Tag Archives: travel

All 15 New Ryanair Routes From UK And EU Destinations

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Though Ryanair recently cut flights across 19 airports, including those in the UK, Ireland, France, and Spain, they’ve also launched some brand-new routes for 2026.

But while Simple Flying reports the airline’s busiest bases include London Stansted, Dublin, Milan Bergamo, Brussels Charleroi, and Barcelona, none of the new routes are in those airports.

Instead, the 15 new routes, which were launched on 1 and 2 June respectively, include destinations like Poland’s Gdańsk and Albania’s Tirana.

The UK’s Manchester airport will get a brand-new Ryanair link to Spain’s Castellón, too.

Full list of 15 new Ryanair routes for summer 2026

Per The Daily Express, these include:

  1. Bologna – Castellón
  2. Forli – Cagliari
  3. Parma – Reggio Calabria
  4. Rimini – Cologne/Bonn
  5. Rimini – Catania
  6. Manchester – Castellón
  7. Gdańsk – Bucharest
  8. Gdańsk – Palermo
  9. Katowice – Aarhus
  10. Katowice – Lamezia Terme
  11. Tirana – Alghero
  12. Tirana – Genoa
  13. Tirana – Parma
  14. Tirana – Wroclaw
  15. Zadar – Cork.

Manchester fliers have a new route to an underrated Spanish destination

These changes mean passengers from Manchester Airport now have a direct Ryanair flight to Spain’s Castellón.

Lonely Planet wrote that while “you don’t hear a great deal about the province of Castellón, to the north of the Valencia region,” the region’s airport, which saw its first commercial flight in 2015, years after officially opening, made it more viable for visitors.

Ryanair was the first airline to fly to what was then dubbed a “ghost” airport, The Guardian reported in 2015.

Over a decade on, the carrier has added Manchester and Bologna connections to its existing routes at the Valencian base. They added an Essex route to the destination in April, too.

Airports aside, Castellón has often been lauded as a quieter Spanish location with fewer tourists but tonnes of local charm.

Stansted Airport described the area, located on the country’s East coast, as a hidden gem.

“Castellon de la Plana’s sleepy city streets hide many treasures for the discerning tourist. If you’re hunting for a holiday off the beaten track, away from the hustle and bustle of Barcelona or Madrid but still bursting with unique Spanish charm, there is nowhere better than Castellon de la Plana,” they wrote.

“It’s great for families too with loads of local attractions including nearby beaches, escape rooms and hot springs.”

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Trick For Stopping A Toddler Travel Tantrum In 30 Seconds – Does It Work?

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A parent has shared the unusual trick she used to calm her toddler’s tantrum on a flight in under a minute.

Taking to Instagram, content creator and photographer Shante Hutton recommended a “nervous system reset hack” for toddlers who are in “meltdown mode” – and it might be particularly useful while travelling.

What’s the tantrum trick?

In a video shared by Hutton, her toddler can be seen sitting having his feet, and then his stomach, brushed with a comb.

“Take a small comb and gently brush their feet, hands, and tummy – slow, light strokes,” said Hutton. “It interrupts the overwhelm, gives their brain a new sensory input, and calms them down fast.”

The parent added that when she tried the trick, “we went from red-faced screaming to comatose in under a minute”.

She then urged families to add a comb to their carry-on luggage the next time they take a flight with young kids.

Does it work?

“My daughter[’s] OT [occupational therapy] recommend we brush her daily,” said one commenter. “Sounds like I own a horse, but it works.”

A grandparent added: “Interesting! I draw circles on their palms (or feet) with my finger and they almost go into a trance.”

One parent admitted they started “skin brushing” when their baby was a newborn and they “swear it helps with the milestones too”.

There were even some who joked: “Giving my husband a comb for my meltdown later.”

Obviously this isn’t a hack that works for everyone – we’re all different, and some kids might love the sensory experience while others… well, not so much. You know your child and whether they’d respond well to this or not.

Any other meltdown hacks?

Prevention is key. Take lots of snacks and toys to keep them occupied. Tablets can be useful if your child is of an age where they can be distracted by TV shows and films for periods of time. Choosing flights that work around naps can also be beneficial.

