The extreme June temperatures would have been ‘virtually impossible’ 50 years ago, says the World Weather Attribution group.
Published On 26 Jun 202626 Jun 2026
The historic heatwave gripping Europe is part of a dangerous weather trend that can only be explained by human-caused climate change, scientists have said.
The extreme temperatures sweeping across much of Europe mark the region’s “most severe” heatwave ever tracked for the month, and would have been “virtually impossible” half a century ago, the World Weather Attribution group of scientists said in a report released on Friday.
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Millions in France, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and elsewhere in Europe have been experiencing blazing heat this week, with daytime temperatures topping 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in many places.
The heatwave was reported on Friday to be moving eastwards, threatening Germany and central Europe with similar conditions to those which killed dozens in the western reaches of the continent, strained medical services and stressed the economy.
The World Weather Attribution estimated that a heatwave with similar characteristics occurring in the climate of June 1976 – when Europe was also hit by persistently high temperatures – would have been about 3.5 degrees Celsius cooler.
During another episode in 2003, temperatures would have been about 2 degrees Celsius cooler, the research suggests.
The analysis shows that intense heat is increasing rapidly, even within living memory, “with such events tens to hundreds of times more likely since only 2003 and virtually impossible just 50 years ago,” the study says.
“This event would not have been possible in June without climate change,” the study’s lead author, Theodore Keeping from Imperial College London, told reporters.
The planet has warmed about 1.4C above pre-industrial times, driven by the burning of coal, oil and gas.
Scientists agree this is making extreme weather events like heatwaves more frequent and intense, and that limiting warming is vital to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.
Of the nearly 850 cities the World Weather Attribution’s study analysed in Europe, some 45 percent had broken – or were expected to break – their all-time heat stress records in June.
“The weather pattern itself is not particularly unusual, but the temperatures are – or at least they used to be without human-induced climate change,” said Friederike Otto, the cofounder of World Weather Attribution.
The June heatwave in Europe is the second such episode this year. An early-season period of heat in May brought temperatures more typical of high summer to central and western parts of the continent.
World Weather Attribution said the rapid phase-out of fossil fuels is “critical if we are to avoid even higher temperatures and their consequences in the future”.
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The family behind German industrial group Wegmann is preparing to cash in on Europe’s defense spending boom through the planned initial public offering of KNDS, the Franco-German tank manufacturer that could be valued at €15 billion to €18 billion, Bloomberg News reported Thursday.
EXPLAINER
Paris and other European cities are experiencing temperatures above 40C (104F), reaching levels normally seen across the Middle East.
A blistering heatwave has gripped much of Europe, prompting the highest-level red alerts in parts of the United Kingdom, France, Spain and Italy.
Authorities have warned of health risks, wildfires and travel disruptions as extreme temperatures persist.
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With temperatures approaching record highs, officials have taken emergency measures, including a localised alcohol ban in parts of France under red alert, nationwide heat warnings in Germany and the cancellation of a World Cup fan zone screening in Madrid, where temperatures hit 39C (102F).
A persistent area of high pressure, known as a heat dome, has trapped hot air over Western Europe, bringing clear skies, weak winds and prolonged sunshine. Hot air moving north from North Africa has added to the extreme temperatures.
Unusually warm seas around the UK, Ireland, France and the western Mediterranean have also helped keep coastal areas hot, especially at night. Coastal waters around Spain have reached record warm levels, according to Spain’s port authority.
In the worst-affected areas – western France, England and Wales – daily average temperatures have soared more than 12C above the 1991-2020 baseline, according to Copernicus data.
Scientists say the early-season heatwave is part of a broader warming trend. Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent, with temperatures rising by approximately 0.56C per decade since the mid-1990s, more than double the global average.
Climate change is making heatwaves more frequent, more intense and likely to occur earlier and later in the year.
To contextualise the temperatures Europe is dealing with, Al Jazeera looked at the maximum temperatures in five European capitals on June 24 and compared them with cities across the Middle East, North Africa and Asia, where high temperatures are more typically experienced.
Europe is particularly vulnerable – much of its housing and infrastructure was not built for prolonged extreme heat, and only about 20 percent of European homes have air conditioning.
The graphic below shows how European cities’ maximum temperatures today compare with some other cities around the world:
The temperature you see on the news or the weather app on your phone relies on a network of weather stations positioned around the globe.
To ensure accurate readings, weather stations typically use specialist platinum resistance thermometers placed inside shaded instruments known as a Stevenson screen.
Measurements are taken at a standard height of 1.25-2 metres (4-6.5 feet) above the ground. This provides a reading that reflects the air temperature that people actually feel.
There are two well-known scales used to measure temperature: Celsius and Fahrenheit.
Only a few countries, including the United States, use Fahrenheit as their official scale. Most of the world uses the Celsius scale, named after Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius, who invented the 0-100 degree freezing and boiling point scale, although originally inverted, in 1742.
Air temperature alone often doesn’t match how hot it feels to your body. That is why forecasts report a “feels like” temperature, which adjusts air temperature based on factors like humidity, wind speed and sun exposure.
Humidity measures how much water vapour is in the air. This moisture slows the evaporation of sweat, so your body can’t cool itself as effectively.
In hot weather, a light breeze can help evaporate sweat, making it feel cooler.
Even if the thermometer reads the same, direct sunlight adds extra warmth, which is why shaded areas feel cooler.
IF you’re looking to escape the heat, there is a huge new indoor attraction that is the first of its kind in Europe.
Slick City in Nottingham opened earlier this year, with everything from slides to coasters.
For example, you could head on Royal Flush, where you’ll head down a sheer drop before being whizzed around a massive bowl – just like the motion of a flushing toilet.
Then there is Fast Lane, which is ideal for competitive families as it is a four-lane slide.
On Hyperloop, you’ll head through a number of twists and turns.
The attraction is the first Slick City in Europe and is also home to the world’s first UV AirGlider – a gravity-powered aerial coaster that creates the feeling of flying.
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In between trying out the slides, visitors can test out the interactive games as well.
There’s a freestyle air court and sports court too, which has a cushioned, bouncy base ideal for parkour tricks.
Little ones aren’t left out either, as they can enjoy a soft play area.
While the kids are playing, parents can grab a bite to eat and a drink at the onsite cafe.
Though, Slick City isn’t just for kids – big kids (adults) can also have fun at one of the adults-only nights on the first Friday of every month.
The neon-lit attraction is for ages four and older and if you just want to watch you don’t have to pay entry.
There are a number of different ticket types available including ones for shorter 90 minute sessions and ones for longer two hour sessions.
Tickets cost £19.95 and £24.95 per person, respectively.
If you want to go on the AirGlider you’ll have to pay extra though – it’s £4 for one ride or £10 for three rides.
When at the attraction you also have to wear CitySocks, which cost £3 a pair – but you can keep and re-use them.
One recent visitor commented: “The slides are insane and it’s just so much fun.”
Another added: “Unique experience, such a great idea.
“It’s like a waterpark without the water.”
The clock is running down on the most consequential deadline the crypto sector has faced in Europe.
From the start of July, the transitional window under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) closes for good, and companies that have not secured authorisation must either stop serving European customers or wind down altogether.
MiCA is the EU’s first comprehensive law for the crypto industry, bringing exchanges, brokers and digital wallet providers under the kind of formal oversight that has long applied to banks and other financial firms.
It replaces a fragmented mix of national rules with a single rulebook spanning all 27 member states: a company licensed in one EU country earns a “passport” to operate across the bloc, but in return it must meet standards on how much capital it holds, how it is run, how it safeguards customers’ funds and how it prevents money laundering.
“What emerges is a genuine single market replacing the old patchwork of 27 national regimes,” Yamal Kalaf, co-founder of MiCAR Whitepapers Europe, which advises crypto businesses on MiCA authorisation, told Euronews.
Since the core rules took effect at the end of 2024, existing operators have been allowed to keep operating under older national registrations, but that concession was temporary.
The scale of the looming shake-out is striking.
According to the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), which confirmed in April that there would be no extension, only around 210 firms had obtained full authorisation by May, out of more than 1,200 that previously held national crypto registrations across the EU.
That points to a conversion rate of well under a fifth, leaving the vast majority of the old market without a licence as the cut-off arrives in a few days.
Speaking to Euronews, Roshan Dharia, CEO of distressed-investment firm Echo Base, explained that “the low conversion rate suggests that a meaningful portion of the market has concluded that obtaining and maintaining a MiCA licence is not economically viable within its current operating model.”
