major

The Government has instructed airlines to prepare contingency plans for a sustained disruption to jet fuel supplies amid the ongoing Middle East conflict, which could lead to flight schedule changes

Passengers could face major alterations to their flight schedules this summer under new Government proposals aimed at preserving jet fuel supplies.

Ministers have ordered airlines to draw up contingency plans for prolonged disruption due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, the Telegraph reports.

Under the measures, the Government will reportedly temporarily ease regulations surrounding airport take-off and landing slots, in an effort to cut down on last-minute cancellations and “ghost flights”.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said the changes would give airlines more flexibility to amend schedules well in advance rather than making decisions at the gate.

She said: “This legislation will give airlines the tools to adjust flights in good time if they need to, which helps protect passengers and businesses.”

“We will do everything we can to insulate our country from the impact of the situation in the Middle East.”

Worries have intensified after data from analysts at Kpler revealed global shipments of jet fuel and kerosene fell below 2.3 million tonnes last week – the lowest level ever recorded.

Supplies have been squeezed following Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route that accounts for roughly 41% of Europe’s jet fuel.

Shadow transport secretary Richard Holden claimed holidaymakers could face turmoil. He said: “Families who have booked their summer holiday could find their flight cancelled and themselves herded onto a different plane, at a time of the airline’s choosing.

“The honest message is that Britain is exposed to fuel supply risks that a properly energy-secure country would not face.”

However, industry figures have moved to put travellers’ minds at rest.

Tim Alderslade, chief executive of Airlines UK, confirmed that airlines are currently running as normal and have yet to encounter any fuel supply problems.

He said: “We are planning to take our customers on their well-earned holidays this summer and will always look after them in line with our obligations.

“We welcome the Government’s contingency planning including slot alleviation, which enables airlines to adjust schedules responsibly, avoid unnecessary flying, and continue operating efficiently while protecting connectivity for passengers.”

WASHINGTON — When Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin was questioned by senators during his confirmation hearing about his vision for implementing President Trump’s mass deportation agenda, he said his goal was to keep his department off the front pages of the news.

To some degree, he has. Gone are the social media video clips of now-retired Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino clashing with protesters. Mullin’s predecessor, Kristi Noem, made her first trip as secretary to New York City to make arrests with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In contrast, Mullin went to North Carolina to review hurricane recovery efforts.

The Republican administration appears to be recalibrating its approach to a centerpiece policy that helped bring Trump back to the White House, moving in many ways away from aggressive, public-facing tactics toward a quieter approach to enforcement. Despite that shift, the administration insists it is not backing down from its lofty deportation goals.

“Clearly they’ve stepped back from the, for want of a better word, the Bovinoist tactics of before,” said Mark Krikorian, the president of the Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates for immigration restrictions. “But it’s not clear this means they’re actually stepping back from immigration.”

The Trump administration launched a series of immigration enforcement operations last year in mostly Democratic-led cities, which drove up arrests in large-scale sweeps. The crackdown sparked clashes between protesters and enforcement officers and led to the shooting deaths in Minneapolis of two U.S. citizens.

Since then, the president’s hard-line anti-immigration agenda has lost popularity with voters and there have been no new high-profile city-based operations launched, raising questions about the administration’s strategy.

“We’re still enforcing immigration laws. We’re still deporting illegals that shouldn’t be here. We’re still going after the worst of the worst — but we’re doing it in a more quiet way,” Mullin said in an interview April 16 with CNBC.

Immigration arrests have dropped, but deportation goals remain

ICE arrests have fallen in recent months, and the number of people in immigration detention has dropped from a high of roughly 72,000 in January to 58,000 this week, according to data obtained by The Associated Press.

But in a sign of its continued determination, ICE in budget documents says it plans to remove 1 million people this fiscal year and the next compared with roughly 442,000 people last year. The agency also has plenty of money to carry out its mission, with Congress granting the Department of Homeland Security more than $170 billion for Trump’s immigration agenda last year.

The administration aims to have enough space to detain roughly 100,000 people this fiscal year, which would more than double the average daily number held in ICE detention last year. The administration has already expanded its detention capacity with the purchase of 11 warehouses across the country.

“They are working on really building a juggernaut of a system,” said Doris Meissner, who headed the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, a predecessor to ICE, during President Bill Clinton’s Democratic administration and is now a senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute.

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said there had been no change to Trump’s strategy.

“President Trump’s highest priority has always been the deportation of illegal alien criminals who endanger American communities,” Jackson said.

ICE did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

Stripping away legal protections to ramp up deportations

Advocates for immigrants are bracing for the Trump administration to turn its attention more intently to stripping away protections for migrants with temporary legal status to remain in the U.S. while their cases are being adjudicated.

In one example of this, the number of green cards approved by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services dropped by half over the course of a year under the Trump administration, according to an analysis by the Cato Institute, which supports immigration into the U.S. Humanitarian visas for refugees or people who qualified for asylum saw the biggest declines.

USCIS spokesman Zach Kahler said the drop was due to increased vetting of applicants by the administration.

The Trump administration has also pushed to strip Temporary Protected Status from hundreds of thousands of people, with a key case weighing whether it’s overstepped its power to do so being heard at the Supreme Court this week.

Advocates see it as a way to send a chilling message to immigrant communities and make more people vulnerable to deportation. It also enables the department to operate without the public spectacle of workplace raids or home arrests.

ICE has also focused over the past year on creating agreements with jurisdictions around the country that allow local and state law enforcement to carry out an expanding array of immigration enforcement tasks, ranging from checking the immigration status of people in their jails to incorporating immigration checks during routine traffic stops.

These agreements, known as 287g, have grown from 135 in 20 states before Trump took office to more than 1,400 in 41 states and territories now.

Some states, most noticeably Florida and Texas, have mandated various forms of cooperation between local law enforcement and ICE.

Meissner, from MPI, said Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, is likely to prioritize further discussions about how cities and states can cooperate with ICE.

“At the end of the day, some of this may very well succeed in increasing the numbers,” Meissner said.

Calls to enforce work restrictions

Conservatives who want more deportations say the only way to truly crack down on illegal immigration is to make it so difficult for the migrants to work that they’ll leave on their own.

The Trump administration has already taken steps to make life harder for people in the country illegally including limiting who can live in public housing by immigration status, sharing Medicaid information with ICE and requiring people in the country illegally to register with the federal government.

Krikorian, of the Center for Immigration Studies, said the Social Security Administration could send out letters alerting employers when an employee’s name doesn’t match their Social Security number. Authorities could repeatedly and consistently carry out audits of I-9 forms, which companies are supposed to fill out and submit to the federal government showing that new hires are legally able to work. And they could require banks to collect citizenship information on customers.

Whatever the strategy going forward, the administration is facing heavy pressure not to back away from its goals.

“The numbers are too low,” said Mike Howell, part of the Mass Deportation Coalition, which launched a playbook for how the administration can actually get to a million deportations a year by using tactics such as worksite enforcement.

