Severe weather threatens Easter holiday travel
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Scottish Sun
2 days ago
- Scottish Sun
Budget airline launches new flight routes from UK to 5 top Spanish destinations including ‘Europe's best city'
The airline has also added flights to three other new destinations starting this October CIAO BELLA Budget airline launches new flight routes from UK to 5 top Spanish destinations including 'Europe's best city' WIZZ AIR is launching five new routes from the UK to top Spanish destinations in time for next summer. The budget airline will fly from the London Luton Airport to Bilbao, Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia and Seville from March 29, 2026. 5 Wizz Air is launching five new routes to Spain in time for next summer Credit: Alamy 5 Included in the destinations is Valencia - recently named 'Europe's best city' by Conde Nast Traveller Credit: Alamy Flights from London Luton Airport include daily flights to Madrid, as well as 10 flights a week to Barcelona. The new routes will make Wizz Air one of the key providers of budget travel to Spain. Launching just before the Easter holidays and in time for summer, flights will be available from as little as £17.99. Tickets are already available for the routes too. Running five times a week will be flights to 'Europe's best city', according to Conde Nast Traveller. In the publication's 2024 Readers' Choice Awards for the best cities in Europe, Valencia scored the highest with CNT stating: "A new winner for 2024 – Valencia is having a moment. "Spain's third-largest city has regenerated a former riverbed into a delightfully bucolic urban park and opened sleek rooftop bars, innovating and refreshing until it became – according to our readers – the best city break in Europe this year. "From Art Deco grandeur to beachside resorts, here are eight of the city's loveliest addresses to know." Located on the banks of the Turia, the Spanish city was originally founded by a Roman colony. Today it boasts a historical charm worth exploring, with attractions including the El Carmen neighbourhood. The Spanish surf spot with year-round sun and some of the best stargazing in the world There is a great cultural scene, too, with many top culinary spots to try. And for those who like to fly and flop, the city is home to 13 kilometres of sandy beaches with a lush Mediterranean climate. To celebrate the launch of the new routes, the airline is also offering travellers the chance to win free flights to one of the destinations. Clues will be shared for a scavenger hunt across London on the airline's Instagram account. The first person to head to three Spanish landmarks Wizz Air shares will win. 5 The other destinations include Bilbao, Barcelona, Seville and Madrid Credit: Alamy 5 The flights start from as little as £17.99 Credit: Alamy Yvonne Moynihan, managing director at Wizz Air UK, stated: "While some airlines stick to siestas, we're bringing serious competition with our signature low fares and high-efficiency model. "We are proud to do things the WIZZ way - always customer-first making travel accessible and affordable to all with unbeatable value flying brand new aircraft." Jonathan Rayner, chief commercial officer at London Luton Airport said: "The continued and rising demand for city break destinations has been clear to see this year and these eye-catching additions to our departure boards build on the wealth of fantastic options already available from LLA." Wizz Air is also launching new routes to Italy and Austria in October, with flights to Milan Malpensa, Rome Fiumicino and Vienna International Airport all running daily. Fares for these flights can also be found as low as £17.99. Wizz Air's new routes to Spain THESE are all the new routes Wizz Air is launching in time for next summer. London Luton to Bilbao will run five times a week, with flights starting at £17.99 London Luton to Barcelona will run 10 times a week, with flights starting from £17.99 London Luton to Madrid will run daily, with flights starting from £20.99 London Luton to Valencia will run five times a week, with flights starting from £17.99 London Luton to Seville will run four times a week, with flights starting from £17.99 A new UK airline with cheap US fares has also been 'parked' after just two flights, and now people are fearing it's been scrapped for good. Plus, Emirates has a budget airline and it's rolling out new business class seats.
Daily Record
5 days ago
- Daily Record
Will Scotland's school holidays change after English pupils get half-term extension?