National regulators have warned that firms operating beyond the deadline without the new licence face enforcement action. France’s markets watchdog has also cautioned that continuing without authorisation could expose companies to criminal prosecution.
ESMA has told unlicensed providers to prepare orderly wind-downs, including transferring customer assets to authorised platforms or self-custody wallets, and to notify clients in advance so they can move funds safely.
“What we will see after 1 July is a smaller, more institutional market with real passporting. That is not a market in retreat. That is a market growing up,” Miguel Zapatero, Head Counsel at Crossmint, told Euronews.
Crossmint is a crypto infrastructure provider whose licensed rails let developers build wallets, custody and payment products.
Plenty of familiar names have already cleared the bar.
Coinbase has been authorised in Ireland and Kraken in Ireland and Luxembourg. At the same time, the banking app Revolut secured its licence from Cyprus’s regulator late last year, allowing it to offer crypto services across the EU.
For these firms, the new rules promise a reward as unlicensed rivals retreat, the survivors stand to absorb their departing customers.
“MiCA is a genuine regulatory identity shift, not a registration exercise,” Gal Arad Cohen, partner at law firm S. Horowitz & Co, told Euronews.
The most prominent casualty so far may be Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange.
According to Reuters, which cited two people familiar with the matter, Binance is set to lose permission to serve EU clients because its licence application to Greece’s market regulator, the Hellenic Capital Market Commission, is poised to be rejected.
Without approval in any member state, the exchange would be unable to operate across the bloc from July onwards.
Speaking to Euronews, Patrick Mollard, CEO at Fipto, a blockchain-based payments company for businesses, referred to the Binance case by stating that “scale earns you no shortcut to a licence, and that is precisely the point.”
Binance has pushed back, saying it has worked constructively with regulators for 18 months and believes its application met MiCA’s requirements. The company added that it understood the Greek authority had completed its review and found the filing compliant.
The company has promised a further update before 30 June.
The episode has also reputedly taken on a political dimension.
French crypto publication The Big Whale reported, citing unnamed sources, that ECB President Christine Lagarde had opposed Binance’s bid for a Greek MiCA licence.
Euronews could not independently verify the report, and neither the ECB nor the Greek government has publicly commented on the allegations.
The Big Whale also reported that Binance is exploring a potential MiCA application in France after the setback in Greece, a claim that neither Binance nor French regulators have publicly confirmed.
Binance did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Euronews.
Beyond the biggest names, the deadline is expected to push smaller crypto apps and brokers towards licensed custody providers. Rather than building their own MiCA-compliant systems, many are likely to rely on authorised firms to hold customer assets.
“We will see consolidation and transfer of clients as the deadline will not be met by all currently operating entries,” Floortje Nagelkerke, partner at law firm Norton Rose Fulbright, explained to Euronews.
The result, analysts suggest, will be a smaller, more concentrated European market, with fewer players, higher barriers to entry and a clear advantage for those holding a licence, but stronger consumer protections.
“People who hold crypto in the EU after 1 July will, on balance, hold it on safer rails,” Miguel Zapatero, Head Counsel at Crossmint, concluded.
A LESSER-KNOWN European theme park has announced it is getting a major new ride.
Previously named one of the best amusement parks in Europe by the European Star Awards, Nigloland is about two and a half hours from Paris.
And the French theme park will be getting a new £15.5million rollercoaster called ‘Supersonic 1887’.
The ride, which will be the park’s largest investment to date, is a launch shuttle rollercoaster.
At its highest point it will reach 47 metres off of the ground, and it will reach speeds of up to 56.5mph.
Even though the track itself stretches for 355 metres, riders will travel a total of 770 metres thanks to sections where the rollercoaster will travel backwards.
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The rollercoaster will also turn the 32 riders upside down at least six times across three inverted parts of the track, including a loop.
Each of the two carriages also include eight ‘wing seats’ that allow riders to dangle their feet in the air.
And what makes the ride even more fun will be the fact that over half the time riders are on it, they will be suspended over water.
The ride is inspired by World Expositions that took place during the 19th century, according to EAP Magazine.
The story of the ride will follow a character called Emilie Delaroche, an engineer who has developed a steam machine that travels at high speeds.
The rollercoaster is expected to open in 2027.
President and Director of the Park, Rodolphe Gelis said: “Nigoland is set to celebrate its 40th anniversary.
“To mark this milestone, we wanted to create a major attraction that reflects our ambitions.
“Supersonic is a project conceived by our creative and technical teams, which we entrusted to a leading manufacturer renowned for the quality of its work and its wealth of innovations.
“It is the most ambitious project Nigoland has ever undertaken.”
The theme park features more than 40 attractions in total, 27 of which are ideal for younger children.
There are four immersive zones in total including The Canadian Village, The Rock ‘n’ Rock Village, The Magical Village and The Swiss Village.
Rides include Krampus Expedition which is a water coaster based on Alpine folklore.
There’s also Spatiale Expérience, which is an indoor rollercoaster that travels through outer space.
Visitors can also stay onsite at the Hotel des Pirates.
A new train route will have a duration of eighteen-and-a-half hours(Image: Alan Morris via Getty Images)
A brand new 807-mile train route across Europe is launching this month, linking Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic. Private railway company Leo Express will commence the service on June 25, with fares beginning at just €10 (£8.65).
The journey is expected to become one of Europe’s most extensive, with a projected travel duration of 18-and-a-half hours. It will operate once per day in each direction between the Polish city of Przemyl and Frankfurt in Germany.
Stops along the way include Kraków, Ostrava, Prague, Dresden, Leipzig and Erfurt.
Leo Express CEO Peter Köhler said: “At over 1,300 kilometres (807 miles), this is one of the longest direct train services in Europe.”
He went on to say that Przemyl’s closeness to the Ukrainian border meant the railway would “remove the iron curtains between western and eastern Europe”.
He said: “We are connecting important European centres and providing access to Ukraine..
“[And] in Germany, we are creating an alternative to existing operators..”
The carriages will include power sockets, wifi, onboard catering and air conditioning, reports the Express.
Meanwhile, there are various seating classes on offer, including premium, business and economy, according to The Independent.
The service departing Poland is scheduled to leave Przemyl at 1:31pm and reach Frankfurt the next morning at 7:53am.
The westbound service, meanwhile, will set off at 8:27am for a 2:23am touchdown.
Przemyl is situated approximately six miles from the Polish-Ukrainian border.
The city has acted as a key transit hub for refugees escaping the war-ravaged nation since Russia launched its invasion in 2022.
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Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy.
Ukraine is increasingly emerging as a potential player in Europe’s race to build-up its long-range conventional strike capabilities. New partnerships centered on the Ukrainian Flamingo and Neptune cruise missiles underscore how the European defense industry is moving from supplying Kyiv to co-developing and manufacturing combat-proven Ukrainian missile technology for NATO’s own future arsenal.
Diehl Defense recently confirmed that it plans to launch production of Ukraine’s Flamingo cruise missile in Germany. Diehl’s chief executive, Helmut Rauch, said that his company was planning talks in the coming weeks with Fire Point, the manufacturer of the Flamingo. Previously, Diehl had signed a technology agreement with Fire Point but had not disclosed any details.
Meanwhile, another European missile manufacturer, MBDA, the largest company of its kind in Europe, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Ukrainian defense firm Luch to expand collaboration on deep-strike capabilities by focusing on the Neptune family of cruise missiles. Under the agreement, MBDA and Luch will work together on the so-called Neptune 2 missile, via what the European missile house describes as a process of “disruptive innovation.”
Reflecting this broader trend, during a visit to Kyiv last month, German Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius noted Ukraine’s “remarkable” wartime technological advances and said that Berlin was looking at joint ventures that included long-range drones, air defenses, and electronic warfare.
Looking at these Ukrainian cruise missiles in more detail, Luch’s Neptune first emerged as an anti-ship missile, based on the Soviet-era Kh-35, known to NATO as the SS-N-25 Switchblade in its surface-launched form. The Neptune came to prominence when it was used to sink the Russian Navy’s Slava class cruiser Moskva in 2022.
Ukraine reportedly began work on a new land-attack version of the Neptune in 2023. A Ukrainian defense official told TWZ that this version has a range of up to 225 miles (360 kilometers). This compares to a reported maximum range of around 190 miles (300 kilometers) for the anti-ship version.
