System restored after Nats limited flights due to technical problems that raised fears of repeat of chaos in August 2023
The head of the UK’s air traffic control company is facing calls to resign after the second disruption to flights in two years due to technical problems.
Hundreds of flights were delayed after the air traffic control (ATC) system went down for about 20 minutes on Wednesday.
Continue reading...Whitehaven Beach on Whitsunday Island is home to marine stingers, including jellyfish, from October to May, but that didn’t stop voters in Big 7 Travel list. Have your say in the comments section
A Queensland beach where swimmers need to wear stinger suits for eight months of the year has been voted the best in the world for 2025.
Whitehaven Beach, on Whitsunday Island, is home to marine stingers, including jellyfish, from October to May when the water temperatures are warmer, making the use of stinger suits highly advisable.
Continue reading...Government decision to infill disused Queensbury railway line comes amid calls for it to be converted to subterranean cycle path
Campaigners hoping to convert a disused railway line into England’s longest cycle and pedestrian tunnel are challenging a government decision to fill much of the historic structure with concrete.
Earlier this month ministers decided to award several million pounds to permanently shutter the Queensbury tunnel built in the 1870s for a railway between Halifax and Keighley in West Yorkshire, despite spending £7.2m to shore up the structure less than four years ago.
Continue reading...TSA ends screening check in place for almost 20 years after Richard Reid’s failed attempt to take down flight in 2001
For the first time in almost 20 years, travelers are no longer be required to take off their shoes during security screenings at certain US airports, Kristi Noem, the Department of Homeland Security secretary, announced on Tuesday.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has abandoned the additional security step that has for years bedeviled anyone passing through US airports, according to media reports.
Continue reading...Protesters take to streets in a dozen cities to march against an industry they say is wrecking communities
Campaigners in at least a dozen tourist hotspots across southern Europe have taken to the streets to protest against “touristification”.
It is the most widespread joint action to date against what they see as the steady reshaping of their cities to meet the needs of tourists rather than people who live and work there.
Continue reading...The DNA of rare small-clawed otters in captivity in Japan has been matched to wild populations in poaching hotspots in Thailand
Posing for selfies on the laps of excited visitors, the otters of Tokyo’s animal cafes have learned to play their part in their online stardom. In thousands of social media videos, the aquatic mammals wriggle through the outstretched hands of adoring customers who reward their attention with food.
But the booming demand has raised major concerns among conservationists, with a study published in the journal Conservation Science and Practice linking the small-clawed otters in animal cafes in Japanese cities with wild populations in poaching hotspots in Thailand.
Continue reading...Cross-Channel rail operator, which is trying to fend off rivals for its London depot space, regards early 2030s as feasible
Eurostar has vowed to run direct trains from the UK to Germany and Switzerland, as it attempts to fend off potential competitors eyeing its London depot space.
The cross-Channel rail operator’s chief executive, Gwendoline Cazenave, said she had no doubt the direct services would run in the early 2030s despite the failure of previous ventures to connect London and Frankfurt.
Continue reading...The Future I Saw, a Japanese graphic novel by Ryo Tatsuki, declared a major disaster would occur on 5 July 2025
A grim prediction made in a manga first published a quarter of a century ago is being blamed for a dramatic fall in holiday bookings to Japan from several Asian countries.
Flight reservations to Japan from some of its key tourism markets have reportedly plummeted, with some linking the fall to The Future I Saw, a Japanese graphic novel based on the “prophetic” dreams of its author, Ryo Tatsuki.
Continue reading...One of US’s biggest airports, in New York area, experiences 210 delays and 88 cancellations amid aviation safety fears
Flight delays continued on Sunday as a major crisis gripped one of the US’s biggest airports amid aviation safety fears.
As of Sunday morning, there were 210 delays and 88 cancellations at Newark Liberty international airport (EWR) in New Jersey, according to FlightAware. The large airport is one of the major hubs for New York city and its surrounding area.
Continue reading...Customers at SkiStar resort in Sälen, one of Sweden’s largest, say they deserve a partial refund
Outraged skiers in northern Sweden claim they should have been given a discount after finding more mud than snow on the slopes at a popular ski destination.
Visitors complained of slush, water and damaged equipment because there was insufficient snow for skiing.
Continue reading...CAA data shows flights departed more than 23 minutes late last year, with Birmingham and Manchester second and third-worst
London Gatwick is the UK’s worst airport for flight delays, official figures showed, with air traffic control issues blamed for continuing disruption.
