The improvement does not mean airlines have solved the problem. Mishandled baggage, which includes delayed, damaged and lost luggage, still costs the aviation industry an estimated $6.3 billion every year. SITA estimates that each mishandled bag costs airlines around $260 on average, replacing the long-used estimate of $150 with a new benchmark based on research involving airlines and ground handling companies. The report points out that airlines earn an average net profit of just $8 per passenger, meaning that one mishandled bag can erase the profit from more than 30 passenger seats.

According to SITA, the latest improvements are the result of several technologies working together rather than one breakthrough innovation. Airlines and airports are increasingly sharing baggage information in real time, allowing staff to identify potential problems before bags go missing. Artificial intelligence (AI) is also helping operators predict delays, recommend alternative routes for luggage and make quicker operational decisions. Other technologies contributing to the lower mishandling rate include automated baggage sorting systems, biometric baggage drop, where passengers can identify themselves using facial recognition, and RFID baggage tags that allow luggage to be tracked electronically throughout its journey.

Passengers are also becoming part of the baggage tracking process. Many travellers now use location trackers such as Apple AirTags to monitor their luggage throughout their journey. By allowing airlines to access that location information when a bag goes missing, passengers can help speed up the recovery process. SITA says its integration with Apple’s Find My technology reduced permanently lost luggage by 90% during the first year of operation and shortened the recovery time for delayed bags by 26%. The company has also integrated Google’s Find Hub location-sharing feature into its baggage tracking platform, giving airlines another source of real-time location data.

Although baggage handling has improved overall, transfer flights continue to be the biggest source of problems. Bags that need to move between connecting flights accounted for 39% of all mishandled baggage cases in 2025, only a slight improvement from 41% the year before. International journeys are therefore much more likely to experience baggage issues than domestic flights because they usually involve more transfers, more baggage handlers and tighter connection times. Delayed baggage remains the industry’s biggest challenge, representing around three-quarters of all mishandled bags and roughly 70% of the total costs associated with baggage problems.

The report also highlights examples of how automation is reducing delays in practice. Thai Airways introduced SITA’s automated baggage management tools across nine airports, replacing several manual processes with digital systems. One task that previously took baggage staff around three minutes per bag now takes only one second. Besides saving staff time, the airline has been able to process delayed baggage more quickly, reduce paperwork and collect more detailed information about the causes of baggage delays, allowing it to improve operations further.

Looking ahead, airlines are planning further investment in digital baggage services. Around 73% say AI will be one of their IT investment priorities over the next two years, while half intend to provide passengers with real-time baggage updates throughout their journey. Industry-wide baggage tracking under IATA Resolution 753, an international standard that requires airlines to record baggage at key points such as check-in, loading, transfers and arrival, has now passed the 50% adoption mark, with full compliance targeted for 2027. SITA also expects future services to include printing baggage tags at home, dropping luggage off before arriving at the terminal and even routing bags separately from passengers when that improves efficiency.

L’article Airlines cut mishandled baggage by 23% but lost and delayed luggage still costs industry $6.3 billion est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

The figure beats last year’s record of 71.8 million on the move, but by an increase that is smaller than recent year-on-year gains. The number of people driving and flying to their destinations is relatively flat compared to last year, while travel by other modes, including cruises, is the category seeing the biggest increase. 

No matter how many days they spend on vacation, AAA says that going away during this time is customary. “For many Americans, traveling the week of the 4^th of July is tradition,” said Stacey Barber, Vice President of AAA Travel, adding: “The 9-day travel forecast includes travelers who are vacationing all week and people just getting away for the long holiday weekend. While the overall number of Independence Day travelers appears to be plateauing, we’re still expecting record volumes this year.”

If you’re flying somewhere this weekend, it’s going to be busy at airports across the country. TSA Officers are working hard to keep skies safe. Harassment, threats, or physical violence will not be tolerated. pic.twitter.com/koUbzgXH03

— TSA (@TSA) July 1, 2026

By car

The association is predicting 61.4 million people making Independence Day car journeys, nearly the same number as last year when 61.3 million took road trips on the America’s 6.6 million kilometres of tarmac. This means 85% of all those travelling for Independence Day are expected to drive to their destinations, despite fuel prices reaching four-year highs. Last year, the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline was $3.15. This year, prices are higher but remain lower than in 2022, when the national average was $4.80 on Independence Day. AAA points out, nonetheless, how cheap car travel is. “Regardless of those higher fuel prices, filling up the tank during a road trip is still cheaper than purchasing flights” the association said in a statement, “especially for families with kids.”

