For those of you who are travelling through the Channel Tunnel, services are returning to normal after the fire during this weekend. The Eurostar Intercity Passenger is operating a full timetable - however delays of 30 minutes during the journeys are expected The EuroTunnel car and freight shuttle is operating a service, with disruptions expected. Currently delays of … [Read more...]
UK Passport backlog delays
It seems there's a bit of a backlog in new passports being issued, with latest reports indicating 465,000 passport applications being delayed and the UK Passport Agency having difficulty processing them. Good luck getting one of these... Image - UK Government Apparently a "12 year surge" in applications, along with of overseas passport renewals to be processed in the UK … [Read more...]
Issues on at Swanwick causing restrictions in air traffic across south east of the United Kingdom
A bit of bad news if you're heading in and out of the South East of England, as there appears to be computer glitches National Air Traffic Services (NATS) has announced that it's "experiencing technical problems" at its Swanwick control centre, and it's trying to restore operations. Whilst UK airspace is not closed and flight are not suspended, NATS is restricting the … [Read more...]
Berlin Brandenburg Airport – Delayed to October 2013?
It what is fast descending into what can be described as a farce, there are rumblings that the new Berlin Brandenburg Airport has now has its opening delayed to OCTOBER 2013 instead of the 17th Mach 2013 that was stated after the previous botched opening attempt. The first date of 30th October 2011 for opening was pushed back in 2010. The second date of 3rd June 2012 … [Read more...]
Diamond Jubilee Weekend upcoming – expect travel madness
For those who aren't resident to the United Kingdom, it was decided to bin the late May Bank Holiday this year, and replace it with a Diamond Jubilee 4-day weekend. This begins on Saturday 2nd June and goes through to Tuesday 5th June. And if there's a Public Holiday/Bank Holiday, this is normally an excuse for any travel provider to really mess around with schedules and … [Read more...]
UK Border Agency: More Manpower due soon. Honest!
Immigration minister Damian Green has had it rough recently, with the chaos at the UK Border at various ports of entry - and rightly so after not ensuring enough manpower was available to process the visitors into the United Kingdom. As the UK ramps up its border inspections thanks to a lack policy and a will from the Government to do deeper inspections, delays into the UK … [Read more...]
Berlin-Brandenburg Airport is now delayed….
It seems plans to open Berlin Brandenburg Airport have gone into the air, with the start date of 3rd June 2012 cancelled and a new start date will be set for some point "after the summer holidays" For Lufthansa and Air Berlin, this is a major setback, with both carriers promoting the new BER airport heavily. Both carrier have planned a major resource attack at the new Berlin … [Read more...]
UK Border chaos spreads to Stansted
In what should be no surprise to anyone, the border wait times have extended to London Stansted. Last night entries into the United Kingdom on a European Economic Area Passport were taking from 90 minutes to two hours. Which for a mainly European port of entry for low cost carriers is again... disgusting. The UK Border Force states: "We flexibly deploy staff to meet … [Read more...]
BAA: Heathrow Queue Targets Missed, Government Minister yet to stand in line for 3 hours
In what it turning into a case of he said/she said, BAA has released its latest waiting times for immigration into the United Kingdom at London Heathrow. Some highlights: Most passengers from outside the EEA (European Economic Area) were NOT seen to within 45 minutes - over 95% of the time! The longest wait time was at T4 on 30th April for a grand total of 3 hours and … [Read more...]
The bad joke that is UK Immigration
In what airport in the world do you stick 3 Europe Immigration Agents and 1 for the Rest of the World visitors - and have a 2 and a half hour process time? Nope - not the C/D Concourse at Washington Dulles (although it's happened more than once), this time - a Terminal of London Heathrow Airport. Terminal 5 to be precise. Welcome to the world of immigration staff on … [Read more...]