And more of this week’s top news.
This week in travel, we have several stories that may have flown under your radar. Among them: a flight unlocked a new fear for passengers when a man was partially sucked out of a window; a gay cruise in Europe, denied entry by Turkey, was also rejected by Egypt; a bison charged at a man at Yellowstone and flung him eight feet into the air; and Norwegian and British Airways engaged in a playful rivalry online as their countries faced off at the FIFA World Cup.
Dive into these and more as we examine the latest in travel news.
Related: The One Thing You Have to Do in Every State
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Bison Attacks Man at Yellowstone
In a shocking video, a bison is seen flinging a tourist eight feet into the air. The tourist, Carl Isom-McDaniel, survived the attack but suffered broken bones. The incident happened on Friday near Yellowstone Lake, where an upset bull terrified campers. The wild animal charged at a group of teenage boys and later chased a man and his grandson, who had stopped to take pictures. The tourists maintained a safe distance from the bison, but the animal chased them around trees and ultimately flung the grandfather into the air.
Photographer Mike MacLeod recorded the terrifying video of the incident and stepped in to help Isom-McDaniel, who suffered broken bones. He told the New York Times that there were many tourists at the national park and people maintained their distance from the bison, but it attacked because it may have had a surge of testosterone.
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Australia’s Celebrity Seal Frolics in Tasmania
A new animal is gaining traction online (remember Punch the monkey?), and this time it’s a seal Down Under. In Tasmania’s Seven Mile Beach, Neil the seal has become a celebrity visitor during his twice-annual pilgrimage. The recent visit is bringing locals to see this unruly elephant seal smash traffic cones, damage telephone boxes, or nap on the streets. Traffic police are managing the crowds and redirecting traffic as the five-year-old goes wild, and online fans can’t get enough of his antics.
Experts are warning that people should maintain their distance because Neil is 2,200 pounds and can be dangerous. In the past, if an animal became a threat to public safety, it was euthanized, as was the case with Freya the walrus in Norway.
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Norwegian and British Airways Delight With Fun Feud Online
Over the past weekend, Norwegian and British Airways entertained their followers with a friendly feud on social media as their countries played against each other at the FIFA World Cup. Norwegian instigated it by asking British Airways online if they’d swap their logo to Norwegian’s if Norway won the game, and vice versa. Then came a series of jabs and banter all weekend, including a video of two representatives shaking on it before the match. American Airlines also joined in: “We don’t have a horse in this race… but we do have flights to the match. ✈️⚽”
On Saturday, Norway lost 2-1 to England, and the Oslo-based airline changed its logo as promised. In the end, audiences cheered for both airlines’ social media accounts. Norwegian also announced a flash sale and made the best of it.
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A Ryanair flight from Greece to Germany became a nightmare for passengers when a 61-year-old man was partially sucked out of a window. Operated by Malta Air, the plane was in the air for about 10 minutes before it quickly descended. A passenger window dislodged shortly after takeoff, and a passenger, who was still buckled in, was partially sucked out. His wife held on to his legs, and passengers helped to bring him back inside.
A broken window also meant the plane was depressurized, and oxygen masks were deployed to help passengers breathe. The plane landed safely, and the man was taken to the hospital, where he was treated for friction burns.
Ryanair said in a statement, “A Ryanair flight from Thessaloniki to Memmingen on Friday morning (10 July) returned to Thessaloniki shortly after take-off when a passenger window dislodged inflight. The aircraft landed normally and passengers returned to the terminal. One passenger requested and received medical assistance on the ground in Thessaloniki. In order to minimize any delay, a replacement aircraft was arranged to bring passengers to Memmingen which departed Thessaloniki at 9:53 local this morning.”
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After Turkey, Egypt Denies Entry to Gay Cruise
Earlier this month, authorities in Turkey refused to let a cruise with LGBTQ+ passengers dock in its city. Now Egypt has followed suit and banned the same cruise from docking in Alexandria. On Thursday, the Scarlet Lady was refused entry, organizer Atlantis Events said. CEO Rich Campbell told passengers in a memo, “I know how much this visit meant to so many of you. We successfully sailed a similar itinerary last year without issue, so we were surprised by this unfortunate decision.”
More than 1,000 Americans are sailing on this Athens-to-Venice trip. Egypt was added to the itinerary after Turkey turned the ship away, but Egyptian authorities denied them at the last minute. Now the ship will be docking at Crete in Greece.