Up in the air …

FLYBE has started a fifth daily weekday flight between Leeds Bradford and Belfast City airports that will operate year round to meet increased demand. One way fares are from £29.99 including taxes and charges and can be booked online.

STANSTED EXPRESS has launched a First Class Advance rail ticket for £24. With trains every 15 minutes between London Liverpool Street and Stansted Airport, the journey time is 47 minutes or 36 minutes from Tottenham Hale.

RYANAIR has published its Shannon winter 2016 schedule, with 12 routes in total and two new winter services to Fuerteventura and Malaga.

MORE than 40 million passengers passed through Orlando Airport, Florida in the 12 months to April 2016. ‘What makes this number – record – even more remarkable is that the current facility was designed to accommodate 24 million annual passengers,’ said Frank Kruppenbacher, chairman of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority.

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Azores reports surge in UK arrivals

THERE has been an increase in the number of UK tourists going to the #Azores – in the middle of the Atlantic – following the start earlier in the year of Ryanair’s weekly service from Stansted to Ponta Delgada on Sao Miguel Island.  

The Portuguese archipelago saw a 42.3% year-on-year increase in hotel occupancy by British tourists from April to July.

Ponta Delgada airport, the main international airport for the archipelago, reported a 33.6% increase in British passenger numbers in April compared to last year.

Originally scheduled until October, the Ryanair service, which departs every Saturday afternoon, has been extended until at least March next year.

SATA International continues to run direct weekly flights from London Gatwick to Ponta Delgada between April and October, and daily internal flights between all nine of the islands throughout the year. easyJet introduced flights from Lisbon to Ponta Delgada in March, providing more options via Lisbon from UK airports. 

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Picture Credit: View from Restaurante Ancoradouro, Pico island - panoramio - Eduardo Manchon by Eduardo Manchon. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons 

London bus link for Stansted

STANSTED AIRPORT has a direct, non-stop bus link to and from Kings Cross/St Pancras railway station, London. 

Fares on the Stansted Citylink service are £10 one way or £17 return, and tickets can be bought online at www.stanstedcitylink.com.

The year-round service runs 24/7 mostly at half hourly intervals, with a journey time averaging 70 minutes, depending on traffic.

The service is provided by ComfortDelGro, a Singapore-based transport company with businesses in the UK, Ireland, Australia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and China.

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Picture Credit: www.stanstedcitylink.com

Up in the air …

AN improved air link between Yorkshire and Southampton targeting business travellers and cruise passengers has been scheduled for later in the year. Regional carrier Eastern Airways is increasing frequency on the Leeds Bradford to Southampton route from three to four flights a day on weekdays.

An additional early afternoon service will run year round from September 14 with a 12.15pm departure from Southampton, arriving in Yorkshire at 1.25pm.

STANSTED AIRPORT saw more than two million passengers pass through the terminal in June 2015, up 11 percent the same month last year and an increase of more than 200,000 passengers. It was the airport’s busiest June since 2008. The total number of passengers flying from Stansted in the year rose to 21.5 million, an increase of 16.5 percent over the previous 12 months, the highest annual rate of growth of any major UK airport. 

AIR FRANCE has introduced its Best & Beyond cabins on flights to Los Angeles and Washington. These destinations will be served with the new cabins up to seven times a week throughout the 2015 summer season, making the new long-haul cabins available to 16 destinations around the world.

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Picture Credit: Air France

easyJet offers Stansted-Iceland flights

easyJet will operate a new route to Reykjavik, #Iceland, from London Stansted this winter. It will operate twice a week throughout the winter and joins London Gatwick, London Luton, Bristol, Edinburgh, Manchester, and Belfast as UK airports that have flights to Iceland’s capital.

Ali Gayward, commercial manager at easyJet, said: ‘Our Iceland routes have proved extremely popular in both the summer and winter owing to its stunning scenery and amazing natural landscape. There is a growing demand for short and long breaks in Iceland.’ 

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Picture Credit: "MyvatnIsland" by Andreas Tille - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons 

Ryanair launches Stansted winter flight schedule

RYANAIR has published its Stansted winter 2015 schedule, adding two new routes … to Castellon in Spain and Ponta Delgada in the Azores.

The low cost carrier will also add extra flights on 23 other routes, including Berlin, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Madrid, Milan, Prague, Rome, and Warsaw.

UK residents and visitors can now choose from 110 routes from London Stansted next winter.