Meanwhile, AAA car rental partner Hertz expects Thursday, 2 July, to be the busiest pickup day, with Orlando, Denver, Boston, Los Angeles, and New York City experiencing the highest demand based on advanced bookings. According to AAA booking data, domestic car rentals are 10% more expensive compared to 2025.

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By air

AAA projects 5.85 million 4^th of July week flyers, an annual increase of 0.2%. Air passengers represent eight percent of all trips. Based on what consumers paid when booking, round-trip domestic flights to top destinations like Chicago and Denver are 5% more expensive than in 2025. Domestic flights overall are averaging about $830 (around €729) a ticket. 

Meanwhile, airline data has American Airlines preparing for record numbers of flyers between Thursday, 25 June and Monday, 6 July, with 8.1 million passengers booked on over 80,000 flights, a 10% increase since last year.

United Airlines is set for six million passengers over the holiday period (from Friday, 26 June to Monday, 6 July 2026). The airline has reported an increase in bookings for Philadelphia and Boston.

Alaska Airlines has 6,283 flights scheduled for the main holiday weekend (Friday, 3 July to Monday, 6 July), 2.5% more than last year. Friday and Monday are predicted to be its busiest days.

Other modes

Nearly five million (4.93m) Americans will take buses, trains, and cruises over Independence Day week, a 5.3% increase from last year. That number surpasses 2019’s 4.79 million journeys by other modes, due mostly, AAA says, to the “post-COVID cruising boom,” attributing the popularity of cruises to the predictability of their upfront, all-inclusive costs and wide-ranging destinations.

Destinations

AAA members are “heading to major U.S. cities over the 4^th of July week and flying internationally to Canada and Europe,” the association says. For cruises, Alaska is at peak season, meaning Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Seattle are top destinations.

Independence Day fireworks and festivities in New York, Chicago, and Boston also tend to draw big crowds. Florida’s theme parks, beaches, and cruise ports are reeling consumers in, and internationally, Vancouver is number one, followed by major European cities like Rome, Dublin, Paris, and London.

L’article Record 72 million Americans expected to travel over Independence Day 2026 est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

The research by the New Economics Foundation and commissioned by T&E has found that in Ireland and countries in southern Europe, which are very dependent on tourism, the cost of rental housing is rising faster than household incomes, leaving locals, including tourism workers, worse off.

Average annual rents in five of Europe’s largest tourism-dependent economies are projected to rise by up to €250 per year over the next five years (2026-2031) as a consequence of incoming air tourism, T&E says, claiming that “These rises will primarily affect lower-income households, as income fails to keep pace with rental costs.”

In absolute terms, Ireland is expected to see the largest rise, facing a rent increase of €250 per year. In relative terms, Greece, Portugal, and Spain are forecasted to see the largest increases, with rent price rises between €160 and €220, the study found.

The study argues there is a connection between the European regions facing the most intense local backlash against overtourism, such as the Balearic Islands, Crete, and Madeira, and the rise of commercial aviation. Anti-tourist feeling is highest, T&E says in the nations that “almost always register the highest volumes of foreign arrivals per resident, with the vast majority landing by air.”

Despite this negative sentiment and aviation’s contribution to climate change (an estimated 52% of the global tourism industry’s direct emissions and projected to rise over 60% between 2016 and 2030), governments are continuing to pursue incoming tourism as an economic strategy to drive up exports, T&E notes.

The green campaign group points to the fact that Spain has committed €12.9 billion toward airport investment, including the expansion of airports in Barcelona and Madrid. Athens, too, is currently rolling out a €1.3 billion expansion to boost annual passenger capacity by 25%, and terminal expansions are actively underway in Lisbon.

