (the Montreal Convention) that says airlines are liable up to $175,000 per passenger for turbulence injuries on overseas flights, no questions asked.

🌬️✈️ What is clear-air turbulence? (CAT) is the interaction of air masses moving at different speeds, often near the jet stream or where there's a sudden change in wind speed or direction.

👀 No Visual Indicators: Unlike bumpy skies with clouds, you can't see CAT coming. No clouds, no rain, plus there’s no way to tell with the plane's instruments either.

🛫 High Altitudes: CAT loves high altitudes, especially between 20,000 and 40,000 feet, where those super-fast jet streams hang out.

🌬️ Jet Stream: Don't picture endless stretches of turbulence. CAT is more like pockets of rough air, especially near jet streams.

💺 Sudden and Severe: CAT can out of nowhere and go from mild to hold-on-tight real quick.

GOOD & BAD NEWS: LiDAR Technology, a fancy light radar, can see CAT up to 20 miles ahead, but is bulky and expensive. Miniaturization could make it a gamechanger for smoother flights. But, for now, fasten your seatbelts.

| Ticking Time Bombs

Boeing and FAA Denounce Claims of 777 Fuel Tank Flaw

Uh oh, sounds like there's some turbulence over at Boeing! News outlets like the New York Post and Daily Mail are reporting there could be a fire or explosion issue with hundreds of their 777s – the kind that United and American Airlines fly a lot.

According to the FAA’s Airworthiness Directive, Boeing 777 jets are at risk of “electrostatic discharge” near the center-wing fuel tank. This happens when static electricity builds up in certain parts, potentially causing a dangerous spark.

• Boeing slammed the report, saying it’s "misleading and reckless," while the FAA has reassured everyone that there's no immediate safety risk to flights.

Weekly trip around the world

"Your passport to the latest travel news around the world!"

🇫🇷🚆🚫 Travel chaos in Paris: Train workers went on strike on May 21st demanding bonus pay for the Summer Olympics. The “City of Light” turns into the “City of Chaos.”

🇲🇽💀🌴 Acapulco used to be a bustling tourist city until it was gripped by cartel violence. Ten bodies were recently found scattered throughout the city, which has been a major hub for drug trafficking. Acapulco is also recovering from the devastation of last October's Category 5 Hurricane Otis.

🇺🇸🛑🇻🇪 The State Department reissued a level 4 warning - its highest alert – urging people not to travel to Venezuela. The warning cites crime, civil unrest, kidnapping, wrongful detention, and more.

Choo-Choo Chatter

🚄 Buckle up, train lovers! Big things are chugging ahead for high-speed rail in the US.

Here's the scoop:

Uncle Sam is throwing Amtrak a giant $66 billion bone thanks to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. This cash will be used to spruce up and expand the Acela network, those sleek bullet trains that can already reach up to 160 mph.

• Vegas, baby! Vegas! Brightline West is setting the tracks for a brand new high-speed rail line connecting Los Angeles to Las Vegas. With a price tag of $12 billion, this project aims to be up and running by the 2028 Summer Olympics in LA.

• Now, let’s be real: Train travel in the US isn't always smooth. NJ Governor Phil Murphy called the suspension of Amtrak and NJ Transit services "an unmitigated disaster" after downed power lines caused major disruptions.

| News Travels Fast

Quick Trip Roundup 🧳🚀

Quick travel news & updates for your weary, jet-lagged mind.

🚶‍♂️🧳 On Friday, TSA broke the record for the most flyers screened in a single day. “We haven't seen Memorial Day weekend travel numbers like these in almost 20 years.”

🚨👮‍♂️ An American Airlines flight attendant was arrested for attempting to record underage girls in an airplane lavatory using a cell phone.

✈️🌟 Bette Nash, the world's longest-serving flight attendant, passed away after a 67-year career, as confirmed by American Airlines on May 25, 2024. Nash began her career in 1957.

🌧️✈️ JetBlue flight or indoor rainstorm? Passengers soaked by mysterious cabin mist.

🦽😠 Fake It, Till You Make It - Frontier Airlines CEO says, "There is massive, rampant abuse of people using wheelchair assistance who don’t need it at all.

🚪⚖️ When keeping it real -goes wrong - A Frontier Airlines passenger was arrested for refusing to comply with exit row instructions.

🏠📷 How to spot hidden cameras in your Airbnb with these quick tips.

🌌 📸 THE 2024 MILKY WAY PICTURES OF THE YEAR - AWE-SOME

| Travel Stock Performance

The STAYnTELL travel pulse. Stay up-to date each with the the Top Travel Gainer and Loser for the week.

LAST WEEK’S TOP GAINER & LOSER

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| Thanks For Reading

We've reached our destination, we hope you found our weekly flight through the news enjoyable. See you in the clouds ⛅

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