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Call for Stansted rail link to operate 24/7

TRAIN services to Stansted should operate round the clock, or start running from early in the morning, according to the owners of London’s third airport.

The re-franchising of the East Anglia rail network should be used to bring train services to the airport into the 21st century, Manchester Airports Group claims. 

It is calling for Stansted-bound trains to start leaving Liverpool Street station in London from 3.40am by 2017, with a longer-term aim of having services operating 24 hours a day.

Stansted is separately calling for Network Rail to lay more tracks between the airport and London to bypass bottlenecks and halve the existing 45-minute journey time.

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Ryanair to open new base in Berlin

STANSTED and Dublin will gain extra flights to Berlin and a new route will be opened to Glasgow as Ryanair opens a new base in the German capital.

The carrier is to add 16 routes to give a total of 22 from Berlin from October.

Five aircraft will be based in Berlin as the airline adds routes to Alicante, Athens, Barcelona, Bari, Bologna, Bratislava, Brussels, Glasgow, Madrid, Malaga, Palermo, Palma, Riga, Rome, Venice, and Valencia.

Frequency will rise to four flights a day to Stansted and nine a week to Dublin.

Chief marketing officer Kenny Jacobs said: ‘Germany is a significant growth market for Ryanair, and as we announce our sixth German base at Berlin, we will continue to connect key German cities with Europe’s major centres.’

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easyJet announce new routes for summer, adds capacity at Edinburgh Airport

EASYJET has announced the launch of three new routes for summer 2015.

The services are: from London Gatwick to Preveza in north-west Greece and Pula in Croatia; and from Stansted to Monastir in Tunisia.

The airline is also preparing to add almost 70,000 extra seats on 19 of its routes to and from Edinburgh Airport this summer.

Between May 22 and July 21, the airline will offer 68,500 extra seats from Edinburgh on routes including Paris, Madrid, Nice, Amsterdam, and Naples.

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£8 million upgrade for Stansted departure gates

LONDON STANSTED has announced the next phase of its airport transformation make-over: an £8 million upgrade of its Satellite One departure gate area.

Unveiling the details airport managing director Andrew Harrison outlined his vision to transform the “passenger experience” at Stansted by upgrading the areas most valued by passengers, while offering airlines a more “tailored and differentiated airport product”.

Part of a wider £260 million investment programme, this development is being driven by the airport’s ambition to attract more passengers, airlines, and long-haul services to Stansted.

The multi-million pound upgrade of Satellite One will not only make the area sleek, modern, and contemporary in style but provide improved passenger facilities.

Design plans for the airport’s new Escape Lounge were also unveiled.

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Stansted-Newquay route boosted

FLYBE has announced additional flights between Stansted and Newquay during the summer season.

Daily flights will operate between May 16 and September 29, with a 3.35pm departure from Stansted during the week and 12.50pm departure on weekends. The other leg departs from Newquay at 1.45pm on weekdays and 11am at weekends.

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Schedule change for Dundee-London flights

LOGANAIR is planning to change the timings of its daily Dundee-London Stansted flights this month.

The afternoon north and southbound services will take off later to allow daily passengers longer working days before leaving for the airport. See London Stansted for more information.

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Ryanair launches Channel-hop flights

RYANAIR is to start flights from London Stansted to Deauville, Normandy, in April this year.

The twice-weekly service will run from April to October, and single fares start at £18.99 including taxes and charges.

www.normandy-tourism.org

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Nature doesn’t know it’s Xmas!

First the bad news …

THOUSANDS of travellers were delayed from getting away for Christmas due to a power failure at Stansted Airport in southern England on Monday.

A satellite building and the transit which takes passengers to the satellite for boarding were hit. Stansted reported that flights were operating, but with some delays.

A BRITISH AIRWAYS aircraft was forced to abort a landing at Leeds Bradford airport in Yorkshire due to strong winds on Monday.

The flight from Heathrow attempted to land, but had to divert to Manchester, where it landed safely. An easyJet flight from Geneva was also diverted.

Thousands of passengers had their flights in and out of the airport disrupted by the strong winds. Buses were used to take passengers to alternative airports on one of the busiest days of the year.

… and now the good …

A PLANNED two-day strike by ground handling staff at some airports in England in the run up to December 25 has been suspended.

Members of the Unite union working for Dnata at Heathrow, Gatwick, and Manchester had been due to walk out tomorrow. But they will now be balloted after a new pay offer was made.