Subsequently, Ukraine introduced the extended-range Long Neptune, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has stated has a range in the region of 620 miles (1,000 kilometers). The Long Neptune features an extended body to accommodate additional fuel for its turbofan engine. It has reportedly been used against dozens of targets inside Russia.
Ukrainian “Long Neptunes.” We’re producing more 🇺🇦
____Українські «довгі нептуни». Робимо більше 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/rKUy3NtifJ
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) November 14, 2025
The land-attack versions of the Neptune reportedly use a GPS-assisted inertial navigation system (INS) and an imaging infrared sensor in place of the anti-ship missile’s active radar seeker.
At least one more version of the Neptune has also been developed, this one apparently featuring fuel tank ‘bulges’ for increased range. As you can read about here, this model appears to be something like an intermediate-range version, falling between the original land-attack Neptune and the Long Neptune.
Turning to the Flamingo, also known as the FP-5, this was designed from the ground up to hit targets deep within Russia, the missile having a reported range of 1,864 miles (3,000 kilometers). The Flamingo is significantly bigger than the Neptune series, being launched from rails mounted on a trailer, rather than from canisters on the flatbed of a truck.
The Flamingo also features a notably larger warhead, reportedly weighing around 2,205 pounds (1,000 kilograms).
A video of the Flamingo cruise missile in action:
Випробувальний пуск ракети “Фламінго”
In terms of guidance, the Flamingo is said to use a combination of methods, including various types of satellite navigation. An underlying inertial navigation system is likely to be present. The missile is powered by an AI-25 turbofan engine, a type produced in Ukraine for military and civilian aircraft, including the L-39 Albatros trainer and the Yak-40 feederliner.
Ukraine’s development of increasingly long-range land-attack cruise missiles is driven by the requirement to strike targets deeper inside Russia. Kyiv has received standoff missiles from its allies, including the air-launched Storm Shadow and SCALP-EG from the United Kingdom and France, respectively, as well as the U.S.-supplied Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) short-range ballistic missile. However, these are not available in large numbers and are limited by restrictions imposed upon their use. Additionally, none of them have the kind of range or warhead capacity offered by the Flamingo.
Kyiv has long been campaigning to receive Tomahawk cruise missiles from the United States, but so far, Washington has refused these requests, with U.S. President Donald Trump saying he is “not looking to see an escalation” in the conflict. These highly accurate missiles would be able to hit targets roughly 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) from Ukraine’s borders.
As well as cruise missiles, Ukraine has also developed a huge variety of long-range one-way-attack drones, and other designs that blur the line between long-range kamikaze drones and cruise missiles, including Palianytsia, Peklo, and Trembita.
Kyiv has also been working on developing new ballistic missiles. However, the longest-range one of these, as far as is known, is the Hrim-2, which can hit targets at 174 miles (280 kilometers) or possibly up to 310 miles (500 kilometers).
Meanwhile, Fire Point has developed the FP-7 ballistic missile, a weapon with a stated range of around 124 miles (200 kilometers), and a warhead of approximately 331 pounds (150 kilograms).
In both cases, however, these ballistic missiles lack true strategic reach. This would be partially addressed by the FP-9, which Fire Point aims to start testing this summer, and which is expected to have a range of 530 miles (855 kilometers).
🇺🇦 Fire Point’s at the Paris exhibition:
• FP-5 Flamingo
• FP-7
• FP-9 (ballistics at 700+ km)
• FP-1/2 pic.twitter.com/3OzjHEpM7h
— MAKS 26 🇺🇦👀 (@Maks_NAFO_FELLA) June 16, 2026
Ukraine’s efforts to develop new and more destructive missiles, and to build them at scale, come as Europe’s NATO members also increasingly look to field weapons in this class.
The scale factor is an important one, since Ukrainian wartime weapons development stresses equipment that can be produced rapidly, in large numbers, and at a lower cost point. Fire Point has said that it aims to increase Flamingo production to a daily rate of at least seven missiles by October of this year. This would translate to 2,555 built annually. It remains questionable whether this is a realistic target, but the prospect of additional production lines elsewhere in Europe would change things.
Additional details have been released about Ukraine’s new domestically-produced long-range cruise missile, dubbed the FP-5 “Flamingo” which is manufactured by Fire Point. According to an interview with Chief Technical Officer Iryna Terekh, the “Flamingo” has entered serial… pic.twitter.com/2D5GisrmFP
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) August 21, 2025
At the same time, it should be noted that the Flamingo and Neptune cruise missiles, for all their capabilities, are not especially sophisticated. They both fly at subsonic speed and do not appear to have any attempts at signature control. While they are certainly destructive, they are far from immune to interception.
Their effectiveness can be increased by using them in missile barrages and combined with drones and potentially decoys, to overwhelm air defenses. Here, too, is an area in which Ukrainian experience could help, creating a mix of high-end missile capabilities with combat mass from lower-end drones.
With this in mind, it is perhaps not surprising that Diehl is already looking at how it can improve the Flamingo.
Diehl’s Helmut Rauch has said that his company could outfit the Flamingo with a much more advanced seeker, leveraging the German firm’s experience in this area.
An unverified video that appears to show a Flamingo cruise missile strike on a military factory in Cheboksary in western Russia:
Similarly, MBDA’s expertise in missile development and production could potentially be incorporated in future versions of the Neptune.
Either way, Ukraine would benefit from advanced technologies that otherwise might not be immediately accessible.
What is clear is that European NATO allies are increasingly looking to address their lack of land-based long-range strike capabilities. As well as facing an increasingly belligerent Russia equipped with an expanding arsenal of long-range missiles, Europe is also confronting the prospect of its U.S. ally being unwilling to provide the same kinds of capabilities.
Ukraine is not alone in being unable to secure U.S.-made Tomahawk cruise missiles.
Berlin, in particular, is looking for alternatives to the U.S. Army long-range fires battalion equipped with various conventionally armed standoff missiles — including Tomahawk — that was expected to be deployed in Germany on a rotational basis, starting this year. The U.S. move was an apparent response to disagreements with Germany over the Iran war as well as ongoing tariff tensions.
While Europe does have new long-range strike programs underway, they are not expected to bring new systems into service until the 2030s. At the same time, efforts like the European Long-Range Strike Approach (ELSA), which involves France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, still have to agree on common requirements, provided that is even possible.
Separately, Germany and the United Kingdom have unveiled plans to jointly produce a “deep precision strike” weapon with a range of over 1,240 miles (2,000 kilometers). At this point, however, no industrial framework has been agreed on. Potentially, an advanced version of the Flamingo could meet that requirement, even if only as an interim measure before a more bespoke solution can be developed.
Russia’s extensive use of ground-launched missiles in Ukraine, along with its deployment of long-range weapons in Kaliningrad, has only highlighted the deficiencies in Europe’s deep-strike capabilities as NATO seeks to strengthen conventional deterrence against Moscow.
For Europe, Ukrainian missile developers like Luchs and Fire Point bring the valuable experience of wartime innovation, while established defense firms like MBDA and Diehl provide additional industrial capacity and advanced technologies. If either of these projects succeeds, they could not only help Ukraine field more advanced and capable cruise missiles, but also help address one of NATO’s most pressing capability gaps.
Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com
08:58, 18 Jun 2026Updated 08:59, 18 Jun 2026
The airport was the only one in Europe to win the award(Image: Fraport AG)
The world’s most beautiful airports for 2026 have been announced, and only one European hub has made the list.
Prix Versailles published its World’s Most Beautiful; Airports List 2026, which included airports from around the world, “each one exhibiting extraordinary, distinctive architecture”, according to its press release. Among the winners on the list were Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in China, and Pittsburgh International Airport in the US.
The sole European destination to make the cut was Frankfurt Airport, which unveiled its brand-new Terminal 3 in April, mostly for passengers taking long-haul flights. The £3.46 billion expansion took over 11 years, and became one of the continent’s largest infrastructure projects.
Sitting on 1.3 square kilometres of land, it’s around the same size as Frankfurt’s core city centre, and it includes a 2,900-square-metre culinary space, 112 check-in counters, premium lounges, and upmarket boutiques.
The terminal is connected to the rest of the airport via a 3-mile-long Sky Line people mover, which can carry up to 4,000 passengers, with the journey taking just eight minutes. Terminal 1 has two train stations connecting the airport to passengers’ final destinations: a Regiobahnhof that takes passengers into the city centre and Fernbahnhof where you can take Germany’s high-speed ICE trains across the country.
