Gatwick Airport plans to make a number of changes as the former BAA travel hub looks to compete with its rival Heathrow.

Gatwick plans to plans to introduce direct flights to Durban

Among the changes at the airport, which was sold by BAA in 2009, are plans to introduce direct flights to Durban in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal.

Mike Mabuyakhulu, MEC for KwaZulu-Natal economic development and tourism, said that details on the first flights would be announced over the next year. Comai, a local airline, offers 23 flights to the King Shaka Airport each day, making it the largest user of the travel hub.

In addition to the Durban flights, the airport has also started to offer flights to Amman in Jordan, which leave on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays at 12.50 BST and arrive in Jordan at 8pm local time.

Other changes being made at the Gatwick in the hope of snatching passenger numbers from Heathrow include improvements to its terminal shuffle and the start of a process to make security queues quicker and more efficient.

Looking to the future, the airport also wants to implement further changes including the installation of amusement areas where teenagers can keep themselves busy and a traveller lounge, which even has a spa facility that travellers at the airport can pay to use.

Copyright © Press Association 2011

A senior official should be employed by the state to oversee snow plans at Heathrow and other airports, a group of MPs has said.

The “snow supremo” at the Department for Transport would ensure the smooth coordination of travel plans at airports, a report from the House of Commons Transport Committee said. The committee was reviewing the disruption caused to the UK transport system by heavy snow last December.

The review also said that airport operators should be allowed to reclaim the cost of looking after stranded passengers when airlines fail to discharge their responsibility to do this.

It also said those parts of the travel network that were found to be the least resilient to the bad weather should receive extra funding in order for them to become better equipped to deal with such extreme conditions.

It was also suggested that the Government should invest in sophisticated computer technology, estimated to cost around £10 million, that would help the Met Office make more accurate decade-long forecasts. The current seasonal predictions “do not provide a firm basis on which decision makers can act with confidence”, the report claims.

Committee chairman Louise Ellman MP, said the £10 million would be worth paying because it would save more money in the long run by preventing economic losses caused by travel disruption.

Copyright © Press Association 2011

Nearly six million passengers travelled through Heathrow last month in what was the busiest ever April for the West London airport, latest figures show.

More than 5.8 million people used the UK’s biggest airport throughout April – an increase of 31.5% compared with the same period last month – according to BAA, whose other British airports also had a good month.

The figures are in sharp contrast to the same month last year when the aviation industry was rocked by the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud crisis, which kept planes out of the sky for weeks. In addition to not having the ash cloud to contend with, airports were boosted this month by the Easter holidays falling solely in April and travellers looking to take advantage of the extra royal wedding bank holiday.

There was a 31% increase to 9.1 million passengers using BAA’s six UK airports last month compared with April 2010. Stansted saw passenger numbers rise by 26.2% and there was an 18.5% increase at Southampton.

Meanwhile, in Scotland it was also a record breaking month for Edinburgh Airport, which had an unprecedented number of travellers go through its doors. A surge in traveller numbers of 43.9% saw a total of 776,300 passengers use the airport.

Glasgow increased the number of passengers using its airport by 27.1% during the month and Aberdeen was up 33.2% with 247,100. In total, more than 1.5 million people used the BAA airports in Scotland during the month.

Copyright © Press Association 2011

For most people, travelling to the Seychelles will probably involve airport transfers, an early check-in at Heathrow Airport followed by duty-free shopping before they finally get away on their dream holiday.

Royal couple head to Seychelles?

For the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who are rumoured to have headed to the idyllic location for their honeymoon, getting there will probably have been a bit easier and a lot more private.

William and Kate already know about the warm weather and beautiful scenery that the Seychelles has to offer – they holidayed there four years ago.

In August 2007 the couple spent a week on the island of Desroches, which is only four miles long and can be found about 150 miles south west of the Seychelles’ main island, Mahe.

It was reported that William told islanders the Desroches trip was the best holiday he had ever had.

Desroches is the main island of the Amirantes Group – locations which boast exclusive resorts in the kind of setting that most honeymooners can only dream about.

The Seychelles is a classic get-away-from-it-all location, lying in the Indian Ocean between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Equator.

