Air Travel

In Libya, clashes between armed militants over control of Tripoli International Airport in late July resulted in the deaths of at least 119 people and ignited an oil fire at the city’s main fuel-storage facility. 

The Islamist Libya Revolutionaries Operations Room militia was attempting to seize the airport from the Zintan militia, which has been in possession of the airport since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. At press time, fighting continued at the airport.

In Taiwan’s Penghu archipelago, 48 people were killed and 10 were injured on July 23 when a TransAsia Airways plane carrying 58 people crashed into a building in Xixi village as it tried to land at Magong Airport. The flight, ATR-72, was inbound from Kaohsiung, Taiwan. 

At the time of the crash, Typhoon Matmo was ongoing over Taiwan, and weather conditions were poor but considered safe. Nine other flights had safely completed the route in the hours before the crash.

Five people on the ground were treated for injuries and discharged from the hospital.

Air Algerie flight AH5017, heading from Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, to Algiers, Algeria, crashed in Mali on July 24, killing all 118 people on board. The flight encountered a sandstorm 50 minutes into the flight, causing the pilots to request a change in course and, later, permission to return to Burkina Faso. 

The black boxes were found and sent to France for investigation.

Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crashed in eastern Ukraine on July 17, killing all on board. The flight, heading from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was carrying 283 passengers, mostly Dutch, and 15 crew members. The debris field had a radius of 1.2 miles, indicating that the plane broke up or exploded in the air.

The plane went down in the rebel-held province of Luhansk, and the Ukrainian government has accused the Russian-backed rebels of attacking the plane with an SA-11, or Buk, antiaircraft missile. Rebels have denied having possession of Buk missile launchers.

It seems like all “roads” in Africa go through O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa, and on a trip to Namibia and Zimbabwe, my husband, George, and I passed through several times.

On the first leg, we flew KLM Royal Dutch Airlines from Los Angeles to Amsterdam to Johannesburg. We had been sitting 20-plus hours in economy on the long-haul flights when we arrived on June 25, 2014, at about 10 p.m.

If you’re visiting anywhere in England outside the London area, consider using the Manchester or Birmingham airport rather than Heathrow, as each is so much easier and less congested. In addition to the big American and continental carriers, they also serve most of the smaller airlines, like Flybe, Ryanair, Germanwings, etc.

The US Transportation Security Administration, in cooperation with air travel authorities in other countries, has implemented new security measures regarding electronics, citing intelligence that terrorist organizations have been attempting to create explosives that are harder to detect. There was no specific threat or incident to cause the increase in security.

Dear Globetrotter:

Welcome to the 463rd issue of your monthly foreign-travel magazine, the magazine based on international travelers keeping each other informed.

In addition to the travel reports you’ll be reading from subscribers, all about adventures outside of the US, ITN brings you articles from columnists, travel-related advertising and travel-related news.

Here’s an item of possible interest to people concerned about animals. 

Claudia Dantoin; Mequon, Wi

I would like to respond to the letter written by a traveler with an artificial knee.

Starting in 1998, after my initial hip-replacement surgery, I have traveled overseas numerous times. Since 2001, I have had another hip replacement, two knee replacements and a titanium bolt placed in my shoulder. 

After each surgery, I was given a card, similar to a credit card, with my name, date of surgery, doctor, hospital, type of implant and manufacturer. Those cards stay with me in my wallet next to my medical insurance and Medicare cards.