Category: Travel

If you’re busy going to and fro around Atlanta in preparation for the Thanksgiving holiday, we’ve got some insights that may make your job a bit easier.

Many of these tips come from Google’s analysis of holiday trends before and after the pandemic. You can bet that there is going to be quite a bit of traffic around the city.

Like Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms’ mac ‘n cheese, it may take a little work to get where you’re trying to go (I kid). But seriously, here is some guidance you can use while moving around Atlanta.

More Travel Content:

Atlanta Thanksgiving Traffic: Plan Your Trip

• Popular times 
  • Coffee shops are busiest on Saturdays at 11am.
  • Grocery stores are least busy on Sunday at 9am.
  • Pharmacies are busiest at 3pm on Fridays.

These Atlanta grocery stores offer curbside pickup.

• Transportation
  • Compared to pre-pandemic days, interest in transit ridership is down by more than 50%, and cycling has shifted up by over 30% – hitting an all-time-high in April. 

Looking to grab a bite in the city? Here are the best restaurants near a MARTA station.

• Food + Activity 
  • Diners are planning ahead more – restaurant reservations are up 106% compared to last year.
  • Interest in “takeout” has increased 109% since the beginning of the pandemic.
  • Searches for outdoor locations are up 98%. Piedmont Park and Amicalola Falls State Park are trending!

Looking to visit a Georgia state park this weekend Here are the best ones.

Stay Informed While Running Holiday Errands and Traveling

Google also has some tools to help you navigate crowds and the busiest city corridors.

• Check out how busy a place is: Popular times and live busyness information can tell you how crowded a place typically is on a given day or time–and even how busy it is right now.
• Find the latest information about COVID-19: Are you visiting friends or family in another city or state? Use the COVID layer on Maps to quickly see how cases are trending in the area. You can also access quick links to authoritative local resources so you know at a glance if there are specific guidelines or restrictions in the area you’re visiting. 
• Quickly understand safety precautions from a business: If you’re eating out or getting a head start on your holiday shopping, you can easily learn more about what safety precautions a business is taking. Find out if they’re sanitizing between customers, if there’s safety dividers at checkout and if they require staff to have regular temperature checks. 

When it comes to fall travel, many Americans are staying Stateside in consideration of the COVID-19 pandemic. Travel review site Trip Advisor’s Fall Travel Index shows some of the top U.S. cities that will experience a boom in visitors this fall.

That means hotel bookings, local restaurants and other businesses that have been hurting for much of the year stand to benefit from the tourism surge.

Report: Savannah A Top Fall Travel Destination

Georgia’s own Savannah makes the list as one of the cities on the travel index. The data was culled from analyzing a last-year-to-this-year increase in hotel bookings.

Here are the top U.S. fall travel destinations, according to Trip Advisor.

1. Key Largo, Fla.
2. Key West, Fla.
3. Atlantic City, N.J.
4. St. Pete Beach, Fla.
5. Myrtle Beach, S.C.
6. Sedona, Ariz.
7. Scottsdale, Ariz.
8. Clearwater, Fla.
9. San Diego, Calif.
10. Savannah, Ga.

“Among all of the disruption and restrictions this year, 76 percent of U.S. travelers continue to say that travel is important to them, even if they can’t experience the world like they used to,” said Christopher Hsi, Consumer Market Research Lead Analyst for Tripadvisor. “The pandemic has forced travelers to be creative and explore new destinations in ways they may not have considered previously. This fall, we’re seeing a rise in destinations where travelers can relax and rejuvenate, as opposed to the busy hustle and bustle of popular cities.”

Cheap Flights to Savannah

If you’re interested in finding cheap flights to Savannah, you should check out Expedia or other airfare aggregators. Make sure you compare prices before you book.

Delta Air Lines has become one of the most strident airlines in enforcing its mandatory mask policy due to the coronavirus pandemic.

More than 120 people have been banned from flying on the airline for refusing to wear a mask or face covering, according to an internal Delta memo the company recently sent to its employees.

Delta CEO Ed Bastian is resolute in disallowing unmasked passengers to board one of their planes.

