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Edinburgh Airport reveals measures, backed up by “let’s all flysafe” campaign

A new campaign and range of measures to help passengers and staff prepare for the return of travel has been announced by Edinburgh Airport.

The “let’s all flysafe” campaign is part of the airport’s readiness programme as airlines begin to restart operations and will provide confidence and reassurance to those travelling through and working at the airport.

Measures introduced at the airport include:


The sky-blue line will guide people into the terminal while the maroon line will guide people out of the terminal.
  • One-way colour-coded systems to manage flow and social distance
  • Hand sanitising stations installed inside and outside the airport
  • Protective screens installed in check-in, security and arrivals
  • A trial of temperature checking technology for departing passengers
  • Staff wearing face coverings and PPE in passenger facing areas
  • Enhanced cleaning schedules and new fogging machines to disinfect trollies and wheelchairs
  • Deep cleaning of security trays, and new anti-viral trays introduced

Sanitising stations have been installed for people to clean their hands before entering the terminal, before and after security and in Arrivals.

The campaign is backed by new signage at the airport clearly explaining to people where they need to go. They include colours different from the traditional brand colours. The sky-blue, maroon red and lime green differentiates the campaign from regular materials.

Social media graphics will also be used to prepare people ahead of arriving at the airport, while emails containing the same messaging will be sent to our passengers.

The campaign encourages staff and passengers to work together and for all of us to do what we can to protect each other and flysafe. The airport has introduced five general rules for travellers to follow:

  • Don’t risk it – don’t fly or come to the airport if you feel unwell
  • Protect yourself and others – please wear a face covering
  • Clean your hands often – wash or use sanitiser
  • Maintain social distancing and be mindful of other passengers
  • Be kind, be patient and flysafe

The introduction of the campaign and enhanced measures comes as airlines such as easyJet, Ryanair, Loganair, Wizz and British Airways look to reintroduce parts of their schedule.

The let’s all flysafe campaign has been created in partnership with Edinburgh-based The Lane Agency who have a strong track record with high-profile campaigns and a close relationship with the airport.

Gordon Dewar, Chief Executive of Edinburgh Airport said:

We know how important it is to provide passengers with reassurance and confidence as they look to return to travel and we’ve spent a lot of time looking at how we do that by making improvements to our operation.

The steps we have taken will allow people to get moving safely and reopen our economy by providing that connectivity that our airlines are rebuilding. We all have a part to play in this recovery and we must make sure we do that by encouraging people to flysafe.

Adam Wilson, Operations Director at Edinburgh Airport said:

Although we never want to see a near empty airport, we’ve utilised the time to closely look at the terminal and surrounding areas and come up with a plan to protect everyone as much as possible.

We know the layout is different and we know it will take time to adapt to it, but we believe the campaign and measures are the right thing for our airport and our passengers. We’re effectively welcoming people into our home and these changes are our way of providing them with confidence and reassurance, letting them know we care about and them and their journeys.

We’ll continue to evaluate our approach as we go forward, and we encourage people to provide feedback and help us all flysafe.

GTM overcomes Italian airline’s failure

The financing issues of airlines are causing some headaches for passengers wanting to fly between the UK and Italy. But, at Global Travel Management, we can offer a huge range of choice, so if one airline ceases operations, we can continue to find the best-value, most efficient alternatives.

This week Air Italy announced that the airline will be placed into liquidation and that all passengers booked onto flights after 25 February will be refunded or booked onto alternative flights. The announcement confirmed also that flights until 25 February will be operated by other carriers.

Despite the loss of Air Italy, there are still hundreds of regular, scheduled flights between UK and Italian airports, all of which can be booked for customers of GTM. These include British Airways, Alitalia, easyJet and Ryanair.

Paul Baker, Sales Director of GTM said

It always a difficult time when a travel supplier goes into liquidation. We hope that the airline’s staff can secure positions with other airlines as soon as possible.

In the meantime, we continue to offer the widest possible choice of flights from the UK to Italy. In addition, our staff can even provide advice on how to travel between the two countries without flying, by making use of Europe’s high-speed rail network.