Terminal 3 was designed by architect Christoph Mäckler, and the awards announcement said it “was contrived to be a lively urban environment”. It added: “To give travellers a smooth, familiar experience, its piers, boarding gates and lounges emulate the streets and squares of a city. Its aesthetics rely on noble materials in warm tones, like Jura limestone and travertine. Vast spaces, bathed in natural light thanks to large plate glass windows, create a soothing atmosphere while minimising the use of artificial light sources.”
Frankfurt is not generally a city break destination chosen by Brits, but it has a colourful old town with medieval houses and historic charm. Römerberg in particular is popular with tourists, and the cosy half-timbered houses make the perfect backdrop for Frankfurt’s famous Christmas market.
The Städel Museum is another must-visit for tourists, and this vast art gallery has works from the Middle Ages to the present day, as well as impressive visiting exhibitions such as a Monet show that’s on until July 5. If you don’t have much time to see the city, head for the Main Tower, which stands at 240 metres, for impressive 360-degree views.
Frankfurt is also known for being the financial capital of continental Europe, and its financial district is sometimes known as ‘Mainhattan’ after the River Main and its skyline’s resemblance to New York. Wander around and you’ll see lots of unique, contemporary architecture such as the glass-panelled Commerzbank Tower and art-deco style Messeturm.
Have a story you want to share? Email us at webtravel@reachplc.com
EUROPE’S largest funfair is returning to the UK this weekend, as the huge stretch of rides comes back for its 144th year.
Over 400 spectacular attractions will be on offer for all the family, including a new record-breaking ride for the ultimate thrillseekers.
The Hoppings is back for its 144th year this weekend, as Newcastle’s Town Moor anticipates the return of Europe’s biggest funfair.
Located at the heart of the city centre, the funfair offers over 400 attractions and rides for thrillseekers and families alike – from the giant ferris wheel, to the classic helter skelter.
Despite occupying a smaller space than previous years, due to drainage works on the Moor, the fair still keeps all its excitement, and visitors can expect to see a jam-packed line-up.
After centuries of history, and a deep-rooted sense of North East nostalgia the fair evokes, generations of Geordie families love returning to The Hoppings year after year.
This year, the fair has unveiled a whole host of adrenaline-pumping rides, including the return of fan-favourites Atmosfear and Extreme.
The stage has been set for the arrival of a record-breaking high-flying experience with the launch of the brand-new Elevate85 attraction.
Climbing up to 80metres, this drop tower with flying chairs has been hailed as “the world’s highest travelling ride” – only 10metres shorter than London’s Big Ben.
Foodies have another reason to celebrate with a brand-new Spud Bros stall joining the line-up, only weeks after the launch of its popular North Tyneside store.
The daily line-up also includes a Live Lounge stage with country, rock, and pop music, alongside delicious treats on offer from the Feast Street food village.
The arrival of the Hoppings in the last week of June is a fixture of the Geordie calendar, and has been since 1882.
Opening on the Town Moor over a century-and-a-half ago, the fair was initially marketed as a tee-total event to counteract the boozy activities of Newcastle Race Week.
Its initial form included traditional amusements and roundabouts, as well as kite-flying contests and military shows – a step away from its current form.
The Hoppings has evolved to represent the warmth and welcoming nature of Geordies themselves, and shows a city beyond bustling nightlife and football passion.
Now, the fair attracts over half a million annual visitors to indulge in the vibrant lights, exhilirating rides, and all the fun of the fair.
For those wanting to visit Newcastle, The Hoppings is the perfect starting point for organising a tour, with the city centre situated a 30-minute walk away from the Town Moor.
From there, a walk along the Quayside to see the famous Tyne Bridge, The Glasshouse and River Tyne is a must, with foodstalls often lining the streets on weekends.
Newcastle, and surrounding North East towns, are incredibly well-connected with the Tyne and Wear Metro, with 60 stations and two separate lines.
Many may not know that the city has some of the best coastlines in the UK – travel 30 minutes east on the Metro and visit Tynemouth Longsands and enjoy the scenic views from the coastal villages.
Entry to The Hoppings is completely free this year, with standard ride prices ranging from just £3 to £5 and high-thrill attractions costing slightly more.
The Hoppings is returning for its 10-day bonanza between June 19 and June 28, running from 2pm to 11pm on weekdays, and 1pm to 11pm on weekends.
09:30, 17 Jun 2026Updated 09:30, 17 Jun 2026
A spa day in the UK can easily set you back £150 before you’ve even ordered lunch. So when I found myself sipping coffee in a grand Maltese square at one of Europe’s oldest cafes, watching the morning sun bounce off honey-coloured limestone buildings after a £40 flight from London, I couldn’t help feeling I’d stumbled across one of Europe’s best-value city breaks.
Malta has long been a favourite with British travellers. Yet somehow it still feels slightly overlooked when conversations turn to weekend escapes. People talk about Lisbon, Barcelona and Rome. Meanwhile, sitting in the middle of the Mediterranean, Malta quietly enjoys more than 300 days of sunshine a year; making it one of the sunniest in Europe.
I spent three days there for a spontaneous solo trip and quickly realised Malta has cracked something many destinations haven’t. It manages to be a city break, a beach break and a history lesson all at once, without requiring military-grade holiday planning.
The first thing working in Malta’s favour is its size. This is not a destination where you’ll spend half your holiday staring at Google Maps, wondering whether the slightly disappointing mural is really worth a 45-minute metro journey and an existential crisis in the heat. Most places are close together. The capital city, Valletta, is wonderfully walkable.
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If you stay in neighbouring Sliema, as I did at the Preluna Hotel (about £200 for two nights, includes its own beach club) accommodation is often cheaper than inside the capital itself. And the short ferry across to Valetta costs just a few euros. It glides over the water toward a city that looks like an enormous sandcastle built by a giant child who grew up to become an architect.
Many of the highlights cost nothing. The Upper Barrakka Gardens offer some of the finest views in the Mediterranean. Down below, crowds gather for the Saluting Battery (every day at 12pm and 4pm) where cannons are still fired in a tradition dating back centuries. Men in historical uniforms are responsible for the blasts which are to let everyone know what time it is. I loved it, but it seems an incredibly loud and dramatic alternative to just looking at your phone.
Jokes aside, it is an impressive tradition, although you only need to forget it’s happening once to understand why locals still flinch.
You also cannot miss the staggering Baroque interior of St John’s Co-Cathedral (€15 for adults) a church so violently covered in 24-carat gold leaf that it looks like the inside of a divine Ferrero Rocher.
Elsewhere, the city’s streets themselves do much of the heavy lifting. Ornate balconies lean over narrow lanes while laundry flutters overhead on washing lines. It is a deeply moving reminder that even though Valletta was built by the Knights of St John to defend European civilization from the Ottoman Empire, your romantic view of a historic fortress city is occasionally interrupted by a pair of massive beige knickers blowing in the wind.
Locals treat the sea like a public swimming pool that happens to have excellent views. Rocky platforms replace sand. Towels appear. People jump straight into the Mediterranean without the usual British negotiation involving sunbeds, parasols and passive aggressive towel placement.
No one seems to be running a system. It works anyway.
Malta occasionally feels like Britain left something behind and never quite bothered to come back for it.
The island was part of the British Empire for more than 150 years, and the influence is still visible in ways that feel slightly surreal. English is an official language. Red phone boxes still stand in corners like they are waiting for a call that will never come.
I wandered into the local branch of Marks and Spencer to check on the progress of British civilization. I can confirm they did not have any picky bits in the Malta store; the traditional British tapas. But they did have tinnies – the traditional fuel for a British explorer. A Monsoon sits nearby. Even a copy of that day’s Daily Mirror at the local newsagent’s.
That blend of influences extends to the food scene. Malta borrows happily from Italy, North Africa and Britain, creating a character all of its own.
One street that perfectly captures the atmosphere is St Lucia Street. By day, it’s an attractive stepped lane. By night, it transforms into one of Valletta’s most buzzy dining spots, with tables cascading down the stone steps like a very tasty avalanche. I spent my second evening at Taste nursing an Aperol Spritz and a plate of rigatoni, which seemed to accidentally on purpose precede a huge tiramisu (€25 bill).
For a deeper glimpse into Malta’s past, I found myself at Caffe Cordina, one of Europe’s oldest cafés and one of Valletta’s most enduring institutions.
You will have to resist the temptation to just wander into the air-conditioned void of Starbucks just down the road for some whipped cream and regret. Keep walking, because you will be rewarded with an establishment that has spent nearly two centuries serving Maltese society.
