Airport only one to be rated as ‘poor’ and ‘needs improvement’ over all four quarters in year to March
Heathrow failed to meet the minimum accessibility standards for disabled passengers in the year to March, the sector’s regulator has said.
The airport was the only one in the UK to be rated as “poor” and “needs improvement” by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) over all four quarters in the period, according to the report.
Continue reading...Country does not seem to get its fair share of tourists or money, despite so much spectacular mountain scenery and coastline
Any summer’s day on top of Yr Wyddfa you may be forgiven for thinking all is well with Welsh tourism. People are queuing to touch the summit cairn, the cafe is rammed and the railway fully booked.
But the Welsh affairs committee at Westminster this week voiced serious concerns. It pointed out that in 2019, international visitors spent about £515m in Wales, less than 2% of the £28bn they spent in the UK overall. Closer scrutiny revealed other worrying signs: in 2022, there were almost 2.8bn day trips taken by British residents but only 6% happened in Wales, and on those visits people spent less than elsewhere in Britain.
Continue reading...Dedication of the 3-mile loop to Winston Walker comes after a push to make national parks more inclusive
As a nature loving little girl, Jessica Newton never understood why the faces on information boards in the state and national parks she visited looked nothing like her.
“My parents would take me to these places and the platforms would tell you about a trail, or a person, but I’d never see anyone that looks remotely close to my color,” she said.
Continue reading...The 87-mile trail follows the River Tamar and links with other routes to create circular walk around whole county
Following the banks of one of the UK’s great rivers, a new walking way has been unveiled linking the north and south coasts of Cornwall and for the first time creating a circular walk around the whole of the county.
The 87-mile (140km) Tamara Coast to Coast Way broadly tracks the River Tamar, which forms most of the border between Cornwall and Devon, taking in landscapes ranging from wooded valley to rolling farmland, heather-covered moors and areas shaped by the region’s mining history.
Continue reading...A new Which? survey reveals that visitors are starting to look beyond the old overcrowded favourites such as Barcelona and Málaga
Ask for a lineup of the most popular European coastal destinations and you might expect the usual suspects: Venice, Lisbon and Nice. Travellers from the era of the Grand Tour might have added Biarritz and Naples – but a survey of 3,500 readers by consumer organisation Which? suggests that visitors are starting to look beyond the old favourites and discover new destinations.
The Spanish Mediterranean port of Valencia was the surprising winner in a recent poll that looked at 12 separate criteria, including quality of the beaches, seafronts and marinas; attractiveness; food and drink; and value for money. Respondents cited the city’s history, futuristic architecture and gastronomy, but also its peace and quiet. With traditional favourites such as Barcelona struggling with overpopularity – numbers there are heading back towards the 2019 high of 13.9 million overnight visitors – that seems significant.
Continue reading...From Ghent to Galway, Amsterdam to Edinburgh, everyone is tiring of rowdy drunkenness. Is this the end of the foreign stag weekend?
Name: The Great Stag Ban.
Age: Recent.
Continue reading...Applicants are facing the brunt of pandemic-related staffing issues and the agency flooded with a record 500,000 applications a week
Seeking a valid US passport for that 2023 trip? Buckle up, wishful traveler, for a very different journey before you venture to the airport.
A much-feared backup of US passport applications has hit a wall of government bureaucracy as worldwide post-pandemic travel rebounds – with too few humans to handle the load.
Continue reading...Airlines warn of disruptions as Sydney airport braces for single runway operations for a second day due to worsening conditions
Strong winds in Sydney continued to cause chaos for holiday travel plans around Australia on Saturday, while passengers have been hospitalised after “severe turbulence” on a flight arriving from Honolulu.
Airlines were warning of flight disruptions on Saturday morning, as they braced for one of Sydney airport’s runways to be closed for the second time in as many days after a warning from air traffic controllers of worsening winds.
Continue reading...Since paying $290,000 for the ‘best investment’ of his life in 1990, Tom Stuker was flown more miles than the Apollo 11 moon trip
A US man who bought a lifetime pass from United Airlines three decades ago has “lived like a sultan” ever since, according to a report, flying multiples of miles more than the Apollo 11 spacecraft in the process.
Tom Stuker, from New Jersey, paid $290,000 for the pass in 1990, according to the Washington Post, a decision he said is the “best investment of my life”.
Continue reading...The cost of living is falling in Europe and the US but is still rising in Britain. We look at the major culprits
The Bank of England has struggled to understand why inflation remains high in the UK. It has fallen in France, Germany, the US and especially Spain, where inflation dropped to 2.9% in May compared with the UK figure of 8.7%. Here we look at the many reasons for the current crisis.
