Reading & Leeds Festival, Reading/Leeds, England

  

Where? Reading/Leeds, England
When? 24th - 26th August 2012


With no Glastonbury this year due a shortage of portaloos because of the Olympics, Reading and Leeds look like the biggest festivals in the UK this year! The festival started back in 1989 and was seen as rivalry to the likes of Glastonbury and The Isle Of Wight Festival. In 1999 Leeds Festival was born, as the northern Reading Festival and became the sister festival of Reading.

The crowd is mainly young, but there are always an array of different people of different ages. It is renowned for having huge acts play way down the bill when they are fairly unknown, then having the same band headline when they are massive (Foo Fighters, Blink 182, Muse, The Maccabees). The lineup for 2012 includes: The Cure, Kasabian, Foo Fighters, The Maccabees, At The Drive In, Metronomy, Foster The People, The Black Keys, Justice, SBTRKT and Florence and The Machine.

Further Information: www.readingfestival.co.uk

By: Progress On 02:06

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August Moon Festival, Boston, United States

Where? Boston, United States
When? 12th August 2012


Also known as the 'Moon Festival', The Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival commemorates a 14th-century uprising against the Mongols. Plans for the revolt were smuggled to like minded sympathizers inside small cakes. Today cakes made from ground lotus and sesame seed paste known as 'moon cakes' are typically eaten as part of the celebrations.

Many families travel to vantage points for moon-watching parties. Boston's Chinatown is the third largest Chinese neighborhood in the country so festivities are usually busy, and very lively.

Further Information: www.bostonusa.com

By: Progress On 01:58

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Catania Tango Festival, Catania, Italy

Where? Catania, Italy
When? 11th - 19th August 2012

Based in the adorable town Catania in Sicily, when it comes to festivals, the location does not get much better than this! The 9 day festival features Tango nights, shows, music and “Milonga by Moonlight”. This festival is not just for Tango lovers, the key to this Festival is its location, atmosphere and ambience. This festival provides all of the above, and more. So get on your dancing shoes!

Further Information: www.cataniatangofestival.com

By: Progress On 01:40

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Ryanair set to charge passengers extra taxes on prepaid Spanish flights

Ryanair recently sent an email to already booked and confirmed passengers travelling to and from Spain, which read something like this... 

RYANAIR LETTER

Dear Customer,

The Spanish 2012 budget was passed into law on Saturday 30 June, as a result all airlines are obliged, with effect from 1 July onwards to collect increased Spanish airport departure taxes from all passengers booked on flights after that date.

It appears that the increased Spanish airport departure tax may also apply retrospectively to customers who booked flights before the 2nd July 2012 and are travelling from the 1st July onwards.

In accordance with Ryanair's General Terms and Conditions of Travel (Article 4.2.2) we hereby advise passengers that we may be forced to debit passengers for the increased airport departure tax imposed by the Spanish government for all flights departing from Spain which were booked before the 2nd July 2012 for travel from the 1st July 2012 onwards.

Once the Spanish authorities confirm whether the increased airport departure tax applies retrospectively (as set out above), Ryanair will notify passengers by email of the additional charges applicable to their pre 2nd July booking. Passengers not wishing to accept the additional tax will have the option to cancel their flight and receive a full refund.

N.B. All new flight bookings departing from Spanish airports made on or after the 2nd July are not affected by this retrospective clause as the increased departure tax has already been included in the purchased flight price.

Ryanair Holdings plc (Company No. 249885) / Ryanair Ltd. (Company No. 104547).
Registered in the Republic of Ireland. With registered address Corporate Head Office, Dublin Airport, Co. Dublin, Ireland.

END OF LETTER

The obvious questions that arise from this are...

1. Can an airline charged already paid and confirmed passengers more money for a flight than what was already agreed and paid, despite the small print?
2. What damage will this do to Spanish Tourism? In other words, perhaps the authorities will gain some more taxes, but the country may well lose a number of Tourists at the same time, which is their main economy. 

We encorage all the feedback from Perpetual Traveller readers.

By: Progress On 00:33

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Indira Gandhi - most expensive airport

A highly-commended Indian airport is set to become more expensive for passengers and airlines than any other on Earth, according to an airline industry group.

On 25 April 2012, AERA - India's Airports Economic Regulatory Authority - announced that charges at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi will increase 346 per cent.

The increase takes effect from 15 May and applies for the next 24 months. Set to significantly affect the many airlines that use Indira Gandhi, the charges will inevitably be transferred, down the line, to passengers.

Already, GMR Infrastructure - responsible for the running of Indira Gandhi's Terminals 1 and 3 - has forecast a two-level price increase programme to come on ticket fees, with domestic flights set to inflate by 290 Rupees and international flights, twice that amount.

Most Expensive Airport

Of the airlines operating at what's set to become the most expensive airport, one - Emirates - has already expressed concern over these new charges. "Emirates is concerned by the proposed increase in airport charges at Delhi airport", a representative explained to Gulf News, adding: "We are currently in discussions with the relevant authority."