William and Kate will find that the Seychelles ticks all those honeymoon boxes – warm weather, white-sand beaches, seclusion, luxury and romance.

If that was not enough, the royal couple are even going at the right time of the year. The Seychelles get the wettest weather in January – when many Britons are tempted to go to get away from the worst of the UK weather.

But May in the Seychelles sees the start of the cooling trade winds that keep the temperature down in the evenings.

The couple can expect to have temperatures between 24C (75F) and 32C (90F) – plenty hot enough for swimming and diving if they fancy it.

If a little island-hopping is required then this is the place to do it, as the Seychelles is made up of more than 100 islands.

Desroches boasts the luxury Desroches Island Resort hotel. The island was named after the Chevalier des Roches, the Governor of Mauritius from 1767 to 1772.

Copyright © Press Association 2011

Most women who diet before heading off on holiday aim to lose an average of more than half a stone in weight, a survey has shown. 

Travel agent Sunshine revealed that up to 67% of women questioned embarked on diets before taking a break. 

With many people pre-occupied with looking great for their travels, using airport transfer services could remove the added stress from the journey and ensure that make their flight without fuss.

Only 9% of the 1,614 people asked said they did not make a special effort to improve or change their appearance before their holiday. 

The study focused on women aged over 21 who had been on holiday during the last two years. 

Results showed that 48% had used fake tan or a sunbed to look their best before departing from Heathrow, Gatwick or one of the UK’s other airports.

Also, 39% had their hair cut or dyed, 24% went in for waxing and 22% had a manicure.

Those who went in for pre-holiday preparations of this kind spent an average of £162 on treatments, the poll found.

Sunshine co-founder Chris Brown said: “I was quite surprised that around two-thirds diet before going away. After all, holidays are all about indulgence and you normally put a bit of weight on during your break anyway.

“With this in mind, it could be argued that the dieting is probably best left until after the holiday.

“Getting bronzed and beautified is obviously a very important part of the pre-holiday process for women to feel confident before they get away, and the fact only 9% said they didn’t do anything at all before they went away just goes further to strengthen this point.”

Copyright © Press Association 2011

A new pay-as-you-go WiFi service has been launched at London Luton Airport. 

Luton Airport has signed a deal with Spectrum Interactive to provide the wireless internet access in its public areas.

Cardiff Airport will also offer the pay-as-you-go service in its public areas after signing a deal with the provider.

Business and leisure travellers alike will be able to take advantage of the seamless and always-on connectivity.

Passengers with iPass, Boingo and Skype Access accounts have added flexibility due to roaming agreements.

London Luton Airport is one of the largest airports in the UK and carried almost nine million passengers in 2010. A number of airlines fly to more than  90 destinations in Europe, Africa and Asia from the airport.

Jo Fyfe, London Luton Airport spokesperson said, “Reliability, speed, ease-of-use and good support were of utmost importance when specifying a new WiFi service and Spectrum has delivered. The service provides an excellent user experience across all mobile devices.”

Daniel Gray, director of Spectrum’s travel division, said: “We are very pleased to have London Luton and Cardiff Airport on board. Like our airport partners, we see WiFi as a major contributing factor to passenger satisfaction and therefore strive to offer a best-in-class solution which helps enhance the overall travel experience.”

Copyright © Press Association 2011

Cheap flights from UK to Spain may have resulted in a sudden rise in popularity of Mallorca as a holiday hotspot

The number of German people taking holidays to the beach has fallen over the last decade, figures show.

There has been a steady decline from 1998, when around 64.5% of German holidaymakers headed to the beach, to the current figure of 58.5%, according to recent figures from a poll carried out at the ITB Berlin travel trade show.

The German cruise market, on the other hand, has seen a 95% boost since 2002.

Martin Buck of ITB Berlin said: “More and more Germans want to experience something new when they are away and would like to get to know a country and its people.”

Meanwhile, across the channel, Britons are flocking in their droves to rented holiday accommodation in Spain.

There are an increasing number of cheap flights heading out from the UK to Spain such as low cost flights from London Stansted to Mallorca. This is likely to have contributed to some extent to the sudden rise in popularity of the country as a holiday hotspot.

