Travel

NEW DELHI— Indian police have arrested a 24-year-old American YouTuber who visited an off-limits island in the Indian Ocean and left an offering of a Diet Coke can and a coconut in an attempt to make contact with an isolated tribe known for attacking intruders.Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov, from Scottsdale, Arizona, was arrested on March 31, two days after he set foot on the restricted territory of North Sentinel Island — part of India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands — in a bid to meet people from the reclusive Sentinelese tribe, police said.A local court last week sent Polyakov to 14 days of judicial custody, and he is set to appear again in court on April 17. The charges carry a possible sentence of up to five years in prison and a fine. Indian authorities said they had informed the U.S...

A Michigan couple who were jailed in Mexico for almost a month after they disputed charges related to a Mexican timeshare have returned to the United States, their lawyers said Thursday.Christy and Paul Akeo, of Spring Arbor, "have been released from custody and have returned to Lansing, Michigan," their law firm said in a statement.The state attorney of Quintana Roo said the couple reached an agreement with the timeshare company for an amount of money it did not disclose. A judge then dismissed the criminal case and ordered their release, the prosecutor's office said.The family has said the Akeos were the victims of “a kidnapping and extortion attempt” by a Mexican timeshare company.Palace Elite Resorts, a Mexican hospitality company, previously said the couple defrauded it through $11...

Some state officials are warning about overcrowding and long wait times at Department of Motor Vehicles offices across the country as the deadline approaches for airline passengers to show a Real ID to board domestic flights.Beginning May 7, travelers age 18 and over must have Real ID-compliant identification to gain access through Transportation Security Administration security checkpoints or have a valid passport. Some other forms of identification will continue to be allowed. The requirement for a Real ID came in response to a 9/11 Commission recommendation, which prompted Congress in 2005 to pass the Real ID Act. It established minimum security standards for driver’s licenses and government identification cards to ensure people were who they claimed to be.People can apply for a Real...

Muhammed Ihsanullah was overjoyed when he received a $3,000 scholarship to spend the summer working at a camp in Minnesota.But after several travelers from Western nations were detained or deported as part of the Trump administration's crackdown on illegal immigration, the 20-year-old British citizen from Leicester, England, is planning on carrying a burner phone when he comes to the U.S. in May. That’s if he ends up going at all.“I have a very, you know, stereotypical name as well,” Ihsanullah told NBC News. He might swap out devices, he said, “just so that I have the added security of knowing that no one’s going to go through my phone.”Potential U.S. visitors such as Ihsanullah are expressing growing uncertainty about their travel plans amid the crackdown and warnings from U.S. embass...

Three American women who were discovered dead in a Belize resort hotel room last month died from carbon monoxide poisoning, their families said. A joint statement this week from their families cites the U.S. Embassy in Belize and says the women died from "acute carbon monoxide poisoning, likely caused by a faulty instant water heater."Wafae El Arar, 26; Imane Mallah, 24; and Kaoutar Naqqad, 23, were found dead in their San Pedro hotel room Feb. 22, officials said. Mayor Patrick M. Keefe Jr. of Revere, Massachusetts, has described the women as "daughters, friends and contributors to our city."From left, Kaoutar Naqqad, Wafae El Arar, Imane Mallah.Obtained by NBC NewsOn Thursday, Belize National Forensic Science Service's executive director told local news stations the women had lethal l...

A United Airlines flight headed to Shanghai, China, had to turn around over the weekend after the pilot forgot to bring a passport, the airline company said. The mishap happened Saturday afternoon on United Flight 198 from Los Angeles International Airport to Shanghai Pudong International Airport. Data on FlightAware.com showed the flight took off on time just before 2 p.m. but was diverted to San Francisco, landing just after 5 p.m. There were 257 passengers and 13 crew members onboard. United said in a brief statement that the pilot on the flight did not have their passport, so the plane had to return to California, where a new crew would take passengers to China. The plane left Saturday evening, about six hours behind schedule. The airline said passengers were given meal vouchers and...

Authorities in Belize are taking a closer look at the possibility that carbon monoxide poisoning may have played a role in the deaths of three Americans last month.As the families of the dead released a statement Monday seeking answers one month since their bodies were discovered in their hotel room, the nation's top police official said the resort has temporarily ceased operation."It was agreed a second round of testing be done at the hotel," Commissioner of Police Chester Williams said last week at an impromptu news conference captured on video by television station 7 News Belize.From left, Kaoutar Naqqad, Wafae El Arar, Imane Mallah.Obtained by NBC NewsHe said previous guests came forward to report they suspected carbon monoxide levels were notable during their own visits to Royal Ka...

Passengers affected by the power outage that shut down London's Heathrow Airport Friday are not automatically entitled to compensation for their flight disruption, experts say. Instead, different rules will apply if a passenger was set to fly on a U.S. carrier into Heathrow. For travelers whose flights on U.S. carriers were canceled, each individual airline has its own separate rules about compensation and reimbursement — though there is usually little variation.And unfortunately, many carriers' stipulate that passengers are not entitled compensation or reimbursement for expenses if the delay was not within the airline's control. "If the delay is beyond our control, or you book your own arrangements without written authorization from American Airlines, you’re responsible to pay for your...

LONDON — From Las Vegas to Frankfurt to Dubai, hundreds of thousands of stranded passengers waited for news about flights to and from London's Heathrow Airport after it was closed by a massive fire at a nearby electricity substation. As firefighters tackled the blaze that took down Europe's busiest transport hub, flights came to a standstill, sending a wrecking ball through the delicate logistics underpinning global tourism and business travel.In the hotels around Heathrow, thwarted travelers reported skyrocketing prices as they scrambled for a place to spend the night. In Dubai, Sara Mehta told NBC's international partner Sky News that customers of Heathrow-headquartered British Airways are “extremely angry and upset.” In the Chinese city of Guangzhou, Charlotte Johnston told Sky News ...

British Airways, which is based at Heathrow, appeared to be the airline most affected by the closures, with at least 124 flights affected as of early Friday morning, according to data published by FlightAware.In a statement, an airline spokesperson said the closures had a "significant impact on our operation." It said that where possible, it had been redirecting inbound flights already on their way to Heathrow to other airports in the U.K.As of early Friday, other British airports were not yet heavily impacted yet by the changes, with a spokesperson for London Luton Airport saying its operations had not been affected.Meanwhile operations at London Stansted Airport appeared to be running smoothly."Departures here are no busier than normal this morning. If anything, security was actually ...