Ryanair fumbles check-in, hundreds delayed

by Katie Hammel on

Hundreds of Ryanair passengers were left behind on Sunday, when a shortage of check-in desks caused them to miss their flights out of London’s Stansted Airport. The airline, which encourages passengers to check in online, only opened 11 check-in desks on one of the UK’s busiest travel weekends of the year, when 255 flights were scheduled to depart. 23 desks were open the previous weekend.

Over 500 passengers missed their flights. Ryanair issued an apology saying that their baggage handler, Swissport, (who also issued an apology statement) was short-staffed.

As of October, the point will be moot though, as Ryanair will no longer offer airport check-in. The airline has also announced that plans are in the works to eliminate baggage-handling as well. Passengers would need to carry their own bags up to the airplane doors.

Paying for the toilets, loading your own luggage, standing on flights. . .what’s next Ryanair? I’m guessing the planes won’t even bother to land, and we’ll just need to parachute out at our destination.

[via Breaking Travel News]

Want to illegally enter the UK? Hide under a border police bus!

by Scott Carmichael on

An illegal immigrant managed to sneak into the United Kingdom last week by hiding under a bus taking the channel tunnel.

This probably happens 100’s of times a week, and most of the immigrants get caught. What made this story interesting was not that this illegal alien picked a bus, but what the bus was being used for.

Instead of a bus full of tourists heading back home, this guy managed to pick a busload of UK border protection agents. A pre-departure check did not spot the stowaway, as he managed to hide next to the fuel tank.

When the bus arrived in Folksestone, the immigrant sprinted off, and even a bus load of border cops couldn’t catch him.

Illegal immigration into the UK is a huge problem, the large number of trucks and other vehicles making the crossing doesn’t make things easier – immigrants hang on to speeding freight trains, hide under cars and climb inside trucks to hide between their cargo.

%Gallery-13474%

%Gallery-68288%

Listen to Africa expedition wants us to do just that

by Kraig Becker on

Back in March, two Brits, Huw WIlliams and Rebecca Sumner, set off on a proposed two year, 15,000 mile journey, across Africa by bicycle. Their intention is to explore the cultures and landscapes of more than a dozen countries, all the while making audio recordings of the things they hear along the way.

The pair have dubbed their adventure the Listen to Africa Expedition, and their goal is to record samplings not only the natural sounds of the continent, such as the abundant wildlife, but also the oral histories and music of the people that live there. They hope to share these wide variety of sounds with the rest of the world to bring a better understanding of the continent and the people that live there.

The expedition actually began in the U.K. with Huw and Rebecca catching the ferry to France before riding across that country to catch another boat to Africa. They arrived in Tangier, Morocco and began making their way down Africa’s western coast. As of this writing, they are currently in Mauritania, but with no set route, it is hard to tell where they will be going next.

The expedition’s official website offers more information about their plans and includes a blog in which they post regular updates on the team’s progress. But most interesting of all are the audio clips they have already uploaded, which includes the sound of the wind in the Sahara, a variety of birds, music from Morocco, and much more. Listening to these clips while reading their blog entries makes for a vary interesting experience, and it really underscores the goals of the project.

Be sure to check back on the Listen to Africa website for regular updates. This seems like an interesting project to follow and should be fun to keep up with.

British Airways says, “Sandwiches? You don’t need no stinkin’ sandwiches!”

by Sean McLachlan on

British Airways has announced that as of next week it will no longer serve sandwiches on its short-haul flights, the BBC has reported.

The move, which the airline hopes will save £22 million ($36.3 million) a year, will affect all flights after 10am that last less than two-and-a-half hours. Passengers will be served “snacks” instead, most likely meaning a tiny bag of pretzels and a thimbleful of orange juice in a little cup filled with ice. Early morning flights will still serve breakfast, such as it is.

The airline is also considering further cuts such as no more hot towels in Club class (my heart bleeds) and maybe even getting rid of free pretzels in economy.

So much for “Fly the friendly skies.” Oh wait, that’s United, and they went bankrupt and had to get bailed out by the American taxpayer. Sorry, I have trouble keeping my penny-pinching airlines straight. I’m still mad about BA opening my luggage and leaving it out in the rain at Heathrow. When it got to Missouri (two days late) my clothes were soaked and my books were ruined.

Ah well, the sandwiches I make at home and bring with me when I fly always taste better anyway. And I never put anything valuable in my checked luggage. I’ve seen people putting laptops in their suitcases. They obviously don’t read Gadling.

Gunman tasered at Gatwick airport

by Sean McLachlan on

If you’re taking a bus to the airport, the last thing you want to see is one of your fellow passengers carrying a gun, especially if you’re in England and you know the guy probably doesn’t have permission to own one.

That’s just what happened to a passenger going to Gatwick Airport near London this morning. As soon as his bus arrived at the airport’s South Terminal he notified police and they wasted no time tasering the suspect and putting him in custody. According to this early report nobody else was injured and the suspect, who is described only as a man in his 40s, apparently had not made any threats to passengers or airport staff. He is now being questioned.

Gadling will post a followup to this story as more details emerge.