The Week In Travel

In a big week for sustainable air travel, NASA has partnered with Boeing to create a more fuel-efficient aircraft. The space agency has awarded its Sustainable Flight Demonstrator project to Boeing, along with an investment of $425 million over a seven year period.

The aim of the project is to roll out green single aisle airliners by the end of the decade, with plans in place to begin testing the aircraft by the late 2020s.

In Europe, bosses at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport have announced it will be ending its cap on departing passengers from late March. The cap was introduced last summer as a result of the staff shortages which affected the majority of the continent.

As travel demand continues to increase, Emirates has announced it will be upping its services on a number of key routes throughout Europe. Alongside returning to Glasgow, Nice and Birmingham, the Dubai-based airline will also increase services to London, with six daily flights to Heathrow, three to Gatwick, and two to Stansted.

In tech news, Spanish airline Vueling will begin accepting cryptocurrency payments in the second half of 2023. The announcement follows an agreement with Criptan, a platform for buying and selling cryptocurrencies, and will see the carrier become the first low-cost airline in Europe to accept this payment process.

And finally, a woman travelling from Tampa International Airport was disappointed when an item of luggage packed for emotional support reasons wasn’t allowed on the plane. The reason being, that the item in question happened to be a four foot long boa constrictor. Whilst the passenger voiced her concerns, it is unknown whether the snake handled this news with dignity, or whether it threw a hissy fit.