One parent swears by painter’s tape to keep her child occupied on a plane – it’s cheap, easy to rip (and remove from surfaces, once stuck), and colourful. Just make sure you clean it all up before you disembark.

If your child is in the thick of a tantrum and the comb trick isn’t working, you could try asking them a “tiny, non-threatening question”, according to Jo Walker, a hypnotherapist at Walker’s Therapy.

The question should have nothing to do with the tantrum. So, Walker gave an example of, “hey, I just noticed your shoes. Where did you get those from?” or “what is the animal on your T-shirt?”.

Other parenting pros, like Jon Fogel, have recommended similar techniques, such as the colour game, where you ask your child to find something of a certain colour.

Good luck!

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Two Tube Strikes Are Due This Week: All Dates And Lines Affected

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More Tube strikes are set to take place in London this week (18-24 May 2026), bringing fresh disruption to commuters.

Last April, Tube strikes took place as members of The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) expressed their unhappiness with a compressed work week that they claim Transport for London (TfL) are trying to “impose” on its members.

For their part, TfL said the four-day change was completely optional.

RMT’s latest strikes are planned in May and June, with the next ones being just days away. These “disruptions” have been planned for weeks.

When are the Tube strikes taking place this week?

They’re set for:

  • Tuesday, 19 May (midday) until Wednesday, 20 May (midday).
  • Thursday, 21 May (midday) until Friday, 22 May (midday).

On its website, TfL said to take those start and end times with a grain of salt.

It warned that disruptions are expected to continue into the afternoons and evenings following these periods.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, services will finish early. Previous advice recommended trying to finish your journey by 8pm on these days.

Which Tube lines will be affected?

TfL said on its site that no service is expected on the:

  • Circle line,
  • Piccadilly line,
  • Metropolitan line between Baker Street and Aldgate, and
  • the Central line between White City and Liverpool Street

during the strikes.

Though “Service is expected on all other lines,” this will be reduced. The TfL added that “disruption to journeys” is expected; disruptions may continue later into the week.

What other transport links are open?

Services including buses, the Elizabeth line, the DLR, and the London Overground aren’t going to be on strike during these days. They are, however, predicted to be incredibly busy.

Why are these strikes happening?

It started with a four-day work week.

The Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF), a train drivers’ union which represents thousands of Tube drivers, previously campaigned for a four-day work week, which the TfL recently began trialling on an optional basis in their Bakerloo line.

But RMT, a trade union covering the public transport sector more broadly, has said that they’re not on board with the “compressed” work week, claiming it packs five days’ work into four in a manner which could impact the safety of drivers and passengers.

RMT members are the ones striking in these upcoming cases.

The union also claimed it could mean drivers only get 24 hours’ notice before their shifts are announced and that TfL “U-turned” on negotiations.

In response, TfL pointed out that the four-day offering is completely optional and said it could help to make services more reliable and flexible.

We have shared the full statements the RMT, ASLEF, and TfL have released on the topic in a previous article.

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TUI Issues Jet Fuel And Price Hike Update For Summer Fliers

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If you’ve booked a 2026 holiday, chances are you’ve heard the words “jet fuel price hikes” more than you’d like.

Following the closure of the key oil and fuel shipping route, the Strait of Hormuz, jet fuel costs have reportedly doubled.

That’s led some airlines to cancel flights, while others are running fewer flights overall. Still, the UK government’s site says “UK airlines say that they are not currently seeing a shortage of jet fuel,” as of the time of writing.

If that sounds a little conflicting, we’ve created a list of everything airlines like Ryanair, easyJet, British Airways, and Jet2 have said so far on the topic.

And recently, TUI provided an update for passengers.

What is TUI’s recent jet fuel update?

Speaking to The Independent on May 13, the CFO of TUI Group, Mathias Kiep, said: “I’m very much convinced that we will see no shortage in the next 10 weeks. There’s definitely enough fuel.

“We think that the discussion on fuel is a little bit artificial, as we do see no shortages for the next few weeks.” He also told the publication that he didn’t expect shortages even if the Strait of Hormuz remained closed.