“We cannot separate the anti-tourism protests on the ground from the surge of flights arriving overhead. Trying to manage tourism overcrowding while simultaneously expanding airports in Dublin, Barcelona, or Lisbon is a losing battle,” Denise Auclair, Head of T&E’s Travel Smart Campaign, says, adding: “If governments are serious about protecting affordable housing and meeting climate targets, they must put an immediate stop to airport expansions and reconsider strategies for tourism and transport connectivity.”

The situation is made worse by large businesses capturing a growing share of tourism revenues while local tourism workers see no uplift in their salaries.

“So often when airports expand, local communities are promised a wealth of economic benefits, but what we’re seeing in the data challenges this assumption. Jobs have been created, but the low wages they offer are poor compensation for rising housing costs, stretched infrastructure and increasing pollution,” Dr Alex Chapman, Head of Economic Policy at the New Economics Foundation, said.

And yet another red flag to be flown as tourism grows is that “investment in non-tourism businesses falls as investors opt for property accumulation instead.” According to Chapman, “This leaves workers trapped by their housing costs, unable to move to better work or invest in their skills.” In short, higher property prices can reduce business investment in the wider economy. The study suggests that over the 2019-2031 period, business investment can be expected to fall most sharply in Greece, Portugal, Spain, and Italy.

T&E is calling for the forthcoming EU Sustainable Tourism Strategy to prompt “a critical review of the impacts of international air tourism arrivals in Europe, considering effects in vital areas such as housing.” The group also want international air arrivals to be reduced “in regions approaching tourism saturation” and for stakeholders to prioritise “low-carbon transport like rail and improving workers’ wages to support equitable value creation.”

L’article Air connectivity causing hike in European rents of up to €250 a year, study finds est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

The ‘Global Report on Women in Tourism Transport’ is the first analysis of its kind, providing sex-disaggregated data across air, land, and water passenger transport. It highlights women’s roles, challenges, and opportunities across the sector, while putting forward recommendations to support more inclusive, fair, and equitable employment in tourism transport.

The report starts with some key findings, which prove to be characteristic of the role of women in the tourism transport industry.

• 36% of people working in air passenger transport are women, while women make up just 6% of pilots in countries and territories with available data. While ‘air’ has the largest proportion of women working among the different passenger transport industries, ‘air’ accounts for only 2% of tourism transport employment in countries and territories with available data.
• 12% of people working in water passenger transport are women in countries and territories with available data. Water transport accounts for only 2% of tourism transport employment in countries and territories with available data.
• 3% of people working in land passenger transport are women in countries and territories with available data. This is by far the lowest proportion of women working among the different passenger transport industries, but ‘land’ accounts for 96% of tourism transport employment in countries and territories with available data.

“Tourism is meant to connect people and open doors. Yet in every part of tourism transport, too many doors remain closed to women. This report gives us the data to act with precision, not good intentions alone. Our responsibility now is to ensure that the women who keep this industry moving are also able to help lead it,” said UN Tourism Secretary-General Shaikha Al Nuwais.

Overall, women are underrepresented in both senior and board positions in tourism transport across all industries. Some of the biggest challenges faced by women in the sector include harassment, gender-based violence, and a lack of safe access to decent sanitation facilities.

The ‘Global Report on Women in Tourism Transport’ is not just meant as an analysis of the current reality but also as a means to provide recommendations to make the sector more open to female involvement.  It does so via five thematic areas with associated goals.

1. Gender-responsive laws, corporate policies and social protection. Gender-responsive laws, gendered corporate policies and social protection measures create institutional mechanisms for the advancement of gender equality, decent work and women’s empowerment in tourism transport employment.
2. Health, safety and working environments. Having safe and healthy working environments helps to attract and retain female talent in tourism transport by ensuring that women’s needs are met, that women feel safe and supported at work, that they are free of fear and harassment and have access to sanitary facilities and effective support services.
3. Education, training, career progression and leadership: Education, training and awareness-raising help to attract future talent, support women’s career development and enable access to leadership positions in tourism transport.
4. Measuring, monitoring and reporting. Measuring, monitoring and reporting data on tourism transport are critically important to track performance, ensure compliance, manage risks and facilitate research that informs decision-making for improving gender equality, decent work and women’s empowerment.
5. Collaboration and partnerships. Strong collaborations and partnerships enable the creation of inclusive, safe and sustainable work environments for women by fostering systemic change, enhancing resource efficiency and accelerating progress toward gender equality, decent work and women’s empowerment in tourism transport.

