Delta to resume service from MSP to Amsterdam

Delta Air Lines said Monday that it will restart its nonstop flight from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport to Amsterdam beginning Oct. 25, the first long-haul international flight at MSP since the start of the pandemic in March. The Atlanta-based airline plans to resume the popular route four times a week. MSP lost all transoceanic flights in the spring when the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus closed international borders. The move by Delta to reinstate the long-haul flight from MSP comes weeks after the U.S. government said it plans to end its enhanced health screenings of passengers. Since March, all incoming international flights from high-risk countries — including most of Europe, China, Brazil and others — have been funneled through just 15 U.S. airports designated to perform the screenings, leaving MSP out. It's unclear who will be booking seats on the reinstated flight as the Netherlands and much of Europe still ban the entry of foreigners, including Americans, without a 10-day self-quarantine.

Kristen Leigh Painter

The Grand Hotel and Mission Point Resort, popular hotels on Michigan's Mackinac Island, are capitalizing on the idea of virtual learning and offering parents a place to work and escape with their children. Lesson plans have been created to help parents explore the island and apply math and geography and history in conjunction with the state parks. This is the first time the island has promoted the idea of an educational escape for families in September and October.

Detroit Free Press

Thailand's natural resources and environment minister recently shared a new way of dealing with tourists who leave behind their trash: mailing it back to them. On his Facebook page, Varawut Silpa-archa posted a photo of a box of trash left at a national park that appeared ready to be mailed back to its original owners along with a note that said, "You forgot something at Khao Yai National Park." Varawut later posted that the government will blacklist visitors who damage national parks. People caught littering can be fined up to 500,000 baht (about $16,000) and/or be held in jail for up to five years per Thailand's National Park Act.

Washington Post

The 2020 North America Airport Satisfaction Study from J.D. Power ranks Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport ninth in the mega category; it has tied with Atlanta's airport. MSP has also been named one of only seven airports worldwide to the Airports Council International Roll of Excellence in Airport Service Quality.