The end of the era is the official Southwest Airlines passengers.

On Monday, the airline announced the opening date for new allocated seats.

For flights starting January 27, 2026, passengers will have the option of choosing a seat when booking, Southwest said in a announcement.

“Customers want more choice and more control over the travel experience,” said Tony Roach, Executive Vice President of Southwest in a news release.

“Assigned seats unlock new opportunities for customers, such as the ability to choose seating in the legroom, and remove the uncertainty of not knowing where you are sitting in the cabin,” Roach said.

Various fare bundles offer several options for seat selection during booking. Different types of sheets (extra legroom, priority and standard) also appear as part of these bundles.

The age of assigned seats also pioneer the new group-based boarding process.

Additional legroom seats will be prioritized in boarding groups 1-2.

Premium Fares and Loyalty Program members and credit card holders board early in the process. Details are available on the airline’s website.

The airline has announced plans to close the arrangements for free seating last summer.

This change will allow low-cost carriers to improve their competition with legacy carriers American Airlines, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines by charging a premium for some seats on the plane. These airlines generate much of their revenue by charging more for premium seats.

CNN’s Chris Isidore contributed to this report.

Editor’s Note: This CNN travel series may have adjacent ads for each country that is highlighting. CNN maintains full editing control over the subject, reporting and frequency of articles and videos in accordance with our policies.

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At one of the halfty floating restaurants, when they had a grill embarrassment and freshwater carp lunch, visitors contemplated what life once was like on the old streets, and are now abandoned a few feet below the surface.

Halfeti is one of several settlements in the province of Changlulufa in southeastern Turkey, located on the banks of the Euphrates River, near its source. In 2000, such towns and ten small villages were completely submerged into the river, and the 200-foot tall 1.5-mile Bilesik Dam was built. More than 6,000 locals had to be relocated.

Around 40% of Halfty, a town with a population of about 2,600 people, was surrounded by water. The stone houses, shops and much of the 19th-century Mercez Kamiy (central mosque) in the “old town” have been lost. However, some high lift housing has been spared, and many still live in towns above the waterline today.

The Bilekik Dam was one of several built along the Euphrates and the adjacent Tigris River to develop the region of southeastern Anatolia. The hydroelectric dam generates approximately 2,500 GWH (gigawatt hours) of electricity per year, and is sufficient to power around 1 million Turkish homes, with a 20-square-mile reservoir being planned to irrigate 70,000 hectares of farmland. Despite these obvious advantages, Birecik Dam originally encountered mixed reactions from locals.

“Of course, that’s not easy because many cemeteries, many homes stayed under the water,” says Elhan Ildilim, a local researcher, historian and expert guide. “We can’t regain culture again. Culture remains under the water.”

Muslam Kalaman, a local boat operator, said “Halfti people made their living from breeding and farming.” The town was once known for its pistachio production.

“Now it’s completely changed towards tourism,” he continues, adding that many have embraced the change by “turning their homes into boutique restaurants and cafeterias” and improving the overall quality of life.

Today, visitors flock to the “sinked city” and zip down the structures submerged with boats, jet skis and even flyboards. Diving at Halfeti has also become a tourist favorite popular with people, popularized by El Cümen, a woman who holds a world record of diving into the town in 2020 to raise awareness about plastic pollution. “You feel history,” says Ildilim. He describes the richness of river fish species and the extensive network of ancient natural limestone just below the surface.

However, life is not only below, but above the water. Halfty is equally famous for its “black” roses cultivated around the town on the banks of the Euphrates River. According to legend, halfty is the only place in the world where flowers truly bloom black. “If you grow black roses elsewhere, they won’t give you the same color,” Yildirim insists.

Experts say the color is not pure black – it is a very dark red. “I don’t think that what is called black flowers are really black,” says internationally acclaimed rose expert Michael Marriott. However, he says that the very dark Crimson can sometimes look black, especially at the bud stage, before they lighten when they bloom. Furthermore, the darker the rose petals, the more likely they are to burn in the sun. This means that in sunny climates, flowers can appear darker.

Geyberter, chief horticulturalist of the Royal Horticultural Society of England, agrees. “In general, black roses and black flowers are not pure black, but are either very deep maroons or very dark red, as in this case,” he says.

But while internet residents call it a fake half-ty rose, barter adds a word of caution. “Deep chestnut and dark red flowers are black enough for all practical purposes, and only very noisy people will coat on nice and interesting flowers,” he says.

The dark colour is believed to be due to the unique soil conditions of the halfty.

Most roses are grafted to a common root that prefers a neutral balance of acidity and alkalinity, but Marriott says half-ti farmers may use the original roots of the rose.

