Sean Parker and his wife love being Airbnb hosts. They started in Ontario, Canada, in 2020 by listing two different properties.
23.12.2023 - 14:57 / thepointsguy.com
Well, we got close, folks. However, it looks like a trouble-free year with only minor cancellations and delays for Christmas travel in Europe won't be happening after all.
As years in travel go, 2023 has been a tumultuous one. Not quite as unpredictable as the pandemic years, or perhaps as raucous as last year, when we all cautiously stepped back into "normal" travel mode. Still, it was eventful nonetheless.
This year, as travel frequency continued its noble quest toward pre-pandemic figures, our woes in Europe largely came from two core triggers: disgruntled workforces and Mother Nature.
The latter, studiously applying herself across the vast gauntlet of meteorological events, brought us icy storms, gale-force winds, torrential downpours and sci-fi levels of dystopian heat. The former threw a dash of good old-fashioned discontent at some of the year's busiest travel periods — across all sectors from air, rail and sea.
And that's without mentioning the freak COVID-19 outbreak that derailed U.K. air traffic control earlier this year.
Despite all of this — and despite a recent volcanic eruption in Iceland (we all know how bad those can be) — everything seemed to begin to wind down for Christmas. All seemed, well, calm.
Sure, there were still a few strikes on the horizon — security teams in Alicante, Spain; Iberia ground teams in Spain; potential rail dramatics in Germany; and public transport walkouts in Northern Ireland. Still, for the most part, things seemed OK. Even the notoriously stubborn U.K. rail unions had decided to calm down before Christmas.
The festive season was starting to look very much like a clear runway, and it tasted delicious. But then, Thursday happened and plunged us right back into normalcy.
It started with a slew of "last-minute" strikes by French workers, which took everyone by surprise and forced Eurostar to cancel 30 services between London, Paris and Brussels. As a result, the famed rail operator was forced to halt sales of tickets on its Friday services and add eight services between now and Christmas to ensure travelers could reach their festive destinations.
While that was all unfolding, so too were the spectral claws of Storm Pia, stirring up gale-force 80 mph winds and many problems at European airports.
As it seemingly always is, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) was hit the worst; it saw 265 cancellations and 341 delays. The effects of this seem to have run into Friday. It is currently counting 197 departure delays and 87 cancellations already at the time of writing.
Related: TPG's guide to understanding EU261 flight compensation
London's Heathrow Airport (LHR), the premier U.K. hub, was hit by around 32 cancellations and 378 delays, with a further 161 delays and
Sean Parker and his wife love being Airbnb hosts. They started in Ontario, Canada, in 2020 by listing two different properties.
2023 has been full steam ahead for rail transport with a roster of new train routes and destinations announced.
Seattle skies were glowing with color as the Space Needle rang in 2024 with a brilliant light, drone, and pyrotechnic spectacular for the West Coast—and the world—to see. The T-Mobile New Year’s at the Needle extravaganza was the longest show in the event’s 32-year history, stunning viewers with an 18-minute display. More viewers were able to tune in than ever before with the event broadcast live for the first time in Portland and Spokane, in addition to Seattle.
Jet2.com and Jet2holidays are on the countdown until their first flights depart from Liverpool John Lennon Airport, with operations starting in exactly three months The UK’s largest tour operator and third largest airline will start operating flights and holidays from Liverpool John Lennon Airport in exactly three months, with a flight to Tenerife signalling the start of operations from the airport. To mark the special occasion, Jet2.com and Jet2holidays have promised exciting plans at the airport for their first day.
In 2019, the Ottawa Airport Authority announced the multi-year YOW+ terminal enhancement program which included a reimagined airport concession program. SSP Canada, the preferred food and beverage concessionaire, was tasked with the ambitious goal of creating new restaurant spaces and introducing local brands and content in concert with tried and true airport brands.
Following a pilot boutique at Montréal Trudeau Airport in Canada, travel retailer Aer Rianta International (ARI) has opened another luxury vintage fashion and accessories store at Lisbon Airport called Preloved – Fashion in Full Circle.
The United Kingdom's Border Force is gearing up to trial "smart" eGates equipped with advanced facial recognition technology at airports, which could eliminate the need for passengers to present their passports upon arrival. (Border Force is the part of the Home Office responsible for securing the U.K. border.)
When the temperatures are dropping across the US and you’ve made it through the stress of the holidays, you may find yourself in desperate need of a vacay. But when it comes time to look at flights, and maybe trip packages, you may notice something when you start to type “D-o-m” into the search bar: instead of flights to the Dominican Republic, you see flights to Dominica. Maybe you’ve heard of the island, or maybe it’s your first time — or maybe you didn’t even know that Dominica and the Dominican Republic were two different countries.
Germany is celebrating the 250th birthday of one of its best-loved painters, the Romantic artist Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840). His work features mountains, ruins and stormy seas, often with human figures, such as Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog. There are exhibitions in Hamburg (until 1 April), Berlin (19 April to 4 August) and Dresden (24 August to 5 January 2025), where Friedrich lived for 40 years; he is buried in the city’s Trinitatis Cemetery. His birthplace, Greifswald, has a festival (31 August-1 September) and three exhibitions at the Pomeranian State Museum (from 28 April). Visitors can also follow in the artist’s footsteps – literally, as he preferred to travel on foot, sketchbook in hand – to locations in his paintings, such as Rügen Island or the Saxon Switzerland national park.germany.travel
The hub will allow to transfer goods, including aviation fuel, and supply all aircraft operating at Katowice Airport with fuel.
Jet2.com and Jet2holidays announced they would launch their award-winning flights and holidays from Liverpool John Lennon Airport back in May this year, marking the latest stage in their continued growth and success story.
The recent volcanic eruption in Iceland has brought worldwide attention back to the land of fire and ice. It’s the fourth eruption on the Reykjanes Peninsula in just three years.