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# Friday, 23 November 2007
I read this article the other day that suggests the government is likely to approve a new runway at Heathrow. If it does go ahead it will mean an increase in the volume of flights from 480,000 to 720,000 by 2020 with the number of passengers rising from 60 million a year to 100 million. Whilst this might be good news for the Britain’s economy it is certainly bad new for the residents who currently live around Heathrow Airport, many of whom already have to put up with unacceptable levels of noise. A consultation will take place to look at the environmental issue and specifically air quality and noise. Despite the fact that this expansion will affect around 50 towns and villages around the airport, I suspect the quality of life of ordinary people is likely to be ignored.

posted on Friday, 23 November 2007 11:53:12 (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Trackback
# Thursday, 22 November 2007
If you have ever had your luggage lost at the airport this article might not come as a surprise. An enquiry has been mounted at Stansted Airport to investigate the extent of thefts from passenger’s luggage. 22 baggage handlers were arrested between December 2006 and July 2007 in connection with baggage theft after a whistleblower alerted the BBC to the extent of the problem. Police officers concealed hidden cameras around the airport and baggage handlers were caught hiding jewellery, watched and i-pods inside their steel toe-capped boot so they could get them out past security scanners.

posted on Thursday, 22 November 2007 10:54:57 (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Trackback
# Wednesday, 21 November 2007
Under new measures announced by Gordon Brown, rail passengers could face having their baggage screened. He aims to bring in measures such as vehicle exclusion zones and blast resistant buildings in order to improve security at railway stations, airport terminals and other sensitive locations. Baggage screening is also likely to be brought in at large railway stations.

posted on Wednesday, 21 November 2007 11:24:07 (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Trackback
# Tuesday, 20 November 2007
British Airways have been flying empty planes on some routes because they have no cabin crew to staff them. In the last two weeks empty planes have flown between Britain, Canada and the US. BA said the practice is extremely rare and only occurs when there is no cabin crew available for the flights. He also said that it is better to fly empty planes one way if the return leg is full rather than the cancel both legs. In a time when the phrase carbon footprint is being used daily, flying empty planes seems ridiculous.

posted on Tuesday, 20 November 2007 10:21:43 (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Trackback
# Monday, 19 November 2007

blogoftheweek Elliott is another one of those blogs that champions the cause of the poorly treated traveller. Seen as one of America's top travel ombudsmen, his blog is full of useful advice and warnings about scams. If you've been unfairly treated by the travel industry and don't know where to turn, Elliott is probably your knight in shining armor.

One post I found of particular interest is about rental car scams, car rental companies are becoming more an more innovative in adding all kinds of hidden fees to their rates. From charging you for a full tank of fuel when the meter isn't exactly on F down to even charging you for the disposal of old tires! Elliott says the best way to avoid these fees is to play the car rental companies at their own game. Read their terms and conditions very carefully, stick to them and argue about any fee that is not disclosed on your rate quote.

posted on Monday, 19 November 2007 12:31:30 (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Trackback
# Sunday, 18 November 2007
Baggage rules are likely to be eased from January 2008 as the one bag rule for hand luggage is likely to be relaxed. Airports will need to show that their security procedures meet government standards. Once they have done this, passengers will then be able to take more than one bag into the cabin. Restrictions on carrying liquids are likely to stay in place. There will also be limits on the size of hand luggage. The dimensions of hand luggage must not exceed 56cm x 45cm x 25cm (22in x 17.7in x 9.8in approx), including wheels, handles and side pockets.

posted on Sunday, 18 November 2007 12:21:40 (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Trackback
# Saturday, 17 November 2007
A study carried out by the European Commission has found that around 200 European airline websites are misleading. The main problems are that they fail to show all the taxes and charges when advertising their prices. The Commission has not named any of the airlines involved in the study, in order to give them time to improve their services. However, if they do not improve it could force misleading websites to close.

posted on Saturday, 17 November 2007 13:45:13 (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Trackback
# Friday, 16 November 2007
The Eurostar service has now stopped running out of Waterloo International and now leaves from St Pancras. The first service from St Pancras left at 1103 GMT on Wednesday and arrived in Paris just over two hours later at 1317 GMT. The new route has cut journey times to Paris by around 20 minutes making the average journey take around two hours and fifteen minutes.

posted on Friday, 16 November 2007 10:23:42 (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Trackback