Native wildlife will be reintroduced across Europe in a bid to reduce atmospheric carbon and promote tourism
A European environmental organisation is looking to expand its number of rewilding landscapes – areas where endangered wildlife is reintroduced and protected – after being awarded a grant of £4.1m.
The grant has been pledged to Rewilding Europe in the hope of scaling up rewilding efforts throughout several parts of the European continent.
Continue reading...Some 40,000 workers from 14 train companies and Network Rail are striking in an ongoing dispute over pay, jobs and conditions
Here’s the latest TfL update:
Bakerloo — Part suspended. There is no service between Queen’s Park and Harrow & Wealdstone.
I’m looking at banning strikes by different unions in the same workplace within a set period. We should also place an absolute limit of six pickets at points of Critical National Infrastructure, irrespective of the number of unions involved, and outlaw intimidatory language.
Move by Norwegian Cruise authorised by city’s port authority despite plans to curb daytrippers
A cruise company has circumvented a ban on its ships entering the Venice lagoon by shuttling passengers into the famous city centre on small motor boats.
Norwegian Gem, a vessel of just under 300 metres long and owned by Norwegian Cruise, anchored outside the Venice Lido early on Saturday morning. It then launched several motor boats which between them dropped about 1,500 passengers off in St Mark’s Square before picking them up again in the evening.
Continue reading...Cross-Channel ferry passengers told to arrive in good time for border checks after weekend of delays
Cross-Channel ferry passengers were being told to arrive in good time at Dover as queues built at the Port of Dover amid fears the severe disruption of recent days could return to Kent throughout the summer.
The ferry operator DFDS told passengers there were queues of about an hour for French border checks on Monday morning and to “allow a minimum of 120 minutes before your departure to complete all controls”.
Continue reading...Anger over lack of cash for Dover upgrade as Tory candidates vie to blame France for delays
Long summer queues at the border risk becoming the “new normal” after Brexit, holidaymakers have been warned, as a fierce diplomatic row erupted with France over the lengthy tailbacks affecting Dover.
Both Tory leadership candidates rushed to blame a shortage of French border staff for delays that saw some travellers waiting for hours. Former chancellor Rishi Sunak said the French “need to stop blaming Brexit and start getting the staff required to match demand”. Foreign secretary Liz Truss said she was in touch with her French counterparts, blaming a “lack of resources at the border”.
Continue reading...French transport minister hits back at Liz Truss’s suggestion that France needed to fix the ‘avoidable and unacceptable’ situation
Authorities in Kent have declared a “major incident” due to traffic jams in and around Dover, with officials saying the disruption could be worse than on Friday.
There are currently 3,000 lorries parked on the M20 and traffic is building at the port.
We are operating in a post-Brexit environment which does mean that passports need to be checked, they need to be stamped and indeed the capable people that do man the booths – police aux frontieres – they’re doing their job that they need to do now.
Continue reading...The island’s plans also include special hotels, hiking trails and a village resort, but not all the locals are in favour
Sergio Cossu’s nude awakening came in 1972, when, at the age of 16 and needing a getaway from his family, he ventured to Santa Teresa Gallura, whose stretch of wild, pristine coastline in northern Sardinia was a mecca for hippies from across Europe.
“It was my first solo holiday away from the traditional family setting,” he said. “There was this feeling of an immense connection with nature; from that point on it was impossible to wear a costume on a beach again. There was less of a taboo about nudity back then but, paradoxically, naturism diminished in the 1990s with the explosion of gyms and this focus on having the perfect body. But over the last 20 years, there has been a revival.”
Continue reading...Airport asks airlines including British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Air France to remove flights
Heathrow airport cancelled more than 60 flights on Monday and warned that it may have to ask airlines to remove more as it struggles to cope with the rebound in travel demand after the pandemic.
The flights were spread across Terminals 3 and 5, with British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Air France among the airlines affected.
Continue reading...Increases reported in countries including Greece, Spain, France and Germany as Omicron variant BA.5 spreads
Holidaymakers heading to and from the European mainland are being warned of a growing incidence of coronavirus, especially in tourist hotspots, which risks hampering travel plans.
Health officials are calling in some cases for a reintroduction of face masks and other measures, and are urging travellers to exercise personal responsibility, warning that an escalation of the virus could lead to the swift return of restrictions.
Continue reading...People arriving in the country will no longer need to use the digital passenger declaration under changes to come into effect next week
People arriving in Australia will no longer have to declare their Covid vaccination status or obtain a travel exemption under changes to come into effect this week.
