HolidayBlogging

Tag: banned

  • Air traffic strikes and staffing gaps – can the EU stop Europe’s summer travel chaos?

    Spain & Italy: The Summer Strikes Set the Stage for Europe’s Wild Ride

    Hold onto your hats, folks – the summer is already shaping up to be a circus of trains, flights, and footloose workers across the continent. Spain and Italy are throwing their own spotlight on the chaos, and you’ve got to see what the fuss is all about.

    Why the Strikes Matter

    • Public Transport: Thousands of commuters are stuck in transit queues, looking for the newest excuse for their delayed coffee orders.
    • Healthcare Schedules: Waiting rooms are swelling while doctors schedule their own “I’m on strike, we’ll get back to you soon” emails.
    • Tourism Buzz: Flights are diverting, cruise ships are delayed, and tourists are politely asking for extra nap time on the way to their destination.

    Europe’s “Record Disruption” – What This Means

    When you stack a 20‑kilometer long train line in Spain with an equally long flight saga in Italy, it proves that the continent’s whole operational engine is grinding to a halt. Every rail, bus, or plane that needs to get somewhere becomes a circus performer, juggling traffic lights, waiting passengers and a roaring 12‑hour engine schedule that doesn’t actually run.

    Things You Can Do (Just in Case)

    1. Plan Ahead: Check the latest schedules on your phone. If everything is delayed, sorry to announce that your “quick stop” might turn into a life‑changing appointment.
    2. Carry Snacks: Your travel companion deserves a cheese platter, a decent snack, and breakfast by 7 a.m.
    3. Stay Positive: Remember the word “circus” includes innumerable acts – the engines “get stuck” but they will finish it eventually.

    Bottom Line

    With the ongoing strikes in Spain and Italy, Europe is looking for a giant paycheck for the “Record Disruption” of this summer. If you’re traveling, keep your headphones close and your expectations low. Otherwise, just imagine the horses are barking louder than the engines are humming, and you’re already halfway fun!

    Out of the Way of the Chaos, Keep Smiling!

    Europe’s Skies Are in a “Messed‑Up” Season – Prepare for Turbulence!

    Hold onto your boarding passes. The European air‑traffic calendar has turned into a chaotic rollercoaster, and summer’s just getting started.

    What’s Kicking It Off?

    • Mass cancellations saved by over‑worked air traffic control teams.
    • Staff shortages hitting airlines harder than a bad Wi‑Fi buffer. #FlightDelay
    • More strikes than a bad haircut – France, Spain, Italy… Hey!

    Why It Matters:

    Let’s face it: tens of millions of vacationing and business‑traveling folks are already feeling the pinch. The last thing everyone needs is a last‑minute change of plans as soon as the “home” is out of sight.

    Only a Few Hours for Chaos to Unfold

    Hey, I know you’re thinking, “It’s still early July – nothing will happen.” That’s the classic “we’re just heating up” mistake. The ATC strike in France alone canceled 1,500 flights over two days, sending over a million passengers scrambling for the next flight.

    Continued Resignations & Air‑Traffic Strikes
    • Spain’s walkouts on the 26th —biggie.
    • Italy’s crew protests are on the horizon.
    • Airlines and operators are on edge, and the European Commission is under pressure to intervene.

    All that said, it’s pretty clear that a seamless summer is not on the menu. “Mind your own skies,” they say – you’re more likely to get a “thank you” in the form of a long delay.

    For the time being, keep a stress‑management kit, legendary snacks, and of course, a “maybe we should book a beach day instead” plan. It’s 2025, people—who would’ve thought flights could be a collection of suspense? But hey, you’ll still see sun, yes?

    Europe’s airspace crunch: What’s going wrong?

    European skies hit the bubble‑gum stage: overcrowding, layoffs, and a dose of drama

    Picture 2019—when air travel on the continent was humming along just fine. Today, Eurocontrol reports that flights are running at about 98 % of that glorious level. Sound exciting? Think again. The landscape is a knotty tangle of bottlenecks and a riot of disengaged staff.

    Route chaos & closed airways

    • Ukraine war‑zone → airspace shut for over three years. Think of it as the sky’s “no‑fly” zone.
    • Russia & Belarus → EU carriers barred from passing over. Airlines now funnel traffic through a handful of highways, causing traffic jam before the weather even enters the equation.
    • Result: hundreds of daily flights squeezed into a few corridors, turning the skies into a near‑real‑time traffic police drama.

    The core problem: a catastrophic staffing desert

    Touché—European ATC (air traffic control) centres aren’t just plagued by roads; they’re riddled with empty desks.

    Why? Post‑pandemic budget slashes and training delays have left a huge hole. Training a new controller takes a staggering 18 months, plus each trainee can only specialise in a quarter of the continent’s fractured airspace—managed by 40 different service providers.
    Shortcuts? Not an option.

    • In France and Germany, a quarter of the positions remain vacant.
    • Air France‑KLM CEO Ben Smith told The Independent that ATC staff in France have dwindled by up to 25 %.
    • Controllers, feeling the squeeze, are on strike to demand better working conditions, fueled by burnout and endless hours.

    When the sky turns into a battle of humans and hardware

    Every day, the European airport ecosystem drops the “milkshake”—coldest of storms, lacks the workforce to handle the flow. This is a non‑stop cognitive overload for controllers, a headline that has news outlets and everyday passengers alike glued to the scrolling screen.

    Bottom line

    The airspace and workforce crises are running in tandem, giving travel across Europe a dizzy (and expensive) ride.While 98 % of 2019 traffic arrives—thanks to a bunch of squashed routes—flight planning resembles solving a Rubik’s cube, only every piece is taken from a different puzzle.

