With the Olympics just around the corner, bosses at Heathrow Airport insist they are sufficiently prepared to cope with the huge increase in passengers and baggage.

The airport has invested more than £20 million into the 2012 Games in an effort to make sure athletes and tourists get to where they are going without any problems.

August 13 – the day after the closing ceremony – will be the busiest day in the airport’s history as unprecedented levels of passengers and bags are set to make their way through its terminals. Heathrow expects to process 137,800 people departing on that day, along with 200,000 bags, compared to an average of 150,000 on a normal day.

Nick Cole, head of Olympic and Paralympic planning at Heathrow, dismissed concerns over queues and security. He stated that as the official host airport for the Olympics, around four-fifths of all visitors will pass through in a “unique operational challenge”.

At a briefing in central London to discuss the plans in place, authorities insisted people will not suffer because of UK border problems, also putting to bed any fears surrounding security by declaring that any risk to UK airspace can be detected within minutes.

The London Olympics begin on July 27 and will run until August 12.

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British Airways has announced a new service connecting Gatwick Airport with Las Vegas from October 29.

Flights will operate three times a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, and depart Gatwick Airport at 11.30am. The return flight will leave McCarran Airport at 3.55pm.

British Airways said the flights will be operated by a three-cabin Boeing 777, which will include a Club World cabin with flat beds.

Return fares start from £722 for a World Traveller ticket, rising to £1,100 for a World Traveller Plus ticket and £3,550 for a Club World premium ticket.

The new service means that British Airways will operate a total of 10 flights a week to Las Vegas from Heathrow and Gatwick Airport.

Colm Lacy, British Airways’ head of commercial at Gatwick, said: “Las Vegas has proved to be an incredibly popular year-round destination from Heathrow so we are delighted to now be able to offer the route from Gatwick as well.

“This is the kind of destination our leisure customers at Gatwick are looking for and it will complement our existing USA and long-haul leisure network.”

Las Vegas is likely to become a popular new route at Gatwick Airport, as new figures show that 3.5 million people visited the city in March, an increase of 100,000 people compared to the same month last year.

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The increasing popularity of South Korea among air passengers has been recognised by British Airways, which has announced a new route from Heathrow Airport to Seoul.

Tickets are now on sale for the six-flights-a-week service to the South Korean capital, which begins on December 2. Fares to South Korea have been fairly high in recent years due to high demand for tickets driven by a reluctance among airlines to put on flights to the country.
Flights to the country were axed by the airline in 1998 for “economic reasons” but made a brief return last year after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in Japan. British Airways staff stayed in Seoul overnight due to safety fears over staying in Tokyo.
The Foreign Office said around 100,000 British people visit South Korea every year. Popular sights among tourists include the Great Gates of Seoul, the historic city of Gyeongju, and the semi-tropical Jeju Island.

Commercial director at BA, Drew Crawley, said: “We have seen significant growth in customers wanting to travel to Seoul for both business and pleasure. It is a vibrant city with a strong economic base.
“Equally, there are vast numbers of South Korean companies wishing to come to the UK to do business as Asia’s economies continue to grow. We want to ensure that we do our bit in bringing as much business and tourism to the UK as we can.”

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British Airways has started flights on a new route from Heathrow Airport to the Italian city of Bologna.

The new daily service left Heathrow for the first time at 9.30am on April 29, and will depart for northern Italy at that time throughout the year.

It is hoped the route will help ease the burden on Gatwick Airport, which currently has 20 Bologna-bound British Airways’ flights per day.

Situated in the Emilia-Romagna region of the country, Bologna is one of the most picturesque cities in northern Italy.

Holidaymakers can sample coffee shops, bars, or even some authentic Bolognese sauce at one of the restaurants on the Piazza Maggiore, which is one of the largest squares in the old part of the city.

The Piazza Maggiore and the surrounding area is inspired by the Renaissance period, with its legacy in plain sight at Palazzo D’Accursio situated nearby.

Just around the corner is the iconic town hall, which boasts a large collection of art produced by a variety of famous Italian painters.

If you prefer the countryside, then why not venture slightly outside town to the medieval town of Dozza.

The small cobbled streets and brightly decorated buildings make the sleepy town of Dozza the perfect option for a day trip.

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More than three million passengers will pass through Heathrow Airport over the Easter school holidays, as families jet off on sunny breaks and to see loved ones.

Gearing up for a busy week, Heathrow is laying on additional staff, while pre-flight play areas for children will also be established.

Between Friday March 30 and Sunday April 15 the airport expects to handle 3.4 million passengers.

Friday 30 will be the busiest day – 220,000 people will pass through the west London airport. Around 190,100 visit in a normal day. The highest ever number to use the London airport in one day was 233,561 on July 31 last year.

And on Sunday April 15, the airport will see the most arrivals – some 46,000 passengers will descend on Terminal 5 alone.

But unlike the hustle and bustle at Heathrow, the roads may be fairly quiet.

RAC spokeswoman Vicki Burn told the BBC that between the strike by petrol tanker drivers, and unleaded petrol now costing on average, a record high of £1.40 a litre, people could be deterred from driving to see loved ones over Easter – instead choosing air travel for those longer trips.

“People need to be wary and keep an eye on what is happening,” she said. “My advice is not to panic-buy petrol, which will make the situation worse.”

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Passengers travelling on Virgin Atlantic flights, including those setting off from Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports, will now see warning signs alerting passengers to whether an on-flight film will be a tearjerker or not.