“The deportation numbers are just too low,” Howell said, “and they need to be much higher, and they can be much higher.”

Santana writes for the Associated Press. AP writers Lisa Mascaro and Will Weissert contributed to this report.

The airline has confirmed that the route will be axed at the end of May despite running since 2018, as the price of jet fuel leads to cancellations of a number of flight routes across Europe

A major European airline has cancelled a route from the UK that has been running since 2018, and confirmed that it’ll no longer be available to book as of the end of the month.

The move comes as the German airline, one of the largest in Europe, also announced plans to cut 20,000 short-haul flights over the summer as conflict in the Middle East drives up jet fuel prices and has led to fears of shortages.

Lufthansa, the flag carrier airline for Germany, has announced it’ll no longer run its service between Glasgow and Frankfurt, and the last flight between the two cities available to book is on May 31.

A Lufthansa Group spokesman told the Scottish Sun: “Following the decision to discontinue Lufthansa CityLine flights effective immediately and to reduce unprofitable flights in the future due to high kerosene prices, the Lufthansa Group’s summer schedule will be reduced by just under one percent of available seat-kilometers.

“To compensate for this, Lufthansa has taken immediate action and will consolidate the flight schedules of all Lufthansa Group airlines, cancelling 20,000 flights by the end of October. As a result of these decisions, flights to Glasgow will no longer be operated by Lufthansa via Frankfurt, but for the time being, by Edelweiss via Zurich offering access to the Swiss International Air Lines network.”

Lufthansa isn’t the only European airline to cancel flights. Scandinavian airline SAS confirmed it’s cancelling over 1,000 flights after the cost of jet fuel doubled. In the USA, United Airlines announced it would be cancelling 5% of flights in the short term, aiming to restore its full schedule by autumn.

Other airlines are raising prices to try to cover the soaring costs. Virgin Atlantic has said the aviation sector “cannot absorb” jet‑fuel costs at their current levels, forcing them to increase ticket prices.

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Corneel Koster, Virgin Atlantic’s chief executive, told the Telegraph: “I was looking at improving our financial results by a really significant chunk. And then this happens. We have never seen jet fuel at these levels, with prices more than doubling. The industry cannot absorb increases like this.”

The airline has added a surcharge of £50 to its economy class tickets, while those in premium economy will need to pay another £180, and business class passengers will be faced with an additional £360 cost. However, the airline says these surcharges still don’t cover the rising costs.

After labour costs, fuel is the second-highest expense for airlines, and accounts for around 27% of its operating expenses. Prices for jet fuel have doubled since the conflict began, rising from $85 to $90 per barrel to $150 to $200 per barrel in recent weeks.

Have a story you want to share? Email us at webtravel@reachplc.com

A MAJOR airline has scrapped one of its routes from the UK due to rising fuel costs.

Lufthansa has announced that it is axing its route between Glasgow and Frankfurt, Germany, this winter as the Iran War continues to affect fuel prices.

Follow The Sun’s award-winning travel team on Instagram and Tiktok for top holiday tips and inspiration @thesuntravel.

The German flag carrier has already stopped selling flights on the route, with the last direct flight between Glasgow and Frankfurt scheduled for May 31.

A Lufthansa Group spokesman told The Herald: “Following the decision to discontinue Lufthansa CityLine flights effective immediately and to reduce unprofitable flights in the future due to high kerosene prices, the Lufthansa Group’s summer schedule will be reduced by just under one percent of available seat-kilometers.

“To compensate for this, Lufthansa has taken immediate action and will consolidate the flight schedules of all Lufthansa Group airlines, cancelling 20,000 flights by the end of October.

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“As a result of these decisions, flights to Glasgow will no longer be operated by Lufthansa via Frankfurt, but for the time being, by Edelweiss via Zurich offering access to the Swiss International Air Lines network.”

Flights between Glasgow and Frankfurt were first launched back in 2018 and currently there are 13 flights a week.

Lufthansa usually uses an Airbus A320 for this route, with between 168 and 180 seats.

As a result, this would mean the route carries as many as 2,340 passengers a week or 9,360 passengers over a month.

The airline previously announced that it plans to cancel more than 20,000 flights this summer as a result of rising fuel costs.

Most of the routes impacted will be short haul, with the airline also shutting down its subsidiary airline, CityLine.

A HISTORIC railway station will finally receive a long-awaited upgrade that’s been six years in the making.

Plans were first announced in 2020 but construction is only expected to go ahead in the coming months.

East London‘s Lea Bridge station is set to get a major upgrade to its ticket hall and entrance, following a campaign by locals.

The historic building was originally constructed in 1840 but closed in 1985 following the closure of the railway route.

It was re-built and re-opened in 2016, however despite being along a busy commuter route, the station features only a small un-gated side street entrance with no ticket office.

After calls from residents to upgrade the facilities, the station will now receive a modernised ticket hall.

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This includes a fully staffed ticket office and automatic entrance gates.

The plans also involve a retail unit and a new cycle hub, which will provide secure parking for up to 130 bikes.

A larger entrance on the main road will also be built, intended to make the station bigger, safer and more accessible for travellers.

Construction will begin this summer, and is expected to last into 2027.

This comes as the area undergoes a period of major regeneration, with 387 homes planned for the site around the station.

Lea Bridge operates between Stratford and Tottenham Hale on the Lea Valley Lines, and serves a daily average of 2,500 passengers.

It offers a 20-minute route into London Liverpool Street and a direct line to Stratford and Meridian Water.

I was on a road trip to visit a friend late in March when my phone started lighting up. The Trump administration had just announced a sweeping reorganization of the U.S. Forest Service. People — among them current and former agency staffers — had thoughts.

Under the overhaul, the Forest Service will move from a regional to a state-based leadership structure, relocate its headquarters from Washington, D.C., to Salt Lake City and close nearly three-quarters of its research stations. A news release described this as a much-needed shift to streamline the agency and bring its leadership closer to the forests and grasslands it manages, which are primarily west of the Mississippi.

But a common refrain emerged among the sources I spoke with: The Trump administration is trying to break the Forest Service, they claimed, to pave the way for privatizing or even selling off the 193 million acres of land it oversees.

On a recent podcast, Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz said this is false, that the reorganization is about prudently stewarding taxpayer dollars, not dismantling the agency. Trump officials have also said that a public lands sell-off is not part of the president’s agenda.

I figured the controversy would die down a bit by the time I wrote this newsletter. But nearly a month later, it’s still top of mind for most of the former firefighters and recreation and environment advocates I speak with.

“I worry that I sound paranoid like a conspiracy theorist — why would anybody want to break a federal agency?” said Rich Fairbanks, a former Forest Service firefighter and board member of Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics and Ecology. “But that’s exactly what they appear to be trying to do.”

