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One of the busiest holiday travel days of the year got off to a rocky start for Dallas Love Field Airport (DAL). Around 4:30am CT on Friday, the airport was evacuated when smoke was detected in the terminal.In the aftermath of the evacuation, the City of Dallas confirmed that the cause of the smoke was an overheated air conditioning unit.Following the brief evacuation, which lasted for only about 30 minutes, DAL said that airport operations were set to resume as normal....

Update: deal is now for 50,000 miles.If you’ve got cash to invest, you can rack up a ton of frequent flyer miles by opening Fidelity Brokerage accounts. I’ve been meaning to research this ever since I left Morgan Stanley and now completely manage my investments, especially since I no longer have any restrictions about outside brokerage accounts that are in place at many financial firms.Coincidentally, a couple weeks ago I received a flyer in the mail from Fidelity offering me up to 50,000 United miles if I created a brokerage account with them....

Sign up for our daily newsletterEmail addressSign upI would like to subscribe to The Points Guy newsletters and special email promotions. The Points Guy will not share or sell your email. See privacy policy.Today was a busy day for the electronics ban, as we learned that both EgyptAir and Royal Air Maroc will be removed from the list. For those counting, that means that all of the nine airlines that were required by the US Department of Homeland Security have implemented (or will implement) the enhanced security procedures....

Each month, airlines around the world launch and announce dozens of new flight routes and service changes — and today, TPG Assistant Editor Matt Zuzolo shares just a few of the latest flights that will take to the skies this month or in the near future. Keep in mind that exact flight details (e.g., flight schedules, aircraft and more) could change based on travel dates.NEW ROUTES LAUNCHED IN MARCH 2016Emirates launched a new flight to New Zealand....

Guatemala’s Volcan de Fuego (Volcano of Fire) erupted on Sunday, killing at least 62 people as it spewed lava into the surrounding countryside and darkened the sky with thick clouds of ash.The volcano, which is located in a rural region about 25 miles outside of the Central American country’s capital, Guatemala City, sent clouds of smoke nearly six miles into the air.Several people have been reported missing as the the lava gushes into residential areas, burning houses and roads at a temperature of up to 1,300 degrees Fahrenheit....

When some people travel, they decide to leave their troubles at home. Not so for Jonathan Kubben Quiñonez, who — after more than a year of wandering around the world — still takes the time to remind his apparently worrisome mother that he’s alive and well. Quiñonez travels with a giant sign reading “Mom I’m Fine” everywhere he goes, and snaps pictures with it in some of the most unusual places he can find....

Sign up for our daily newsletterEmail addressSign upI would like to subscribe to The Points Guy newsletters and special email promotions. The Points Guy will not share or sell your email. See privacy policy.Kevin Durant had a good day yesterday, and that’s not just because the Golden State Warriors won the first game of the NBA Finals. The basketball megastar will now find his likeness on something that’s usually reserved for Norwegian historical figures or Emirati Sheikhs....

Sign up for our daily newsletterEmail addressSign upI would like to subscribe to The Points Guy newsletters and special email promotions. The Points Guy will not share or sell your email. See privacy policy.Getting a second passport can be a bit of a challenge, and the reason for requesting one must fall under one of two categories. The first is primarily for political reasons — some countries will deny you entry if you have a stamp from another country in your passport....

Update: TPG readers can now receive a 10-20% discount on the weekly, monthly, or annual Doctor In Your Pocket plans.There are few things more frustrating, irritating and terrifying than becoming sick while traveling. Whether you’re only on the other side of the United States, or in a third-world country with non-English speakers, finding access to competent medical care can be a challenge. The recently launched Doctor in Your Pocket service gives you the ability to be connected to doctors almost anywhere you travel in the world....

Norwegian’s Boeing 787s are having engine trouble, like many other airlines’, which is forcing a grounding of some of the Dreamliners equipped with a certain version of the Rolls Royce Trent turbines. To avoid canceling flights, Norwegian’s been wet-leasing planes from various charter companies, including an ancient Wamos Air 747. However, it’s currently borrowing a plane that’s unlike any other: Hi Fly’s new A380 featuring Singapore’s old first class suites.Up until now, rather than be able to book a suite seat outright or pay to upgrade, premium passengers on the A380 were randomly assigned a premium seat — either a suite or the lie-flat business-class product....