This is in line with other airline bosses, like Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary.

The controversial CEO recently told Reuters, “We think the risk of a supply disruption is receding… A month ago, we were saying we’re all fine until the end of May. The fuel companies are now saying they’re seeing no supply disruption risk until the end of June.”

And speaking to Fortune on 14 May, Greg Raiff, the CEO of private jet services company Elevate Jet, went so far as to call reports of jet fuel shortages a “myth”.

Will TUI charge more for their holidays after the jet fuel price hike?

Some companies have begun adding surcharges to flights as a way to battle the rising cost of fuel.

The company had previously told customers their “holiday price is fixed, with no fuel surcharges added by TUI”.

But in his most recent update, Kiep said: “I would also see no impact in the summer at all except prices – and for the higher prices, we are luckily hedged.

“We do see that Europe now gets more oil from other countries like Nigeria because the increased prices made the production there profitable. We see that consumption is significantly lower than a year before, and refinery capacity is also up.”

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Jet2 Says Power Banks Without A Key Sign Are ‘Forbidden’ On Board

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Passengers hoping to bring their “smart bags”, which have chargers in them, might be disappointed: those “with non-removable batteries above 2.7Wh are not permitted onboard,” sites like Ryanair advise.

That’s because they contain lithium batteries, which power banks also have.

These can sometimes short-circuit and are generally not permitted in the hold as they can catch fire.

And on their site, Jet2 said that they ban “lithium-ion batteries, lithium metal batteries and power banks that don’t clearly state” an important rating.

Power banks need to show their watt/hour rating

Those that don’t include the “watt-hour rating or lithium metal content, or where the watt-hour rating cannot easily be otherwise ascertained, are forbidden”.

A watt-hour rating is usually shortened to Wh. Power banks should have a rating “not exceeding 160Wh, providing they are individually protected against short circuit”, Jet2 said.

What if my power bank doesn’t have a Wh rating?

This doesn’t need to be on the power bank explicitly, as you can work it out from the milliampere-hour (mAh), ampere-hour (Ah), and/or nominal voltage (V).

Once you find these, the UK Civil Aviation Authority said: “You can arrive at the number of watt-hours your battery provides if you know the battery’s nominal voltage (V) and capacity in ampere-hours (Ah) using this calculation ― Ah x V = Wh.

“If only the milliampere hours (mAh) are marked on the battery, then divide that number by 1000 to get ampere-hours (Ah). For example, 4400 mAh / 1000 = 4.4 Ah.”

If none of these is available, though, your power bank might not pass muster.

Don’t bring more than two power banks with you, either

Those are only some of the rules the airline enforces.

Their rules include:

  • No more than two power banks per passenger,
  • Power banks should not exceed 160Wh,
  • Power banks can’t be charged whilst onboard the aircraft,
  • Power banks can’t be used on-flight,
  • Power banks have to be carried on-board in hand luggage and placed under your seat,
  • Power banks must not be used to charge or power any portable electronic devices during taxi, take off, and landing.

Jet2 is not the only airline to have some or all of these rules, so check with your airline before flying.

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Jet2 Says To Bring Physical Item On-Board For More ‘Efficient’ Flight

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2026 is a tough year for fliers. Between ongoing fuel price crises and EES check-related queues, flying might not be as efficient as we’re used to.

Which means that any advice, including the “efficient” onboard recommendations from Jet2′s site, is welcome for travellers.

“To make our service as efficient as possible, we only accept card payments,” the page reads.

Bring a physical card on board

It’s not just that cash won’t fly (teehee) for on-board payments. Contactless isn’t guaranteed to work, either.

“We’ve also introduced a few updates to contactless, including Apple Pay and Google Pay,” Jet2 shared.

“So, please bring your physical card to use chip and PIN when needed.”

Their on-board offerings include a duty-free range of fragrances, skincare, makeup, aftershave, and jewellery, as well as refreshments, which you can also pre-order.

Anything else?

Yes. The airline has previously spoken about the best way to handle EES checks, which have led to some queues and even missed flights as airports get passengers onto the EU system for the first time.

