This guide gives you 10 things for you and your family to help beat the stress!

1. Take out travel insurance before you fly. Many insurance plans cover you in the case of cancelled flights, but always read the small print and know your rights before you take it out.
2. Check your flight status BEFORE you leave for the airport. If it’s cancelled, you have already saved yourself the stress! There are plenty of online flight monitors that work in real time and teletext still works!
3. Check your flight status when you arrive and crucially, BEFORE you go through security. If it is cancelled before you go through, go and check with the airline desk when you are likely to be able to board the next flight.
4. Leave plenty of time to check in and get through security. Most airports are now suggesting a 3 hour advanced arrival for flights.
5. Use your hand luggage to pack things that will keep you busy – Bring a charged iPod or iPhone, handheld computer console. Bring a paperback book you’ve been meaning to read and ensure you have a colouring book and small pencils for the little children.
6. Make sure you have added several websites to your phone bookmarks before you set off. For example, if you are flying out of Gatwick, make sure you have a local taxi firm on your bookmarks and a list of Gatwick hotels, just in case you have to wait for an extended time. You can also add the BBC news site, your airlines contact details and their homepage to ensure you have all of the information should a problem arise.
7. Drink plenty of liquids. Don’t take any through the security with you, but ensure you have enough coins to buy water and fruit juice drinks when you are waiting. Avoid coffee and tea, it will heighten your stress levels and dehydrate you.
8. Don’t forget the internet. Most airports have wireless internet available, sometimes free, especially if you already have a mobile phone contract. Check out what you can get from your phone provider before setting off and make sure you have a credit card handy to get online at the airport lounges. This expense can sometimes be refunded if you are facing a cancellation and you can prove you needed the internet to contact loved ones, research hotels or find alternative flight.
9. Play the airport game with your children. Give them a piece of paper and a pen to write down all of the different airlines they can see through the airport lounges and award a small prize for whoever finds the most. Play Airport Snooker with them, can they find a plane with red on it and then a plane with yellow and then green and so on. It’ll keep them amused for hours.
10. Get back to the main terminal for shops and restaurants. Don’t forget this one; it is easily overlooked when you are cooped up in a lounge waiting for a flight. You do have the right to go back in to the terminal, just check with the security people the way you came in, there is usually a way to get back out. Be warned however, you will need to come back through security again so make sure you leave enough time once your flight is announced again.

Summer Travel Chaos at UK Airports

If the proposal for strike action is agreed, then we could see major disruption to flights around the BAA owned airports such as Heathrow and Glasgow to name but two. If you add in the threat of more industrial action by British Airways cabin crew, our summer getaways could be thrown in to chaos.

So what’s the solution? For some, there is no solution, for those who still have a choice, it would appear you need to fly from Gatwick and avoid British Airways. Some of the Gatwick airport hotels are much nicer than the Heathrow ones, including the Gatwick Hilton and some of the airport services seem to be much better these days too, so its not like you don’t have a valid alternative to Heathrow, even if it is a little further away from home. Even then, the Gatwick Express that runs from Victoria has you there in less than 15 minutes from central London.

It probably won’t be as simple as changing airport, as others hurry to snap up flights on alternative operators going out of alternative airports not owned by BAA. The congestion and pressure on airline seats inevitably mean more chaos as a result, even if you are proactive about it now.

Simply put, we need the government to step in and sort this constant mess out. Year after year we see the same problems arise and yet our government sits by idle, too busy collecting the cash off the increased duty on airplane fuel to do anything about it.

We could just vote with our feet and stay at home, but then we’d just moan about the British weather, right?

Starting on the 26th of April, no one will be allowed to drop off or pick up passengers outside the Newcastle Airport terminal building for free.  Instead there will be a “pick-up and drop off” car park about three minutes’ walk from the terminal that will cost £1.00 for up to 20 minutes.

What a bargain, right?  Tell that to the cab drivers who currently get to park outside the terminal for up to five minutes at no cost.  One cabbie told BBC News that it’s going to cost him around £20 a week now to drop off passengers, a cost that he’s unable by law to add onto his regular tariff.

New parking fees causing a stir

So let’s see…Newcastle International has so far managed to disgruntle the cab drivers and make it less convenient for passengers to use the airport.  While they’re on a roll, why not charge people admission to enter the terminal building?

But there may be a method to the madness.  A Newcastle Airport spokesperson said:

“We’re one of the very few airports of our size that has been able to not only retain a free period but increase it.

“We’ve listened to customers and offsite taxi drivers and they’ve been telling us that the five minute period that is currently available in front of the terminal building isn’t long enough.  So we’ve put in place a plan that will allow us to extend the period to 15 minutes.

“If we were to extend the existing provision immediately in front of the terminal building to 15 minutes, we wouldn’t be able to accommodate it because of the very limited space.”

It’s not clear at present how or when they will eventually expand the time allowed to 15 minutes, but in the meantime there’s bound to be a lot more (justified) grumbling amongst passengers and cab drivers who have to use the airport.