The family’s story began in 1837, when their ancestors arrived from Italy and sold nougat from a donkey cart. They eventually opened a small shop that was destroyed by a German bomb during the Second World War. Yet, as the current owner, Luca Cordina, told me, that bomb was ironically “the best thing that ever happened to us”. It forced his grandfather, Cesare, to take out a bank loan, pivot, and establish the café in its current Valletta location in 1944.
It was a massive gamble. “My grandfather’s friends actually questioned him about the decision, calling him crazy,” Luca explained, noting that the bustling square we see today was little more than a garden at the time. But Cesare believed in the location when very few people did. His response to the doubters was simple: “When the sun rises, it warms everyone”.
That warmth has since attracted a staggering mix of patrons, hosting everyone from Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles to the 1984 Italian national football team. The café inspires just as much loyalty from its staff as its customers, with one employee noted to still be working the floor at 76 years old.
I had a coffee and a traditional ricotta pastizzi (€5.70 bill) and watched the world go by – stunning.
My other favourite lunch spot was in Mdina, the former capital and one of the most atmospheric places on the island.
Game of Thrones fans will recognise parts of it immediately. Everyone else will spend the visit walking past groups who are absolutely certain they are standing exactly where something important happened and are more than willing to explain it in detail whether you asked or not.
It is known as the Silent City because it is incredibly quiet, which is a nice change from London, where the soundtrack is the incessant beeping of a stolen Lime bike.
That wonderful silence was much enjoyed on the roof terrace of the family-run cafe – Fontanella Tea Garden – which is built into the city wall and offers one of the best panoramic views around (Pizza + coffee came to €19).
Mdina is completely enclosed within ancient walls to stop medieval enemies from entering, though it seems they let any old person in these days – especially if you are wearing shorts and carrying a bottle of Fanta Lemon.
Three days felt about right. Long enough to see Valletta, Mdina and the coastline without rushing. Short enough that it never drifted into routine. May was an ideal time to go – still warm, not baking, and a little quieter.
Malta works best for couples or solo travellers (like me on this occasion!) who like variety without effort. You get history, sea swims, good food and a walkable city without needing to plan your day around transport logistics or opening times.
Flights from London can be found for around £40 one way. I flew from Luton and returned to Gatwick using Avios points via British Airways, which made the trip back feel particularly smug.
By the time I got home, I’d spent less than many people pay for a day wrapped in a fluffy robe somewhere in the Home Counties.
Approximate combined total: ~£295
Follow Lucy’s travels on TikTok and Instagram.
AN ABANDONED airport in Spain is set to reopen after 14 years.
Nicknamed Spain’s “ghost airport”, the vast airfield boasts one of Europe’s longest runways.
Ciudad Real International Airport will reopen in 2026, despite being abandoned for well over a decade.
Having stood largely empty for the past 14 years and used for long-term aircraft storage, it has now been revealed the airfield will be opening its doors again under a new owner, resuming passenger flights this year.
Managing director of Ciudad Real International Airport, Rafael Gómez Arribas, has said that the site will only operate private flights, mainly from Europe and the US.
Located 235km south of Madrid, the Spanish airport was initially set to be the country’s second largest airport and an alternative to Madrid’s Barajas airport.
Opening in 2008, the aviation site cost more than €1 billion to build, and included one of Europe’s longest runways.
Measuring 13,451 ft, the strip was constructed to accommodate the Airbus A380, the world’s biggest commercial aircraft.
Despite plans to be a commercial flight hub for around 2.5 million passengers a year, the site struggled financially, mainly down to its remote location miles away from Madrid.
The airport soon went bankrupt and closed just four years later in 2012, earning the nickname of Spain’s “ghost airport”.
In 2015, the abandoned airport was won in a bankruptcy auction by Tanzeen International for just €10,000.
It was eventually converted into a temporary storage facility during the pandemic, and held grounded planes from European airlines while flights were not operating.
After the closure of the airport in 2012, large yellow crosses were painted on the runway as a visual warning to planes flying overhead that the site was no longer operational and the runway was unsuitable for landing.
15:05, 15 Jun 2026Updated 15:55, 15 Jun 2026
Ghost airport reopens after being abandoned for 14 years (Image: Getty)
Ciudad Real International Airport, in Spain, opened its doors again earlier this year after being abandoned for 14 years. The airport originally opened in 2008 but shut down after filing for bankruptcy in April 2012, earning itself the title of Spain’s “ghost airport”.
The deserted airfield was subsequently used for long-term aircraft storage until the airport’s operator announced its reopening under new ownership, with passenger flights set to resume in 2026. The managing director of Ciudad Real International Airport, Rafael Gómez Arribas, confirmed that the airport will handle only private flights, mainly from Europe and the United States.
The Spanish airport reportedly cost €1billion (£864million) to build and was originally intended to serve as Madrid’s second-largest airport.
Despite this, Ciudad Real Airport struggled as a commercial hub, largely due to its isolated location, some 150 miles from the capital.
The airport boasts one of Europe’s longest runways, a massive 4,100-metre strip built to handle the world’s biggest commercial aircraft, the Airbus A380.
It was originally named Don Quixote Airport after the beloved fictional hero from the classic Spanish novel Don Quixote.
During the Covid pandemic, the airport served as a temporary storage facility for grounded aircraft from major European airlines.
Following its closure in 2012, large yellow crosses were painted over the airport’s runway — a visual warning to pilots indicating that the airport is no longer operational and that the runway is unfit for landing.
The Mirror has contacted Ciudad Real International Airport for comment.
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In a significant development for Europe’s future air combat ambitions, Airbus is trying to restart the program to develop a sixth-generation combat jet, now under German and Spanish leadership. This comes less than a week after the Franco-German-led New Generation Fighter (NGF) effort effectively collapsed in its original form, amid acrimony between Paris and Berlin. The NGF was planned as the crewed centerpiece of the pan-European Future Combat Air System (FCAS), which Airbus, as the leading European aerospace corporation, now hopes to get back on track.
An exciting step for European sovereignty at ILA Berlin: “Team Gen 6”, a group of eight leading German defence and aviation companies signed a strategic positioning paper. The German and French governments have announced a realignment of the European Future Combat Air System… pic.twitter.com/aZcjAaO6dE
— Airbus Defence (@AirbusDefence) June 11, 2026
Airbus’s Defense and Space unit launched the ‘Team Gen 6’ initiative today with a message on X, declaring that it was “an exciting step for European sovereignty.” So far, eight German defense and aerospace contractors have signed a strategic positioning paper as part of the effort. Those firms are Autoflug, Diehl Defense, Hensoldt, Liebherr, MBDA Germany, MTU Aero Engines, and Rohde and Schwarz.
Reflecting the German-Spanish nature of the new program, those companies are now “closely integrated” with firms from Spain, comprising GMV, Grupo Oesia, Indra, ITP Aero, and Sener.
“While the development of the overarching [FCAS] ‘system of systems’ is progressing as before, the sixth-generation fighter aircraft integrated within it requires a new, agile industrial setup,” Airbus said.
“As Team Gen 6, we have the capabilities and the capacities. Now, we are looking for close alignment with policymakers and the air force[s] to drive forward a superior European air combat system for collective security,” the X post stated.
Airbus also presented a video showing a notional concept aircraft flying with multiple uncrewed platforms. While not too much (as in not much at all) should be read into this, the crewed aircraft features canard foreplanes, a chin intake, and an unusual cranked wing.
Speaking just ahead of the announcement, at the ILA Berlin airshow today, where TWZ was in attendance, Jean-Brice Dumont, head of air power at Airbus Defense and Space, said the company remains committed to delivering a sixth-generation combat jet. “There is a need for a bit of a reshaping and reconsidering the reality of today,” Dumont added.
Dumont explained that the now-abandoned NGF was one of seven separate “pillars” of technology development being worked on under FCAS. As well as the crewed jet, pillars include powerplant, remote carrier vehicles, precision-guided weapons, and data connectivity.
“We have to consider safeguarding areas where it works, and how we reshape,” he added. “At the moment, we are going to seek guidance from our governments [on] what they want us to do. There has to be demonstrated an industrial feasibility of what is being asked — not only technical. That’s probably a lesson now,” Dumont added.
Dumont continued: “The world in 2026 is very different to the world of 2017 when the [FCAS] programme was launched. We have to accept that fact and reshape it — we need another way to get to the same goal, with faster milestones.”
