Security tips

Cruise ships have hidden features that many passengers, particularly first-timers, don’t know about. Some ships are as big as small cities, and while it’s relatively easy to familiarize yourself with a seemingly endless number of amenities — water parks, tattoo parlors, multiple restaurants — there is also an entire ecosystem, often below passenger decks, that is shrouded in mystery.

A Frontier Airlines passenger was jailed for two-and-a-half years on Thursday due to an altercation involving a box cutter on a 2022 flight.

When it comes to the unpredictable nature of airport security, any trick travelers can use to avoid long waits in line can help prevent major headaches at the start of their journey. Especially during peak travel times like spring and summer, even the smallest change can make the difference between missing and making a flight.

Airbnb made a major policy change this week that prohibits all indoor security cameras from its properties. Previously, the devices were permitted only in certain common areas—such as living rooms and hallways—as long as they were disclosed on the listing page and made clearly visible.

Glenn Davis says he's grateful for his medical and security membership, which he bought as an afterthought three days before his recent trip to Italy.

If you've flown United Airlines out of Chicago's O'Hare International Airport (ORD) since Feb. 7 and are a TSA PreCheck member, you may have opted to participate in an expedited check-in process.

Arriving at the airport to discover you've forgotten or lost your ID is every traveler's worst nightmare. Here's how to handle it and (possibly) still make your flight.

For decades, New York City’s LaGuardia Airport had been the butt of many jokes. Back in 2014, then-Vice President Joe Biden infamously said that if someone were taken blindfolded to the Queens airport, they would think they were in “some third world country.” Then in 2020, Saturday Night Live spent more than eight minutes mocking the airport in a musical extravaganza, calling out birds in the terminal, non-working electrical outlets, and shoddy baggage handling.

Airbnb is banning the use of indoor security cameras in properties listed for rent on its site. But even when the ban takes effect from the end of April, how can you be sure that a property owner isn’t spying on you?

Airbnb is banning any and all use of indoor security cameras moving forward.

Airbnb said this week that it was banning the use of all indoor security cameras in its listings worldwide, an update to its current policy allowing the devices to be installed in common areas such as hallways and living rooms.

The ground-breaking opening ceremony planned for this summer’s Paris Olympics on the Seine River has been scaled back once again, with the previously announced 600,000 free tickets available to the general public, now being cut in half to about 300,000 by invite-only. Though tickets for the momentous July 26 event were initially intended for the general public through an open registration, the nation’s Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin announced last week that 104,000 seats on the lower riverbank will be paid tickets, while 222,000 upper banks seats will remain free, but distributed via a quota system, The Associated Press reported.  “To manage crowd movement, we can’t tell everyone to come,” Darmanin said. “For security reasons that everyone understands, notably the terrorist threat of recent weeks, we are obliged to make it free but contained.” No specific plots have been identified, but there are certainly heightened threats, he noted.

Airbnb banned all indoor security cameras in its home rentals around the world this week, attributing the move to privacy concerns.

One of the most unpredictable aspects of flying these days just might be how long the security line will be when you get there. There's nothing worse than arriving at the airport to an endless string of passengers snaking through the terminal, as officers go through the essential but tedious task of ensuring that each flier’s boarding pass, government ID, and face all match up.

Airport security checkpoints may soon be getting a high-tech makeover. 

The Transportation Security Administration is trying out a completely new checkpoint concept that its leaders liken to visiting the self-checkout station at the grocery store.

As most air travelers can attest, the experience at an airport’s security checkpoint can be far from serene. There are many rules — often shouted by Transportation Security Administration officers — about what you can bring with you, how to array your belongings and where to stand. Lines can be painfully long and anxieties sky high. And throughout the process, there are security officers.

This spring break, travelers may want to pack sunscreen, sunglasses, and lots of patience. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recently shared guidance that they predict a six percent increase in passenger screenings for this spring break season, versus the same time in 2023. If those estimates hold true, this would be one of the busiest spring break ever.  “TSA screened a record number of passengers in 2023, and we expect that trend to continue this year,” the TSA’s Administrator David Pekoske said in a news release. For travelers navigating airports, the TSA says the busiest travel days will be between March 7 and March 25.

The city of Miami Beach is enforcing stricter rules when it comes to visitors heading to the popular spring break destination this year.

French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin announced that there will be 326,000 tickets available for the opening ceremony of the Paris summer Olympic Games on 26 July 2024. Tourists will likely not, however, be able to watch the ceremony taking place along the river Seine, due to the high security concerns surrounding the event.

Don’t wander off the resort after dark. Keep the flashy clothing and jewelry to a minimum. Stay aware of your surroundings. Those are some of the travel rules that Ginger Moore, a retired logistics analyst from Panama City, Fla., adheres to on her solo trips throughout the Caribbean.