Tag: travel

air travel – Changing return leg only on a return flight

For my specific itinerary with United Airlines, one-way flight from A->B is 900$, and a return flight A->B->A is 1350$. They are offering free changes right now https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly/travel/notices.html#ChangeFeeTerms

I am pretty sure I will need to change the return leg because I don’t have fixed plans for the return yet.

My question is – How is the price for new ticket calculated if changing only the return leg of a flight? Should I a return flight since it’s cheaper (for a 2-way flight) or book only 1-way because the difference in airfare when rescheduling the return leg could be substantial?

international travel – Self-isolate if my home country rises above threshold while I’m in Latvia?

The current regulations to enter Latvia from another EU country mandate that I have to self-isolate for 14 days on arrival if the country I am coming from has had more than 16 new Covid cases per 100k inhabitants in the past 14 days; the infection rates for each country are updated every Friday and are valid for the successive week.

Suppose that my country of origin is below the threshold when I enter Latvia, but gets above the threshold in the next update the following Friday, while I am already inside Latvia.

Do I have to report myself to the authorities and self-isolate? Or is that requirement only checked when I enter Latvia?

japan – Can French citizens flying from Bangkok (BKK) do an international transit in Haneda Airport (HND) with the ongoing COVID-19 travel restrictions?

Can French citizens flying from Bangkok (BKK) (stayed there for over 1 month) do an international transit in Haneda Airport (HND) with the ongoing COVID-19 travel restrictions?

IATA states for Japan:

  1. Passengers transiting through Tokyo (NRT) must transit on the same calendar day.

but doesn’t mention HND, so I’m not sure whether this means that passengers can’t transit or that passengers can transit taking all the time they want.

Example of an international transit in HND:

enter image description here

Full IATA information about Japan:

Japan Published 06.08.2020

  1. Passengers who have transited through or have been in Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia,
    Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh,
    Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana,
    Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde,
    Central African Rep., Chile, China (People’s Rep.), Chinese Taipei,
    Comoros, Congo, Congo (Dem. Rep.), Colombia, Costa Rica, Cote
    d’Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica,
    Dominican Rep., Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea,
    Estonia, Eswatini, Finland, France, Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Ghana,
    Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti,
    Honduras, Hong Kong (SAR China), Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia,
    Iran, Iraq, Ireland (Rep.), Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Kenya,
    Korea (Rep.), Kosovo (Rep.), Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon,
    Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar,
    Macao (SAR China), Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius,
    Mexico, Moldova (Rep.), Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Namibia, Nepal,
    Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, North Macedonia (Rep.), Norway,
    Oman, Pakistan, Palestinian Territory, Panama, Paraguay, Peru,
    Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russian Fed., San
    Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra
    Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, Spain,
    St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Sudan, Suriname,
    Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, Uruguay, USA,
    Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, Vatican
    City (Holy See), Venezuela or Viet Nam in the past 14 days are not
    allowed to enter.
    -This does not apply to:
  • nationals of Japan;
  • spouses or children of nationals of Japan if they can prove it;
  • residents of Japan with “Permanent Resident”, “Spouse or Child of Japanese National”, “Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident” or “Long
    Term Resident”, who have departed Japan with Re-entry Permission by 2
    April 2020;
  • residents of Japan with “Permanent Resident”, “Spouse or Child of Japanese National”, “Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident” or “Long
    Term Resident”, who have departed Japan with Re-entry Permission
    between 3 April and 28 April 2020 and have only been in Afghanistan,
    Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bahamas,
    Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Botswana, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central
    African Rep., Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Cuba, Djibouti,
    Dominican Rep., El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Gabon,
    Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana,
    Haiti, Honduras, India, Iraq, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait,
    Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritania,
    Mexico, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Oman, Pakistan, Palestinian
    Territory, Paraguay, Peru, Qatar, Russian Fed., Sao Tome and Principe,
    Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, St. Kitts
    and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Sudan, Tajikistan, Ukraine,
    United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Uzbekistan or Venezuela;
  • residents of Japan with “Permanent Resident”, “Spouse or Child of Japanese National”, “Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident” or “Long
    Term Resident”, who have departed Japan with Re-entry Permission
    between 29 April and 15 May 2020 and have only been in Afghanistan,
    Algeria, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Botswana,
    Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Rep., Colombia, Comoros, Congo,
    Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Gabon,
    Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana,
    Haiti, Honduras, India, Iraq, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan,
    Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritania, Mexico,
    Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Palestinian Territory, Paraguay,
    Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa,
    St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Sudan, Tajikistan, Uruguay, Uzbekistan
    or Venezuela;
  • residents of Japan with “Permanent Resident”, “Spouse or Child of Japanese National”, “Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident” or “Long
    Term Resident”, who have departed Japan with Re-entry Permission
    between 16 May and 26 May 2020 and have only been in Afghanistan,
    Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Botswana, Cameroon, Central African
    Rep., Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Eswatini,
    Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, Haiti, India,
    Iraq, Jamaica, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar,
    Mauritania, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Palestinian
    Territory, Paraguay, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, St.
    Vincent and the Grenadines, Sudan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan or
    Venezuela;
  • residents of Japan with “Permanent Resident”, “Spouse or Child of Japanese National”, “Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident” or “Long
    Term Resident”, who have departed Japan with Re-entry Permission
    between 27 May and 30 June 2020 and have only been in Algeria,
    Botswana, Cameroon, Central African Rep., Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica,
    Cuba, Eswatini, Georgia, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Iraq,
    Jamaica, Kenya, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Mauritania,
    Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Palestinian Territory, Paraguay, Senegal,
    Sierra Leone, Somalia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Sudan,
    Uzbekistan or Venezuela;
  • residents of Japan with “Permanent Resident”, “Spouse or Child of Japanese National”, “Spouse or Child of Permanent Resident” or “Long
    Term Resident”, who have departed Japan with Re-entry Permission
    between 1 July and 23 July 2020 and have only been in Botswana,
    Comoros, Congo, Kenya, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Namibia, Nepal,
    Palestinian Territory, Paraguay, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan,
