47 countries removed from UK red list at 4am, including South Africa and Thailand October 11, 2021 Forty-seven countries were removed from the red list at 4am this morning, meaning arrivals from those locations will no longer need to spend 11 nights in a quarantine hotel. This includes South Africa, Mexico and Thailand. The changes make it easier for people to obtain travel insurance for trips to those destinations. In addition, the [...]
Ex BA boss accuses Heathrow of “no commercial nous” over increased costs October 10, 2021 Former British Airways (BA) boss Willie Walsh, who is now the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) director general, has accused Heathrow of having “zero commercial nous” in regards to the airport’s plans to increase charges by over 90 per cent in 2022. “What gets me about Heathrow is that they make all these fancy statements [...]
Nicola Sturgeon urged to ‘tear up’ deal with Heathrow before COP26 lands in Glasgow October 9, 2021 Scotland’s first minister has been urged to tear up an agreement between her government and Heathrow airport before the start of the global COP26 summit later this month. If Nicola Sturgeon does not “tear up” the memorandum of understanding signed with the London airport before the climate change convention gets under way on October 31, [...]
Thousands of Brits stuck at Heathrow as e-gates fail again October 6, 2021 Thousands of people were stuck queuing today at Heathrow airport after the e-gate system encountered issues for the second time in two weeks. The Times reported that bottlenecks lasted up to four hours, with passengers saying that more than 3,000 people were queuing, because e-gates were not functioning properly and there were insufficient members of [...]
Holiday-goers could fork out as much as £105m on airport drop-off fees next year October 1, 2021 Holiday-goers leaving the UK could fork out as much as £105m in airport drop-off fees once traveller numbers return to pre-pandemic levels, according to new research. Most of the country’s busiest airports charge such fees, with the average cost standing at £3.54 – while Heathrow is set to introduce a £5 fee from November, the [...]
Heathrow vs airlines: Dispute intensifies over plans to double airport charges September 19, 2021 Airlines have condemned Heathrow over plans to almost double landing charges, in the airport’s latest attempt to claw back losses after the pandemic halted international travel. Long-haul passenger charges will surge from £38.33 per traveller this year to £67.86 in 2022, according to leaked Heathrow proposals first reported by the Telegraph. But airline carriers have [...]
Pre-departure Covid tests may be ditched to simplify travel restrictions September 15, 2021 Ministers plan to make an announcement later this week which will mean vaccinated people arriving into England will no longer be subject to pre-departure Covid tests, according to reports. A government insider told the Financial Times, which first reported the news, that measures to simplify travel restrictions and aid the UK’s struggling travel and tourism [...]
Heathrow now 10th busiest European airport as passenger slump goes on September 13, 2021 Heathrow Airport has this morning urged ministers to streamline the UK’s travel restrictions as it revealed it had fallen to 10th on the list of Europe’s busiest airports. It said that passenger numbers at the airport last month were down 71 per cent on pre-pandemic levels. It blamed the ongoing slump on “ever-changing restrictions, expensive [...]
Hotel quarantine: Ex-BBC journalist leaving red-list Turkey released due to PTSD September 10, 2021 A Syrian former BBC journalist, who had been “imprisoned” in Heathrow’s hotel quarantine after leaving red-listed Turkey, has reportedly been allowed out after suffering post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms. Three days into the mandatory 10 days quarantine, Zaina Erhaim detailed her experience in the airport hotel on Twitter, saying they had been the worst she had [...]
Heathrow passenger numbers begin to rise as restrictions ease August 11, 2021 The most passengers travelled through Heathrow in a single month since the beginning of the pandemic in July, the UK’s largest airport said today. In total, 1.5m passengers used the airport in July, up 74 per cent on last year. It said that the easing of travel restrictions was beginning to improve consumer confidence after [...]