The Week In Travel

It has been revealed this week that baggage mishandling levels reached the highest levels in a decade last year. A report by SITA, an IT provider for the air transport industry, showed that over 26 million pieces of luggage were lost, delayed, or damaged in 2022, amounting to almost eight bags in every 1,000. According to SITA, the data indicates the situation is improving and the lost luggage rates are now recovering.

In the Middle East, Dubai International Airport has recorded higher passenger traffic levels than 2019 levels in the first half of the year, marking a significant milestone in its post-pandemic recovery. 41.6 million passengers passed through the travel hub in H1 2023, 300,000 more than in H1 2019. The 2023 figure also represents a 49.1% increase compared to the 27.9 million passengers recorded in H1 2022.

In airline news, plans have been announced for the relaunch of Monarch Airlines, following its collapse six years ago. The airline went into administration in 2017 following failed last-minute talks with the Civil Aviation Authority over the renewal of its package holiday license. Monarch claims the company has now been “passed into new ownership following the exit of the companies’ founder and previous majority shareholder”.

Over in the US, American Airlines has announced four brand new routes and the return of another as part of what the airline has labelled ‘the largest transatlantic expansion since 2019’. Beginning in 2024, non-stop flights will operate between Philadelphia to Copenhagen, Naples and Nice, with an additional service between Dallas-Fort Worth and Barcelona and the return of a previously established route between Chicago and Venice.

And finally, while we’ve all heard the ‘my dog ate my homework’ excuse, one golden retriever has taken this to new levels. With Boston-based couple Donato and Magda just a week away from their dream wedding in Italy, they returned home one afternoon to discover their dog had chewed up Donato’s passport. Luckily, aside from a few teeth marks, the passport ended up relatively unscathed. The plans for the wedding are still going ahead, and Donato appears to have managed to avoid the doghouse.