IATA - the International Air Transport Association - meanwhile, has spoken of the situation in extremely strong terms. "India's aviation industry is already sick", IATA's assistant corporate communications director, Albert Tjoeng, stated. "This increase in Delhi's charges will put it in intensive care from a cost perspective."

Indira Gandhi Airport Charges

India's residents, many of whom are already reportedly more inclined to travel by train, could be discouraged further from flying, once the Indira Gandhi Airport charges take effect.

Indira Gandhi International Airport handled close to 30 million passengers in 2011 and, in the same year, was recognised by Airport Council International as the world's second-best airport with a 25-40m passenger capacity.

By 2030, it's planned for the hub to be able to handle no less than 100 million passengers and a major expansion programme's presently in motion. In 2010, one element of this expansion was completed with the opening of Indira Gandhi Terminal 3 - the eighth-biggest terminal in the world.

Source: airport-int.com

By: Progress On 02:39

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Berlin Brandenburg Airport Passenger Trials

A major new airport's now on the verge of opening to the public in one of Europe's key capital cities.

On 3rd June, commercial operations at Berlin Brandenburg Airport will get underway but, right now - with the airport's main infrastructure now in place and ready to go - the site's hosting proof-of-concept trials to ensure it functions as it should.

Thousands of people are therefore simulating a typical passenger journey through Berlin Brandenburg and testing out its check-in desks, security checkpoints, lounges and other zones.

Berlin Brandenburg Passenger Trials

Once the Berlin Brandenburg passenger trials are completed and the hub's declared open on 3 June, it will effectively become the German capital's primary major airport, replacing no less than three previous sites. Not so many years ago, Berlin had Tegel, Tempelhof and Schonefield all in operation. Tempelhof, however, was closed four years ago while Tegel's set to transfer its international flights over to the new hub, which is sited on the same area as Schonefield.

The creation of this sole, unified airport is thought of as the next stage in the reunification of Berlin, over two decades on from the collapse of the Berlin Wall.

"Berliners are really waiting for the new airport", tourism bureau visitBerlin's CEO, Burkhard Kieker, explained in a recent statement. "We say it's one of the last missing jigsaw puzzle pieces in the resurrection of Berlin as an international mega city."

According to Berlin Brandenburg Airport's operator, the initial goal is to handle no less than 25 million passengers between June 2012 and June 2013.

Airport Passenger Trials

In a press release published on 25 April 2012, Berlin Brandenburg Airport issued a final call to residents living in Berlin and Brandenburg who might be interested in taking part in the airport passenger trial runs. Four more days of them are planned for 3rd May, 8 May, 16 May and 22 May and those wanting to participate have to be aged 18+ and be reasonably mobile.

Source: airport-int.com

By: Progress On 02:32

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FlyRights: Sikh Airport Security Complaint

A group called the Sikh Coalition has launched a mobile phone app to give Sikh airport passengers a direct line of complaint that goes straight to the US Government.

Designed to be used in instances of unfair treatment, discrimination and other issues related to airport security, the FlyRights app is free to acquire and was given a worldwide launch on 30 April 2012.

As this article was being prepared, two FlyRights reports had already been submitted: one gender-based, the other religion-based. These, as with others to follow, will be looked into by both the US DHS (Department of Homeland Security) and the US TSA - the US Transport Security Administration.

According to the Sikh Coalition, US airports have been responsible for patting-down and unfairly treating Sikhs for many years and, at certain sites, secondary screening - one level up from standard screening - seems to be compulsory.

FlyRights App

"The TSA asserts it doesn't profile", the Sikh Coalition's Director of Programs, Amardeep Singh, explains in the official FlyRights app launch press release. "All travellers now have an easy way of speaking to their government on the issue of airport profiling."

FlyRights is compatible with both Android phones and iPhones and it's already been given strong support by many. Says Senator Dick Durbin: "The vast majority of law enforcement officers perform their jobs honorably and courageously. Unfortunately, the inappropriate actions of the few who engage in racial profiling create mistrust and suspicion that hurts all law enforcement officers. This app is an important new tool that allows passengers to fight profiling."

"For too long, the TSA has kept a long leash on its screeners, telling them not to profile but taking no effective measures to stop it", adds Singh. "Until that happens, we call on the public to hold the TSA accountable by downloading the Fly-Rights app and filing reports when appropriate."

Sikh Airport Security Complaints

As reported by Airport International, in 2007 - over four years prior to this Sikh airport security complaints app's launch - the TSA introduced a new Sikh headwear policy, making it acceptable for turbans to be kept in place while airport security checks were in progress. This, though, would make the travellers in question subject to isolated pat down and screening procedures.

Under current TSA rules, screeners still have the right to ask Sikh passengers to remove their turbans but, equally, Sikhs can refuse this, so long as they explain the objects' religious significance.

Source: airport-int.com

By: Progress On 02:31

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