    Suriname, Uzbekistan or Venezuela;
  • passengers with a Special Permanent Residence Permit. However, they must have a Re-entry Permit from a regional immigration officer;
  • US military personnel;
  • civilian personnel of the US armed forces in Japan and their dependents;
  • nationals of Thailand residing in Thailand and arriving directly from Thailand. They must have a visa issued by Japan with “EX” in the
    Remarks column or have the Letter of Confirmation of Submitting
    Required Documentation for Re-entry into Japan. They must also have a
    medical certificate with a negative Coronavirus (COVID-19) test result
    issued at most 72 hours before departure;
  • nationals of Viet Nam residing in Viet Nam and arriving directly from Viet Nam. They must have a visa issued by Japan with “EX” in the
    Remarks column or have the Letter of Confirmation of Submitting
    Required Documentation for Re-entry into Japan. They must also have a
    medical certificate with a negative Coronavirus (COVID-19) test result
    issued at most 72 hours before departure;
  • residents of Japan with the Letter of Confirmation of Submitting Necessary Documentation for Re-entry into Japan, and with a medical
    certificate with a negative Coronavirus (COVID-19) test result issued
    at most 72 hours before departure.
  1. A completed “Quarantine Questionnaire” must be presented upon arrival.
  2. Passengers and airline crew are subject to medical screening.
  3. Visa exemption for passengers with passengers with a British passport, Hong Kong (SAR China) passport, Macao (SAR China) passport
    is suspended.
  4. Visa exemption for nationals of Andorra, Argentina, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Costa Rica,
    Croatia, Czechia, Cyprus, Denmark, Dominican Rep., El Salvador,
    Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras,
    Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland (Rep.), Israel, Italy,
    Korea (Rep.), Latvia, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg,
    Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Poland,
    Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain,
    Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Tunisia, United Arab
    Emirates, Uruguay and Vatican City (Holy See) is suspended.
  5. Visa exemption for nationals of Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Colombia, Georgia, India, Kazakhstan, Lao People’s Dem. Rep.,
    Mongolia, Myanmar, Nauru, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea,
    Paraguay, Qatar, Samoa, Solomon Isl., Turkmenistan, Ukraine,
    Uzbekistan and Viet Nam with a diplomatic, official or service
    passport is suspended.
  6. Visa exemption granted to passengers with an APEC Business Travel Card issued by Brunei Darussalam, China (People’s Rep.), Hong Kong
    (SAR China), Indonesia, Korea (Rep.), Malaysia, Mexico, Papua New
    Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Russian Fed., Singapore, Thailand or Viet
    Nam, is suspended.
  7. Nationals of China (People’s Rep.) with a passport issued in Hubei Province or Zhejiang Province (China People’s Rep.) are not allowed to
    enter Japan.
  • This does not apply when passengers can prove that they have not been in Hubei Province and Zhejiang Province the last 14 days.
  1. Passengers who were in the cruise ship ‘Westerdam’ are not allowed to enter Japan. – This does not apply to nationals of Japan.
  2. Visas issued on or before 8 March 2020 by the Embassies, Consulates-General and Consulate of Japan in China (People’s Rep.),
    Hong Kong (SAR China), Korea (Rep.) or Macao (SAR China) are
    invalidated.
  3. Visas issued on or before 20 March 2020 by the Embassies, Consulates-General and Consulate of Japan in Andorra, Austria,
    Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia,
    Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Iran, Ireland
    (Rep.), Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta,
    Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino,
    Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom or
    Vatican City (Holy See) are invalidated.
  4. Visas issued on or before 27 March 2020 by the Embassies, Consulates-General and Consulate of Japan in Bahrain, Brunei
    Darussalam, Congo (Dem. Rep.), Indonesia, Israel, Malaysia,
    Philippines, Qatar, Singapore, Thailand or Viet Nam are invalidated.
  5. Visas issued on or before 2 April 2020 by the Embassies, Consulates-General and Consulate of Japan in Afghanistan, Algeria,
    Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bahamas,
    Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Botswana,
    Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African
    Rep., Chad, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Cook Isl., Costa Rica, Cuba,
    Djibouti, Dominican Rep., El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea,
    Eswatini (Swaziland), Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana,
    Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras,
    India, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan,
    Kuwait, Lao People’s Dem. Rep., Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya,
    Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Marshall Isl., Mauritania, Mexico,
    Micronesia (Federated States), Mongolia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia,
    Nauru, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Oman, Pakistan, Palau,
    Palestinian Territory, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Russian Fed.,
    Rwanda, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal,
    Seychelles , Sierra Leone, Solomon Isl., Somalia, South Africa, South
    Sudan, Sri Lanka, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the
    Grenadines, Sudan, Suriname, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Timor-Leste,
    Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu,
    Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu,
    Venezuela, Yemen, Zambia or Zimbabwe are invalidated.
  6. Passengers transiting through Tokyo (NRT) must transit on the same calendar day.
  7. Effective 7 August 2020, residents of Japan with “Permanent Resident”, “Spouse or Child of Japanese National”, “Spouse or Child of
    Permanent Resident” or “Long Term Resident” who have been in
    Bangladesh, Pakistan, Philippines or Peru in the past 14 days must
    have:
  • the Letter of Confirmation of Submitting Necessary Documentation for Re-entry into Japan, and
  • a medical certificate with a negative Coronavirus (COVID-19) test result issued at most 72 hours before departure.

