Overseas travel to UK lags behind pre-Covid levels despite yearly boom OVERSEAS TRAVEL Overseas travel to the UK has remained significantly behind pre-pandemic levels, despite a boom if compared to 2021 levels. This is largely due to countries around the world – including the UK and EU – scrapping Covid travel restrictions since the beginning of the year. Data from the Office for National Statistics showed on Friday [...]
Lufthansa in talks with investors over sale of aircraft maintenance business LUFTHANSA Lufthansa is reportedly in talks to sell a stake in its aircraft maintenance business, Lufthansa Technik. According to Reuters sources, the airline is to offload between 20 and 30 per cent of its stake and was attracting more interest from financial investors than rival firms. The airline is also expected to commence talks with private [...]
Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary to stay until 2028 as airline sorry for ‘mishandling’ press at AGM O'LEARY Ryanair’s boss Michael O’Leary is in talks to extend his contract until 2028, as the company said sorry for “mishandling” the press at its AGM this morning. The chief executive told journalists on Thursday that he was hoping to sign the papers by March, subject to agreement on terms. O’Leary also apologised after reporters were [...]
Heathrow leads EU airports’ charge as passenger volumes treble September 14, 2022 Heathrow is leading the passenger traffic charge at EU airports, as numbers increased by more than 300 per cent in July. Data published today from aviation trade body ACI Europe showed that in July the west London hub was ahead of EU airports, as it reported 6.3 million passengers. On the other hand, Paris Charles [...]
Travel businesses need to be eligible for government energy cap September 8, 2022 Travel businesses should be eligible for the government’s cap on energy bills, according to travel association ABTA. ABTA, which represents UK travel agents, said the sector should receive financial support as it is heading into the low travel season with many companies still recovering from the pandemic’s impact. “With a fiscal statement expected later this [...]
Government doesn’t know whether traffic-light travel system worked July 26, 2022 The UK Government doesn’t know whether the traffic-light system implemented during the pandemic worked. According to a report published today by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), ministers spent £486m on travel measures to contain the spread of Covid but “did not track its spending on managing cross-border travel or set clear objectives.” The group of [...]
Cheeky Brits skip Heathrow queues by pretending to need wheelchairs after TikTok video goes viral July 26, 2022 Heathrow’s boss said this afternoon that a range of airline passengers are skipping queues at his airport by pretending to need a wheelchair after watching a video on TikTok. The west London airport’s chief executive, John Holland-Kaye, described this as “the wrong thing to be doing”. He told LBC: “For passengers requiring wheelchair support we [...]
San Sebastian: The Michelin capital of the world July 26, 2022 Throughout the confinement of the pandemic we dreamed of the day travel restrictions would finally ease. This year that wish came true – but the monkey’s paw twitched. While we are allowed to fly almost anywhere – even Japan and Korea, some of the strictest countries for Covid restrictions, have welcomed tourists back – but [...]
Holidaymakers urged to reclaim ATOL refund notes or lose out on £54m July 26, 2022 Holidaymakers have been warned not to miss out on £54m-worth of unclaimed ATOL refund credit by the Civil Aviation Authority. Many passengers have missed out on the chance to claim compensation from ATOL, a legal protection and requirement for package holiday bookings. The CAA warned that when a travel company goes under, from 30 September, [...]
British passport sixth most powerful in the world while EU states dominate top ranks July 20, 2022 The British passport is the world’s sixth most powerful with visa-free or visa on-arrival access to 187 countries. The UK passport was one place ahead of the US at 186 countries, while EU states dominated much of the top rankings, data from Henley & Partners’ 2022 Henley Passport Index showed. Germany and Spain were joint third, [...]