Water For Elephants, starring Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson, and Just Go With It, starring Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston, will be the first feature-length films to carry the warning on upcoming flights.

Virgin Atlantic bosses took the decision to include the warning notices on emotive films after a survey carried out on behalf of the airline revealed that 55% of passengers thought their emotions became heightened while flying.

Of the men polled, 41% said they hid under blankets in an attempt to hide their tears from other passengers, while women were most likely to pretend they had something in their eye if a film had tugged on their heartstrings.

The survey also revealed that people from Wolverhampton were the most emotionally sensitive in Britain, while those from Gloucester were least likely to cry because of a film’s storyline. 

Passengers who took part in the survey listed Toy Story 3, The Blind Side and Eat Pray Love as being the most emotive tearjerkers.

Meanwhile, easyJet’s Louis Mondeville Cotes de Gascogne has been voted the best airline white wine by flight comparison site Skyscanner.

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The Government has signalled that security in airports will become more “passenger-friendly”.

As part of the plans, there will be wider flexibility in the way that passengers travelling through airports across the country, including Heathrow and Stansted, are screened.

Transport secretary Philip Hammond said he wanted to move in a different direction ”from the current highly-prescriptive one-size-fits-all approach” that is currently being applied in airports.

Instead, he said he wanted a new system which “maintains and improves security standards but in a more efficient and passenger-friendly way”.

Mr Hammond, who announced the consultation on aviation security, said: “I therefore propose that the Government should move from prescribing security processes to setting security outcomes.

“This will give airports and airlines greater flexibility to deliver high standards of security in ways that are better integrated with their day-to-day business and designed around the needs of the passenger.”

The introduction of a new security regime could see certain practices, such as making passengers take off their shoes, become a more selective process.

Mr Hammond said it was still ”of paramount importance” to the Government that passengers are safe and secure, and plans were being proposed to make all airport industry operators create and implement a security management system.

This move would highlight that there is a strong commitment to provide an overall high level of security, and demonstrate how UK and EU-specified security outcomes would be met, he added.

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Take-off and landing slots will have to be booked by private pilots during the 2012 Olympics, the Government has said.

This restriction will apply to business jets touching down at a host of airports in the South East, but also to amateur pilots taking light aircraft out. Transport secretary Philip Hammond is aiming to cut delays and disruption to flights in the South East during London 2012.

Mr Hammond said: “As part of the Government’s strategy to ensure successful delivery of efficient transport services for the 2012 London Olympic Games, I am today announcing the introduction of new measures to limit disruption and delay to all flights using airports in the south east of England during the expected period of peak demand for air services for the Games.”

He said in a written statement that the Airports Slot Allocation (Amendment) Regulations would mean “that during the Games the available air space capacity of south east of England will be able to accommodate the maximum possible number of extra flights”. And he added: “All flights operating in controlled airspace and intending to use a co-ordinated airport will need to obtain, and operate in accordance with, pre-booked take-off or landing slots.”

Restrictions are already in place at Stansted, London City, Heathrow and Gatwick airports, but 36 other airports and airfields will be affected, ranging from massive terminals such as Birmingham to smaller airfields such as White Waltham Airfield.

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Britons are failing to enjoy what foreign cuisine has to offer while abroad, a survey has shown. 

Travel agent sunshine revealed that around a quarter (27%) of UK tourists only eat food that they could just as easily eat at home.

Results also show that 55% actively seek out home comforts while abroad, such as hunting down a restaurant serving up British food. 

Some examples of those failing to immerse themselves in local culture include the 25% who look for British bars, the 21% who want to watch UK television, the 17% who visit British stores and the 12% who buy British brands.

Meanwhile, only 9% said they tried to speak the language of the country they visited on their last holiday, while 48% said they expect the locals to speak English.

On the other hand, just over a fifth (21%) of Britons abroad said they actively avoided home comforts, with two in three of these saying they adopt this attitude so they can experience something different. 

Sunshine co-founder Chris Brown described how he thinks tourists are missing out if they just fly out of Heathrow or Stansted and live as if they had just stayed at home.

He said: “I think it’s a real shame when British holidaymakers don’t attempt to try the language or cuisine of the country they are visiting.

“It seems a waste to fly thousands of miles away on holiday and just end up seeking out British home comforts.”

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The insurance industry is working with consumer group Which? on Government proposals relating to the travel insurance premiums of older people.

As part of the plans, insurers will be required to provide evidence if they are charging higher rates of insurance to those aged 65 or over, rather than assuming that because of their age, they are more vulnerable to having an accident or becoming ill while abroad.

Which? has conducted a survey into what travel polices are available to older people.

It found that 25% of companies offering annual travel policies will not cover people aged 65 or over, while 90% will not provide insurance to those in their 80s.

For older people who want to hop on to a flight from Heathrow or Stansted for a one-off holiday, single trip policies can also be difficult to arrange.

Some 86% of companies have an upper age limit, while just 29% will cover people in their 80s.

Among those firms that do continue to cover people when they turn 65, premiums can triple overnight.

An annual worldwide travel insurance policy with Essential Travel costs £58.72 a year for people who are under 65, but this soars to £205.51 for consumers over this age.

Which? also found that, despite the fact that 60% of over-65s do not use the internet, the best deals were often available online.

Richard Lloyd, executive director of Which?, said: “It’s absurd that you could wake up one morning and suddenly be three times more expensive to insure.

“Older travellers are finding it increasingly difficult to get cover or are priced out of travelling altogether.

“Insurers should take a more common sense approach and look at factors other than age when setting premiums.”

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