24 JANUARY 2022
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- COMMENT: Dear Secretary of State *
- Airport slots review *
- LETTER OF THE WEEK
- Air Astana
- Airborne lounges closed
- Airbus v Qatar Airways *
- Aviation Titles
- Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games
- British-Irish EXPO
- Coventry Airport closure
- Crystal sunk
- Elizabeth Line to finally open *
- Government funding for airports
- Guernsey to Majorca
- Hyatt at Stratford
- London to Perth
- Manchester Moxy
- Mobile mast problems
- Ryanair and Dublin *
- Smaller airports supported
- Virgin Atlantic, Tobago and LATAM
- Vueling adds at Gatwick
- ON TOUR: Jamaica
- AND FINALLY: Win a holiday
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LETTER OF THE WEEK
The winner is the parking arrangements at Stansted. They are not popular.
COMMENT: Dear Secretary of State *
Sunday 23 January 2022.
Here is a letter to the UK Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Sajid Javid from a number of British airline CEOs, calling for a return to restriction-free international travel.
This is written in the light of various statements by the World Health Organisation that blanket travel restrictions are wholly ineffective in dealing with Covid variants.
Airport slots review *
The airport slots review, published today (Monday 24 January) and put before Parliament will not satisfy all airlines.
Air Astana
After what can only be described as “unrest” in Kazakhstan, as viewed on TV around the globe, Air Astana has returned to what it calls “a full service”.
Airbus v Qatar Airways *
The ongoing row between Airbus and Qatar Airways appears to be escalating with the British High Court getting very much involved.
Aviation Titles
One of Britain’s leading specialist transport publishers has just added a series of superb quality aviation publications to its portfolio.
British-Irish EXPO
With a bit of luck the British-Irish Airports EXPO will be one of the first events to take advantage from the opening of the Elizabeth Line.
Coventry Airport closure
In spite of the official Government policy of keeping open essential local airports Coventry Airport looks doomed. It was 15 years ago moving 750,000 passengers a year for TUI.
Government funding for airports
A further £3.7m has been made available to support airports in reducing journey times, pollution and flight delays. Whitehall says the new funding, on top of £5.5m in Government investment announced last year, will play an important role in the drive to reduce aviation emissions as part of the Government's commitment to reach net zero.
Ryanair and Dublin *
In spite of Michael O'Leary's moans and complaints about Dublin Airport, Ryanair has announced its largest ever summer schedule from the airport.
Vueling adds at Gatwick
Vueling has announced plans to add five new routes to Spain from Gatwick as part of its summer schedule.
ON TOUR: Jamaica
Head to Jamaica for some winter sun and a laid-back lifestyle.
As the Covid-19 rules governing travel start to ease, BTN’s Editor-at-Large, Jeff Mills, looks at Jamaica, one of a number of long-haul options back on the agenda.
AND FINALLY: Win a holiday
Gatwick Airport has come up with a fantastic prize.
Airborne lounges closed
Emirates has closed its A380 aircraft airborne lounges on a temporarily basis citing the spreading Omicron variant. Welcoming pre-takeoff cocktails have also been discontinued.
Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games, in Birmingham from 28 July to 8 August, will be the biggest sporting event ever held in the city featuring thousands of world-class athletes and over a million spectators.
Crystal sunk
One of the world’s finest cruise lines last week made what may be its last ever porting to urgently disembark passengers.
Elizabeth Line to finally open *
Better known up to now as Crossrail, and bypassing London City Airport, the Elizabeth Line is expected to open for passengers in the first half of 2022.
Guernsey to Majorca
Aurigny have launched services direct to Palma (Majorca) for the Easter holidays using their Embraer 195 jet. It is something of an oddity aligning one holiday island to another, with different styles of clientele.
Hyatt at Stratford
The Holiday Inn Stratford City and Travelodge, both in the Westfield shopping complex, are being rebranded.
Smaller airports supported
The Government has finally come up with some direct financial support for airports and ground operations in these troubled times.
Virgin Atlantic, Tobago and LATAM
A new codeshare agreement between LATAM, the largest airline in South America, and Virgin Atlantic, may seem odd at first glance, but in fact works well for both carriers.