Carefully selected travel news, interpreted for the individual traveller. Checked 6 August 2026.
What this briefing covers. This is a weekly read on the ten destinations Great Wide Open writes about — Australia, Canada, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Spain and the USA. It is not a global bulletin. A quiet week here tells you nothing about anywhere else: if you’re travelling to another country, please keep checking the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) advice and your own providers for developments that may affect your plans.
What matters this week
A heavy week, much of it about getting there. A week on from the Kumamoto earthquake, Japan is recovering but still shaking. Flying to and around Europe is hard going: an indefinite ground-staff strike hit Barcelona and Palma airports from 4 August, and a wider air-traffic-control shortage is delaying flights across the continent. A tropical cyclone is disrupting Hong Kong–Japan routes, and — some better news — Spain’s wildfires are finally easing.
At a glance
| Development | Who it affects | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Japan: Kumamoto quake — aftershocks continue | Travellers to Kyushu / southern Japan | Follow FCDO Japan & the JMA |
| Barcelona & Palma: indefinite airport ground strike (from 4 Aug) | Anyone flying via Barcelona or Palma | Check your flight; expect baggage delays |
| Europe-wide air-traffic-control delays | Flights across Europe, incl. Heathrow & Madrid | Build in buffer time; check status |
| Typhoon Dolphin: HK–Japan/Okinawa flights cut | Travellers between Hong Kong and Japan | Check with your airline |
| Spain: wildfires easing near Madrid | Travellers to central Spain | Improving; still check local advice |
| South Korea: crackdown on hotel price-gouging | Travellers to South Korea | Fairer, clearer room pricing to come |
Entry rules and official advice
Japan: a week after the Kumamoto earthquake (updated).
A week after the magnitude-7.1 earthquake struck Kumamoto Prefecture on 28 July, the picture is one of recovery amid continuing aftershocks. The confirmed death toll has risen to around 36, with more than 1,500 homes damaged or destroyed and hundreds of aftershocks recorded; record 40°C-plus heat has made conditions harder. But transport is returning: parts of the Kyushu Shinkansen are running again, flights have resumed at Kumamoto airport, and highways have reopened after safety checks. The FCDO now carries specific advice, noting that aftershocks may continue and cause disruption, and pointing travellers to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA). As before, this is Kyushu, in the south-west — Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka are hundreds of kilometres away and unaffected. If you’re heading to Kyushu, follow the FCDO and JMA and expect some regional disruption.
Spain: the wildfires are easing (updated).
The fierce wildfires that closed in on central Spain last week have eased. The fires near Madrid have calmed enough for many evacuees to return home, though crews are still tackling flare-ups and roughly 150,000 hectares have burned across the country this season. The FCDO has not advised against travel. The heat and fire risk aren’t gone for the summer, so if you’re heading inland it’s still worth checking local advice — but the acute threat of the past fortnight has lifted.
Flights, rail and getting there
Barcelona and Palma: an indefinite ground-staff strike.
Around 1,179 Groundforce staff at Barcelona-El Prat began an indefinite strike on 4 August, with Palma de Mallorca also affected; Spanish authorities warn that up to 2 million passengers could be hit through the end of September. Minimum-service rules keep many flights running — between 35% and 80% depending on the route, and higher to the islands — but Groundforce handles check-in, boarding and baggage for a long list of airlines (Air Europa, Lufthansa, Air France, KLM, Qatar and more), so delays and baggage problems are likely. If you fly via Barcelona or Palma this month, check your flight, allow extra time, and keep essentials in your cabin bag.
Europe-wide air-traffic-control delays.
Separately, a structural shortage of air-traffic controllers — made worse by a technical failure at Eurocontrol’s Brussels control centre on 27 July — is causing widespread delays across European airspace, with London Heathrow, Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Madrid among the worst hit. There is no quick fix; build buffer time into connections through August.
Hong Kong–Japan: Typhoon Dolphin.
Tropical Cyclone Dolphin is battering Okinawa and southern Japan, and airlines including Hong Kong Express, Hong Kong Airlines and Greater Bay Airlines have cancelled Hong Kong–Okinawa flights on 6–8 August. Hong Kong itself is not expected to raise a typhoon signal, but if you’re flying between Hong Kong and Japan or Okinawa, check with your airline before travelling.
Gatwick: a new strike ballot.
Last week’s threatened Gatwick strikes were called off after pay deals, but a ballot of Menzies refuelling staff closes on 11 August — a possible source of disruption around the late-August bank holiday. Worth watching if you fly from Gatwick then.
Money and protection
South Korea: a crackdown on hotel price-gouging.
With summer tourism surging past pre-pandemic levels, South Korea moved in early August to penalise accommodation providers that hide their prices or raise them unfairly, with business-suspension penalties for a first offence. It is aimed squarely at protecting visitors, so travellers to South Korea should see clearer and fairer room pricing, particularly in peak season.
Dates for the diary
- China (from 15 September): China’s new exit-entry rules take effect. Among them, foreign nationals who give false information on a visa or entry application can be banned from entering for one to five years. Straightforward if you are accurate on your forms — but the penalties have hardened, so it is worth knowing.
- Europe entry systems: the European Union’s Entry/Exit System (EES) is already live at Schengen borders. The separate European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) is still expected in the last quarter of 2026 and won’t be mandatory until several months after launch. Nothing to apply for yet.
- South Korea: UK visitors remain exempt from the Korea Electronic Travel Authorisation (K-ETA) until 31 December 2026, but must complete the digital e-Arrival Card.
Before you travel
This briefing is a weekly selection covering only our ten destinations, not a global or emergency service. For anything time-sensitive — or for any country we don’t cover — check the FCDO advice for your destination and your airline or operator directly. Rules and disruption can change between editions.
Sources
- Japan — FCDO Japan; Kumamoto earthquake — Wikipedia
- Barcelona/Palma strike — AirHelp — Spain ground-handling strikes; Euro Weekly — Barcelona baggage strike
- European ATC — EUROCONTROL; TravelPirates — Europe delays 4 Aug
- Typhoon Dolphin — The Standard — HK Airlines cancels Okinawa flights; SCMP — signal unlikely, flights axed
- South Korea — Travel Tomorrow — hotel price-gouging penalties
- China — DLA Piper — new exit/entry regulation
- Spain wildfires — Al Jazeera, 3 Aug