In 2024, flights departed on average more than 23 minutes late from Britain’s second-biggest airport, according to data from the Civil Aviation Authority.
Continue reading...Laurie Lee and Robert Graves among ‘English-speaking Quixotes’ in new book celebrating literary love for all things Spanish
Almost 200 years ago, the pioneering British travel writer Richard Ford offered an observation that has been happily ignored by the legions of authors who have traipsed in his dusty footsteps across Spain, toting notebooks, the odd violin or Bible, and, of course, their own particular prejudices.
“Nothing causes more pain to Spaniards”, Ford noted in his 1845 Handbook for Travellers in Spain, “than to see volume after volume written by foreigners about their country.”
Continue reading...Number of Brits crossing Atlantic down 14.3% from 2024 – and the travel industry fears decline could continue
After backpacker Rebecca Burke was arrested and locked up for nearly three weeks by US immigration officials in February, she started urging people not to travel to America.
Britons seem to have listened: UK residents visiting the US were down 14.3% in March compared with the same month in 2024, official figures show.
Continue reading...HBO renewed Mike White’s hit drama before third season aired and rumours abound about luxury settings and return of stars
You’ve only just got home from a holiday when you start planning the next one. So it is with the super-rich spa satire The White Lotus. The gunsmoke is still clearing from the finale of the third season but speculation is rife about where the HBO hit will head next.
This week’s climax of Mike White’s drama might have divided critics, but it was still group chat-dominating, column inch-gobbling TV, notching its highest ratings yet. The show was renewed for a fourth trip before the third had even aired, with White reportedly pitching HBO execs his next idea while still filming in Koh Samui. Buzz is now building about the next chapter, expected on our screens in late 2026.
Continue reading...The value of one Australian dollar dropped to a low of 59.64 US cents, its lowest point since April 2020
Consumers and travellers will face higher prices after the Australian dollar fell to Covid-era lows, as markets reel from Donald Trump’s “liberation day” tariff plan.
Fears of a global recession dragged the Australian dollar sharply lower on Monday against the country’s major trade partners and to its lowest point against the Euro, pound and US dollar since 2020.
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Continue reading...Replica of world-famous train aimed at reviving glamour of the classic version makes debut journey from Rome
A replica of the world-famous Orient Express made its debut journey from Rome on Friday, transporting well-heeled passengers into the heart of Tuscany’s wine region.
La Dolce Vita Orient Express, the first Italian-made luxury train, is aimed at reviving the glamour of the classic version as well as the romanticised notion of Italy’s dolce vita, or “sweet life”, all the while promoting slow tourism.
Continue reading...LSPH chief executive announces ‘groundbreaking proposal’ intended to grow international rail travel from the UK
Cross-Channel train services serving new destinations will be cheaper to run under a scheme to grow international rail travel from the UK.
London St Pancras Highspeed (LSPH), which owns and operates the railway and stations from the capital to the Channel tunnel, said it would slash charges for operators planning new routes.
Continue reading...Concerns about cable theft raised with airport before substation fire but Heathrow chief defends handling of incident
Airlines warned Heathrow about risks to its power supply days before the airport was shut down by a substation fire, a Commons committee has been told.
Heathrow’s chief executive, Thomas Woldbye, apologised for the disruption, which affected more than 200,000 passengers on Friday 21 March, but defended the decision to close as he said staying open was potentially “disastrous”.
Continue reading...Government says lessons need to be learned after the substation fire that caused chaos for 300,000 passengers
The government has launched an urgent investigation into the power shutdown that crippled Heathrow airport, with experts warning it was a “wake-up call” about vulnerabilities in the nation’s critical infrastructure.
The energy secretary, Ed Miliband, has commissioned the independent National Energy System Operator (Neso) to investigate the incident and assess the UK’s energy resilience. The regulator Ofgem warned it would “not hesitate” to take action if there were any breaches of standards or licence obligations.
Continue reading...Westerners increasingly hesitant to travel to US out of fear of arrests and detentions as Trump enforces crackdown
A string of high-profile arrests and detentions of travellers is likely to cause a major downturn in tourism to the US, with latest figures already showing a serious drop-off, tourist experts said.
Several western travellers have recently been rejected at the US border on increasingly flimsy grounds under Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, some of them shackled and held in detention centers in poor conditions for weeks.
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