The Week In Travel

Meanwhile, the extreme weather in the UK has caused disruption to travel this week as temperatures reached over 40C across south and central England. On Monday, engineers at Luton Airport identified that a small section of its runway had lifted – later stating that this was caused by high surface temperatures. As a result, the runway was out of action for several hours as engineers made emergency repairs. The disruption was not limited to aviation, as railway operators were forced to cut back services in anticipation of damage to tracks. On Tuesday trains to and from London Euston were cancelled after a fire caused 25,000 volt overhead electric cables to come down in Harrow.

EasyJet has agreed deals with Rolls-Royce and Airbus to collaborate on two separate sustainability projects with the aim of reducing carbon emissions in aviation. Rolls-Royce is currently working on its H2ZERO project which seeks to develop hydrogen combustion engine technology which could be capable of powering a range of aircraft, including narrow-body jets used by EasyJet.

Across the pond in the US, Alaska Airlines has become the first US carrier to introduce an electronic bag-tagging system. The technology is produced and developed by Dutch company BAGTAG, and the tagging devices will be equipped with durable screens which will be capable of being attached and activated in advance by the passenger. This will allow for a smoother transition through the bag drop-off process and could potentially reduce waiting time by as much as 40%.

On Tuesday, Frankfurt Airport became the latest to announce capacity caps to flights as it looks to reduce disruption for passengers. The number of take-offs and landings will be reduced to 88 per hour. Around five million passengers travelled through the German hub in June, Frankfurt’s busiest month since the pandemic began. Capacity caps have previously been a source of contention for airlines, with the Emirates CEO issuing a scathing rebuke to Heathrow Airport for their own cap on daily traffic.

And finally, an unfortunate American golf enthusiast from North Carolina was left bemused after his luggage was lost at London Heathrow Airport as he made his way back from the Algarve. After arriving at Raleigh, he waited for over an hour at the baggage carousel, only to receive a text saying that his luggage was still at Heathrow. When American Airlines suggested he pop over to Heathrow to collect his luggage, the traveller pointed out that it would perhaps be more expedient to send the luggage to him, and save him another 4,000 mile journey. The luggage eventually arrived six days later.