The home affairs minister, Clare O’Neil, announced on Sunday that the government would dump the restrictions that have been in place since the country’s borders reopened late last year, with the changes to the Biosecurity Act made following advice from the chief medical officer, Paul Kelly.
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Continue reading...Planned action by the airline’s Spain-based cabin crew over working conditions will increase disruption for holidaymakers
British holidaymakers are braced for fresh travel chaos across Europe this summer with staff at Ryanair on Saturday becoming the latest to threaten strike action.
As striking airport workers in Paris forced the cancellation of dozens of flights on Saturday and promised more industrial action later in July, Spain-based cabin crew at Ryanair revealed they now plan to strike for 12 days in July.
Continue reading...Department for Transport says accreditation for aviation workers being processed in under 10 days
Ministers battling to dampen the chaos at airports claim security tests for new workers are being completed in record times as passengers criticised “disaster movie” scenes.
The transport secretary, Grant Shapps, is trying to alleviate flight disruption this summer to avert the mayhem seen over the Easter and jubilee holidays.
Continue reading...Rules designed to better manage visitors – who often far outnumber residents – will come into force in January
Venice will oblige day-trippers to make reservations and pay a fee to visit the historic lagoon city, in an attempt to better manage visitors who often far outnumber residents in the historic centre.
Venice officials on Friday unveiled new rules for day-trippers, which will be in effect from 16 January 2023.
Continue reading...Over the Memorial Day and Juneteenth holiday weekends more than 3,000 flights were canceled and over 19,000 were delayed
As Fourth of July travel chaos looms, experts are warning that a combination of factors including pilot shortages, the climate crisis and even the rise of drones means the situation is unlikely to get better soon.
Over the Memorial Day and Juneteenth holiday weekends more than 3,000 flights were canceled and more than 19,000 were delayed. About 1,800 flights have been canceled so far this week, according to the Hill.
Continue reading...Saudi Arabia tells pilgrims to use new online system and to seek refunds from any agencies they have already paid
British Muslim travel companies have said they face going out of business, with travellers potentially losing thousands of pounds, after Saudi Arabia launched a new system for applying for the hajj pilgrimage.
The Saudi government announced this month that pilgrims from Europe, the US and Australia could no longer book through travel agencies and would instead have to apply through a lottery system.
Continue reading...Airline says it is reducing services after London Gatwick and Amsterdam announced caps on flights
EasyJet is cutting thousands of flights over the summer, after government orders designed to avoid further travel disruption at airports.
The Department for Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority told airlines last week to review their schedules and ensure flights were deliverable, after post-lockdown staff shortages left airlines and airports unable to keep up with an increase in travel as Covid restrictions lifted.
Continue reading...Number of flights in August will be below pre-pandemic levels to ensure those on sale are ‘deliverable’
Gatwick airport will reduce its summer capacity to ward off potential chaos, after dozens of last-minute cancellations wrecked the travel plans of holidaymakers over the platinum jubilee and half-term holiday.
London’s second busiest airport will limit the number of daily take-offs and landings to 850 in August – about 50 more than the average in early June, but more than 10% below its pre-pandemic maximum.
Continue reading...The tourism-dependent Pacific country will reopen with almost no restrictions in July, though there are concerns about lack of airline deals
Vanuatu, one of the last Covid hermit nations, is set to open up to international travel, but there are concerns the country is not ready to restart tourism, with a lack of deals with foreign airlines posing a significant problem.
From 1 July, international tourists will be able to return to Vanuatu, a country of 300,000 people three hours from Australia, which has had some of the toughest border restrictions in the world through the pandemic.
Continue reading...Travel firm apologises for ‘distress’ caused by cancelled services as it seeks to regain holidaymakers’ confidence
The travel firm Tui has written to customers promising that it has learned from the delays and cancellations that ruined the May half-term holiday for many travellers, in an attempt to build confidence ahead of the key summer bookings period.
The company apologised again for the disruption to plans, as it prepared to be questioned alongside other industry representatives on Tuesday by MPs on the Commons business select committee which is looking at flight cancellations and compensation.
Continue reading...Move could add to Europe’s travel problems, although airline does not expect widespread disruption
Cabin crew working for Ryanair in Spain have voted to hold six days of strikes at the end of June and early July, potentially adding to the disruption affecting air travel across Europe.
The Spanish-based staff in the USO and SITCPLA unions will walk out for two three-day strikes from 24 June to 26 June and 30 June to 2 July.
Continue reading...