To him, the reorganization smacks of an attempt to sow chaos and drive experienced employees out the door. He described the decision to move the headquarters to Salt Lake City as a red flag. Not only is it likely to prompt more staff departures, he said, but Utah is widely seen as the epicenter of an ongoing movement for states to take over federal public lands. It’s also home to Sen. Mike Lee, who last year proposed selling off millions of acres of public lands.

Max Alonzo, a former Forest Service firefighter who now works as national secretary treasurer for the National Federation of Federal Employees, similarly believes the administration is setting the agency up to fail. He noted the president has also proposed deep cuts that would slash the USFS operations budget by 44% and eliminate funding for forest and rangeland research to refocus the agency’s mission primarily on timber sales.

The administration plans to replace its nine regional offices with 15 state directors. These changes to leadership structure make little sense to Alonzo unless the intention is to lay the groundwork for an eventual state takeover of the agency and its lands, he said.

“They’re putting the chess pieces in place to get rid of our national forests,” he said. He believes the goal is to open the door to more mineral extraction, logging and drilling.

“It’s all about breaking the government so people decide the government doesn’t work,” echoed Hugh Safford, a UC Davis researcher who worked for the Forest Service for over two decades.

Safford is concerned that the move to shutter dozens of research stations will prevent Forest Service scientists from doing on-the-ground work on issues affecting local lands, like seeing how different ecosystems respond to wildfire, pests and drought. This research has driven some of the most important global advancements in fire planning and forest management, he said. He would know: Until 2021, he managed a staff of ecologists that provided science support to Forest Service leadership.

“They are destroying the research part of the agency,” he said. “These plans are so draconian and so depressing my hair stands up when I even read about them.”

Dave Calkin worked for 23 years at the Forest Service, overseeing a team of scientists that researched wildfire management. He took an early retirement offer last April, just after the agency terminated thousands of probationary employees, including a young researcher in his office.

“The more you can demonstrate government isn’t working, the more you can argue to privatize and sell off public lands,” he said. “And that’s clearly one of the intentions of everything they’re doing.”

More recent land news

Although administration officials would later distance themselves from the effort, the Interior Department helped craft talking points that Sen. Lee used to pitch his controversial proposal to sell off federal public land last summer, Chris D’Angelo of Public Domain reports.

Trump has withdrawn hospitality executive Scott Socha as his nominee to lead the National Park Service, reports Jake Spring of the Washington Post. That comes as many parks face their peak seasons with a dramatically reduced staff and the agency braces for more potential cuts, my colleague Justine McDaniel writes.

It’s not just the Park Service: The president’s budget proposal also seeks to decrease staff at the Bureau of Land Management and eliminate its wilderness management funding in favor of focusing on energy production, reports Christine Peterson of Outdoor Life.

The Trump administration is again planning border wall-related construction inside Big Bend National Park, weeks after U.S. Customs and Border Protection backed away from such plans amid bipartisan backlash, according to Travis Bubenik of Marfa Public Radio, who cited an online map showing the planned construction.

A day after Bubenik’s report, the border wall map disappeared from the Customs and Border Protection website, leaving the public with no way to know where and when construction on the wall will take place, writes Mary Andino of Gear Junkie.

A few last things in climate news

Wildfire, insurance and the price of gas took center stage at the California governor’s debate on Tuesday night. My colleague Blanca Begert broke down each candidate’s defining statements.

In yet another escalation of President Trump’s efforts to obstruct clean energy projects in favor of fossil fuels, the administration said it will pay two energy companies to abandon their offshore wind projects in federal waters — including one off Morro Bay, according to The Times’ Hayley Smith.

Extreme drought is fueling wildfires in the southeastern U.S., Zachary Handlos writes for The Conversation, as concern also grows over intensifying drought conditions in Nevada and Northern California.

Winters have grown shorter in most places across the country, upending everything from tourism and recreation to the transmission season of certain diseases, report Ignacio Calderon, Ramon Padilla, Veronica Bravo and Janet Loehrke in this interactive USA Today project.

This is the latest edition of Boiling Point, a newsletter about climate change and the environment in the American West. Sign up here to get it in your inbox. And listen to our Boiling Point podcast here.

For more land news, follow @phila_lex on X and alex-wigglesworth.bsky.social on Bluesky.

The Other Bennet Sister proved to be a massive hit with period drama fans last month.

A star of The Other Bennet Sister already has two major new projects lined up.

BBC audiences were captivated by the Pride and Prejudice-inspired period drama The Other Bennet Sister, which retells the classic story from the viewpoint of Mary Bennet (portrayed by Ella Bruccoleri).

While the series predominantly centres on Mary’s individual journey, it does track some of the Jane Austen novel’s more central characters, including snobbish social climber Miss Bingley.

In this BBC adaptation, she is portrayed by none other than Sex Education star Tanya Reynolds, who now has two exciting productions on the horizon.

The first of these ventures is dark comedy Dog Person, a film which the 34 year old is not only appearing in but marks her directorial debut.

She will assume the role of Sally, a dental receptionist who is “overwhelmed by life’s pressures and develops a desire to relinquish control, leading to a dark, unsettling fantasy”.

Reynolds won’t be the sole recognisable face to appear in Dog Person either, as she will be accompanied by the likes of Happy Valley villain and Grantchester legend James Norton.

Completing the principal cast is ITV Downton Abbey and Twenty Twenty Six star Hugh Bonneville.

Dog Person isn’t Reynolds’ sole forthcoming project, with Ted Lasso enthusiasts thrilled to learn that she will feature in the highly anticipated fourth season.

Three years have passed since fans last caught a glimpse of the award-winning Apple TV comedy-drama, and a handful of fresh faces are set to join everyone’s beloved football coach.

Little has been revealed about Reynolds’ character, though she is set to play a new assistant coach for a women’s football team.

Fortunately, the wait is almost at an end, with Ted Lasso season four due to make its debut on Wednesday, August 5, on Apple TV, with episodes dropping on a weekly basis.

The Other Bennet Sister is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

ROBOT baggage handlers will replace humans during an experimental project as a major airline trials a humanoid crew.

The pilot programme was announced by Japan Airlines, where Chinese-made robots will be integrated into ground operations at Haneda Airport in Tokyo.

The country’s biggest airport will host the three-year experiment, where the machines will be tasked with cleaning planes, as well as loading and transporting baggage.

Looking further into the future, the androids could also be operating ground support equipment including baggage tractors, catering trucks and power units.

The airline said bipedal robots were the best suited to working in airport environments, as opposed to other types of robotic machines.

This is because they are quicker and are able to move within and adapt to cramped spaces.

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“Being human-shaped allows their introduction without significant modifications to existing airport facilities or aircraft structures,” a Japan Airlines spokesperson said.

“By combining cutting-edge AI technology with the unique flexibility of humanoid forms, the project aims to realise a sustainable operational structure through labour savings and workload reduction.”

“Currently, the aviation industry faces a serious challenge in ground handling labour shortages,” they continued.