“Launching this report is not the end of the story, it is the beginning. ITF and UN Tourism have made a joint commitment to work with governments, employers, unions and industry partners to tackle the inequalities that persist across tourism transport. Our focus now is turning evidence into action,” stated ITF General Secretary Stephen Cotton.

By providing a clear overview of the current underrepresentation of women in the tourism transport industry, by encouraging data collection, by showcasing examples of good practice, and by giving detailed recommendations, UN Tourism and the International Transport Workers’ Federation aim to reduce the gender gap in the industry.

L’article UN Tourism and ITF call for more women in tourism transport industry est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

The agreement includes 18 Airbus A330neo aircraft, with additional aircraft forming part of the wider investment package. The A330neo is the latest version of Airbus’ A330 family and is designed for long-haul flights between continents. Compared with older aircraft, it consumes less fuel, produces less noise and offers a more efficient way of operating long-distance routes. While waiting for the new aircraft to be delivered from the early 2030s, SAS also plans to introduce a number of older A330-300 aircraft to support its expansion in the coming years.

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The order represents a remarkable turnaround for an airline that has faced years of financial challenges. Like many carriers, SAS was heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused passenger numbers to collapse and placed significant pressure on its finances. In 2024, the airline completed a restructuring process under the United States’ Chapter 11 bankruptcy system, a legal framework often used by international airlines because many aircraft financing and leasing agreements are governed by US law. The process reduced more than $2 billion in debt, brought in new owners led by Air France-KLM, and allowed SAS to rebuild its business. One year later, the airline returned to an operating profit after recording heavy losses in 2024, giving it the confidence to invest in the future of its fleet.

Before selecting Airbus, SAS also considered aircraft from Boeing for its long-haul operations. Remaining with Airbus, however, offers several practical advantages. The airline already operates Airbus A330 aircraft, meaning pilots, cabin crew and maintenance teams are familiar with the type. Using aircraft from the same manufacturer also reduces the need for additional training, spare parts and new maintenance equipment. The newer A330neo shares many components with the existing fleet, making the transition smoother and helping to keep operating costs under control.

For passengers, the investment is expected to bring noticeable improvements over the coming years. Modern aircraft generally offer quieter cabins and consume less fuel than previous generations, making flights more efficient and reducing their environmental impact. The newer aircraft may also feature updated cabin interiors and improved onboard comfort on long-haul services. As SAS expands its fleet, travellers could also benefit from additional destinations and more frequent intercontinental connections from Scandinavia.

The fleet renewal follows another major investment announced by SAS last year, when the airline ordered 55 regional aircraft from Brazilian manufacturer Embraer. Together, the two orders form the foundation of the airline’s long-term growth strategy. SAS has also outlined plans to strengthen its operations at Copenhagen Airport, its main international hub. According to the airline, the expansion could support around 25,000 additional jobs and contribute approximately 25 billion Danish kroner (€3.35 billion) to Denmark’s economy by 2030 through increased connectivity, tourism and business activity.

The announcement also highlights a broader trend across the aviation industry, where airlines are replacing older aircraft with newer and more fuel-efficient models. Rising fuel prices, stricter environmental targets and growing passenger demand are encouraging carriers to invest in modern fleets that are cheaper to operate over the long term. For Airbus, the order is another important success in Europe, as the manufacturer secured the deal despite competition from Boeing. The company has recently remained in the spotlight for other reasons as well, including inspections of a number of older A380 aircraft after cracks were discovered in part of their wing structure. While those inspections concern an ageing aircraft model, the latest order underlines that airlines continue to place their confidence in Airbus’ newest generation of long-haul aircraft.

L’article SAS places record Airbus order as Scandinavian airline prepares for long-haul expansion est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

The company held a groundbreaking ceremony on Monday for the site, which will be operated by Lufthansa Technik Portugal, a subsidiary created in 2024. Expected to create up to 700 aviation jobs over the coming years, the project represents a three-digit million-euro investment, according to Lufthansa Technik.

