Friday Travel Ticker: Tarmac troubles addressed

Officials have promised to make changes before the Christmas travel season in an effort to prevent airline passengers from suffering the nightmare of being trapped for hours on a tarmac with no way to reach an airport gate. “We can move pretty quickly on this,” Federal Aviation Administrator Randy Babbitt said after a forum with airlines, airports and government officials on ways to prevent a repeat of an October incident that left hundreds of passengers stranded in Hartford, Conn.. . . . The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is calling for a winter with colder than average and wetter than average conditions in Northern California and drier than average conditions in Southern California. . . . The U.S. Department of Commerce announced this week that 5.4-million international visitors traveled to the United States in September, up 7% over the same month a year ago. . . . A high-wind warning has been issued for the Yosemite area through Friday morning. . . .  The 36^th annual Coronado Christmas Parade steps off Friday at 6 p.m., with a tree-lighting at 7. Children’s activities start at 3 p.m. For details, click here. Don’t forget the annual skating rink at the Hotel Del. . . . Island Hotel Newport Beach is showing off its gingerbread village, made from hundreds of pounds of white and dark chocolate. The exhibit took  two months to build. . . . The grand opening of Lynyrd Skynyrd BBQ & Beer will take place Thursday, Dec. 8 at the Excalibur Hotel & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. The restaurant, with 150-year-old barnyard wood and concrete floors, offers  ribs, brisket, chicken. . . . Travel Quote of the Day: “I drank enough whiskey to float a battleship around.”  (Lynyrd Skynyrd, from “Gimme Back My Bullets”)