The airline said this was because of increased tourism and a declining working-age population in Japan.

“Ground handling operations require highly skilled personnel to maintain safety, such as aircraft marshalling and baggage/cargo handling, while also imposing significant physical burdens,” they said.

Baggage handlers do one of the least glamorous and thankless jobs in the modern world.

Many workers suffer with back injuries and are often faced with complaints about lost and damaged belongings.

The robots were trialled in Haneda this week, with a demonstration showing a skinny 51-inch robot tapping and pushing large storage containers on rollers.

To demonstrate that a task had been completed, the robots raise a hand.

The machine is made by Unitree Robotics of China and has 43 separate moving parts.

“While airports appear highly automated and standardised, their back-end operations still rely heavily on human labour and face serious labour shortages,” said Tomohiro Uchida of GMO AI & Robotics, the airline’s partner on the project.

A MAJOR airline has revealed plans to create en-suite bathrooms onboard its planes.

Emirates Airline is was named the best airline in the world this year.

Follow The Sun’s award-winning travel team on Instagram and Tiktok for top holiday tips and inspiration @thesuntravel.

And now their airline has plans to improve passengers’ experience even more.

According to the airline’s CEO, Tim Clark, in the future Emirates aircraft could have private en-suite bathrooms for each first class passenger.

Clark, who made the announcement at the recent Capa Airline Leader Summit in Berlin, Germany, said: “I’m working on en-suite bathrooms in first-class suites.

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“I want everyone to hear that so everyone rushes out the door to find out how they can get bathrooms in first-class suites,” reports The National.

Little details have emerged about what the en-suites would look like, and currently, no commercial airline has private en-suite bathrooms for every first class passenger.

However, when passengers fly with Emirates on an Airbus A380 there are two shower spas they can use.

If you happen to be one of the 14 first-class passengers on an Emirates A380 flight, you would book a shower spa session with a dedicated shower attendant at the start of the flight.

When it then comes to your session, you get 30 minutes to use the shower spa, which includes five minutes of running hot water.

Though that might not sound long enough, you can stop and start the shower as much as you like to maximise your water time.

In addition to the shower, the shower spa has a toilet, sink, bench, mirror, heated floors, and luxury amenities including Bulgari fragrances.

You, of course, will get towels as well as razors, shaving kits, dental kits, and cotton swabs.

After you are finished in the shower and return to your seat, you’ll be greeted by a fruit platter and green tea to make it really feel like a spa experience.

To make your inflight experience even better, Emirates recently started Starlink Wi-Fi on its A380s as well.

Alternatively, if you fly with Emirates on a Boeing 777, there are individual cabins for first-class passengers with more technology and entertainment.

Even the middle cabins have digital windows.

However, there are no shower spas to use onboard.

Currently, the closest product offered by another airline is The Residence by Etihad.

Created in 2014, The Residence is made up of a living room, bedroom and private bathroom and shower.

In other flight news, a budget airline has warned of more flight cancellations this summer – and says short-haul will be hit hardest.

Plus, Ryanair is axing half its flights from busy European airport – affecting millions of passengers.

Boss speaks out with pledge after big concerns about travellers being hit with ‘extra’ charges to cover soaring fuel

easyJet has issued a major announcement for all holidaymakers with flights booked this summer. Concerns are mounting that the Iran situation, which has seen the crucial Strait of Hormuz closed and severely disrupted global oil supplies, could significantly affect jet fuel availability.

EU energy commissioner Dan Jorgensen has warned ‘it’s very likely that many people’s holidays will be affected, either by flight cancellations or very, very expensive tickets’ because of the crisis. Fears are growing that travellers could face additional charges from airlines attempting to manage spiralling fuel costs.

On Friday, Jet2 confirmed it would not impose surcharges on passengers – and now easyJet has released a fresh statement pledging the airline and tour operator will not add surcharges to any pre-booked flights and package holidays, or future bookings.

The company said travellers can book their package holidays with confidence thanks to its Best Price Guarantee and Ultimate Flexibility policy: “easyJet and easyJet holidays has confirmed that it will not introduce surcharges on its flights or package holidays, giving customers complete peace of mind when booking.

READ MORE: Government issues new ‘cancellation’ update for airlines amid jet fuel stock concern

“No surcharges will apply to any pre‐booked easyJet holidays packages or to any new bookings for summer 2026.easyJet currently sees no disruption to its jet fuel supply and all flights and package holidays continue to operate normally.” Garry Wilson, CEO of easyJet holidays, said: “We know that holidaymakers may have questions about what recent global events might mean for their travel plans this summer so we are giving our customers absolute peace of mind that no surcharges will be added to their flights or package holidays.”

“Our operations remain unaffected, so customers can be confident that not only will their holiday go ahead as planned, but there will be no surprise extra payments, and they can enjoy their brilliant holidays at unbeatable prices.”

Jet2 has confirmed it will not impose surcharges on any pre-booked flights or holidays to offset rising costs, such as those linked to jet fuel. In a move to ease mounting concerns, the Department for Transport yesterday issued direct guidance to passengers booked with carriers including Jet2, Ryanair, Wizz, easyJet and British Airways.

Jet2 has scrapped the surcharge provision across all flights and holidays, despite the fact the airline has never previously applied them.

The policy covers all flights and holidays booked through any channel, whether online, via the mobile app, contact centre or independent travel agent. It excludes tourist taxes, which are payable at the resort during the holiday and are paid directly to the accommodation provider. Steve Heapy, CEO of Jet2 said: “Holidaymakers should have every right to book their hard-earned break in the sun, without worrying about being hit with additional costs, and they can have that complete assurance when they book a flight or holiday with Jet2. As a result of today’s announcement, customers booking with Jet2 know that they are locking in their price without additional cost surprises later and we strongly believe that is the right thing to do by them. Ahead of a busy summer this is yet more evidence of why, on top of our incredible holidays and award-winning customer service, nothing beats a Jet2holiday.”

The DfT stated on Friday: “There is no current need for passengers to change their travel plans. UK airlines buy jet fuel in advance, and airports maintain stocks to support their resilience. The government is working closely with the aviation industry to monitor risks and minimise disruption to passengers.

“If your flight is cancelled, you have clear legal rights, including the right to a full refund or re-routing. Read this factsheet for the full picture on the current situation and what it means for you.”

However, IAG – the parent company of British Airways, Aer Lingus and Spain’s Iberia – has spoken of “pricing adjustments to reflect these higher fuel costs”. A spokesperson said: “We are not seeing jet fuel supply interruptions, but fuel prices have risen sharply and, despite our hedging strategy, which gives some shorter-term mitigation, we are not immune to the impact.”

Sir David Jason has opened up on the prospect of an Only Fools and Horses revival, saying ‘let’s go for it’

Television icon Sir David Jason has spoken candidly about a potential revival of Only Fools and Horses – but acknowledges there’s one significant obstacle to resurrecting the beloved sitcom.