“It must be due to the climatic conditions here,” says Birsen Aşağı, who works at a floating gift shop selling Black Rose products. Locals like Aşağı offer lots of black rose-infused products, from ice cream to soap and tea, but international brands also take advantage of the floral charm. The British perfume Penharigon has named its black rose scent, “Halfty.”

Explaining the importance of dark roses, Ashase shares local legends. The story begins with Adir, a famous local architect who is said to have built the city’s mosque. His granddaughter, Waltzh, is said to have grown the most beautiful roses in the area. She fell in love with an orphaned boy from across the river named Firat, but tragically, their love was forbidden by his grandfather. In grief, the pair jumped up to Euphrates together and died. According to the Legend, since that day, everyone has bloomed “black” instead of red.

Yildirim tells another story. Black Rose belonged to the Devil. The devil, angry at the murder of an innocent girl, declared that it would bloom only where she died.

Visitors to Halfeti can also make an hour-long boat trip along the river to the nearby Rumkale Fortress.

On the boat, you can see the fortress foundations dramatically overhanging the river.
They reportedly date back to the Byzantine empire in the 5th and 6th centuries A.D., but some sources suggest that early structures may have existed at the site.

On foot, visitors can explore the remains of Armenian fortress built in the 12th and 13th centuries, in which Ramkale became the residence of Catricos, the spiritual leader of the Armenian church. The fortress later fell to the Mamluks, a powerful Islamic knight class in 1292, and was then passed down to the Ottoman Empire for two centuries.

Rumkale’s impressive architecture serves as an impressive reminder of the layered, complex and often bloody history of the entire region.

In 2013, Halfeti was recognized as part of the Cittaslow (“Slow City”) network, celebrating its commitment to quality of life by preserving local culture and traditions. “The Halfty people feel a deep connection with the town’s rich history,” says Yildirim.

The United States will require international visitors to pay a new “visa integrity fee” of at least $250 added to existing visa costs, according to provisions in the Trump administration’s recently enacted domestic policy bill.

This fee applies to all visitors who need to obtain a non-immigrant visa to enter the United States. This includes many leisure and business travelers, international students and other temporary visitors. According to State Department figures, in 2024, the United States issued approximately 11 million non-immigrant visas.

Tourists and business travelers from countries that are part of the visa waiver program, including Australia and many European countries. It is not required to obtain a visa for stays of less than 90 days. Travel Approval (ESTA) electronic systems associated with the program are expected to increase to at least $40 when they reach nearly twice the current amount.

Payment of the new “integrity fee” for non-immigrant visas is required upon the time the visa is issued and there is no exemption from the fee. According to the regulations, travelers who comply with the visa conditions can refund their fees after the trip is over.

Immigration attorney Steven A. Brown, a partner at Houston-based Reddy Neumann Brown PC, characterized the fee as a “refundable deposit” in a recent post about the new policy. The mechanism for obtaining a refund is still unknown, Brown noted.

“It’s difficult to say about the purpose of the fee,” Brown said in an email to CNN. “In general, immigration costs cover the costs of an award or issuance,” he said that the refund provision could mean a refund of all fees obtained. “In a perfect world, there are no stock or visa violations.”

The Department of Homeland Security, the agency that enacts new fees, has yet to provide details on the refund process or other aspects of policy deployment.

“Visa integrity fees require interagency coordination prior to implementation,” a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement to CNN.

A State Department spokesperson said the fees were set up to “support immigration enforcement, to help with prioritization of visa extensions and funding for border security.”

Any fees that have not been refunded will “be deposited in the Ministry of Finance’s General Fund,” the bill’s provisions state.

The initial fee for fiscal year 2025 is outlined to be either $250 or “an amount that the Secretary of Homeland Security may establish by the regulations.”

Brown suggested that the rules are likely to be implemented through a rulemaking process, including publication in the federal register.

Fees are subject to annual adjustments for inflation.

A State Department spokesperson said details relating to the changes implemented by the DHS will be posted on the State Department’s visa information page.

The American Travel Association, a national nonprofit organization aimed at increasing travel to the United States, praised other parts of the domestic policy bill investing in modernising customs and air traffic control, calling the new visa fees “a retreat of a huge leap.”

“The fee is at least $250, and in addition to existing visa fees, it adds unnecessary financial barriers to international visitors,” Eric Hansen, senior vice president of government relations at the association, said in a statement.

According to US travel calculations, the fees will increase the “prepaid costs” of visiting the US by 144%. “Even if it’s technically refundable, the added complexity and costs will discourage visitors,” Hansen said.

Hansen pointed out that many visas are valid for 10 years.

“Therefore, the fees are temporary fees aimed at ensuring compliance, but the duration of the visa is often not felt as temporary and long enough to cause challenges by implementing a refund,” he said.