Thailand Mulls Easing Visa Rules to Lure Chinese, Indian Tourists
Thailand is likely to ease visa rules for Chinese and Indian travelers and allow longer stays for visitors
2023-08-30 06:18
UK air controllers say flight data sparked glitch that snarled hundreds of flights
Authorities say a technical failure that saw hundreds of flights delayed and canceled across the U.K. was caused by problems in some flight data received by Britain’s national air traffic controllers and was not a cyberattack
2023-08-30 05:48
EasyJet to send ‘rescue flights’ for passengers stranded by air traffic control chaos
Britain’s largest budget airline will send “rescue flights” for passengers stranded abroad by air traffic control chaos. As hundreds of flights were cancelled on Tuesday, easyJet confirmed it would operate five repatriation flights to London Gatwick over the coming days. The rescue flights will operate from Palma and Faro on 30 August, Tenerife and Enfidha on 31 August and Rhodes on 1 September. More than 1,200 flights to, from and within the UK were grounded by the failure at the national air traffic provider Nats, with around 200,000 people sleeping at airports overnight. Earlier on Tuesday, easyJet grounded more than 80 flights, including three dozen at Gatwick, including those serving popular tourist destinations such as Athens and Venice. Confirming the rescue flights, an easyJet spokesperson said: “We have been providing customers with assistance and hotel accommodation and advising anyone who has needed to make their own hotel or alternative travel arrangements that they will be reimbursed. “During this traditionally very busy week for travel, options for returning to the UK are more limited on some routes and so easyJet will be operating five repatriation flights to London Gatwick over the coming days from Palma and Faro on August 30, and Tenerife and Enfidha on Thursday August 31 and from Rhodes on Friday September 1. “We are also operating larger aircraft on key routes including Faro, Ibiza, Dalaman and Tenerife to provide some additional 700 seats this week. “Although this situation was outside of our control, we are sorry for the difficulty this has caused for our customers and remain focused on doing all possible to assist and repatriate them. Customers will be moved onto repatriation flights and notified directly.” Meanwhile, National Air Traffic Services (Nats) confirmed that the air traffic control failure was caused by flight data received by the organisation, prompting both its primary and backup systems to suspend automatic processing. His statement appeared to confirm earlier reports from sources who told The Independent that a dodgy flight plan filed by a French airline may have sparked the major systems meltdown. “Very occasionally technical issues occur that are complex and take longer to resolve. In the event of such an issue our systems are designed to isolate the problem and prioritise continued safe air traffic control”, the statement from Nats CEO Martin Rolfe read. “This is what happened yesterday. At no point was UK airspace closed but the number of flights was significantly reduced. Initial investigations into the problem show it relates to some of the flight data we received. “Our systems, both primary and the back-ups, responded by suspending automatic processing to ensure that no incorrect safety-related information could be presented to an air traffic controller or impact the rest of the air traffic system. There are no indications that this was a cyber-attack.” Read More EasyJet lays on rescue flights as ‘dodgy French flight plan’ blamed for air traffic chaos – latest More travel chaos after 300,000 hit by cancellations – and French error blamed for air traffic mayhem Ask Me Anything: Put your questions to Simon Calder as flight cancellations cause mayhem across Europe Caught in the air traffic control nightmare? Your rights when flights go wrong Everything you need to know about air traffic control failure on Tuesday Travel chaos over bank holiday weekend as BA and easyJet cancel dozens of flights Train strikes and cancelled flights spell Bank Holiday travel chaos
2023-08-30 03:57
More Americans Plan Vacations, Even as They Sour on the Economy
Americans might be fretting about the job market and inflation, but it’s not stopping them from splurging on
2023-08-30 01:19
Hate Meetings? Google Meet Is Testing AI That Can Take Notes, Attend for You
In the post-pandemic workplace, virtual meetings are unavoidable and plentiful. If you're frequently double-booked (or
2023-08-30 00:52
Blackstone, Vornado to Build a Manhattan Studio Campus With HPP
Blackstone Inc., Vornado Realty Trust and Hudson Pacific Properties Inc. are teaming up to build a studio campus
2023-08-29 23:23
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Review
Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass is a subscription service that provides access to a sizeable library
2023-08-29 22:59
Millennial Money: How to manage caregiving costs for parents while raising kids
Nearly a quarter of millennials are caregivers for an adult, according to a 2020 AARP survey
2023-08-29 21:57
Drunk driving campaign gets motorists tipsy before putting them behind the wheel
Police in Japan have implemented an unusual strategy in order to prevent drunk driving: encouraging people to consume alcohol and then letting them loose on a driving course.
2023-08-29 21:55
New Zealand birds: Takahe facing extinction find new home in sanctuary
A takahe pair were released near Wellington in a victory for efforts to save some of the world's rarest birds.
2023-08-29 21:23
Jewellery industry braces itself for new sanctions from G7 nations to block imports of Russian diamonds
As Vladimir Putin continues to wage war on Ukraine, the diamond industry is bracing itself for new sanctions from the G7 nations that would block the import of diamonds mined in Russia.
2023-08-29 18:23
AMLO’s Insular Politics Predicted a Global Shift, But Will It Protect His Legacy?
On a Saturday afternoon in early July, Mexico City’s vast Zócalo square was packed wall-to-wall with supporters gathered
2023-08-29 18:22