Focusing on the repair of engine parts and aircraft components, operations are scheduled to begin in 2028, but the investment goes beyond this single facility, eventually encompassing a new TravelTech and AI Hub in Northern Portugal and a new Portuguese “help alliance” or Associação. It is the first time such an organisation has been founded outside of Germany in Europe, an event that the Group says underscores its social commitment in the Portuguese market.

Lufthansa’s engagement in Portugal is, it says, “multi-dimensional.” Seven Group airline brands (Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Edelweiss, Eurowings and Discover Airlines) operate 353 weekly flights to Portuguese destinations across Lisbon, Porto, Faro, Madeira, and the Azores. With more than 500 employees already working across Portugal, and an ambition to create over 1,000 direct jobs in the years ahead, the Lufthansa Group is establishing one of its most significant bases beyond German borders.

The ceremony was attended by Portuguese Prime Minister Luís Montenegro, Lufthansa Group chief executive Carsten Spohr, Lufthansa Technik chief operating officer Harald Gloy, chair and chief executive of the trade and investment agency AICEP Madalena Oliveira e Silva, and local officials. During the event, Lufthansa Technik Portugal and AICEP, Portugal’s trade and investment agency, signed a final agreement covering investment incentives for economic development.

That understanding comes as Lufthansa pursues a potential role in the future ownership of TAP Air Portugal. After IAG, which wanted full control, dropped out of the running, Portugal asked Lufthansa and Air France-KLM to submit binding bids by the end of July for a 44.9% stake in TAP, with a further 5% reserved for employees. The Portuguese government has described the initial proposals from the two airline groups as broadly comparable across strategic, industrial, and financial criteria.

Speaking to the press, Spohr has described Lufthansa’s interest in TAP as “very strong,” and the Santa Maria da Feira investment as “a visible and powerful symbol of what the Lufthansa Group stands for in Portugal: a reliable, long-term industrial partner” of more than 70 years.

TAP’s Lisbon hub is considered a strategic asset because of its routes to Brazil, Portuguese-speaking African markets, and the United States. Lufthansa has previously expanded through stakes or ownership in European carriers including SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, and ITA Airways.

For Portugal’s travel sector, the Santa Maria da Feira project adds an aviation maintenance component to the country’s existing role as a leisure and business destination. If completed on schedule, the facility will bring technical capacity near Porto at a time when European airline groups are competing for network reach, maintenance capability, and access to long-haul markets.

L’article Lufthansa Technik breaks ground on Portuguese maintenance hub as TAP bid advances est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

One flight per week will fly from Brussels Airport at Zaventem to Ben Gurion Airport on Israel’s Mediterranean coast, operating on a Wednesday. According to airline spokesperson Joëlle Neeb, the service will be crewed in the first month by volunteer staff who are training or in administrative posts because many regular crew members have refused to work the route due to security concerns and regional unrest. Christian trade union ACV Puls/CNE had even called on its members not to handle Israeli flights as part of a refusal “to be involved in the normalisation of relations with Israel.”

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Lufthansa Group and Star Alliance member Brussels Airlines joins a number of international carriers that have restarted service, while others are still in the process of resuming schedules. Would-be travellers to or from Israel should check directly with their airline for the latest updates before making plans.

Other major European Tel Aviv services that have resumed or are resuming in June include:

• Austrian Airlines flights from Vienna;
• Bulgaria Air, El Al, and Wizz flights from Sofia and Varna;
• Arkia, Cyprus Air, El Al, Israir, TUS Air, and Wizz Air have resumed to and from Larnaca.
• Prague and Tel Aviv are connected by El Al, Smartwings, Israir, and Bluebird
• Copenhagen – operated by SAS, El Al, Norwegian Air
• Cairo – operated by EgyptAir
• Addis Ababa is served by Ethiopian Airlines
• Paris is served by Air France, Arkia, El Al, and Transavia
• Berlin is served by Bluebird and Israir, while other German city connectivity should open up through a number of carriers by mid-July.
• El Al, LOT, and Wizz Air have returned to Warsaw.
• Bucharest is currently served by El Al, Tarom, and Wizz Air, and elsewhere in Romania, Wizz Air flies to Iasi and Wizz Air flies to Cluj.
• Wizz also flies to Bratislava
• El Al, Arkia, Israir, Bluebird all fly to Barcelona.
• Madrid  is served by Air Europa, El Al, and Iberia
• Malaga services are offered in the summer months by Israir

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Disruption to commercial aviation in the Middle East has been ongoing since February 2026, when the United States and Israel attacked Iran, prompting military conflict and the closure of the key transit channel, the Strait of Hormuz. Prior to that, routes to Israel had already suffered multiple suspensions since the Hamas attacks of October 2023 and subsequent Israeli retaliations.