The shake-up means children are having the autumn half term holiday extended for one particular reason School holidays are often a blessing and a curse for parents and children. While pupils will be happily enjoying the time off until they have to pick up their pen and paper again, parents might struggle for activities to keep them occupied. However, when it comes to holidays, mums and dads might want more leeway to allow them to snap up off-peak travel deals. And down in England, they are accommodating that, with some pupils getting a half-term extension. Certain schools south of the border are granting pupils an additional week off to allow parents to take advantage of "cheaper holidays". The autumn half-term break is being extended from one week to two in a bid to make holidays more affordable for parents. To compensate, the length of school days will be slightly increased throughout the year. Schools leading the change include North Walsham High School and Long Stratton High School, both managed by the same trust in Norfolk. The Enrich Learning Trust, which operates North Walsham and Long Stratton high schools, said: "Having consulted with their school communities, they are planning a pilot of a two-week half-term in October 2025, with the aim of improving attendance in the second half of the autumn term, having had a slightly longer break." So, could Scotland's schools follow suit and have their holidays changed to mimic what's happening down south? Well, in Scotland, each local authority sets its own terms and school holidays. The school year covers three terms and lasts at least 190 days (38 weeks). The school year usually begins in the second or third week of August. There are breaks of one or two weeks in October and at Christmas and Easter. Some education authorities have a short break in mid-February. Schools also have a number of single day holidays, in line with Scotland's system of local holidays. Currently, there are no plans to change Scotland's school holidays, and there have been little changes in recent times. Even during Covid, in December 2020, proposals to extend the Christmas school holidays were scrapped. Fast forward to May this year, proposed changes to school terms in North Lanarkshire were knocked back after a consultation exercise showed strong support for the current arrangements. The first option was similar to the status quo, including the September weekend, one week off in October, and a Monday and Tuesday holiday for the February mid-term break. The other option was one day less at the September weekend, two weeks' holiday in October, and a Friday-Monday holiday for the February mid-term break. This would also have seen the February in-service day moved to January and holidays reduced in December, April and May. More than half said they preferred the first option. However, last month, West Lothian council did agree to revise its term dates for the new school year in 2026-27 after concerns were raised about the SQA exam dates. The changes will see the Easter holiday moved forward, and will also take account of the council election in early May 2027. Taking to North Lanarkshire Council's Facebook when the options were put forward, one parent wrote: "Option B... will make the cost of a holiday much cheaper in October as you will have more flexibility on your dates. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. "Shame they don't make the summer holiday one week shorter and keep some of the traditional bank holidays like the September weekend." A second shared: "An extra week in October sounds fine but not when it's taking the other long weekends from throughout the year. A week off of the summer holidays and adding it to October would make more sense to me." A third added: "October is not a good month to have two weeks off. It's cold, it's dark. Kids will be inside and use more energy/electricity/heating. There's more options in April when it's spring. So for me I would leave it as is."
South Wales Guardian
5 days ago
- South Wales Guardian
Ryanair profits more than double on Easter timing and fare hikes
The Irish carrier reported profits after tax of 820 million euros (£710.3 million) for the three months to the end of June, up from 360 million euros (£311.8 million) a year earlier. Revenues jumped by 20% to 4.34 billion euros (£3.76 billion), boosted by the timing of Easter but also as Ryanair saw fares rise – in particular better-than-expected fares for last-minute bookings. The average fare rose 21% year-on-year to 51 euros (£44.18) in the quarter, it said. The group is seeing fares rebound after it cut them by 7% in its previous financial year as under-pressure consumers reined in spending. But it said passenger growth was still being held back by delays to new aircraft deliveries, up 4% to 55.5 million in its first quarter despite the Easter boost. It expects a rise of 'just 3%' to 206 million passengers over the full year in spite of strong summer travel demand. The group has repeatedly slashed its annual passenger forecast, with the last revision in January, blaming aircraft delivery delays from Boeing. Fares will also not rise by as much in the second quarter, it added. Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary said: 'We do, however, cautiously expect to recover almost all of last year's 7% full-year fare decline, which should lead to reasonable net profit growth in full year 2025-26. 'The final 2025-26 outcome remains heavily exposed to adverse external developments, including the risk of tariff wars, macro-economic shocks, conflict escalation in the Middle East and Ukraine and European air traffic control strikes, mismanagement and short staffing.'