python – Optimize delivery plan with travel miles

Is there an optimization algorithm in python that can help me with my delivery optimization problem?

Stop1 | Stop2 | Stop3 | Travel Miles
------------------------------------
 A    | B     | C     | 874.9
 A    | C     | B     | 888.39  
 D    | E     | F     | 972.918  
 G    | B     | F     | 945.669
 D    | G     | F     | 905.184
 G    | B     |       | 1005.184
 G    | E     |       | 750.12

A, B, C, D, E, F, and G are the stops where some freight needs to be delivered via truck. Each row in the data is a possible route a truck can take to deliver the freight. The actual data consists of thousands of possible routes.

The objective is to create a delivery plan consisting of routes covering all the delivery points just once and minimizing the delivery miles of the entire plan. We also cannot change the stop sequence in a route. Maybe the data is inadequate but I hope it gives you an understanding of the problem statement.
Thanks!

usa – Canadian Citizens residing in the US on an E2 business visa wanting to travel to Canada to visit sick and elderly parents and children

These are the rules for Canadians without Covid symptoms returning to Canada as of August 2020.

You MUST quarantine for 14 days, provide contact information and
monitor yourself for symptoms subject to the Minimizing the Risk of
Exposure to COVID-19 in Canada Order (Mandatory Isolation) No. 3.

Ensure you have a suitable place of quarantine that has the
necessities of life. Go directly to your place of quarantine without
delay and stay there for 14 days from the date you arrived in Canada.
You must wear a suitable mask or face covering while in transit.
Practise physical distancing at all times.

Note that quarantine means not having contact with anyone outside your household. (your household being people you live with, i.e. you and your wife). So you need to spend 14 days in quarantine in your home before you visit (or are visited by) your close friends and family. You would want to do this anyway because your 92 year old mother is exceptionally vulnerable to Covid.

You need to convince border guards that you have a plan to achieve this and will follow it before they allow you in.

air travel – Covid flight refunds from reseller very slow

I had books a set of flights that were due to occur in early April.
When everyone started locking down the borders etc we cancelled them.
Most were through an airline directly, and were converted to credit immediately (could have pushed for refund but credit is fine as we still wanted to make the trip at some point).

One leg however was through a travel agent/reseller.
I think CheapFlights.co.uk (my partner has the details), but I want to keep the question general anyway.

They emailed us back when we asked for it to be cancelled saying that it would be refunded, but that they are very busy with the volume of refunds they are processing and it might be a while.
We contacted them again a month later, and they said similarly they are very busy but to expect to hear from them in 6-8 weeks.
It has now been much more than that and have heard nothing.

I can keep emailing them, but is there anything in particular I should be saying?
Do I have a certain right to a refund that i should be highlighting?
Should I attempt to solve this though my travel insurance? I have a year round travel-insurance policy taken out long before Covid.

air travel – Problem at filling self declaration COVID – 19 Italy

As noted in a comment, this is apparently the form for travel to Italy and not from Italy to Spain. That’s why it seems modelled after the Italian national ID card and the information it contains.

In case you still have to provide the information, “By” is the authority issuing the document, for example a municipality or embassy. Italian identity cards and the documents issued by many other countries mention it but it seems your Spanish ID card doesn’t. You could just write “Spain“ in that field.

“Resident“ is the place where you live or your address. I would just use the “lugar de domicilio” mentioned on your card.

This is highly unlikely to have any serious consequences, simply put something reasonable on the form.

lens – Sigma 20mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art vs. Voigtlander 21mm f/1.8 Ultron – which one is better for travel?

If you’re interested in a travel lens, I’d definitely take the Sigma F1.4 because it’s an autofocus lens, which is a lot more convenient when taking pictures on the go. In addition it’s 2/3 of a stop faster than the Voigtlander. It is indeed quite heavy at 950g, but assuming that would be your one lens it shouldn’t be too noticeable.

If you provide us with the type of camera you’re using we could provide some alternative suggestions for lenses you can take.

air travel – I’m American. re: COVID restrictions, can I fly through Portugal on my way to the Czech Republic in September?

I am a second year masters student who will be traveling to the Czech Republic in mid-September in order to continue my studies. All flights have layovers somewhere, and the cheapest/fastest flight I can find has a layover in Portugal. I will have a valid study visa for the Czech Republic, and will be required to have a negative COVID-19 test prior to entering the Czech Republic, and to show this before entering the country.

I have visited the websites of the Portugese Embassy in the U.S., the U.S. Department of State, and the U.S. Embassy in Portugal to see if there is specific guidance for traveling into Portugal in order to continue on to a third destination, but cannot find information on whether it is possible to simply travel through the country. The websites say that only “essential” travel is permitted, which includes traveling for the purpose of studies (though I won’t be studying in Portugal), and that I must have a negative COVID test in order to enter the country.

I will have a COVID test and will travel with my results (as long as they’re negative of course! Otherwise will not travel), so I am hoping that it will be fine to travel through, as I will not leave the airport. But in these uncertain times, I want to be absolutely certain that I will be allowed to a) board the flight, and b) enter the airport to take my connecting flight, before I book. Any insider knowledge on how such cases are handled in Portugal, or recommendations on who to contact to have this question answered?