The Week In Travel

London Heathrow has announced it recorded its busiest month for over two years in May, with passenger traffic rising to 79% of May 2019 levels. CEO of London Heathrow, John Holland-Kaye, said that the airport was continuing to ‘make good progress’ with its plans to increase capacity this summer. He also said, in spite of reports of long queues and cancelled flights, 90% of travellers were able to pass through security in 10 minutes last month. The next phase of Heathrow’s plan to increase its capacity will be the reopening of Terminal 4 – planned for 14th June.

C&M Travel Recruitment has revealed figures which show the number of employees placed in new travel industry jobs reached its joint highest ever level in May. The leading trave recruitment company claimed the firm has recently undergone its busiest period in history, with placements 679% higher compared to last year. However, it was stressed that while there have been record placements, candidate volumes are still not keeping up with demand, and vacancies are at their second-highest monthly total since January 2020.

Qatar Airways is to host the 78th IATA AGM and World Air Transport Summit in Doha. The summit will take place from 19th to 21st June 2022 and is set to see the aviation industry’s leaders discuss the shifting political, economic and technological realities facing air travel as the industry continues in its recovery. Roughly 750 representatives of the aviation industry will be attending, as well as a cohort of 150 journalists.

United Airlines has announced a deal with Dimensional Energy to purchase at least 300 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) over a 20 year period. This means that United becomes the latest carrier to adopt SAF as a method to reduce carbon emissions. United has made a commitment to become carbon neutral by 2050.

Korean Air has confirmed it will be gradually reintroducing long-haul flights as demand for international travel heats up over the summer. From 1st July the national carrier of South Korea will recommence flights to Milan and Vienna, followed by Las Vegas on 10th July.

And finally, a British couple on holiday in Mexico had an alarming encounter with a 20 foot crocodile. As they made their way out of the sea, they were startled to hear the lifeguard’s whistle and turned around to see the reptile idling in the waves. The hotel admitted afterwards that on occasion storm surges can carry the crocodiles away from their reserves up the coast. Luckily no one was harmed.