The BBC programme ran for seven series and 16 Christmas specials between 1981 and 2003 and is frequently voted the UK’s greatest ever sitcom. Only Fools transformed Sir David and co-star Nicholas Lyndhurst, who portrayed wheeler dealer brothers Derek and Rodney Trotter, into household names.

However, while there have been spin-offs in the subsequent 23 years, alongside a successful stage production, there hasn’t been a return to fresh TV episodes.

Sir David, 86, declared “let’s go for it” – but only if they “get a good script”. The actor believes this might prove somewhat problematic as the programme’s creator, John Sullivan, passed away in 2011. The Only Fools star described the scriptwriter as “a genius”.

He told the Daily Telegraph: “But the problem (with a TV revival) is that the man who created it is no longer with us. He wrote every episode and just happened to be a genius.

“I’m not so sure that we have a writer clever enough to take on his mantle. No one could write characters like he could. Providing we have a good script, let’s go for it!” reports the Express.

The Only Fools creator died in April 2011, six weeks after contracting viral pneumonia. Only Fools and Horses The Musical, penned by Paul Whitehouse and John Sullivan’s son Jim Sullivan, enjoyed a West End run spanning more than four years before concluding in April 2023. The programme centred on the Trotter brothers, market traders from working-class Peckham in south-east London, chronicling their schemes to strike it rich fast.

Sir David also shared his thoughts on cancel culture, as Only Fools and Horses repeats now feature trigger warnings. He revealed no one has criticised the programme to him directly.

The actor continued: “Not one person has ever complained about any show that I have done. No one has said they didn’t believe in it or didn’t enjoy it.”

Meanwhile, Sir David delivered a heartbreaking eight-word response after viewing a lost Only Fools scene.

The actor reunited with Tessa Peake-Jones, who portrayed his on-screen partner Raquel Turner. The duo filmed a new docuseries, Only Fools and Horses: The Lost Archive. The two-part programme featured the show’s stars watching previously unseen material from more than 10 classic episodes.

Grantchester actress Tessa has revealed that David made an emotional remark about the cast being “so young and so successful” while revisiting footage of himself and his co-stars.

Speaking on Lorraine, she shared: “David Jason was very, very poignant about it. There was one bit where he was like, ‘We were so young and so successful then.’ It’s quite depressing.”

A MAJOR train station in England has announced its closure over a busy bank holiday weekend.

Passengers are urged to plan their journeys ahead as the station will be shut.

One of the North West‘s busiest stations will be closed over the early May bank holiday.

Liverpool Lime Street station will stop its overground services on Sunday, May 3, and into the morning of Monday, May 4.

Engineers will be carrying out major upgrade works around the station during the closure.

Along with replacing outdated signalling infrastructure in the Edge Hill area, workers will be maintaining overhead power cables and track points.

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This means that overground lines in and out of Lime Street will be disrupted.

Paul Owen, Liverpool area director for Network Rail, said: “We would like to thank passengers for their patience while this vital work takes place.

“Replacing older signalling infrastructure with new equipment will reduce disruption on the railway and create smoother, more reliable journeys.”

Local Merseyrail trains will continue to run while other routes will be diverted or replaced by bus.

Travellers are advised to check with their train operator or on the National Rail Enquiries website for the latest information.

Passengers should allow extra time for travel and expect delays or changes to their journeys.

ONE of the UK’s busiest airports is set for travel chaos over the May bank holiday weekend due to strike action.

Around 100 workers at London Stansted Airport – the UK’s fourth busiest airport – will walk out between May 3 and 6.

The walkout, which has been called by Unite the Union, will mainly involve staff who help passengers with disabilities at the airport and onto their flights.

Action was called after staff rejected a “substandard” pay offer.

Delays are expected as a result of the strike, as it will take longer to board passengers who need help to get to their flights.

Last year the airport handled 2.74 million passengers across May, with thousands travelling across both May bank holiday weekends.

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Many budget airlines fly from the airport including Ryanair and popular European destinations include Rome, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Alicante and Ibiza.

As a result of the strike action, families and travellers heading off for the long weekend might experience delays in getting to their destinations.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “ABM staff do a vital job for passengers at the airport, yet they are struggling with low pay while their employer makes huge profits.

“This situation is unacceptable and workers at ABM continue to have Unite’s full support.”

Unite regional officer Steve Edwards added: “Workers at ABM are increasingly given bigger workloads and deserve pay that reflects this.

“Their employer can afford to come back with an offer workers would accept and could end this dispute easily by doing so. But until then, Unite members will strike until their voices are heard.”

A previous strike was planned for April 17 to 20 but was called off.

Sun Travel has contacted London Stansted Airport for comment.

Stansted Airport also recently hiked its drop-off parking charges by almost 50 per cent.

In March, the fee to use the express drop-off (up to 15 minutes) at the airport rose from £7 to £10.

The fee for longer stays of up to 30 minutes also rose from £25 to £28.

The changes made Stansted Airport the second most expensive airport for drop-off fees in the UK, only beaten by Gatwick Airport where the fee is £10 for 10 minutes.

Flight compensation rules

A look at your rights if a flight is delayed or cancelled, when your entitled to compensation and if your travel insurance can cover the costs.

What are my rights if my flight is cancelled or delayed?

Under UK law, airlines have to provide compensation if your flight arrives at its destination more than three hours late.

If you’re flying to or from the UK, your airline must let you choose a refund or an alternative flight.

You will be able to get your money back for the part of your ticket that you haven’t used yet.

So if you booked a return flight and the outbound leg is cancelled, you can get the full cost of the return ticket refunded.

But if travelling is essential, then your airline has to find you an alternative flight. This could even be with another airline.

When am I not entitled to compensation?

The airline doesn’t have to give you a refund if the flight was cancelled due to reasons beyond their control, such as extreme weather.

Disruptions caused by things like extreme weather, airport or air traffic control employee strikes or other ‘extraordinary circumstances’ are not eligible for compensation.

Some airlines may stretch the definition of “extraordinary circumstances” but you can challenge them through the aviation regulator the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

Will my insurance cover me if my flight is cancelled?

If you can’t claim compensation directly through the airline, your travel insurance may refund you.

Policies vary so you should check the small print, but a delay of eight to 12 hours will normally mean you qualify for some money from your insurer.

Remember to get written confirmation of your delay from the airport as your insurer will need proof.

If your flight is cancelled entirely, you’re unlikely to be covered by your insurance.

In other flight news, Ryanair is axing thousands of flights from European airport this summer.

Plus, four major European airlines are set to scrap free hand luggage onboard.

Tourists travelling to some of the most popular holiday destinations in Spain have been handed an update on prices

Travel officials in Spain have warned that airline ticket prices are set to rocket this summer. The warning comes as the Iran conflict places severe strain on the supply of jet fuel to airlines across the globe.