“The problem we had is that we had drawn a line to 2040, and new technologies for everything,” Dumont added, referring to the goal of having the FCAS, including the NGF, in service by that date. “Today, you see demonstrations of connectivity, systems of systems and unmanned vehicles all around the world. The need is there, and in the countries that we are competing with, they are using it already.”
According to Dumont, the company has “put a number of options on the desk of our ministers and ministries of defense,” and is now awaiting further guidance from officials.
As the centerpiece of FCAS, in its original form, the NGF element was the most high-profile and challenging component of the project. However, it had long been dogged by disagreements over industrial workshare and leadership between Airbus and Dassault Aviation, which were the prime contractors for Germany and Spain, and France, respectively.
Dassault had demanded that it play the defining role in NGF, reflecting key requirements for the jet driven by the French Armed Forces. These included the ability to operate from aircraft carriers, and provision to deliver nuclear weapons. Germany or Spain needed neither of these functions.
Despite the disagreements that derailed NGF, Dumont argued that there had still been useful lessons learned from the FCAS program.
“What Phase 1A and 1B [of the program] have given is a very thorough analysis of the repartition of the work between the crewed and uncrewed platforms, and this remains. That kind of shapes what the manned aircraft will have to do.”
As an example of this work, Dumont pointed to ongoing work that will involve trials of a Eurofighter operating as a “command fighter” — a crewed jet that can operate in collaboration with drones, or what Airbus now refers to as uncrewed collaborative combat aircraft (UCCAs). The tests will see a Eurofighter fitted with a Rafael Litening 5 targeting pod modified to serve as the interface between the crewed jet and UCCAs. This should pave the way toward an in-service command fighter capability being introduced to the Eurofighter, something that will be incorporated in the sixth-generation combat jet from the outset.
Initial trials will involve a Learjet test configured as a surrogate command fighter and flying with drones in an “enhanced teaming” mode. Airbus hopes to have the command fighter-configured Eurofighter ready for operational service in 2029.
“The demand from the customers is: be ready early,” Dumont explained. “This is not a contradiction to the Future Combat Air System challenge — it is the need to have our platforms evolved earlier than we had traditionally planned.”
The termination of NGF and the launch of Team Gen 6 leaves plenty of questions over the future of Europe’s air combat landscape.
TWZ spoke to Douglas Barrie, senior fellow for military aerospace at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) research institute in London, for his take on what might happen next.
On the matter of Germany and Spain now teaming up under the Airbus umbrella, Barrie said that the relationship makes a lot of sense, but its success is far from certain. On the one hand, the two countries already work together within Airbus, and both Germany and Spain are seeking a replacement for their Eurofighter fleets.
“In terms of Team Gen 6, I do wonder if there’s an element of trying to kind of scramble to recover something from the wreckage of NGF, as it were, that the collapse of NGF doesn’t signal the end of Spanish industrial interest in next-gen combat aircraft development,” Barrie said. “But if somebody asked me, do I think between Germany and Spain, they can put together a credible program if nobody else is involved? I think that the numbers would be very difficult to stack up.”
Putting the German and Spanish future fighter requirements together, the two countries might, at best, need to build 300 new combat jets, with a figure of 250 more likely, Barrie contended. Team Gen 6 would then face a real struggle to break even.
This reality will, Barrie believes, force Germany and Spain to look for other partners, which will likely come down to a choice between the British-led Global Combat Air Program (GCAP) and the Swedish next-generation combat aircraft program, led by Saab. Of these, GCAP has the Tempest crewed fighter as its centerpiece, and also involves Italy and Japan. Sweden’s crewed fighter requirements are less clear at this point.
Building a role for Airbus in GCAP would be difficult at this point. With the industrial architecture already in place, bringing not one, but two more partners into that program would be disruptive, particularly in terms of timeline. Already, the Japanese in particular are concerned about the pace of the program, especially since the United Kingdom has not yet fully committed to it in terms of funding.
“My own view is that the United Kingdom remains committed to the program, but there are financial pressures elsewhere,” Barrie noted. “I think that the more likely outcome in all of this is a kind of German, Spanish, Swedish tie-up. The kind of requirements in some ways are aligned a bit better.”
This extends to the size of the aircraft, Barrie observed.
“The kind of aircraft that the Swedes seem to be thinking about, the crewed element is probably more of a bigger Gripen E/F, heading towards Typhoon, in terms of size. This is more in keeping with what the Germans and the Spanish seem to be looking for. Obviously, the United Kingdom and Japan, in particular, need something with longer legs and bigger internal payload, hence GCAP.”
“GCAP will be highly capable,” Barrie continued. “That will come with a unit cost to go with it. Maybe what the Swedes, the Germans, and the Spanish might do will be cheaper.”
Provided a German, Spanish, Swedish teaming arrangement could work, the resulting combat jet could still enter a space where it would face competition for important export orders from France, which looks set to continue the development of the Rafale, especially now that NGF has collapsed. Further competition could be provided by South Korea with further developments of its KF-21 and Turkey with the TF Kaan, although these are notably less-ambitious fifth-generation designs.
The Tempest, as currently envisaged, with its very different set of requirements, would not necessarily be a direct competitor to Team Gen 6, Barrie argued, since it would be a closer match to the F-47 in terms of size, capabilities, and cost. While the potential size of this market would be more limited, probably U.S. reluctance to export the F-47 would play in the Tempest’s favor.
As to the possibility of the United States offering a ‘watered-down’ export model of the F-47, Barrie considers this unlikely to generate much interest.
“Yeah, you can have a downgraded version of my super airplane — as a kind of marketing slug that hardly sells, does it?” Barrie continued. “Even if it’s 10 percent less capable, even if it’s 10 percent less expensive, it’s still a likely unit cost of $250 million or more, which is eye-watering.”
This leaves us with the French, and what they might be able to recover from NGF.
If France goes it alone with a sixth-generation combat jet, Dassault will likely be strongly backed by the French government, and the company has traditionally punched well above its weight.
In the medium term, Dassault has a healthy backlog of orders for the Rafale and is very much at the right end of the cost curve. Barrie considers that the Rafale will remain a profitable airplane for the foreseeable future, but at some point, France will need to think about a successor based on an all-new airframe. Industrially, France has the capability to go alone with this, but they would likely look to a partner or partners to come on board. The likelihood of those partners coming from Europe has now been reduced, but other possibilities might be found in the Gulf states.
Then there is the question of India, which may still buy more Rafales but which, in the fullness of time, is likely to look for a new-generation fighter, and could be a potential partner for France.
“I don’t see the Indians ever being fully committed to only one country,” Barrie continued. India has already hinted that it might want to try and join the pan-European FCAS or GCAP. Meanwhile, Russia has been a long-term military partner for India, and Barrie thinks that the recent appearance of a two-seat version of the Su-57 Felon may well indicate another effort to sell that fighter to India.
Were India to continue its pattern of buying Russian combat aircraft, that would give any potential European partner serious pause for thought, based on the security implications. Meanwhile, India also remains committed to developing its own next-generation fighter.
What the NGF debacle has demonstrated is that any potential partner with France on its next-generation combat aircraft program will likely have to be happy taking a junior role, with Dassault calling the shots.
The collapse of the New Generation Fighter could well be a pivotal moment for European defense cooperation, but it does not signal the end of Europe’s sixth-generation combat aircraft ambitions.
Airbus’s Team Gen 6 announcement marks the start of a German-Spanish-led industrial approach that its backers hope will be more agile and less contested than its Franco-German-led predecessor. However, significant political, financial, and industrial challenges remain, including the search for a reliable partner, or partners. As with NGF, the success of Team Gen 6 will ultimately depend on whether European governments can align their strategic priorities and industrial interests to deliver a sovereign future air combat capability.
Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com
The hotel will soon be one of the largest in Europe(Image: Hotel Gołębiewski Facebook)
This month will see the opening of a vast hotel just a couple of hours from the UK, and it’s already making records due to the sheer size of the brand new property.
On Wednesday, June 17, Gołębiewski Pobierowo will open its doors to the public, with 1,240 guest rooms set over 13 floors to choose from. While it won’t be the largest in Europe: narrowly beaten by the Royal National Hotel in London which has 1,630 rooms and the Rin Grand Hotel in Bucharest with 1,459 rooms, the new hotel will come in at third place.
Gołębiewski Pobierowo will be set on the banks of Plaża w Pobierowie, a two-and-a-half mile long beach that offers soft white sands and the clear blue of the Baltic Sea. The shallow waters are ideal for swimming, and it’s a popular spot for families during the summer season.