L’article Brussels Airlines to resume Tel Aviv flights in August est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

The UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has launched a “Pack right. Safe flight” campaign for the high travel season, warning air passengers not to pack personal items that use lithium batteries in hold luggage but instead to carry them into the cabin where they can be constantly monitored for overheating.

The consequences for placing items with rechargeable lithium batteries, including mobile phones, power banks, and vapes, in hold luggage could be devastating because they pose a “fire risk that could be uncontrollable,” the CAA said.

Though some flyers may think rechargeable devices are low-risk, everyday items, they present a danger of so-called “thermal runaway,” which is an uncontainable chain reaction in a battery where excess internal heat causes exothermic chemical reactions. These reactions in turn generate even more heat and so on in a vicious circle, quickly leading to battery failure, the release of toxic and inflammable gases, and the chance of fires or explosions.

We’ve launched a campaign highlighting the threat posed by over 100 million incorrectly packed batteries.

Power banks and vapes must be taken with you into the cabin.

Packing them incorrectly risks delays, or worse, an in-flight fire. pic.twitter.com/2aeo2MZyFf

— UK Civil Aviation Authority (@UK_CAA) June 26, 2026

Common causes of overheating include fast charging at high wattages, charging multiple devices simultaneously, poor ventilation, and ageing, damaged, or defective batteries and cables.

The quantity of such equipment that could be on board a crowded Airbus A380 flight could reach into the thousands if each passenger brought along multiple rechargeable items, so the general rule is two devices only per passenger. The devices must also meet certain safety standards, not exceed power limits, and be carried where they can be seen and easily accessed, not packed away in checked hold baggage.

Yet, CAA data reveals more than a third (36%) of travellers are unaware of the dangers of packing batteries in checked baggage, even though 92% fly with a mobile phone, 55% with a laptop and 49% with a power bank – suggesting hundreds of batteries could be incorrectly packed on a typical flight. In 2024, 316 aviation incidents involving lithium battery devices found in hold bags were reported to UK authorities. In 2025, that figure rose to 643, the CAA said.

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Giancarlo Buono, the CAA’s director of aviation safety, said: “Flying is by far the safest way to travel, and we want to keep it that way. Pack right for a safe flight, and that means don’t put your batteries in your checked bag. Take them into the cabin with you. This simple tip will make your flight safer for you and the other passengers you’re flying with.”

The safety campaign is supported by a number of airlines and stakeholders, including Virgin, Airlines UK, Airports UK, and Heathrow Airport. Tonya Fielding, Head of Security at the UK’s busiest hub, said: “We’re pleased to be joining forces with the CAA to raise awareness of the dangers posed by incorrectly packed lithium batteries, with the risks still not fully understood by some travellers. As we approach one of the busiest periods of the year, we are working closely with our airline partners to make sure passengers have clear guidance to travel safely and confidence.”

L’article Power banks and vapes pose number one risk to aviation safety, UK regulator says est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

The Entry/Exit System (EES) was phased in between autumn 2025 and spring 2026, and is now supposed to be in force at border checkpoints all over the bloc, requiring travellers from third countries to register biometric information such as facial images and fingerprints so that their movements can be easily tracked and security is enhanced.

Palermo airport has just 1 border policeman processing hundreds of passengers and only just opened the e-gates for EU passport holders after huge queues – make sure you have at least 3 hours in hand! #brexit #EES pic.twitter.com/8rJ5RRsMaa

— Rajeeb Dey MBE (@rajdey) June 28, 2026

But the introduction of the EES has seen episodes of chaos at airports and ports across the union, including Humberto Delgado airport in Lisbon, where extra law enforcement has had to be deployed to manage mass queues, and in Milan, where a flight to Manchester hit the headlines for having to leave over 120 passengers behind when they were delayed by EES processes.