The mounting pressures have already prompted some airlines to scale back their planned flight schedules, with knock-on effects already being felt on ticket prices. And bosses say there are further headaches ahead for holidaymakers at some of the most popular Brit tourist spots as the peak travel season approaches – with around 18 million Brits heading to Spain every year.

The latest alert was issued by travel agents in Spain. The Balearic Islands Travel Agencies Association (AVIBA) has warned those heading to popular destinations such as the 3 key tourist spots of Mallorca, Menorca and Ibiza to brace themselves for steeper ticket prices – even as it confirmed flights to the region are not expected to be reduced.

According to reports in the Spanish media, AVIBA president Pedro Fiol cautioned that ticket prices will inevitably rise sharply due to the financial pressures stemming from the conflict. He warned that the war is likely to produce a summer “with a context of greater tension and rising costs that will be gradually passed on to ticket prices”, Spanish website Ultima Hora reports.

Despite this, he maintained that the profitability of routes to the Balearic Islands makes it unlikely that flights to the area will be axed. He did, however, flag that this could become a possibility outside of peak season.

AVIBA note that airlines are currently maintaining “a certain restraint” in airfares. But the president warned that the scarcity and increased cost of fuel driven by the Iran conflict will undoubtedly result in higher airfare prices. The Airline Association (ALA) has issued a similar forecast.

Lufthansa yesterday confirmed the axing of some 20,000 flights through October as part of its operational shake-up. The carrier explained that these reductions relate to unprofitable bases, though none of these are located in Spain. The strategy is to refocus resources on the most lucrative routes.

Mr Fiol said: “We don’t foresee a summer with planes grounded due to a lack of fuel, but we do anticipate a more complex and price-driven environment.” Meanwhile, Spanish website INB3N reports that Mr Fiol also cautioned there was a danger that additional flights could be compelled to make stops so aircraft can refuel mid-journey.

This week, TUI revealed the Iran war set it back around 40 million euros (£34.8 million) last month after it was obliged to bring home thousands of holidaymakers and staff. Europe’s biggest travel operator slashed its profit forecast and suspended revenue guidance as a consequence, causing its shares to fall.

The firm is amongst travel companies to have been substantially disrupted by the conflict in the Middle East, which erupted at the end of February. It is also amongst airline operators to face strain from a spike in jet fuel prices after the conflict drove up the cost of oil.

And holidaymakers should have “no worries” about flights being cancelled this summer, despite airlines confronting a “triple whammy” as a consequence of the conflict in the Gulf, a former industry boss has maintained.

Tim Jeans, a former commercial director at Ryanair who was later managing director of Monarch Air, said that while there “may be some trimming of schedules” by airlines, he did not expect carriers to scrap routes entirely.

His remarks follow stark warnings from the trade body representing European airports, which cautioned that a “systemic” jet fuel shortage could emerge ahead of the peak summer season if the Strait of Hormuz fails to reopen in the coming weeks.

Airports Council International, which represents more than 600 airports, recently wrote to European commissioners for energy, transport and tourism, warning that if the vital strait does not reopen in a “significant and stable way within the next three weeks” then “systemic jet fuel shortage is set to become a reality for the EU”.

Director-general Olivier Jankovec said: “The fact that we are entering the peak summer season… is only adding to those concerns.” However, Mr Jeans insisted: “I don’t see a situation where flights will get cancelled because of the non-availability of fuel.”

He acknowledged that there was a “triple whammy for airlines at the moment”, pointing to “the issues in the Middle East which has caused a massive spike in the cost of fuel”.

Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland’s Breakfast programme, Mr Jeans added: “That in turn is pushing up ticket prices, and the uncertainty around whether it is going to be possible to travel, plus the increase in prices is reducing demand.

“And so you have a situation where airlines are looking at their bookings for the next three months ahead and saying ‘should we fly that flight, is it going to be profitable?'”

ONE of Europe’s biggest airport hubs has opened its huge new third terminal – more than a DECADE after works started.

Frankfurt Airport, the busiest in Germany and 6th busiest in Europe, is often used as a stopover airport for long-haul flights.

And its new Terminal 3 has now opened.

Having started works back in 2015, the new terminal is the airport’s biggest project to date.

Costing €4billion (£3.6billion), inside is a main terminal and three concourses adding to Terminal 1 and 2.

Inside are more than 60 shops and restaurants, we well as new automated bag drop areas and improved CT scanners at security.

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Designed by German architect Christoph Mäckler he said he wants to make the terminal feel like a “city in its own right”.

He added: “These days airports have become a destination in their own right. In fact, they typically receive more visitors than many city centres.

“This makes it even more important for airports to also perform some of the same functions as cities. We’re making this happen in Terminal 3.”

Around 57 airlines will move to the new terminal from Terminal 2, which includes Qatar Airways and Cathay Pacific.

There will also be a shuttle between the terminals, taking less than 10 minutes.

Initially it will welcome up to 19million passengers, although this will eventually increase to 25million by June with the opening of the fourth phase.

Frankfurt Airport welcomed 63.2million passengers last year.

Brits can currently fly to Frankfurt with British Airways for £69, whereas Ryanair’s £15 flights go to the smaller Frankfurt-Hahn Airport.

And Condor Airlines launched a new flight route to Frankfurt from London Gatwick this month, the first UK route for the airline.

If you want to explore the city, it even has its own “mini Manhattan,” thanks to its skyscraper financial district.

CNN Travel previously said: “Frankfurt looks and feels more like a modern American city than any other metropolis when people visit Germany.”

Here is another new airport that has recently had a makeover in Europe.

Tourists visiting this holiday hotspot may find it harder to book a hotel room in the future as local authorities are seeking to freeze new hotel licences in a bid to tackle tourist numbers

A European tourist hotspot that’s popular with Brits is eyeing plans to tackle overtourism, including potentially putting a freeze on the opening of new hotels.

The mayor of Athens, Haris Doukas, is desperate for his city not to become too overcrowded and overwhelmed by tourists. Haris previously oversaw a ban on new permits for short-term rentals such as Airbnbs in three neighbourhoods in central Athens.

Now, he has told Euronews that he wants to avoid the city becoming like other crowded spots. He said: “We really need to see if and how many more hotels we need and where. We need to see and think about how much extra tourist load we can lift and where.

“We must not become Barcelona. We have to understand that there are saturated areas that cannot afford new beds: whether short-term rentals or not. Talking at events around the globe, we see that capping is not only being put on short-term rentals but also on hotels; in specific, ‘saturated’ areas.”

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Across the Attica region, where Athens is located, there are 68,934 rental apartments, nearly half of which are found in the city center. Across Greece, tourist demand has seen a huge increase in the amount of accommodation available, with 450 new four- and five-star hotels opening between 2019 and 2024.

Should Athens enact the ban, it would join cities including Barcelona and Amsterdam, which already have similar initiatives to tackle the issue of overtourism.