“The flight experience today is really positive,” he told The Today Show. ”

Here Is What Delta Is Doing To Keep Passengers Safe

According to Bastian, here are some of the guidelines that make Delta safer than other airlines to fly:

• Planes are sanitized through electrostatic methods
• Planes are only booked to 6% capacity
• Every middle seat is blocked on a Delta plane

When it comes to masks, Delta’s CEO says the airline has ramped up enforcement.

“We’ve been requiring masks since the 1st of May,” he said. “You cannot board a Delta plane unless you have a mask on.”

If you insist on not wearing a mask on a Delta flight “we will insist that you don’t wear Delta,” he said.

Even if you have a medical condition that prevents you from wearing a mask, Bastian says. “You might not want to fly Delta.”

He did say however that the airline is working with doctors on a validation process for customers who can’t wear masks for one medical reason or another.

If you’re wondering how that process works, footage on social media showed a woman passenger kicked off a flight. It is unclear if the video is of a Delta flight.

Another video I will watch a thousand times.
Goodbye, Super Spreader.
pic.twitter.com/BjKTR33Vau

— Steve Marmel (@Marmel) July 23, 2020

What Is Delta’s Mask Policy?

Delta’s official mask policy states that “Delta customers and employees are required to wear a face mask, or appropriate cloth face covering over their nose and mouth throughout their travel, aligning with best practice guidelines from the CDC.”

Not only are masks or face coverings required onboard flights, but also at:

• Lobby Check-in 
• Delta Sky Clubs 
• Boarding Gate Areas 
• Jet Bridges  

Read more from Delta HERE.

The question on everybody’s mind though is this: Should you be flying right now? Read our air travel resource to find out.

Because of the damage that the coronavirus pandemic has done to the travel industry, many major airlines have taken steps to ensure that passengers are healthy before they board planes.

The carriers will require that passengers complete “health acknowledgements” as an added precaution to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The voluntary health rules come from Airlines for America (A4A), the industry trade organization representing the leading U.S. airlines.

Here are the main areas that would constitute a “health acknowledgment,” according to A4A:

• Face Coverings: Assurance that all passengers have a face covering and wear it at the airport and on board.
• Symptoms: Assurance that the passenger is not experiencing a fever, which is essentially a temperature (38C/100.4F or higher), coughing, shortness of breath/difficulty breathing, loss of taste or smell, chills, muscle pain and/or sore throat.
• Exposure – Assurance that the passenger has not had close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 or had symptoms in the last 14 days.

After initial resistance, many airline executives have warmed to the idea that passengers should wear face masks.

Delta CEO Ed Bastian told staff that masks should be required for customers and those who don’t comply should be penalized.

“We take the requirement to wear a mask very seriously,”  Bastian, said according to CNBC.com. “Customers who choose not to comply with this or any other safety requirement risk losing their future flight privileges with Delta.”

Airlines That Will Require A Health Acknowledgments

• Alaska Airlines
• American Airlines
• Delta Air Lines
• Hawaiian Airlines
• JetBlue Airways
• Southwest Airlines
• United Airlines 

Delta Air Lines says its workforce will slim down significantly amid the coronavirus pandemic

No industry has been as impacted by the pandemic as has the travel industry and Delta, the top U.S. airline is not immune.

Delta Announces Voluntary Separations For Employees Amid COVID-19

The Atlanta-based company said in a memo obtained by CNN that a”smaller Delta unfortunately means fewer people will be required.”

Delta told it workers that it will proceed with two voluntary exit programs for its more than 90,000 employees.

Meanwhile, Delta is adding some flights in June as customer demand has lifted slightly.

“While the June schedule is significantly reduced in comparison to last year, customers will see the return of several major routes, both U.S. domestic and international, which were previously suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Delta said in a blog post.

Atlantafi.com is bringing you the latest on the coronavirus pandemic, which has the state of Georgia and the city of Atlanta under a state of emergency. More definitive advice on health, please visit CDC.gov. Here are some helpful links:

• ATLANTA CORONAVIRUS GUIDE: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW
• How To Get Tested For COVID-19 In Atlanta 
• Social Distancing Guide: How To Do It
• COVID-9 Protection: How To Make a Face And Face Covering
• Georgia Lockdown & Re-Opening: Everything You Need To Know