The beach isn’t the only place to go for water-based fun. The hotel will feature a waterpark with indoor and outdoor pools and slides, as well as plenty of wellness activities including a salt cave. It also promise a range of fun activities and entertainment for kids, and will have an outdoor terrace with live pianist performing on those long summer evenings. Other facilities include four themed restaurants, each serving different types of international cuisine.
A half-hour walk, or short drive away, is the seaside town of Pobierowo. In the summer, it has an outdoor inflatable park and treetop climbing experience, and it’s a popular destination for active breaks.
Down the road you’ll find the charming Park Miniatur i Kolejek, a cute model village, and Bałtycki Park Dinozaurów i Rozrywki, which features lifesize models of dinosaurs alongside rides and animal experiences.
Follow the pretty coastal roads to explore traditional Polish villages such as Trzęsacz, famous for its 15th-century church and its interactive museum, which gives you the chance to feel like you’re stepping back into the past. Trzęsacz also has incredible white sand beaches and steep cliffs offering broad views across the sea.
Niechorze is another popular seaside town near the hotel, offering family-friendly attractions such as the Oceanarium Niechorze aquarium, and the Victorian-era Lighthouse Niechorze where you can see views across the dense forest on one side and the sparkling sea on the other.
It also has the charming, quaint Museum of Sea Fishery which tells the history of the area’s once thriving fishing industry, and gives you the chance to climb onboard some of the small boats.
Pobierowo is about an hour from Solidarity Szczecin–Goleniów Airport, which offers Ryanair services from Liverpool and London-Stansted. With flight times of under two hours from London, this Polish seaside gem could become popular with Brits looking for a short break.
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WATER slides, themed saunas, pool bars and a spa – could somewhere be more fun?
Suntago Water Park in Poland is the biggest indoor waterpark in Europe, offering enough fun for a multi-day visit.
And now, it is even easier for tourists to head to the park as a new bus service runs directly from Warsaw Chopin Airport to the park.
Having launched on June 1, the bus service will run until the end of the season on August 31.
The service from the airport takes around 45 minutes, runs a few times a day in each direction and costs around £13.20 return.
Visitors can also hop on a bus from Warsaw taking about 55 minutes and running each hour for £9.14 return.
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Or catch one from Żyrardów taking about 20 minutes and running several times a day for £4.06 return.
Inside, the park really is huge with 18 pools, 35 slides and numerous saunas.
When it comes to the pools there are several featuring different minerals or chemical elements that have different health benefits.
For example, you could take a dip in the magnesium pool (34C), which is rumoured to help skin disorders as well as relax muscles.
On the other hand, if you want to soothe dry skin then head to the calcium pool (34C).
Other mineral pools include a lithium pool to reduce stress, a potassium pool which can help with reducing blood pressure and a sulphur pool ideal for visitors who suffer with joint issues.
If you’re not into mineral pools though and would rather go for a swim, then you can head to the outdoor pool instead, with a swim-up bar for a tipple.
Another outdoor pool even has a hot tub and – instead of a lazy river – a ‘crazy river’.
Back inside, there’s a bubbling spring pool (32C) and a wave pool, both ideal for relaxing and having a splash.
Though for a bit more fun, make sure to head on the Mamba Adventure River that’s a 130-metre long pool through a cave-like area with glowing green lights.
Little ones aren’t left out either as there is a baby pool right next to a Pirates’ Playground.
But there is more fun for kids than this, with 35 different waterslides across five floors.
These include three snake-themed rides where you even come out of a snake’s mouth.
On Anaconda, for example, you’ll be launched nearly 20 metres before racing through a number of twists and bends.
If you are brave enough there is another waterslide called Teleport, which features a fast and unexpected drop.
Families wanting to stick together can try out Toucan and Arara in four-person rafts or get competitive on racing waterslides.
If all those pools and slides weren’t enough, there’s also more than 13 different heated rooms, including saunas and a frigidarium.
There’s a classic wooden sauna with a viking-themed twist, heated to a near-boiling 95C and an Egyptian Village where there are five saunas themed around different areas of Egypt including the Sahara Desert.
If you like the idea of a sauna but don’t want it too hot, head to the Korean Sauna, that is 38C and also plays calming music.
Or for something more exciting, head into the Aquarium Sauna with a number of fish tanks to watch.
You could also be transported to the Maldives in the Paradise Beach sauna or to Mont Blanc in the chilly frigidarium which is -7C.
Last but not least, there is a salt grotto which has a “seaside-like microclimate” and blocks upon blocks of salt ideal for helping your nervous system.
If you want to level up your wellness experience, there is a spa onsite too.
After all the splashing about and relaxing, if you want a bite to eat there are a number of restaurants and cafes onsite.
You can make even it a whole weekend event by staying at the Suntago Village, just five minutes from the park.
Kids can only access the Jamango zone where you’ll find pools and the slides, costing from £20.10 a day.
On the other hand adults can access the Jamango zones, as well as the Relax and Saunaria zones from £33.30 a day.
A MULTI award-winning airline has revealed it will be adding premium economy seats to its aircraft.
The boss of Turkish Airlines has said that it will bring back the seats for its passengers despite discontinuing them in 2013.
Talking to Skift, chairman of the airline, Murat Şeker said: “We are going to have premium economy.
“Our thinking is as early as 2028 – at the beginning of 2028 – we will be able to introduce a premium economy class in our Airbus A350s.”
These are expected to be rolled out later on the Boeing 787.
The hope is that it will be extended to all of the long-haul aircraft for Turkish Airlines.
This isn’t the first time that Turkish Airlines has offered premium-style seats onboard.
It used to offer Comfort Class on some of its routes on Boeing 777 aircraft – but these were withdrawn in 2013.
On the subject, Murat Şeker added that the previous offerings were “not the right time” or “the right configuration”.
Currently, Turkish Airlines has economy seats which have adjustable headrests and arms as well as entertainment screens and USB ports in the seats.
The other are in business class which have lie-flat seats with a massage feature, a cocktail table, touchscreen media screens and adjustable head rests.
Turkish Airlines is considered one of the best in the world, and picked up the Skytrax Award for the ‘Best Airline in Europe’ last year.
This isn’t the first time either, in fact that award marked the tenth win in a row for the airline.
At the same awards, it scooped up eight accolades in total and placed sixth in the rankings for ‘World’s Best Airline’.
Turkish Airlines also won the ‘Best Economy Class in Europe‘, ‘Best Economy Class Onboard Catering in Europe’, ‘Best Business Class Onboard Catering’.
It also was awarded the ‘Best Business Class in Europe’, ‘Best Business Class in Southern Europe’, ‘Best Business Class Onboard Catering in Europe’, and ‘Best Airline in Southern Europe.’
Turkish Airlines also offers cheap flights from the UK to destinations like Istanbul, Antalya, and other Turkish cities, as well as other destinations like New York, Sharm El Sheikh, and Cape Town.
FANCY staying in a hotel that’s so big it feels like a docked cruise ship?
Well, you are in luck, as Hotel Gołębiewski Pobierowo in Poland will open next week with a staggering 1,240 rooms in total, making it one of the largest hotels in Europe.
Spread across 13 floors, the cruise ship-like hotel actually boasts more rooms than the total population of Pobierowo itself (1,000 people).
Inside the hotel – which officially opens on June 17 – guests will find 50-square-metre rooms, most with a balcony.
And the Baltic Sea Beach is just 150 metres from the hotel, so you couldn’t be closer to the sand.
If you don’t like getting sandy toes, then the hotel also has a 104-metre-long pool, a waterpark, indoor pools, whirlpools and saunas.
Read more on travel inspo
For kids wanting to have some fun, there are also waterslides and a children’s area.
One slightly more unusual feature of the hotel is a salt grotto.
Adults wanting to relax a little can enjoy live piano music in the lobby as well.
But the hotel’s offerings don’t stop there.
It also boasts climbing walls, a cinema and a bowling alley – so you’ll never run out of fun things to do.
Forgot something? You needn’t worry as the five-star hotel also has a supermarket for guests.
And if you like keeping fit, there are volleyball courts as well.
Rooms at the hotel cost from €350 (£302.34) a night, with a suite costing up to €900 (£777.45) a night.
It sits right by the beach, which features golden sand and stretches 2.5 miles.
It is also known for being a great spot to watch the sunset.
The closest city to the hotel is Szczecin, which is about an hour away.
Flights from the UK to Szczecin cost from £15 in June and take under two hours.