Passengers booking flights through GTM benefit from protections from national and international laws as well as industry organisations.

Paul explained:

If customers are concerned about their flight bookings, we encourage them to speak to their GTM Account Manager who can advice on alternative travel plans. And, if an airline were to go out of business, the Account Manager can provide information on which travel industry compensation schemes they can make use of, such as ATOL, EU261 and the Consumer Credit Act.

Please contact your GTM Account Manager when you next need to fly between the UK and Italy.

MAKE YOUR DAY – by flying from Bristol Airport!

Bristol Airport – one of the oldest civil airports in the country – is going from strength to strength, with several new routes being announced this Summer by a number of airlines. But what does the airport have in common with Dirty Harry actor and former Mayor of Carmel, Clint Eastwood?

Approximately 8.7 million passengers use the North Somerset airport annually and this is expected to grow to 10 million by 2021 and 12 million within a further five years.

This growth is expected to be driven by the increasing number of destinations served by Bristol Airport. The increase in passenger numbers will mean a corresponding rise in the number of aircraft movements to 97,393 per annum, an increase of just over 23,800 on the 2017 numbers.

As well as connecting businesses to new markets, Bristol Airport is also a major local employer. Just under 4,000 people currently work on the airport site. This is expected to rise by more than 1,000 by the time the airport is handling 12 million passengers a year.

Development is forecast to generate additional benefits of £1.4 billion to the regional economy over the next decade. Connectivity provided by flights to and from Bristol also helps friends and families stay in touch and enables local people to enjoy different cultures, climates and experiences. 

A number of airlines have announced new services to and from Bristol Airport. These include:

  • Ryanair – the Irish ow-cost carrier has announced a new, weekly route between Bristol and Grenoble, commencing January 2020
  • easyJet – the low-cost carrier headquartered at Luton will launch a new route from Bristol to Hurghada from 30 October 2019
  • easyJet has launched routes from Bristol to Milan, Biarritz, Brindisi, Montpellier and Rhodes this Summer
  • easyJet has also increased its services from Bristol to Lyon, to run all-year round, from this Summer
  • KLM – the Dutch airline has added 10,000 seats per year between Bristol and Amsterdam, commencing last month, offering connections to 162 cities across the world
  • Brussels Airlines – the Belgian airline will connect Bristol with Brussels twelve times a week, from 1 September 2019

As well as increasing passenger numbers and routes, Bristol Airport has worked with North Somerset Council to ensure access to the airport is improved. The council has worked to surface-dress a six-kilometre stretch of the busy A38, between the South Bristol Link Road and the junction with Downside Road.

Bristol Airport is fast becoming an airport of choice for businesses in the South West of England. With its connections improving and choice of routes increasing, it is easy to see why passenger numbers are increasing from the airport.

But Bristol Airport isn’t just relying on improving its impact on the economy of the South West of England. It’s also ensuring its environmental impact is managed and improved too. The airport has published a carbon roadmap setting out how it will achieve its ambition to be a net zero airport and accelerating efforts to achieve carbon neutrality.

Included in its targets are:

  • Carbon neutral target fast-tracked to 2025
  • Carbon levy to offset all road journeys
  • Flights to fall under international agreement to keep emissions at 2020 levels

Paul Baker, Sales Director of Global Travel Management said,

Bristol Airport is a success story for businesses in the South West of England. That’s why airlines like KLM, Brussels Airlines, easyJet and Ryanair are increasing their routes and capacity from Bristol. The airport was awarded “Highly Commended” in the ACI Europe Best Awards scheme this month. This is a confirmation of the work Bristol Airport is undertaking to serve the businesses and passengers of the region.

Every scheduled airline flying to and from Bristol Airport is available to book within Global Travel Management’s system. So we are very pleased to be able to offer flight, accommodation and other travel services for all businesses needing to make use of Bristol Airport. We congratulate them and are happy to help play our part in the airport’s future success.

So, what has Bristol Airport got to do with Clint Eastwood? They are exactly the same age – Bristol Airport was officially opened by HRH Prince George on 31 May 1930, the day Clint Eastwood was born.

