And more of today’s top travel news stories.
Today in travel, we have several stories that may have flown under your radar. Among them: hurricanes are prompting closures in Hawaii and Mexico; airport strikes are affecting Sydney through next week; rare marine life is showing up on California beaches; and cruise passengers are returning to cars covered in baby spiders.
Dive into these and more as we examine the latest in travel news.
Some or all of this article was crafted with help from AI. An editor reviewed and vetted this article before publishing.
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Hawaii Closes Parks for Tropical Storm Nolo as Hurricane Polo Threatens Mexico
Hawaiʻi officials are closing parks, forests, trails, and other public lands as Tropical Storm Nolo approaches the islands. Closures began Thursday, September 24, on Hawaiʻi Island and are scheduled to expand to Maui and Molokaʻi on Friday.
The Department of Land and Natural Resources has also stopped issuing state park and forest camping permits until further notice. Officials say closed areas will reopen after crews can assess them for damage, and campers who lose reserved nights because of the storm will receive refunds. Forecasters have warned of the potential for significant flash flooding and damaging winds, particularly on Hawaiʻi Island, which remains under a Hurricane Watch.
Meanwhile, Hurricane Polo remains an extremely powerful storm off southwestern Mexico. As of 9 a.m. CST Thursday, Polo had weakened from Category 5 to Category 4, with maximum sustained winds of 155 mph, and was beginning to move away from the coast. A Tropical Storm Warning remained in effect from Tecpan de Galeana to Manzanillo. The storm is expected to produce dangerous surf and rip currents, along with 4 to 6 inches of rain in coastal Guerrero and isolated totals of up to 8 inches, raising the risk of life-threatening flooding and mudslides.
Read the Hawai’i Parks bulletin and the National Hurricane Center bulletin.
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Travelers Warned of Delays at Sydney Airport Amid Two Separate Strikes
Passengers using Sydney Airport are being advised to allow extra time as separate labor actions affect airport security and ground operations.
About 400 security workers employed by Certis Security walked off the job for two hours Thursday morning after pay negotiations stalled. A second two-hour stoppage was scheduled for Thursday evening, with another three-hour action planned for Monday, the first day of New South Wales school holidays.
Separately, hundreds of employees at two Qantas freight subsidiaries launched a 24-hour strike affecting Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, and Perth. Some QantasLink baggage handlers in Sydney also joined the action. Qantas said it had contingency plans in place and did not expect the strike to disrupt customers. The disputes center on issues including wages, guaranteed working hours, rostering, and job security. Sydney Airport has urged travelers to arrive early and monitor messages from their airlines.
Read more at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
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Aging Air Traffic Technology Leaves U.S. Flights Vulnerable to More Outages
Thousands of flights in the Northeast were delayed or canceled this week after two separate failures—a malfunction at a Philadelphia air traffic facility and a fiber-optic cable accidentally cut by a construction crew in New Jersey—hit the region at the same time.
The disruption has renewed scrutiny of the FAA’s aging technology. Some facilities still depend on decades-old computers and analog systems, while replacement parts for obsolete equipment have at times been sourced through eBay or produced with 3D printing. Congress has approved $12.5 billion for modernization, and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is seeking another $30 billion. Officials warn that similar failures remain possible while the broader overhaul is underway.
Read more at Reuters.
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Cruise Passengers Say They Returned to Galveston to Find Cars Covered in Baby Spiders
Two West Texas cruise passengers reportedly returned to Galveston recently to find an unsettling surprise waiting in the parking lot: hundreds of tiny spiders on their vehicle.
The incident was described to Chron by rideshare driver Donnie Broussard, who said the two men had just returned from a Caribbean cruise at Royal Caribbean’s Cruise Terminal 10. Broussard said other travelers in the parking area had encountered spiders as well. He later drove the pair to a nearby Walmart so they could buy supplies before making the trip home. The Port of Galveston had not responded to Chron’s request for comment.
The sight is unusual, but the behavior behind it is not. Young spiders can disperse through a process known as ballooning, releasing silk that allows air currents to carry them away from where they hatched. Large numbers can sometimes arrive in the same area or collect on outdoor surfaces.
Read more at Chron.
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El Niño Brings Rare Marine Visitors—and New Wildlife Concerns—to Southern California
Unusually warm waters associated with El Niño are bringing some unexpected marine visitors to Southern California, including a historic sea turtle nesting and several species rarely seen this far north.
An endangered olive ridley sea turtle came ashore near Seal Beach on September 16 and laid eggs—the first known sea turtle nesting in California history, according to LAist. A turtle was also spotted nesting near the Huntington Beach Pier, and officials have protected both sites. Other recent sightings include a whale shark near the Channel Islands, reports of hammerhead sharks, and a longfinned bigeye caught at the Venice Fishing Pier—the first recorded appearance of that species in California waters.
Scientists say more warm-water species could follow, potentially including colorful reef fish and yellow-bellied sea snakes, which have appeared in Southern California during previous El Niño events. At the same time, unusually warm water can stress native marine ecosystems, contribute to toxic algal blooms, and leave seals, sea lions, and dolphins sick or stranded.
Beachgoers should give stranded wildlife plenty of space and avoid handling unfamiliar marine animals. Sick or stranded marine mammals can be reported to NOAA at (866) 767-6114.
Read more at LAist.