Evgenios Vassilikos, President of the Athens – Attica & Argosaronic Hotel Association – spoke at the same event. He argued that there needed to be a careful planning process when it comes to expanding the number of hotel beds and short-term rentals.

He said: “There are practices abroad which have been implemented. We don’t need to reinvent the wheel. The example I gave is that in Barcelona they have completely banned short-term rentals from 2028 and from 2017 onwards no new hotel licences are being issued. So there are, therefore, these restrictions abroad. We will possibly have to see in Athens what we want in terms of where we want to be in 10 to 15 years. “

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He added: “We will definitely need hotel beds there. How many will these be? How many will be five-star, how many four-star, etc. There has to be a specific plan. And of course that drags in all kinds of beds, meaning non-primary tourist accommodation and short-term rentals.”

Athens has become the most popular tourist destination in Greece with about 12 million international arrivals in 2025. This included around 4.5 million British tourists, up from 3.5 million in 2019. The Acropolis alone receives millions of visitors a year, and at peak times can see over 17,000 visitors a day.

Have a story you want to share? Email us at webtravel@reachplc.com

ALL-NIGHT train services to a major UK airport will begin next month.

The roll out of a new rail timetable will connect travellers to the UK’s third busiest airport all through the night.

Eight overnight trains will go between Manchester Airport and Manchester Piccadilly.

Beginning from May 17, night trains are expected to run roughly every hour between the city and the airport.

The TransPennine Express (TPE) services are being put in place as part of a timetable shakeup.

It’s hoped it will better connect passengers making journeys to and from Manchester Airport in the late night and early morning.

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Andrew McClements, customer experience and transformation director at TPE, said, “We’re pleased to be introducing services that give customers more choice, added flexibility, and an improved overall experience when travelling with us.”

Other changes to the TPE timetable will see an update to 08.05am weekday services between Leeds and Manchester Piccadilly come into place.

The regular service will begin to call at Dewsbury.

This is to help commuters and students with early morning commutes and to better connect them to the city.

TPE is also urging customers to check their usual routes to see if they have been impacted by the timetable changes.

It said, “Although most of our services are unchanged, we encourage customers to take a moment to check any journeys they make regularly.”

With 50 days to go until the World Cup kicks off, FIFA and the tournament’s host nations face criticism over wide-ranging social, political and logistical issues surrounding the global event.

Canada and Mexico will cohost the tournament with the United States, which, alongside Israel, launched a war on World Cup participant nation Iran on February 28. While the war is currently under a fragile temporary ceasefire, Iran’s participation in the tournament remains uncertain.

Fans across the three host countries are in uproar over exorbitant ticket prices, which have affected sales and interest in the world’s most popular quadrennial sporting event.

Local politicians and the public have also raised concerns over the hike in transport fares on routes connecting match venues in the US.

Al Jazeera Sport takes a look at the growing concerns in the run-up to the tournament, which begins on June 11 with the opening fixture between Mexico and South Africa:

What’s the latest on Iran’s participation in the World Cup?

Iran’s football team is preparing for the championship. However, officials say a final decision on the team’s participation will be taken by the government and the National Security Council after they review the players’ safety in the US.

Iran had said last month that it would not participate in the tournament amid the war, especially if the host nation could not guarantee players’ security. It followed a social media post from President Donald Trump, where he suggested that the Iranian team’s safety and security could not be guaranteed in the US, where Iranians are scheduled to play all their games.

The Iranian football federation then asked FIFA to relocate its games from the US to Mexico. FIFA rejected the request.

FIFA chief Gianni Infantino said last week that Iran “has to come” to the tournament.

Iran will play all their group stage matches on the US West Coast. Should they advance to the knockouts, the remaining games would also be held in the US.

Outrageous commuter fare prices in US host cities

Fans can expect to pay nearly 12 times the regular $12.90 fare for a round-trip train ride from Manhattan’s Penn Station to the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, venue of the World Cup final and seven other major fixtures.

New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill and FIFA have chided each other on the $150 price tag for a roughly 15-minute, 14km (9-mile) ride; Sherrill said FIFA should bear the costs, while the global body hit back, saying it is not obligated to do so.

Train commutes to Gillette Stadium in Boston’s suburbs cost roughly four times the regular price ($20), while round-trip bus fares to Foxborough cost $95.

Host cities Los Angeles and Philadelphia have pledged to keep their transit fares unchanged, while Kansas City is offering a $15 round-trip fare to Arrowhead Stadium. Houston said it has added buses and train cars to serve fans but intends to keep fares at current levels: $1.25 for buses and light rail trains, and park-and-ride options ranging from $2 to $4.50.

High prices, low demand for match tickets

Sky-high ticket prices have left fans outraged at what they say is pricing that excludes supporters from the tournament. A lag in ticket sales for blockbuster matches, including hosts USA vs Paraguay, seems to be a testament to the high price tag.

FIFA put tickets on sale in December at prices ranging from $140 for Category 3 in the first round to $8,680 for the final. Later, it raised prices to as high as $10,990 when sales reopened on April 1.

The North American bid had initially promised tickets would be available for as little as $21; however, the cheapest ticket has been priced at $60. Most tickets cost at least $200 for matches involving higher-ranked teams.

FIFA announced another round of ticket sales on Wednesday to coincide with the 50-day countdown. Tickets will be available across categories 1 to 3 for all 104 matches on a first-come, first-served basis.

Pushback against immigration raids during World Cup matches

The Trump administration’s push for mass deportation and its efforts to tighten legal immigration pathways have spurred concerns about whether the World Cup’s international audience might be targeted by US immigration authorities.

Infantino was approached last week to pressure Trump to avoid immigration raids at this year’s tournament. Reporters suggested that agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) were present at last year’s FIFA Club World Cup matches, though the Trump administration denied conducting enforcement efforts.

A report by The Athletic explained that FIFA executives have framed the possibility of an immigration moratorium as a potential public relations boon for the Trump administration. It also indicated that the executives hoped Infantino would leverage his friendly relationship with Trump to assuage any immigration-related fears.

Violence in Mexico raises fears over tournament security

World Cup cohost Mexico is also under the spotlight due to concerns for fan safety after a lone attacker opened fire on tourists near the country’s capital on Monday.

The accused opened fire on top of one of the Teotihuacan pyramids — a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of Mexico’s most frequented tourist attractions — and killed one Canadian tourist and injured 13 others.

It raised questions about security protocols taken by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s government in the run-up to the global football tournament.

Sheinbaum said Mexico will beef up security ahead of the World Cup.

“Our obligation as a government is to take the appropriate measures to ensure that a situation like this does not happen again. But clearly, we all know — Mexicans know — that this is something that had not previously taken place,” she said on Tuesday.

British tourists have been warned that beloved dogs, cats and ferrets could be turned away at the border as new post-Brexit rules make EU passports invalid – here’s what you need to know

New EU rules could see beloved pets turned away at the border from tomorrow – and there’ll be big changes to what you need to do before taking four-legged friends on holiday.

