6 | UPDATES


Ryanair Announce Latest Approved Online Travel Agent Partnership RYANAIR


announced its latest


“Approved OTA” partnership with Trip.com. This collaboration will allow Trip.com Group to offer Ryanair flights to travellers. Similar to Ryanair’s existing


“Approved OTA” agreements, this new deal ensures that travellers booking Ryanair flights via the Trip. com Group’s platform will have their contact and payment information provided to Ryanair. This guarantees access to their myRyanair account and direct delivery of essential flight information without the need for additional customer verification. Travellers can expect to start booking Ryanair flights directly through Trip.com in the coming weeks.


www.nitravelnews.com


September/October 2024


New NI Themed Restaurant Scheduled To Land at Belfast City Airport


BELFAST City Airport has announced


the incoming


arrival of a new Northern Irish themed restaurant, Samson’s Kitchen & Bar, to its Departures Lounge. Creating 30 new jobs, Samson’s Kitchen & Bar will further enhance Belfast City Airport’s food and beverage offering with the introduction of table service, which will be the first of its kind for the airport. Welcoming the addition, Michael Jackson, Head of Commercial at Belfast City Airport, said: “We are excited to bring a taste of Northern Ireland to our Departures Lounge, helping us to further cater to the preferences of our passengers. “From traditional favourites


to modern twists, the menu will incorporate locally sourced ingredients and will be themed around the iconic Samson and Goliath cranes – an instantly recognisable


Ryanair Boss Calls for Crackdown on Pre-Flight


Drinking RYANAIR CEO Michael O’Leary is calling for responsible monitoring of pre-flight drinking at airports. He has expressed concern over the increasing number of air rage incidents this summer.


O’Leary attributes this rise partly to the


high volume of flight delays, which give passengers more time to consume alcohol and lead to frustration during long waits in airport lounges. To tackle this issue, O’Leary suggests implementing a two-drink maximum per boarding pass at airports to regulate airport drinking. He highlighted a surge in unruly passengers on flights, mainly due to flight delays, resulting in increased incidents of in-flight altercations. O’Leary


mentioned that passenger


conflicts onboard flights have become a significant challenge for airline crews, with assaults occurring on a weekly basis. He specifically pointed out flights from Liverpool and Glasgow to Ibiza as problematic routes.


Ryanair Calls on Irish Government to


Scrap 2007 Dublin Airport Traffic Cap RYANAIR has called on the Irish Govt to scrap the 32m Dublin Airport traffic cap, which they say is now damaging growth in Irish tourism, and increasing the cost of air travel. The airlines at Dublin Airport


have been warned they will not receive extra slots for Christmas flights this winter or sporting events such as Rugby Internationals


and Premier


League matches. Now the IAA has suggested that


in order to comply with the 32m traffic cap, Summer 2025 traffic at Dublin must be reduced by up to 1m passengers. Ryanair claim that any such reductions will damage Irish tourism and jobs, and will lead to much higher fares


for passengers and Irish families going on holidays in 2025. Ryanair highlighted that this 17-year-old traffic cap should no longer apply because it was introduced in 2007 to address then concerns that road traffic to/from Dublin Airport would exceed road capacity when Dublin reached 32m passengers. No such strain exists and road traffic around Dublin Airport is moving freely, thanks to a large switch to public transport (bus services) to/from the airport. Ryanair


state that since the


circumstances have changed, and there is no threat to road traffic, the Irish Govt should now act to scrap this unnecessary but deeply damaging 2007 traffic cap.


staple of Belfast’s landscape. “This further builds on our reputation as the ‘heart of Belfast’, and our convenient location, coupled with our excellent security processing times, means that passengers will have even more time to dine and unwind at our new restaurant before they fly. “With a family friendly atmosphere


and elevated


menu options, Samson’s Kitchen & Bar truly has something for everyone to enjoy.”


Samson’s Kitchen & Bar is a bespoke concept exclusively created by TRG Concessions in collaboration with Belfast City Airport. Scheduled to open in


late September, Samson’s Kitchen & Bar will follow a busy summer period that saw up to 10,000 passengers a day travelling through the terminal to destinations including Alicante, Palma de Mallorca, and Reus.


in July 2024 - Up 33% from last year ETIHAD Airways, the national carrier of the UAE, has released its preliminary traffic figures for July 2024.


Etihad Airways’


The airline welcomed 1.7 million passengers, achieving a robust average load factor of 89%


Etihad Welcome 1.7 Million Passengers for the month.


CEO,


Antonoaldo Neves, said: “Our passenger numbers in July surged by 33% compared to the same period last year, underscoring our continuing strong growth.”


NI Hays Travel Branches Raise Over £18,000 for Local Autism Charity


HAYS Travel teams from across Northern Ireland have been fundraising for a leading autism charity. Hays Travel has 24 branches in Northern Ireland, who have donated over £18,000 to chosen charity partner, Autism NI. Each Hays Travel branch is provided with a £500 budget to


use for fundraising and charity work in their local area; £200 of this is to be used to fundraise for charities which support young people’s mental health, and the other £300 can be used for charities chosen by the branch. This year Hays Travel teams in Northern Ireland chose to join forces and all fundraise for Autism NI. With activities from cake sales to abseiling, the travel agents managed to raise a total of £9,594.55. Much of this was then match funded by the Hays Travel Foundation, resulting in a total donation of £18,666.67. Nicola Allison, Hays Travel Regional Sales Manager, said:


“I’m so proud of our amazing teams across Northern Ireland who have rallied together and worked so hard to raise as much money as possible for this fantastic charity.”


Ryanair to Run Extra 50,000 Seats Through


Belfast This Christmas RYANAIR has warned passengers to book their Christmas flights to/ from Dublin early this year as air fares (particularly from London) are rising rapidly. The airline has claimed this is due to the 32m traffic cap at Dublin Airport. Ryanair has stated that it, and other Dublin airlines, have been


prevented from adding extra


flights to Dublin this year, due to this 32m traffic cap. Availability of Ryanair’s fares from London to Dublin are ‘running out quickly’ because Ryanair has not been given the slots to run its traditional 270,000 extra seats to/from Dublin. Instead, Ryanair will run an extra 50,000 seats from London to Belfast. Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary said:


“We urge passengers intending to travel home to Dublin for Christmas to book their flights early as cheap seats are selling out quickly. Currently today in late Aug, our lowest fares from London to Dublin on Fri 20th, Sat 21st or Sun 22nd December are rapidly approaching €100 one- way due to this Government’s failure to allow airlines to run extra flights to/from Dublin this Christmas.” The airport cap has been in place from 2007 after fears that roads to Dublin would become congested due to an influx of travellers to the airport.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88