They said, “There may be longer wait times at Border Control at some EU Airports, especially at busy times. Once you start your EES registration, it should take around 1-2 minutes per person to complete.”

But seeing as multiple people from non-Schengen countries may be doing so at the same time, those minutes can build up fast.

Schengen countries include:

  • Austria,
  • Belgium,
  • Bulgaria,
  • Croatia,
  • Czechia,
  • Denmark,
  • Estonia,
  • Finland,
  • France,
  • Germany,
  • Greece (though Greece have effectively temporarily suspended biometric EES checks for UK passengers),
  • Hungary,
  • Iceland,
  • Italy,
  • Latvia,
  • Liechtenstein,
  • Lithuania,
  • Luxembourg,
  • Malta,
  • Netherlands,
  • Norway,
  • Poland,
  • Portugal,
  • Romania,
  • Slovakia,
  • Slovenia,
  • Spain,
  • Sweden, and
  • Switzerland.

Therefore, they cautioned fliers, “Depending on how busy the airport is, this may result in longer wait times at passport control before boarding your flight to the UK.

“After checking in for your flight, please head straight to security and passport control in order to arrive at your gate in plenty of time.”

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‘This Guy Can Get F*cked’: Ryanair Boss’ Call For 6am Airport Pint Ban Divides Passengers

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Recently, Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary called for an end to pre-flight pints.

Speaking to The Times, he said that the problem of inebriated passengers has gotten worse, claiming his company now has to divert an average of one flight a day due to rowdy behaviour on board.

This, he shared, is up from one diversion a week a decade ago.

“It’s becoming a real challenge for all airlines. I fail to understand why anybody in airport bars is serving people at five or six o’clock in the morning. Who needs to be drinking beer at that time?” he asked.

He also pointed out that airport bars don’t have to follow the usual operating hours of other alcohol vendors, saying, “There should be no alcohol served at airports outside [of those] licensing hours.”

O’Leary even called for a two-drink limit on airport bars, though he didn’t confirm whether Ryanair – which he said generally sticks to that rule anyway – would adopt the policy itself.

“We are reasonably responsible, but the ones who are not responsible, the ones who are profiteering off it, are the airports who have these bars open at five or six o’clock in the morning and during delays are quite happy to send these people as much alcohol as they want because they know they’re going to export the problem to the airlines,” he added.

It is, of course, already illegal to be drunk on a plane. Punishments include two years in prison or a £5,000 fine.

So perhaps it’s no wonder fans of the time-honoured British airport tradition had stern words for O’Leary (whose company previously took a disruptive passenger to court for losses over a diverted flight).

“This guy can get fucked,” one X poster commented on the site. “If I’m at an airport at 6:00 AM, having a beer is pretty much the only comfort.”

“Surely Ryanair should stop serving drinks on their morning flights before Michael O’Leary starts lecturing the rest of us?” another post read.

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Surely Ryanair should stop serving drinks on their morning flights before Michael O’Leary starts lecturing the rest of us?

— Richard Barrett (@richardluddite) May 6, 2026

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Surely Ryanair should stop serving drinks on their morning flights before Michael O’Leary starts lecturing the rest of us?

— Richard Barrett (@richardluddite) May 6, 2026

“Time doesn’t exist in the airport,” yet another person commented on an Instagram post.

They’re joined in their disapproval by Wetherspoons boss Sir Tim Martin, who’s called O’Leary’s proposal a “big brother” approach.

Speaking to The Times, he said: “A two-drink limit would be extraordinarily difficult to implement, short of breathalysing passengers, and would, in our opinion, be an overreaction, especially since many of the problems stem from incoming flights.”

Still, not everyone hates the idea.

“A two-drink limit feels fair to me,” one Instagram user said.

“Alcohol can metabolise differently in [the] air, and no one wants to risk being sat next to someone who’s an angry drunk who’s metabolised four drinks like they’re eight and is now plastered and raving in a metal box.”

“Ban ALL alcoholic drinks on airlines and don’t open airport bars until 12 noon,” an X poster added.

The debate takes place days after Jet2 called for a cross-airline database of disruptive passengers.

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