Best Of 2011: The Biggest Travel Stories Of The Year

Another year down, another year closer to the Mayan apocalypse. And, what a year it was.

Sure it was often punctuated by celebrities getting kicked off planes and the TSA patting down some old lady or child, but there were still those stories that shaped the face of travel both here and abroad. Events like Hurricane Irene and the Japanese tsunami severely impacted transportation and tourism. So, too, did the introduction of the much-anticipated Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which will change the face of the skies.

In the spirit of remembering the trip around the sun that was 2011, here are the 11 biggest news stories of the year. Think we missed one? Share your thoughts in the comment below.

Comments

[xfspazx]

02:15 PM on 12/14/2011

Lets not forget about the Northwest pilots that over shot the intended airport of 100 miles because they were using there laptops, you would think that there be alot more accidents, but there are hundreds of "Close Calls" that happen every year that we dont know about.

[ae12wrangell]

12:09 PM on 12/14/2011

This was last year, but;

I still remember a plane fling from LA to Denver, and as the pilot's got closer, and closer to Denver, the Pilot and Co-Pilot sort of forgot about the plane, and for 45 minute's, the plane went toward's Michigan. But, there's one problem; Time and distance don't equal. Both pilot's were n thier computer's and completely lost as to where they were. 45 minute's both were checking something out on the computer. Then either had to look up, and see an airport that was NOT Denver International. Pilot call's the Michigan airport to request an unscheduled landing. The plane get's refueled, and take's off to Denver. Upon arrival at Denver, the plane was about 2 1/2 hour's late. I wasn't on the plane, but when you consider how fast the plane was going, and if it stayed in a straight line, the plane would have been up near Montreal, Canada, by the time either Pilot, and/or Co-Piolot saw the problem.

[ahnree]

11:58 AM on 12/14/2011

hmmm the "highest" building. it should be in amsterdam or in san fran.

[paradisewriter]

11:36 AM on 12/14/2011

Jeez, HP---it's the tallest not the highest. J-school dropouts???

[Geoffrey Bramhall]

10:55 AM on 12/14/2011

Except for the tsunami and hurricane Irene, you make this year
seem like a sleeper. Was it really that dull? Your article was
more like a paid advertisement than a compilation of 2011
highlights. What about the OWS protesters, or the success
of the Republican debates in stirring their nomination process so
that they seemed to have a new front runner every month? And
no mention of Holder's problems as AG in charge of selling guns
to the Mexican drug lords, or Obama's favorite financial advisor being
dragged before the Senate to explain how 1.5 billion dollars walks?

[LauraP21]

10:24 AM on 12/14/2011

In today's economic climate we all need to find ways to make our money go further. I know I was concerned about my Christmas shopping this year until I discovered an amazing penny auction site online http://tinyurl.com/TopDealsOnline Penny auctions were new to me until a few weeks ago but now I am regularly saving hundreds of dollars on things like iPads, gift cards, cameras and smart phones. I even got a $200 Best Buy gift card there for $33. I did all my Christmas shopping there and I spent less and get more than ever before.

[Judith Kitzes]

08:03 PM on 12/13/2011

The Japanese Earthquake and subsequent Tsunami topped everything this year. Hurricane Irene was an annoyance. And the Dreamliner is also a big story.

[Adam Valen Levinson]

07:31 PM on 12/13/2011

Travel in the Middle East has quieted considerably, but I think we in the west have been wary of the region for a long time. Through the Gulf and the Levant and into Central Asia, I've been discovering tons (read about everywhere: http://ingulfed.com). Hopefully soon we can stop judging entire countries/regions/continents as homogenous blocks.