The German border is also only 37 miles from the hotel, with Berlin under a three-hour drive away.
Other big hotels in Europe include The Royal National Hotel in Bloomsbury, London, which has around 1,630 rooms in total.
There’s also Barceló Punta Umbría Beach Resort in Spain, which has around 1,200 rooms spread across three buildings, costing from £160 per night.
JET2 is launching two new flights to Greece next year – and one of them has the longest beach in Europe.
One of the new routes is from Leeds Bradford Airport to Preveza which starts next summer.
The city is home to Monolithi Beach, stretching on for around 15.5 miles – making it Europe’s longest.
It runs along the Ionian Sea from villages Mytikas to Kastrosykia and, thanks to its length, the beach has everything holidaymakers look for whether that’s a sunbed, beach bars, and taverna.
One visitor to the beach said on Tripadvisor: “It’s one of the best beaches I have ever visited! Small pebbles and sand, and blue-green clear waters, and it’s length… I don’t know!”
Another said: “One of the most beautiful beaches I have seen and swum in. Great waters, amazing location. I could live there forever.”
Away from the beach is Preveza Harbour which a highly popular sailing and yachting destination.
The nearby marina is lined with restaurants, cafes, and tavernas where holidaymakers can sit and watch the boats.
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Another popular place in Preveza includes Parga Town.
The region is home to the huge ancient ruins of Nikopolis which have Roman walls, Byzantine basilicas, a stadium, and two theatres.
Another spot worth discovering is Saitan Bazar, a historic lane with tiny independent shops that are covered in vines and known for having lively atmospheres.
It is the ideal destination for reaching Lefkada, meaning travellers can experience two destinations in one trip.
Visitors can take a bus directly from Preveza to Lefkada takes just 45minutes.
Flights to Preveza will be weekly on Sundays until October 10.
From Leeds Bradford Airport, Jet2 will also fly to the beautiful island of Santorini.
Santorini will be served with weekly Thursday flights until October 7, 2027.
Jet2 chief executive Steve Heapy said: “We are seeing continued demand for our award-winning flights and holidays and many people wanting to book ahead for summer 2027, so we are delighted to respond with this expanded programme from Leeds Bradford Airport.
“With two stunning, brand-new routes being announced today, our summer 2027 programme gives holidaymakers exactly what they want – more choice and flexibility.”
Jet2 recently revealed it would be adding 30 new routes next summer including to Hurghada and Sharm El Sheik from Leeds Bradford.
Certain nations around the world are so wealthy that they wield enormous power over the global economy. When people think about the world’s biggest financial giants, two names typically come to mind straight away – the United States and China.
However, the next country is not located in Asia or North America. It’s situated in Europe, and its economy is substantially larger than most realise; it also boasts a greater GDP than the UK, Portugal and Greece combined.
Data from the World Population Review for 2025 shows that Germany is the richest country in Europe, with a GDP of $4.74trillion (£3.54trillion).
The UK comes second with $3.84trillion (£2.86trillion), while France is third with $3.21trillion (£2.53trillion), Italy fourth with $2.42trillion (£1.81trillion), and Russia fifth with $2.08trillion (£1.55trillion).
Lower in the table, Portugal sits 18th with $321.44billion (£241billion), and Greece 20th with $267.35billion (£200billion), which means Germany’s GDP exceeds that of the UK and both countries put together.
Germany’s wealth derives from a highly sophisticated and diverse economy. It holds the largest national economy in Europe and one of the most powerful on the entire planet. Germany is also a founding member of the EU and the eurozone, representing nearly a quarter of the whole euro-area economy.
The country is famous for its enormous export sector, standing as the world’s third-biggest exporter, having shipped $1.66trillion (£1.24trillion) worth of goods and services in 2024. It also achieved a trade surplus of $255billion (£191billion), among the largest anywhere in the world.
Its exports include vehicles, machinery, chemicals, electrical equipment, electronic products, pharmaceuticals and plastics, reports the Express.
Germany is likewise Europe’s leading manufacturing powerhouse, accounting for approximately one-third of the continent’s total industrial production.
Germany devotes considerable resources to research and development, allocating roughly 3.1% of its GDP to scientific and technological advancement, while also possessing one of the globe’s most comprehensive social security networks.
According to KPMG, Germany continues to be the world’s third-largest economy in 2026. “Exports of motor vehicles and vehicle parts, as well as chemical products, in particular, have made Germany the world’s third-largest exporting nation. At 70%, the service sector accounts for the largest share of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).”
Europe’s highest outdoor lift is used by 40,000 people a year
Some of the world’s most jaw-dropping lifts can be found in luxury hotels, including the highest outdoor lift in Europe, nestled in Lucerne, Switzerland. The Bürgenstock Resort is home to the remarkable Hammetschwand lift, offering stunning views of Lake Lucerne.
The Hammetschwand lift was built between 1900 and 1905 by pioneering hotelier Franz Josef Bucher, at a cost of 500,000 Swiss francs (around £470,000). It remains the quickest route up to the viewpoint, climbing 153 metres (502 feet) in under a minute.
Those planning a visit should bear in mind that to reach the foot of the lift, you’ll need to walk the breathtaking Felsenweg cliff path.
It is estimated that over 40,000 people use the Hammetschwand lift annually, and around 200 to 250 riders per day.
On Tripadvisor, one visitor advised choosing “the perfect sunny day to enjoy the view.” They went on to say: “This is a fantastic view, the elevator is just too quick, but still worth a visit.”
Another said: “You do the Burgenstock track to the lift and it is already by itself stunning!!! Nobody talks about it. It’s a hidden gem in Switzerland!
“Then you arrive at that special spit where the lakes of the four cantons connect, and it’s breathtaking. A bit ahead, there’s the lift and the adventure to one of the most beautiful views ever. It’s easy, it’s accessible, it’s unbelievably beautiful. I will do it again.”
Among other remarkable examples is the Hotel Santa Caterina’s lift in Amalfi, Italy, which boasts breathtaking views. Carved into the rugged cliffside, the glass-fronted elevator takes guests down to the exclusive Beach Club and the hotel’s Italian seafood restaurant.
In Greece, the Corfu Holiday Palace features a stunning lift that transports guests down the cliffside to the beach in just moments, treating them to gorgeous views across the bay while providing far easier access to the white sands below.
The Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas, United States, is home to one of the most iconic lifts on the planet. Given the hotel’s striking pyramid shape, the lifts travel between floors at a diagonal 39-degree angle, treating guests to a spectacular outlook over the atrium as they make their way to one of the hotel’s 4,407 rooms.
THE biggest theme park in Spain is getting two exciting new family zones – and some are the first in Europe.
PortAventura World is home to more than just a theme park as it also has the Caribbean-themed waterpark Caribe Aquatic Park.
And it is set to open the new family zone Coral Bay, La Leyenda Perdida.
The pirate-themed 6,000m2 zone will include watercoaster Cyclone which is the second of its kind in the world and the first to open in Europe.
There will also be Bahia Pirata which they also claim is the “world’s first multi-adventure pool“.
A multi-slide tower called the Crab will let riders choose five different routes, while Splash Port will be a water splash zone for younger kids.
El Bucanero will be the dining area offering snacks and drinks.
And it’s not just a new water attraction the park is getting, but a “jungle trek” adventure zone.
Called Makamanu Jungle, The Adventure Trek, it will change the current Polynesia area into a new tropical-themed land.
The 135-metre open-air attraction will have climbing structures that are inspired by volcanic quarries.
For all ages, the 18 treehouse cabins will have everything from rope tunnels and net ladders to slides.
Both are set to open this summer.
If you can’t wait, you could also visit Ferrari World, home to Europe’s tallest and fastest rollercoaster Red Force.
Or head to the main PortAdventura Park where there are six themed lands – Mediterranean, Polynesia, China, Mexico, the Far West, and SésamoAventura – and 40 rides to choose from.
To get to the park, the easiest way is to fly to Barcelona Reus Airport which as Ryanair flights, as it is around 15 minutes from there.
One mum who recently visited told Sun Travel: “Even my too-cool-for-school teens were wowed.
“While the big thrill rides understandably grab the headlines, younger families are well provided for with a huge schedule of themed entertainment shows at the park, tea cup rides, log flumes, and mini rollercoasters.
“By staying in one of the park hotels, we also got unlimited access to the park and a day at Ferrari Land.
“So unlike Disneyland which generally closes at 9pm, PortAventura stays open until 11pm so you really can wring the maximum out of your stay.”
