When Heathrow’s Terminal 5 opens later this month, it will become the first airport to introduce mandatory fingerprinting for domestic passengers. All domestic passengers leaving the terminal will now be subject to biometric checks and it is expected that other UK airports will introduce fingerprinting as within the next few years. All domestic passengers who go through Terminal 5 will have four fingerprints taken, as well as being photographed when they check in. BAA says that the move is necessary to prevent criminals and terrorists bypassing border controls and that the biometric information will be destroyed after 24 hours and that it will not be passed onto the police.

If you are planning on taking a holiday in the Mediterranean this summer you might want to be cautious when you visit the beach. This article suggests that large numbers of jellyfish are likely to be washed ashore this summer. Scientists studying the mauve stinger have noticed massive numbers of the jellyfish in deeper waters off the Costa Brava which are likely to be washed ashore with the summer tides. Although this jellyfish does sting, it does not seriously harm people.

Recent developments in the Eurostar service and cheap flight deals mean that it is becoming easier to travel to the continent. This means it is becoming a viable option for commuters to live in France but still work in London. For people who are interested in doing just that www.francepropertyshop.com offers a guide to French property. It includes a search facility so you can search by region, price and the number of bedrooms you require. It also allows you to find properties near to your chosen ferry port or airport. For people who are thinking of making the move to France, but are not sure where to start there is an also a lot of advice from people highlighting their experiences and tips to make it all a bit easier. This is certainly a useful resource and worth looking at whether you are thinking of buying or selling a property in France.

Network rail have been fined a record £14 million because of engineering work overruns. The fine was imposed after an investigation by the Office of Rail Regulation who also ordered Network Rail to provide a clear plan of how it intends to complete the outstanding work. Network Rail has already announced that the West Coast Main Line will face closures at Easter as work continues. The line may also have to close at some weekends because the work is running late. Engineering overruns caused disruption on the West Coast Main Line at the New Year as well as Liverpool Street Station and Shields Junction near Glasgow over the festive period.

This weeks Travel Blog of the Week  is Location Independent Living. Ever grown tired of the usual rat race? Working 9 to 5, five days a week to earn a salary to pay off your mortgage and eventually retire on a good enough pension and live the good life? Well this blog was started by people who didn't want to live that sort of life, they wanted to live a good life now and from anywhere in the world.  So they sold all of their worldly possessions to travel the world and set up a location-independent business. This blog is here to help anyone else who wants to live this kind of live, it is also quick to add the caveat "without being a millionaire". To me this ensures people do not mistake this site as a get rich quick scheme but as a new way of living.

An article I found interesting had the rather humorous title "How To Travel The World Working With Your Other Half And Not Split Up (Or Kill Each Other)". It covers the challenges facing couples who choose a Location Independent Lifestyle. One example it gives is the insecurity you might feel not being in your home town or close to friends to talk to instead of having to talk to your partner all the time. One solution it gives is to make new friends and to make use of online social networks to talk with friends.

A scheme to help cut the cost of ferry journeys to and from the Western Isles has been announced by the Scottish Government. It currently costs £140 for the return car ferry from the mainland to Stornoway with local people saying this cost holds back tourism and development. The new scheme which will run as a pilot will cost £22 million to operate over three years but could see the cost of journey cut by a third. The routes chosen for the trial are Stornoway to Ullapool, the routes between Uig on Skye, Tarbert on Harris and Lochmaddy in North Uist and the routes linking Oban, South Uist, Coll Barra and Tiree.

First Great Western is in danger of losing its franchise because of poor service standards. Transport secretary Ruth Kelly has ordered FGW to buy more carriages, increase passenger compensation payments and hire more staff. If these demands are not met the franchise will be terminated. First Great Western was voted the worst service in Britain last month and has misled passengers by underreporting the number of cancellations last year. Instead of fining the franchise Ruth Kelly has instead imposed an improved package on it which includes compensation for customers affected by punctuality problems.

Aberdeen Airport has been named the industry’s most improved by the Airports Council International (ACI). The title goes to the airport that has managed the biggest improvement in overall customer satisfaction. The quality survey was based on data from 200,000 questionnaires which were completed by passengers in 2007.

The world’s first commercial aircraft to be powered partly by biofuel took off from Heathrow on Monday. The Virgin Atlantic 747 flew from London to Amsterdam using a 20% biofuel mix of coconut and babassu oil in on of its four fuel tanks. Sir Richard Branson said the flight was the first step towards using biofuels on commercial flights. However, climate change experts have criticised the flight as a publicity stunt. Kenneth Richter, Friends of the Earth aviation campaigner, said: "Biofuels are a major distraction in the fight against climate change.