Sign up for our daily newsletterEmail addressSign upI would like to subscribe to The Points Guy newsletters and special email promotions. The Points Guy will not share or sell your email. See privacy policy.If you were flying to, from or through the New York City area on Saturday evening, you probably had a miserable night. According to the least detailed press release I’ve ever seen (even from the FAA), flights at NYC metro airports were delayed “due to a widespread problem on a local telecommunications network....

Sign up for our daily newsletterEmail addressSign upI would like to subscribe to The Points Guy newsletters and special email promotions. The Points Guy will not share or sell your email. See privacy policy.Just a quick reminder that if you haven’t done so already, enter my contest to win a $250 Travel Card from Best Western by 11:59pm EST today. To submit your entry, you need to go back to my original post from Monday and leave a comment there telling me which Best Western Premier property you’d use the $250 Travel Card to stay at....

According to a thread on FlyerTalk, rumors are floating around that Delta is considering changing its SkyMiles frequent flyer program from a distance-flown formula to a revenue-based formula where the number of miles you’re awarded is based on the money you spend, similar to the fixed-value programs of JetBlue, Southwest and Virgin America.Rumored Rollout PlanOne of the posters even went so far as to leak a supposed rollout plan for the changes, which I’ll quote here, but again as a disclaimer, we have no confirmation from Delta that this is actually happening:“The Loyalty Program is comprised of two projects that seek to increase revenue and customer loyalty along withdecreasing liability related to unused award miles....

President Donald Trump has proposed some big changes to the Federal Aviation Administration, including privatizing the agency and transforming it into a nonprofit.Now, Axios is reporting that Trump has privately proposed the pilot of his personal aircraft to be the new head of the FAA. The FAA is responsible for all civil aviation in the US, including managing air traffic control, air transit safety, commercial and recreational drone activity and even space transportation....

In February of this year, United first started selling basic economy. But, unlike American Airlines — which started selling basic economy on the same day — United has been incredibly aggressive about its basic economy rollout. Less than two months in, UA had already expanded to over 100 routes.This morning, in United’s earnings conference call, UA President Scott Kirby confirmed that basic economy has now been rolled out to all domestic routes....

If there’s one thing I know, travel breaks down barriers. And as you meet people from around the world and experience different cultures, you remember that we are all one human race.What’s happening with PeaceJam in Ghana is truly something special. Each time I go back, I see how the reach of PeaceJam has grown and how it’s changed the lives of each child who’s gotten involved. Last time I was in Ghana, I was actually crowned a traditional chief — my official name, Nene Kwesi Mateu Tsu I....

Have you ever wanted to step back in time? Maybe back to an era when travel was more glamorous?Those who opine for the Golden Age of Aviation now complain about dirty terminals, crowded TSA lines and being crammed into economy’s cattle class. So, what happened to the time when traveling was romantic?Although that age may be gone now, those passing through JFK will soon have the opportunity to enjoy what might be the crown jewel of the early days of aviation....

You probably saw my rant a couple weeks ago about changes to certain Delta SkyMiles award booking requirements where I also lamented drastic increase in price of gift cards in the Delta Medallion Mall, higher pricing of awards last year, changes in voucher usage policies and more. Well, at least now Delta has released a consolidated list of recent and upcoming changes to the SkyMiles program - I just wish they were a little more proactive about their communications....

Last month’s unfortunate case of two Air Transat flights stuck for six steaming hours on the tarmac after landing in Ottawa, spurring 911 calls from desperate passengers, may have been extreme. But variations on it play out almost every day. Planes push back from the gate, only to sit on the runway for what feels like forever. Or a flight lands, only to wander in limbo instead of parking at a gate....

If you have about $8 million to burn, you could be the proud new owner of a town chock full of archeological history because the ancient Greek city of Bargylia is on the market.Located in near the Aegean resort city of Bodrum, the city of Bargylia is on sale for $8.3 million, in an effort to protect the ancient archaeological site from decay and antiquities looters. The property has been privately owned since 1927....