… and then some more bad news ….

easyJet has been forced to cancel a number of flights on Boxing Day due to a strike by cabin crew in France. The industrial action covers December 25 – when no flights are scheduled – and December 26.

The airline said: ‘easyJet will do everything possible to minimize the impact of the strike on its passengers, which is why we have taken the decision to proactively cancel some flights on December 26 as a measure of precaution, to allow passengers to re-organize travel plans for the Christmas holidays. 
 


‘Passengers can either receive a full refund or re-book their travel for an alternative date free of charge.’ 


Passengers planning to fly to and from France are being ‘strongly recommended’ to check the status of their flight on the airline’s website before setting out to the airport.

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Stansted gets more ePassport gates

THE number of automated ePassport gates at Stansted has been tripled to 15. The gates provide European Economic Area nationals aged 18 and travelling with a biometric passport the choice of an automated route to the UK.

The gates use facial recognition technology to provide identity and security checks. Once these are completed the gate opens automatically to allow cleared passengers through the border.

Border Force officers monitor the system and travellers rejected by the gates are directed to the normal clearance desk. The ePassport gates have been jointly funded by the Home Office and Manchester Airport Group, the owners of Stansted.

There are now 109 ePassport gates in use at 18 UK airports.

Immigration and security minister James Brokenshire says: ‘Keeping the UK's border secure is our priority. At the same time, we want to welcome legitimate visitors and trade which contributes to the UK economy.’

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New duty free store at Stansted

STANSTED AIRPORT has opened the first phase of its new departure lounge.

A World Duty Free Group flagship store is now in the Essex airport at the entrance to the departure area which also includes a new security search area and retail space.

The second phase of the £80 million development will include a new Escape airport lounge in early 2015 while new shops and restaurants will be added throughout the spring.

The new departures area is expected to be completed in autumn 2015.

 Go Holiday editor David Kernek comments: ‘Duty free’, of course, is not really what it says on the tin, given that stuff is not free of duty when you’re travelling within the European Union.’

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Wanted: views on Stansted’s future

LONDON STANSTED AIRPORT is expecting to play a key role in meeting the UK air traffic demand over the next 10-15 years, and has sought public opinion and ideas on how to improve services and facilities.

The move comes as Stansted becomes one of the fastest growing airports in London following a 7.2 percent increase in passenger numbers in the last 12 months.

 

Managing director Andrew Harrison said: ‘It’s great to see the airport so busy again this summer, thanks to the new routes and increased frequencies offered by our airline partners.’ According to Harrison, the airport has the ability to double its current passenger throughout and serve 40-45 million a year on the existing runway.

‘To keep pace with this growth and plan for the future, we are investing £260 million to transform passenger services and facilities, and we have launched a consultation on how we can develop Stansted and make effective use of the existing capacity on the airport’s single runway. We want to hear from all those with an interest in how Stansted grows so I would encourage as many people as possible to share their views and ideas.’

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Ryanair’s Edinburgh schedule unveiled

RYANAIR has launched its Edinburgh summer 2015 schedule with one new route to London Stansted (three times daily) and more flights and improved schedules on three other destinations: Barcelona, Pisa and Rome.

The improved services will deliver 32 summer routes in total from Scotland, with a total of almost two million customers a year.

*Ryanair says an International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) report confirms that it remains the world’s favourite airline. According to IATA’s World Airline Transport Statistics, Ryanair carried more international passengers – 81.3 million – than any other airline in 2013. This was almost 29 million more than second-placed easyJet and 30 million more than Lufthansa.

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New flights to Dusseldorf

GERMANWINGS has started new Stansted-Dusseldorf flights. 

It is operating the new route as twice-daily: morning and evening flights on weekdays; one flight on Saturdays and Sundays.

Heinz Joachim Schöttes at Germanwings, said: ‘It’s great to be able to launch this new connection from Dusseldorf to London Stansted. Dusseldorf is an incredible mix of Rhineland charm, history, arts, and culture, and we’re pleased to be able to make this area more accessible for UK businesses and tourists.’  See - www.germanwings.com

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Passenger numbers up by 1 million at Stansted

STANSTED AIRPORT has seen 1.9 million more passengers pass through its terminal in July compared to the same month last year.

Year-to-date its passenger numbers have increased by one million, or 5.6%, to 18.69 million.

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