In May, after the official 10 April deadline for full implementation, the European Commission extended the period of flexibility for hubs to pause EES registrations temporarily to ease operational challenges until September 2026.

But with even European security stakeholders such as Frontex director Uku Särekanno warning that EES-related disruption could last as long as two years, and industry bodies warning the cost to the European sector could be over €45 billion in visitor spending, Greece has already taken the unilateral decision to suspend EES checks in an effort to ensure its tourism sector and border points continue to operate smoothly over the summer.

Now the head of Rome’s airport management has said the Italian capital will do the same, in order to avert disaster. “We are very worried for the summer,” said Marco Troncone, the chief executive of Aeroporti di Roma, which operates Fiumicino and the smaller Ciampino airport, speaking to the Financial Times. “The process proves to be incompatible with the peak volumes that we are going to face. So the only way is to open up the valve. There is no way that we can deliver 100% of the enrolment.”

However, Stefan Schulte, president of the European airports trade body, ACI Europe, has said in comments to the BBC that any suspension of the border system should be a matter for governments to decide, not individual transport hubs.

To make matters worse, with such conflicting statements emerging from actors across Europe’s travel industry and increasingly inconsistent application of the rules from country to country (and even between hubs in the same nation), the disruption, inconvenience, and lack of clarity to travellers risks getting worse.

L’article Rome to suspend new EU Entry Exit System to avoid summer chaos, airport chief says est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

The airline had been subject to an investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) over its requirement for parents to reserve paid-for “mandatory” family seats if flying with children aged between two and 11 years old. Costing around €10, the seating arrangement gave parents the option to “select reserved seats beside them for up to four children on the same booking, free of charge.”

RYANAIR TWEAKS SEAT ALLOCATION FOR FAMILIES TO MATCH INDUSTRY STANDARD.

For bookings from today (25 June) free parent seats will be available in rear of aircraft but families can still choose their preferred seats if they so wish.

More information in below.

— Ryanair (@Ryanair) June 25, 2026

Instead, from 25 June, parents flying with Ryanair who do not wish to select or pay for a reserved seat, will be advised of their (free of charge) seat allocation after they have checked in for their flight, as is the case with most other airlines in Europe.

In a press release, Ryanair said the rule change was “revenue-neutral for Ryanair” but it pointed out what it implied were the disadvantages of this approach: “Families opting for this random allocation of seats beside each other are likely to be seated towards the rear of the aircraft cabin, as front rows tend to be reserved and sell out first. Families who prefer to choose their seats at the time of booking and secure premium front rows will be allowed to do so by paying a seat reservation fee, in line with the policy applied by most other European airlines,” the carrier’s statement said.

The policy U-turn came just two weeks after the CMA said the budget carrier’s terms and conditions require at least one parent to sit with their children, including those with disabilities, and charges to do so. The authority’s investigation was aimed at establishing whether those terms and conditions were in breach of consumer law, focusing on how clearly passengers were shown the total price of their flight ahead of booking.

We’re investigating Ryanair over its practice of charging parents to sit with their children – including those with disabilities – and whether this could be unfair under consumer protection law.

Read more: https://t.co/m06825a79J

— Competition & Markets Authority (@CMAgovUK) June 11, 2026

The UK consumer champion Which? had previously welcomed the CMA announcement, with travel editor Rory Boland calling its terms and conditions “unreasonable” and a “harsh approach to separating families and making parents pay a fee to sit next to children as young as three.”

But O’Leary complained: “The CMA has now targeted our family seating policy which has been universally embraced by consumers as the most progressive and transparent in Europe. Instead of promoting competitiveness and lower fares for consumers, the CMA is on a mission to force Ryanair to adopt the less transparent and less consumer-friendly family seating policy applied by most other airlines – just because it’s the industry standard.”

Positioning the airline as having a better handle than authorities on what flyers want, O’Leary confirmed: “We will reluctantly adjust to this industry standard as we don’t want to waste time explaining to misguided regulators how badly they misunderstand what is in the best interest of UK and Europe’s consumers.”

L’article Ryanair changes family seating policy under pressure from consumer rights authority est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.