HomeAway Holiday Rentals said it had seen a 39% increase in booking enquiries in the first three months of the year, compared with the same period in 2010.

News of the figures come after property analysts predicted that the Balearic island of Mallorca will be this year’s hottest Spanish destination.

Copyright © Press Association 2011

Many holidaymakers are keeping their spending in check this summer by booking all-inclusive breaks, a survey has indicated.

Britons departing from airports such as Gatwick and Luton are taking advantage of favourable exchange rates in Mexico and Turkey.

A survey by American Express revealed that sales of the Mexican peso increased 168% in the first three months of this year compared with the January-March 2010 period.

The Turkish lire is also proving popular, but currency sales for traditional holiday hotspots such as the United Arab Emirates, New Zealand and Thailand have fallen.

Unrest in Egypt had some effect on sales of the Egyptian pound, but Egypt stayed in fourth place in the currency table, which was headed by the euro, with the American dollar second and the Australian dollar third.

Terry Perrin, director at American Express global foreign exchange services, said: “Not only do Turkey and Mexico offer favourable exchange rates for the pound, they are also well-known all-inclusive destinations.

“The all-inclusive holiday trend has increased in recent years as holidaymakers, especially families, like to plan their spend ahead of time. Therefore, locations like Turkey and Mexico offer the best of both worlds for a lot of Britons.”

These were the top-selling foreign currencies in the first three months of 2011:

1. The euro

2. US dollar

3. Australian dollar

4. Egyptian pound

5. Turkish lire

6. Mexican peso

7. New Zealand dollar

8. United Arab Emirates dirham

9. Thai bhat

10. Canadian dollar

Copyright © Press Association 2011

London has been voted as the UK’s top destination by visitors from around the world in a new poll.

A survey by travel company TripAdvisor saw the capital beat Edinburgh and Bath into second and third place respectively.

No doubt the city’s travel links and selection of good airports to fly into – whether that be Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted or Luton - helped the city to grab the top spot.

Overall it was voted the third best destination in Europe, and the eighth best in the world.

Paris took the top European spot with Rome in second place, while Cape Town was crowned the world’s best destination.

Emma Boyle, TripAdvisor spokeswoman, said: “Tourism is vital to the UK economy so it’s encouraging to see London and Edinburgh both highly recognised as Europe’s best destinations.”

She went on: “London’s performance is especially meaningful as so much time and effort has gone into preparing the city for the 2012 Olympics and hopefully it will sneak ahead of Paris and Rome before the Games start.”

The top 20 UK destinations were 1. London; 2. Edinburgh; 3. Bath; 4. Cambridge 5. Oxford 6. Stratford-upon-Avon; 7. York; 8. Inverness; 9. St Andrews, Scotland; 10. Liverpool; 11. Glasgow; 12. Brighton; 13. Belfast; 14. Canterbury; 15. Manchester; 16. St Ives, Cornwall; 17. Cardiff; 18. Windermere, Cumbria; 19. Newcastle upon Tyne; 20. Aberdeen.

Copyright © Press Association 2011

The Duke of Cambridge is back at work just four days after getting married to Kate Middleton in a ceremony that sparked celebrations across the country.

William has returned to his job as a search and rescue helicopter pilot after spending a quiet weekend in a secret location within the UK alongside his new wife.

The couple decided to postpone their honeymoon to a later date. The destination of the honeymoon has not yet been revealed.

Cheap flights to the Caribbean from airports such as Stansted, Luton and Gatwick are becoming increasingly popular among holidaymakers, and the newlyweds are hotly tipped to emulate this trend.

Bookies slashed the odds of William and Kate sunning themselves on a Caribbean island for their honeymoon to just 8/15, while Kenya, which was previously the bookmakers’ favourite, is now at 7/2. Jordan is looking less likely with odds of 5/1.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said of William’s first day back: “It will be a normal day at work for him after the wedding, nothing special planned.”

It will be a chance for William to thank his colleagues from the RAF for their special tribute on his wedding day however – the surprise helicopter fly-past as he drove his new wife the short distance from Buckingham Palace to Clarence House in his father’s Aston Martin.

Copyright © Press Association 2011