Tag Archives for protests.
The DoubleTree by Hilton in downtown St. Paul told guests they must leave by noon as the hotel temporarily closes, citing “heightened public safety concerns.” The shutdown lands amid escalating tension in the Twin Cities tied to federal immigration operations and ongoing protests, with hotels increasingly caught in the blast radius.
One of my readers ran into trouble checking into a hotel, and the hotel wouldn’t give him a refund either, so he took a guerilla approach and won. He calls the tactic “Protester-style.”
Over the last year there have been numerous protests blocking access to airports including Chicago O’Hare, New York JFK, and Los Angeles. Supporters of Palestinians – and in some cases of Hamas – took over roads, making them impassible, and causing passengers to miss flights.
These blockades probably don’t gain protestors sympathy for their cause.
Videos show passengers abandoning vehicles on the highway and walking to the airport. Chicago and Illinois police are on scene to manage traffic jams but not to address illegal activity in preventing people from traveling. However some traffic lanes have just re-opened, while delays persist. The airport advised passengers to take the CTA Blue Line.
Protests have been ongoing in Iran for the past 10 weeks, precipitated by a woman who was beaten and killed by authorities for ‘improperly’ wearing her hijab. To prevent citizens from seeing the protests, seeing them spread, and feeling confident in defying the regime, internet access in the country has been limited. Their Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, says these “riots” are in fact war perpetrated by foreign governments and dissidents.
Mahan Air flight attendant Sanz Keshavarz, who worked the Airbus A340, reportedly took part in protests and was killed by the government in response. The airline – which is said to work closely with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard – has been said to warn all of their employees who attended the woman’s funeral that they could be prosecuted.
This is a good reminder that there are people who are thrilled that international travel has grinded to a halt, and that flying is severely depressed amidst the global pandemic.
With state troops in D.C. staying at the Marriott Marquis, Arne Sorenson will have a tough time making claims to wokeness. Here are 5 facts about hotel stays for the National Guard troops in D.C.
After the airport was closed to departing flights Monday afternoon as a result of being overrun by protesters, people dispersed and some operations commenced again Tuesday morning.
However protesters returned and the airport once again shut down to departures on Tuesday afternoon.
Clashes between police and democracy protesters have escalated. Here an officer arrests a man on Sunday night, pressing his knee into the man’s face pushing him into his own pooling blood as he calls out “Don’t do this. I’m begging you.” There were 45 protesters injured over the weekend. Of those 25 remain in the hospital.
Spurred on by the government’s increasingly violent crackdown, protesters occupied the airport on Monday. Traffic came to a standstill and protesters crossed the roads leading in and out. All departures were cancelled for the rest of the day.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
