Author: News Team

A planned third day of the strike by French air traffic controllers, which was to take place tomorrow (Thursday June 13), has been called off. The strike is still causing disruption today however, with around 1,800 of a total of 7,650 flights expected to suffer cancellation following the loss of a similar number yesterday. The strike is in protest at an EU proposal to create a single European air space, to be known as the ‘Single European Sky.’ Fears for the working conditions of individual countries’ air traffic workers, in addition to fears raised by unions over the safety implications…

A senior economist has spoken of the importance of tourism to the UK’s economic recovery. Andrew Sentence, a senior economic advisor at London-based PriceWaterhouseCoopers and a former member of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee, said that tourism was on a par with financial services with regards to driving growth. Speaking at the British Hospitality and Tourism summit in London on Tuesday, Sentence itemised Britain’s top export-oriented services, estimating tourism, culture and heritage as being responsible for 9 percent of GDP, which puts it on a par with financial services. Only business and professional services at 13 percent fared…

British Airways, a UK-based airline company, has announced the results of a survey that it has carried out into British workers’ ability to switch off from work while on holiday. The survey has revealed that Brits abroad find it hard to leave the stresses of the workplace behind, and switch off for as little as four days during two weeks holiday. Three days was the minimum time that respondents to the survey said that it took them to wind down and forget about work. Then, once the holiday moves into its last few days, fears about the return to work…

The UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has repeated a warning for travellers intending to visit Turkey. The latest warning from the FCO has been issued with the expectation that further demonstrations are to take place in cities across the country. There have also been reports that riot police have entered Istanbul’s Taksim Square, a main focus point in the two-week-long demonstration. The BBC has reported the use of tear gas and water cannon by the authorities, despite Turkey’s prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, having agreed to a meeting tomorrow with organisers of the protest. The FCO has warned that…

UK airlines are being forced to cancel flights and are expressing their anger over a strike by French air traffic controllers. The three-day strike, which starts today, has forced Luton-based low-cost airline, Easyjet, to cancel almost 130 flights, including scheduled flights to and from Nice, Toulouse and Paris Charles de Gaulle airports. The company commented, ‘EasyJet and all other airlines operating to and from France have been advised to expect only 50 percent of normal services, which means we will be required to cancel approximately 128 flights each day.’ UK-based British Airways and Ireland-based low-cost carrier, Ryanair, are also facing…

Extra trains are to be laid on for horseracing fans visiting the Royal Ascot event later this month. The South West Trains – Network Rail Alliance, a train operating company owned by Stagecoach Group and operating the South Western rail franchise, has announced that it will run a special charter train on behalf of the racecourse to assist race goers in getting to the meeting. The Royal Ascot meeting will take place between June 18 and June 22, and the specially chartered ‘Ascot Express’ will operate on each of those days, leaving London Waterloo railway station at 09.12 am for…

British Airways, a UK-based airline, is preparing for the delivery of three new aircraft over the next four weeks. Two Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft will be arriving in the UK later this month, following the model being given the all clear over a problem with an overheating battery that dogged it in the early part of this year. The two aircraft will arrive mid-morning on consecutive days, June 26 and 27. The airline’s new Airbus A380 is due to arrive mid-morning on July 4. Once all of the aircraft are in service, British Airways will be the first airline in…

Network Rail, the authority responsible for the operation of the UK’s rail network, missed all of its punctuality targets for the last 12 months in England and Wales, according to figures issued by the UK government’s rail regulator. Due to its shortcomings (or should that be late-comings?) Network Rail could now face government-imposed penalties of as much as £75 million for its performance up until year end March 31, 2013. Official figures from the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) showed a decline in train punctuality of 0.7 percent on the previous year, to 90.9 percent from 91.6 percent. The ORR…

Thomson, First Choice, a brand name of Crawley, UK-based Tui Travel, is to add more flights to its schedules for 2014. The company intends to increase its services from Southend by 300 percent in the next 12 months, compared to its current schedules. The new flights will include a second weekly service to Palma, Majorca, and the opening up of a new destination for the company, Ibiza. The use of local airports to facilitate customer convenience has driven the decision. The additional weekly flight to Majorca will also allow the company’s package holiday clients to have a greater degree of…

Hampton by Hilton, a budget hotel brand from the Hilton Worldwide hotel group, is aiming to double its hotel portfolio in the UK by 2015. The company intends to have 23 properties operational within two years, double its present number. Two new hotels are currently in the process of being opened, Hampton by Hilton London Gatwick Airport, North Terminal, and Hampton by Hilton Birmingham City North. The two are being redeveloped at a cost of £22.5 million. The Gatwick property is scheduled to open early next year with a connection to the airport’s North Terminal via the hotel’s own covered…