The Week In Travel

Gatwick Airport has announced this week that it is implementing a daily flight cap of 800 flights until October 1 due to air traffic control staff shortages. Approximately 30% of tower staff are unavailable, primarily due to medical reasons such as Covid-19. Today, September 29, will be the most affected day, originally scheduled for 865 flights.

Staying in Europe, the European Commission has made €7 billion available for sustainable transport initiatives, focusing on cross-border efforts among member states. This funding, part of the Connecting Europe Facility, supports projects enhancing transport infrastructure along the trans-European network, including TEN-T—a sustainable and smart transport system connecting 400+ major cities. The EU aims to cut transport emissions by 90% by 2050, with TEN-T playing a crucial role.

In technology news, Amadeus, Microsoft, and Accenture are teaming up to introduce an AI-powered digital assistant for business travellers using the Cytric Easy platform via Microsoft Teams. This partnership harnesses generative AI to streamline travel-related tasks using “natural language”. Travellers can plan, book, and manage trips through a chatbot interface. A plugin for Microsoft 365 Copilot is also in the works, enabling seamless travel itinerary coordination within Microsoft 365.
Over in India, IndiGo and British Airways have joined forces in a code-sharing pact, allowing travellers to purchase a single ticket connecting to London via Delhi or Mumbai onto eight destinations operated by IndiGo. This includes three new destinations for British Airways: Thiruvananthapuram, Rajkot (Hirasar), and Vadodara.

And finally, Student nurse Emily Orchard received a shock when she snagged a seven-night holiday in Gran Canaria for just £2.42 via Jet2holidays’ ‘Bid for a Break’. The competition offers customers the chance to win a holiday at an incredibly cheap price by bidding the lowest unique amount. How did Emily achieve this? She simply looked at the time, which was 2.42pm, and chose the winning bid.