Contact your GTM Account Manager next time you need to fly to or from Bristol Airport.

RyanAir – 07-08 Nov: Important Customer Information – Reservation System Upgrade

 

 RyanAir

 

Due to an essential reservation system upgrade the below services on www.ryanair.com and app will be unavailable on the 07th November 2018 17.00 (GMT) to 08th November 05:00 (GMT). Ryanair strongly recommends that customers travelling on Wednesday 07th November and Thursday 08th November ensure that they have checked in online and printed their boarding passes by Tuesday 06th November 2018.

Online Check-in – Not available from 17.00 (GMT) on Wednesday 07th November 2018 until 05:00 (GMT) on Thursday 08th November 2018.

Customers should check-in online before or after the above closure times. Online check-in is available up to 2 hours prior to the flight departure time (except during the closure period).

New Bookings cannot be made on Ryanair.com/Ryanair App between 17.00 (GMT) on Wednesday 07th November 2018 until 05:00 (GMT) on Thursday 08th November 2018.

Flight Changes (date/time/route) / name changes cannot be made between 17.00 (GMT) on Wednesday 07th November 2018 until 05:00 (GMT) on Thursday 08th November 2018.

Review Existing Booking – This service is unavailable between 17.00 (GMT) on Wednesday 07th November 2018 until 05:00 (GMT) on Thursday 08th November 2018.

Airport Check In /Bag Drop – The Airport Check In/Bag Drop desks open two hours prior to the scheduled departure and early check-in of baggage is highly recommended. The Bag Drop desks close strictly 40 minutes before the scheduled time of departure.

All passengers travelling with checked baggage are recommended to arrive at the airport 2 hours before their scheduled flight departure time.
Please contact your GTM Account Manager or Team for further information.

Ryanair releases list of all cancelled flights through 28 October

ryanair-aircraft-9

Ryanair has released a list of upcoming flight cancellations over the next six weeks.

The list, published on the airline’s website, reports that the cancellations will occur between 19 September and 28 October, and are expected to effect some 50 flights per day.

All Ryanair flights booked by GTM are being checked and monitored and travellers will be advised of any amendments.

Passengers can view the list at: www.ryanair.com/gb/en/useful-info/help-centre/travel-updates/flight-cancellations7

Ryanair to increase hold bag charges.

The no-frills airline Ryanair, plans to continue increasing the fees it charges customers for placing luggage into the hold of its aircraft.

Travellers on the budget airline currently pay anything from £25 to £160 for a hold bag on a one-way flight.  However, Ryanair’s CEO, Michael O’Leary, intends to up the price of checked bags still further, saying he plans to halve the 20 per cent of passengers who currently place their luggage into the hold.

Around 80 per cent of Ryanair passengers checked baggage into the hold before the airline first introduced a fee to do so.  O’Leary said: “I would be disappointed if we don’t get our figure down from around 20 per cent to 10 per cent.”   However, he added: “We will never get rid of [hold] bags.”

O’Leary also suggested that more airlines will start charging for cabin bags and follow the lead of Wizz Air which began charging for larger cabin bags in 2012.

Brian McFadden Versus Ryanair!

Tales of woe involving passengers on Ryanair have become familiar over the years. Nonetheless, it is good to be reminded of the fairly harsh financial penalties which the airline imposes on it’s customers who forget to print out their boarding passes and the like.

Former Westlife star Brian McFadden has Tweeted about his recent experience when flying with Ryanair…and he wasn’t impressed. McFadden forgot to print out his boarding pass and was charged £70 by the airline for doing so. He was also charged £80 for going 4 kilos over weight with his golf bag!

Instead of paying up the singer-songwriter chose to take the train instead. Ryanair hit back with the following comments from their spokeman Robin Kiely “We’re surprised that Mr McFadden, having agreed to print his boarding card, couldn’t manage this super-complex task, which is accomplished daily by over 80 million passengers annually.” Ouch!

So don’t forget your baording pass if flying with Ryanair.