In the last few weeks, several airlines have announced expansion of their services either into new airports or by offering more flights per week to existing airports. Eight airlines announced changes that could benefit Ministry Travel clients.

Delta announced new Atlanta to Angola service starting in January. According to the news service AFP, this will be the first direct commercial flight between the United States and Angola, which is located on Africa’s West Coast. Delta also announced it was adding a third daily flight from JFK to London Heathrow.

Also added to London Heathrow are two additional day-time flights by Kenya Airways to Nairobi. The airline also announced new daily flights to Hong Kong from Nairobi and within the African continent to Lagos, Nigeria.

Major changes by Ethiopian Airlines will mean connecting service for U.S. passengers to seven West Africa cities, eliminating the forced overnight in Addis Ababa. The cities included in the expansion are: Cotonou, Benin; Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire; Niamey, Niger; Conakry, Guinea; Monrovia, Liberia; Freetown, Sierra Leone; and Banjul, The Gambia.

Orlando will get new service to Paris on Air France starting next June. It is losing, however, two weekly flights to London on British Air. The carrier is decreasing from nine to seven its number of weekly Orlando flights. It is increasing service to Tampa to seven flights per week.

Dallas-Fort Worth is getting new routes to Rio de Janeiro and Barbados on American Airlines. The Barbados flights will be non-stops.

Next spring, USAirways will extend its European service by adding flights from Charlotte to both Madrid and Dublin.

Finally, Air China announced the launching of several new routes within China. The most significant is a daily flight from Beijing to Manzhouli, which is located on the borders of China, Mongolia and Russia.

These expansions mean more options for Ministry Travel clients. In the case of the Ethiopian expansion, the elimination of a forced overnight in order to get to a final destination will result in easier and cheaper travel. Some of the expansions have already started, while others will be phased-in between now and next summer. Contact a Ministry Travel agent at 877-541-5726 for schedule details and a no-obligation airfare quote to these or any other global destination.

There is just one obstacle left for your return to the U.S.—clearing customs. This can be confusing and stressful, but it doesn’t have to be. We’ve explored the subject in our last two posts, giving general tips as well as explaining how duty (import tax) is assessed. Today, we look at those items that you can and cannot bring back into the U.S.

You must be very careful about bringing back items that could be considered a cultural artifact or cultural property. Many countries forbid these from leaving their country, even if you bought them at a legitimate business. If you get them out of the country, the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) could, under U.S. law, question your ownership. Details on the cultural items that you cannot bring back with you can be found at http://exchanges.state.gov/heritage/culprop.html.

Medication that you acquired abroad, both prescription and over-the-counter, can be a problem. Some of these, though legal abroad, are not allowed to be brought into the U.S. The CBP advises to always keep medicines in their original containers, and only carry what you need. Carry a prescription or written statement from your physician that the substances are necessary for your physical well being while traveling. Only medications that can be legally prescribed in the U.S. may be imported for personal use. Even then, the Food and Drug Administration as a general rule does not allow the importation of any prescription drugs that were purchased outside the U.S.

You also should be aware that some over the counter medicines sold in the U.S. are not allowed in other countries, so you may have trouble taking some of these with you. Zambia, for example, does not allow anything with diphenhydramine in it, like Benadryl. Check your destination country’s embassy or consulate website for details. The U.S. State Department also has details on some of this when you search for your destination country at http://www.travel.state.gov/ .

It is illegal to import any product containing dog or cat fur. It is not uncommon that fur hats sold in other countries are made of cat fur. Tourists to Moscow, for example, have bought popular fur hats sold by street vendors only to discover they were made of cat fur.

If you plan to buy items such as tortoiseshell jewelry or items made from whalebone, ivory, skins or fur it is best to check with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) first at http://www.fws.gov/. You must have a permit from the FWS to import virtually all types of ivory. Plants, animal or reptile skins, tusks, bone, feathers and eggs are restricted.

Bakery items, certain cheeses and most prepared foods are admissible. However, no meat, meat products or anything prepared with meat are allowed. This includes anything containing meat products such as bouillon, soup mixes, etc. Condiments, vinegars, coffee, teas, honey and packaged spices are admissible. Rice, however, often harbors insects and should not be imported.

Fruits and vegetables are not as cut and dry. Whether or not CBP will allow you to bring them in depends are where you bought them and where you are going after you arrive in the U.S. Like everything else, you must declare if you are bringing these back. Our recommendation is to just avoid bringing back fruits and vegetables, as well as any food that is not commercially packaged.

For more information about the CBP and customs, visit http://cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/.