Continue reading...The more adventurous of the world’s wealthiest take trips to the edge of space and Antarctica in their stride
The disappearance of the submersible en route to the wreck of the Titanic has highlighted the businesses that offer extreme expeditions – and their clienteles.
Among the five people on the missing Titan submersible are two billionaires – Hamish Harding, a 58-year-old businessman who made his fortune selling private jets and holds three Guinness world records for previous extremetrips, and the British-based Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, 48, who is onboard with his 19-year-old son Suleman.
Continue reading...Barring public access to beaches and other sites is not a model for development. Transparency and engagement are needed
Walk along a Caribbean beach, which may stretch for miles, and your stroll is guaranteed to be cut short by an angry hotel security guard. In recent years, the Caribbean has seen a worrying trend of governments readily selling off assets to foreign corporations and political financiers.
Prime real estate, protected land and valuable resources are being relinquished without consideration for long-term consequences. It raises questions about whether remnants of the colonial mindset still prevail in political ideologies and decision-making.
Continue reading...Policy was uncovered by defenders of two women repeatedly detained when trying to re-enter the UK
A secret Home Office policy to detain people with the right to live in the UK at air and seaports has been found to be unlawful in the high court.
The policy applied to those with unpaid NHS debts and was only uncovered through evidence gathered from charities and lawyers fighting the cases of two mothers who were repeatedly detained.
Continue reading...More than 3,000 planes scheduled to take off on Friday, with road traffic peaking as leisure trips coincide with commuting
The start of the May half-term holiday for many schools will see “hectic” roads and the most flights departing the UK since before the pandemic, according to industry estimates.
About 19m leisure journeys by car are expected on Britain’s roads over the next four days, and more than 3,000 planes are scheduled to take off on Friday.
Continue reading...The Portuguese capital wins top spot ahead of budget-friendly eastern European destinations, according to new poll
In an annual travel survey which analysed typical tourist costs in 35 European cities, Lisbon has emerged as the best-value location for a city break on the continent – beating traditional budget-friendly eastern European destinations.
The Post Office Travel Money City Costs Barometer found the Portuguese capital won the top spot ahead of runner-up Vilnius, Lithuania’s capital. Two other past winners – Krakow (third) and Athens (fourth) – complete the top four cities.
Continue reading...Passengers faced average 30-minute wait, slightly worse than Manchester during 2022’s travel chaos
Passengers flying from Birmingham airport experienced the longest delays in the UK last year, official figures show.
Flight departures from Birmingham were on average half an hour behind schedule in 2022, marginally worse than Manchester, in a year marked by chaos for travellers.
Continue reading...American visitors to the UK have risen sharply in number – and it may be because they are choosing to mix business with leisure
It’s the travel trend that never quite took off. Ever since American trader Ben Hockett made millions during the 2008 global financial crisis by trading online from an Exmouth pub, travel marketers have tried to sell the concept of mixing holidays with work.
But now blended travel – or “bleisure”, as it was known in the 00s heyday of portmanteau neologisms – seems to be having a moment.
Continue reading...Experts say it is vital to check you meet EU requirements, or you could risk losing your holiday
Travellers who have not used their passport for a while were this week being urged to dig it out and check it conforms to the post-Brexit rules for entering the EU – because if it doesn’t, you will almost certainly be denied boarding this summer.
Despite previous warnings in Guardian Money and some other publicity, UK travellers trying to enter the Schengen zone are being turned away on a daily basis by airline staff at boarding gates – in most cases because their UK passport was issued more than 10 years ago.
Continue reading...Airport says people will be able to ‘travel as normal’ in peak period around coronation despite strike
Heathrow airport has warned that it is still loss-making, even as it continues to be Europe’s busiest airport, welcoming almost 17 million passengers in the first three months of the year.
The airport also said that passengers would be able to “travel as normal” during the peak getaway period around the coronation of King Charles III, taking place on 6 May, despite a fresh planned strike by security staff.
Continue reading...Thirst for ‘revenge’ travel after the Covid pandemic is driving return prices to almost $3,000 to some European cities, booking site says
Australians looking to escape winter and fly to Europe for a summer holiday are facing fares almost 50% higher than the same period last year, as airlines keep prices high despite the supply of available seats and fuel prices improving in recent months.
The average price for a return economy air fare from Australian cities to European destinations such as London, Paris and Milan for travel between the beginning of June and end of September has grown to $2,571, according to data compiled by booking site Kayak.com.au from searches made since early January up to last week.
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