Southwest Revises Seat Policy for Plus-Size Passengers

The annual lights festival in Australia, Vivid Sydney, saw a dramatic moment when 83 drones dropped from the sky into the Darling Harbor and six fell on a boardwalk. The drones experienced a technical malfunction during the drone show last Monday, prompting organizers to cancel all other scheduled performances.  

Videos of the incident circulated widely on social media. No injuries were reported, thanks to an exclusion zone designed for safety. Destination New South Wales apologized to spectators for the disappointment and inconvenience. Firework displays will take place instead of drone shows for the remainder of the festival. The event ends on June 13.

In Milan, a historic shopping arcade features a bull mosaic on the floor, where tourists perform a “spinning ritual” on the bull’s testicles for luck. All the twirling with heels left a crater on the mosaic, so the city restored it last week.  

The mosaic is located in the 19th-century Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. It is believed that spinning on it guarantees a return to the city and good fortune. The restoration cost the city $35,000, and this is the second refurbishment in 10 years (the last was in 2017). Restorer Gianluca Galli was seen on the floor working on the art as curious onlookers peeked behind the construction site.  

After it was unveiled, people complained that the testicles are no longer visible and that the renovation has castrated the bull.

An eight-hour United flight from Newark to Mallorca, Spain, had to turn around midway “to address a potential security concern,” the airline told NPR. Several passengers revealed that a teenager’s Bluetooth device was named “BOMB,” prompting the crew to return the flight to its origin.  

Audio from the flight recorded a conversation in which one person asks why the flight was returned and another responds, “There’s a security detail out there, someone had a Bluetooth speaker and they named it a certain four-letter word,” adding that the aircraft has to be inspected.  

All passengers deboarded the plane and, after the inspection, reboarded. The flight arrived in Spain nine hours later than scheduled.

Southwest, a preferred airline for plus-size travelers, reversed its friendly policies earlier this year. Now, after months of backlash, it is revising them again. Plus-size travelers can get an extra seat at the airport at no additional cost if there’s availability.  

“On flights where adjacent seats are available, our agents at the airport are empowered to provide an additional seat at no extra cost to Customers who require one,” the airline said in a statement. If the space is not available, they will be booked on another flight.  

Since January, Southwest required plus-size travelers to book two seats before flying and made refunds more restrictive for the second seat. The refund policy has not been updated since its last change, but at least gate agents will be able to help customers at the airport if needed.  

The airline still strongly recommends that plus-size travelers book two seats to ensure availability.  

Related: Southwest Is Fat Shaming, Travelers Say

Tourist behavior has resulted in a new policy in Japan: those found littering in Tokyo’s Shibuya Crossing will be fined $13. Food shops that don’t have bins are also being fined by the authorities.  

Japan has become a popular tourist destination, with a record-breaking 42.7 million visitors in 2025. However, tourism has brought problems for the country’s residents. There is an increasing number of tourists who are drinking and littering in Tokyo. To discourage this behavior, 50 officials are now deployed to impose on-the-spot fines.  

Trash bins are not easily accessible in the country due to past terror attacks, but authorities said this is not a reason to litter.  

Related: Small Japanese Village Forced to Station Guards as Tourists Overrun City