Anyone travelling into the European Union with pet dogs, cats and ferrets from England, Scotland or Wales can no longer use EU pet passports under post-Brexit arrangements which come in to force on Wednesday.

Until now, people taking their pets abroad – whether by plane, train, ferry or car – could use an EU Pet Passport, even after Brexit.

But EU Regulation 2016/429, known as the Animal Health Law, comes into force this week after a 10-year transition, and means these pet passports will no longer be valid.

Instead, there’s a different document you’ll need to get sorted before you go on holiday. Here’s what you need to know:

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You now need an animal health certificate for every trip

The changes mean that anyone travelling from Great Britain to an EU country with a pet will now need to get an animal health certificate (AHC) before they set off.

Travellers will need to get a vet to issue an AHC within 10 days of their trip. A new certificate will be needed for each trip from Britain to the EU.

The AHC can be used for up to six months for onward travel within the EU and for reentering Britain, as long as rabies vaccinations are still valid.

The GOV.UK website, which says the rules also apply to assistance dogs, states: “If you live in England, Scotland or Wales, from 22 April you cannot use a pet passport (even if it was issued in the EU). If you use a pet passport, your pet may be refused entry into the EU.”

Holiday home owners will not be issued EU pet passports

Pet passports are now only to be issued to people whose main base is in the EU, and not to holiday home owners or seasonal visitors. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said individual member states may have specific pet travel requirements and owners should always check the entry details before travelling. British-based travellers can still use EU pet passports for their return journey back home.

Five pet limit and other rules to remember

The switch to the AHC from the EU pet passport means:

• Extra paperwork will be needed if the owner is not travelling with their pet.
• Whoever is taking the animal abroad must have written permission from the owner.
• Up to five days are allowed before the pet and owner must travel abroad.
• Travellers are now also only allowed to have a maximum of five pets in a private vehicle.

There may be exceptions given for pets travelling to competitions, events or training.

Holidays with pets ‘still possible’

The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) said “holidays with your pets are still possible” despite the new rules. An APHA spokesman said: “Anyone planning to travel should check guidance on Welcome to GOV.UK , and the entry rules for their destination.

“To avoid delays and ensure a smooth journey, pet owners residing in Great Britain should get an Animal Health Certificate if they are travelling from Great Britain to an EU country.”

Japan could soon sell weapons overseas, including fighter jets, in major shift from pacifist policies introduced after World War II.

The cabinet of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has lifted a ban on exporting lethal weapons, including fighter jets, in a major shift to Japan’s pacifist post-World War II constitution.

In a post on X announcing the changes on Tuesday, Takaichi did not specify which weapons Japan would now sell overseas. However, Japanese newspapers said the changes would encompass fighter jets, missiles and warships, which Japan has recently agreed to build for Australia.

“With this amendment, transfers of all defence equipment will in principle become possible,” Takaichi said, adding that “recipients will be limited to countries that commit to use in accordance with the UN Charter”.

“In an increasingly severe security environment, no single country can now protect its own peace and security alone.”

At least 17 countries will be eligible to buy weapons manufactured in Japan under the changes, Japan’s Chunichi newspaper reported, adding that this list may be expanded if more countries enter into bilateral agreements with Japan.

Previous rules, introduced in 1967 and enacted in 1976, had limited Japanese military exports to non-lethal arms, such as those used for surveillance and mine sweeping, Japan’s Asahi newspaper reported.

Asahi also reported that Japan will still restrict exporting weapons to countries where fighting is currently taking place, but exemptions are allowed under “special circumstances” where Japan’s national security needs are taken into account.

Countries interested in buying Japanese-made weapons include Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines and Indonesia, which recently signed a major defence pact with the United States, Chunichi reported, citing Japan’s Ministry of Defence.

Tokyo’s change in policy comes soon after Japan and Australia signed a $7bn deal that will see Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries build the first three of 11 warships for the Australian navy.

Takaichi sends offering to controversial war shrine

The changes announced by Takaichi on Tuesday come amid reports that the Japanese prime minister had sent a ritual offering to the notorious Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on the occasion of its spring festival.

Built in the 1800s to honour Japan’s war dead, the shrine includes the names of more than 1,000 convicted Japanese war criminals from World War II, including 14 who were found guilty of “Class A” crimes.

Visits by Japanese officials to the shrine have long been considered insensitive to the people of China, South Korea, and other countries that Japanese soldiers brutalised during the war.

After the defeat of Axis countries, including the bombing of Japan’s Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II, Japan introduced a new constitution renouncing participation in war.

However, Takaichi, considered a China “hawk” and sometimes referred to as Japan’s “Iron Lady”, is among a number of recent Japanese leaders to have pushed back against the country’s pacifist stance.

You need a new document at a cost of £90 a time

People travelling from the UK to Europe have been warned of a major passport change this week, making documents invalid from Wednesday, April 22. The post-Brexit change means that anyone travelling with a pet will need new documentation or face being sent home.

Until now, people taking their pets abroad – whether by plane, train, ferry or car – could use an EU Pet Passport. The EU Regulation 2016/429 – known as the Animal Health Law – comes into force this week after a 10-year transition.

That means anyone going to Europe with their pet now needs an Animal Health Certificate. The certificate requires a vet visit within 10 days of your trip, a new certificate each time and a £90 payment – per pet.

The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) issued Briefing Note 14/26 on April 17, 2026. ^{This statement marks a significant shift in pet travel rules, effectively ending the “loophole” where Great Britain (GB) residents used EU-issued pet passports to avoid the cost of Animal Health Certificates (AHCs).}

A spokesman said: “An EU pet passport, issued to or held by a pet owner who is resident in GB, will no longer be a valid document for travelling with pets from GB to the EU. ^{This applies to EU pet passports issued in an EU Member State or Northern Ireland, including those issued before 22 April 2026 . EU pet passports may only be issued to owners whose main residence is within the European Un ion.”}

If your primary residence is in Great Britain, you cannot use an EU pet passport for travel from the UK to the EU, regardless of where or when that passport was issued (e.g., if you obtained it in France or Spain). UK residents must now obtain an Animal Health Certificate (AHC) for every single trip to the EU.

The briefing clarifies that EU pet passports issued in Northern Ireland are also invalid for travel if the owner is a resident of Great Britain.

APHA is updating the AHC forms to align with new EU regulations. ^{While these new templates are being finalised, there is a transition period where older AHC templates will still be accepted for travel into the EU. There are currently no changes to the requirements for pets entering GB. You can still use a valid EU pet passport or AHC to return to the UK.}

For dogs, the requirement for a vet-administered tapeworm treatment between 24 and 120 hours before arriving back in GB remains in place.

You should contact your vet immediately to arrange an AHC, as pet passports will no longer be accepted at the border for UK residents from that date.

Updated rules on the movement of dogs, cats and ferrets are included in a January 2026 EU regulation which is coming into force on April 22.