"There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen." Lenin may not have been proved entirely right about the future direction of humanity, but his quote was spot-on when applied to airport expansion in and around London. The last runway to be added to the capital's airport system was in 1987, when London City opened. Yet this week you could barely move for airport bosses announcing extra landing strips. On Tuesday, Heathrow's chief executive, Thomas Woldbye, told me his new runway would be ready by 2035. "Hold my duty-free vodka," was the approximate response of his counterpart at Gatwick, Stewart Wingate, two days later. The boss of the Sussex airport reckons he can open a second runway in just five years, and boost annual passenger numbers by two-thirds to 75 million – just 10 per cent shy of Heathrow's record year, 2024. All of which may appal you, given the environmental impact of aviation. The airports can produce plenty of charts projecting how technology will temper the effects of more flying, but I think they comprise an excellent example of wishful thinking. Yet I am still glad that the dysfunctional aviation market in south east England – woefully constrained because Heathrow and Gatwick are rapidly approaching full capacity – may improve, with a wider range of destinations and lower fares. Politicians and the public, meanwhile, need to decide whether tax could be used to nudge demand to other, emptier UK airports, or to penalise more heavily the most damaging flights. A brief history of Air Passenger Duty, and how to claim a refund if you don't fly |
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Southbound: Reggio di Calabria at the toe of Italy, where I woke up this morning after availing of the cheap flight from London that I wrote about last week |
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| | From Ljubljana's enchanting architecture to Maribor's wine cellars, there is plenty to see and do. Read more. |
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| The top things to do in the emirate each season, whether that's beaches, restaurants or adventure. Read more. |
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| The beautiful medieval city in Tuscany is the focus of a new exhibition at London's National Gallery. Read more. |
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"Come on, admit it, life looks better from a plane window." That is the cheeky assertion from budget airline Vueling. I noticed the comment while I was researching a trip to Paris last night for travel today. The lowest one-way fare on the Eurostar train from London St Pancras: £195. But from Gatwick alone the thrifty traveller could spend just £40 on one of seven flights today to the French capital. Even when you factor in the extra costs of reaching the airport, the price for extra baggage and the hassle factor of flying, you could still easily save £100 on that short hop. A timely reminder that many rail fares in England and Wales will increase by 4.6 per cent on Sunday. You can save by buying a railcard today or tomorrow. These discount cards, which provide one-third off journeys, will rise from £30 to £35 on 2 March. The railways desperately need to catch up in offering better value – starting with some competition through the Channel Tunnel to stop giving the airlines such an easy ride. Meanwhile the airlines continue to innovate, with Wizz Air announcing the first flights from London Gatwick to the holy city of Medina in Saudi Arabia. The prospect of a seven-hour flight may prove less of a deterrent than the kingdom's abysmal human-rights record. Manchester to Marseille looks more tempting – and from July you will be able to fly from northwest England to southern France in long-haul comfort aboard a Boeing 787 from Ethiopian Airlines, the best airline in Africa. Podcast: Is Dubai at its best during Ramadan? |
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Ultimate Kenya Safari & Zanzibar Beach Escape | 10 Nights from £3365pp |
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California via the Azores? |
A new air route this summer raises the possibility of doing some Atlantic island-hopping en route to the Pacific coast. In June, July and August, TAP Portugal will fly from the Azores island of Terceira to San Francisco. You could construct a journey flying out via the enticing islands – saving on Air Passenger Duty with a stopover – and returning from Los Angeles via Lisbon to the UK. |
Travellers to Luxembourg by air can expect fast, smooth links from the Grand Duchy's airport into the city centre from Sunday, when a new tram line opens. The line will connect Findel airport with the Kirchberg area – home to European institutions – as well as the city centre, the area around the main Luxembourg Ville railway station and the Stade de Luxembourg – the national stadium. As with all public transport in Luxembourg, journeys are free. Free public transport around the world |
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More passport mistakes by airlines |
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You have reported again about passengers being turned away from airports because staff get the rules wrong. How is the passenger recompensed for such errors? |
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When ground staff at airports, for whatever reason, decide to deny boarding to a properly documented passenger, the emotional impact can be huge. In the past week I have been dealing with two cases involving holidays for important birthday celebrations. Passengers at Gatwick and Humberside airports arrived early in the morning, looking forward to trips to Copenhagen on Norwegian and Paris on KLM respectively, only to be turned away by staff working for their airlines. In both cases the passengers were blamed for the problem, when it was the responsibility of the airline. Even though the carriers subcontract the task of checking in and examining passports to ground handlers, ultimately the buck stops with the airline whose passengers are wrongly denied boarding.
Once the staff decide to bar the passenger, things can get complicated. The basic premise is that the person who was incorrectly turned away is entitled to cash compensation of £220, £350 or £520, depending on the distance. They also get a refund of the ticket they were unable to use. But there are always consequential losses. In most of the cases I handle, passengers travelling with the "victim" decide not to travel – a birthday treat weekend without the person who is celebrating has little appeal. Morally, I think all members of the party should be recompensed in the same way.
On top of this, the unfortunate passenger is likely to have some combination of prepaid accommodation, car rental and travel tickets that cannot be recouped. The two cases I investigated involve total losses of around £1,400 and £2,700 respectively. While there is likely to be pushback from the airlines, I am advising the travellers to take action under the Consumer Rights Act – which requires traders to provide a service with "reasonable care and skill". It is reasonable to expect that airlines would use ground handlers who can understand the quite straightforward rules for British passport holders to Europe. |
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