So, what do you think of the new Newcastle Airport parking fees?  Leave a comment and let us know.

The chosen images will be enlarged to a floor-to-ceiling size and form part of the new Arrivals Experience in Terminal 1.

Terminal 1 will soon host public's choice of photos depicting "the people and places of Manchester"

If you’re interested in taking part, you can submit as many photographs as you want, and they can be current or historical in nature, but you’ll have to hurry because you only have until this Friday, the 19th of March to enter the contest.

All entries must be submitted to Manchester Airport’s Flickr group, where you can also find more details.

And if you’re looking for the cheapest Manchester Airport parking around, be sure to pay gosimply.com a visit.  You might not get your photo displayed in the airport terminal, but the money you’ll save will make you feel like a winner anyway.

Grounded Planes - Soon to be a common sight?

BBC News is reporting that British Airways has implemented extensive contingency plans, including training 1,000 staff to work as cabin crew to cover striking workers.  They are also looking to hire charter aircraft to keep as many flights as possible in operation.

A British Airways spokesperson has said that flights from London City Airport and 70% of flights from Gatwick, including all long-haul flights, should be operational.  He went on to say that Heathrow would be able to offer some long and short-haul services.

If you’re planning on travelling on the strike dates, be sure to check with BA for the latest information before you leave to find out if your plans will be affected.

“The closure of Terminal 2 marks an important moment in the modernisation of Heathrow. We look forward to the new Terminal 2 providing a new home for the Star Alliance and a better experience for our passengers, with less impact on the environment,” said BAA Chief Executive Colin Matthews.

Lee Hock Lye, Vice President Product and Services, Star Alliance added:  “The closure and subsequent demolition of Terminal 2 will make way for our new home at Heathrow. This will finally allow our member carriers to operate under one roof at one of the world’s largest aviation hubs, placing us on at least an equal footing with others.”

Work on the new terminal begins in 2010 and it will open to the public in 2014.  This complete revamp of Terminal 2, in conjunction with a major rebuilding programme across Heathrow, is hoped to help the airport remain one of the world’s most exciting aviation hubs.

Because of the closure, all passengers are advised to check with their airlines or the Official Heathrow Airport website before departing on their trips.

Any customers who have booked their airport parking for Terminal 2 through gosimply.com will be notified of any changes to their arrival procedures as a result of the closure, and customers with questions should write to us via our contact form.

The Greek airline will operate a Boeing 747-200 aircraft with 450 seats, and the flights will have onward connections to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.

Talal Abureyal, Chariman of Hellenic Imperial Airways, said:  “Birmingham is our first UK airport and we are very excited about launching services in the Midlands. Athens, which is our HQ, is not currently served from Birmingham so we expect that our flights will be welcomed by those travelling for business and leisure, in particular those visiting friends and relatives.”

The new flights are sure to be popular with not only Athens-bound travellers, but also those heading for Saudi Arabia, and with Birmingham Airport parking priced as low as around £30* for a week when you pre-book there’s no need to rely on a taxi or a friend to get you to the airport.

* 1 week’s Birmingham Airport parking commencing 08/26/09.

A new track will reopen on the 28th of April 2010, with a second track to open in July 2010.  In the meantime, a replacement bus service will run from the North Terminal forecourt to the South Terminal forecourt for passengers who need to travel between the two terminals.

While these works are being carried out, travellers requiring Gatwick Airport parking will be able to save time by choosing a car park that provides transfers directly to their departure terminal.  This information is clearly shown on gosimply.com, so you can be sure to choose the most appropriate location to suit your plans.

The Canary Islands should expect 11% more Welsh tourists next month, and Malaga is also set to see visitor numbers rise.  Bmibaby revealed figures showing that 8% more tourists would be heading to southern Spain, while other resorts like Menorca have witnessed a significant increase in their year-on-year booking numbers.   Crawford Rix, managing director of the low-cost airline, said the figures prove that people are still keen to enjoy exotic breaks abroad.  “We are seeing a strong demand from passengers for sunshine destinations, with Alicante, Palma and Malaga topping our lists from Cardiff,” he said.

With the influx of Welsh travellers expected to travel through the airport’s doors, demand is sure to be high for parking at Cardiff Airport.  It makes more sense than ever to pre-book your space as soon as possible to avoid higher prices later this summer.

In the first quarter of 2009, 85% of all charter flights departed on time, compared to the national average of 68%.

Newcastle Airport

Scheduled flights also outperformed the national average, with 82% departing on time between January and March of this year.  In addition, the average length of unavoidable delays to chartered flights was less than half that of every other airport in the survey.

Dave Laws, chief executive of Newcastle International Airport, praised the teamwork and efforts of employees across the business, and also said, “This survey reinforces the sense in flying from Newcastle International, rather than travelling to larger airport where punctuality suffers and delays are often much longer.”

Their excellent record for on-time flights isn’t the only good news for travellers in the Northeast of England.  Park and Fly Newcastle, a GoSimply Award-winning airport parking service, is located just 0.2 miles from the terminal building at Newcastle Airport.