    Frustration mounts among travellers and airlines

    When Flights Stall in France: Low‑Cost Airlines Get What They Deserve?

    France’s “no‑fly” rule during strikes has pulled a punch on budget airliners. Unlike Italy or Greece, the French government won’t let planes simply pass through its airspace when the air‑traffic controllers strike. That means carriers stuck in the continent’s skies are forced to bail out or slow down, and the steadiest casualties of the disruption are the low‑cost flyers.

    Ryanair’s Dreaded Diary of Delays

    • 5,000 flight‑hour penalty on a single June  day: Ryanair’s numbers hit a new low, demanding EU help.
    • “Hopeless mis‑management” by ATCs in France, Spain, Germany – as highlighted by the airline’s chief.
    • “Poor planning” and staff shortages have turned delays into a nightmare. O’Leary claims that next year’s chaos will out‑shine last year’s clipping case.

    Ryanair’s “Unacceptable” Call‑out

    Ryanair’s spokesperson slammed the ongoing disruptions as unacceptable—and gave a pointed jab at Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. “EU Commission President von ‘Derlayed‑Again’ in six years has still taken zero action to protect overflights,” the CEO read in a press release dated 11 July.

    Why French ATCs Keep Stalling the Sky?

    When the next strike wave hits, the question is: will French air‑traffic controllers shut the EU skies again? The airline’s CEO wonders what’s holding them back. The answer, for Ryanair, lies in a classic mix of bureaucracy, economics, and the sheer flaw of “unjustified recreational strikes.”

    Tomorrow’s Threat: Least Post‑Stop

    Everyone’s watching the clock. One misstep could mean: thousands of seats, empty hands, and a frayed single‑market dream for European air travel.

    Calls for reform, but relief is far off

    Air Traffic Control Chaos: Passengers and Airlines Get So Riled

    When you start scrolling through pain‑staking “ATC Ruined Our Holiday” crowds, you can’t help but feel the anger slosh in a big, melodramatic way. The site not only spills out the sheer number of flights that went belly‑up in every nation, but it also gives you the contact details of transport ministers—just in case you decide to actually take the complaint route.

    Ryanair’s “League of Delays” – because why not keep score?

    • France: 1st place for turning planes into pies
    • Spain: second, with those oh-so-pleasant humidity delays
    • Germany: third, still not trained in the art of calm decision‑making

    Sadly, headaches are set to linger for travelers huge and high alike.

    EU Council’s Beefing Up of the Compensation Threshold

    Last month the Council decided that to qualify for a friendly €200‑ish booster in case your flight skates, you now have to be delayed by 4 hours on short‑haul and 6 hours on long‑haul. That’s a step up from the cozy 3‑hour rule that had everyone feeling all realigned. Surely this put the original buzz to a heavy‑handed punch? Airlines are not blowing for the monkey sticks they have.

    Airlines for Europe’s (A4E) Reaction

    • A4E: “We love taking the extra 1‑hour break! More time for a coffee? No! It’s a press ticket for a jock of a delay.”

    Meanwhile, one blood‑thickening structural big‑gummy that really should have been on the radar is the Single European Sky. Rather than a slick approach of many mini‑countries elbowing each other, it imagines a chill single skeleton that kindly wonders where to put 4,000 flights at 02:00pm.

    Policymakers Discuss – Implementation Waits on Politics

    • Parliament says Multi‑Sky could trip air capacity and halve delays, but
    • National interests and unions are like “…we don’t want to breakup the integrity… or are we?” – which sends it to the skip‑past board.

    All in one, the summer travelers are told: fasten your seatbelts, no quick slippers on the way out, and ride the unpredictable roller‑coaster for the next get‑it‑done.

  • The dividing wall between social and traditional media is fast coming down – Love or hate social media, ignore it at your peril

    The dividing wall between social and traditional media is fast coming down – Love or hate social media, ignore it at your peril

    Whether you go into it kicking and screaming, the elephant in the room of any robust media profile, is, dare I say it, social media.

    React to the news agenda, or alternatively push out your own practive content, using both traditional media and social media is fast becoming a given.
    The Berlin Wall that divided the country from 1961 to 1989 eventually came crashing down. And so too will the wall that still divides traditional media and social media.
    As King Soloman, who reigned Israel from 970 to 931 BCE, once said: “This Too Shall Pass”.
    Traditional media outlets that publish by both analogue and digital is one thing. Like The Guardian, who back in 2011, announced their adoption of a ‘digital first’ strategy. That’s still traditional media as far as I’m concerned.
    But instead I’m talking about equally harnessing social media in all it’s various guises – as well as pushing your profile into traditional media outlets like TV, radio, newspapers and magazines and their online equivalents.
    No mean feat.
    TikTok, once for pre-pubescent kids to sing into hair brushes – is now used by the World Economic Forum.
    Wakelet.
    YouTube.
    Twitter.
    SnapChat.
    Instagram.
    Linkedin.
    The works….
    In terms of reverse-engineering a mainstream media profile, there’s no one as formidable as KSI, which stands for ‘Knowledge Strength Integrity’.
    KSI’s real name is Olajide Olayinka Williams “JJ” Olatunji.
    Born in 1993 in Watford, it all started out in 2008 when KSI started providing gaming commentary videos of the FIFA video game series.
    As of September 2022, he had over 40,000,000 subscribers and over 8 billion views across his three YouTube channels. 88.6% of KSI’s followers are young males.
    Who would think, one individual whose harnessed social media – namely YouTube – would have more media reach today than the BBC, ITV, GB News and TalkTV?
    In May 2020, The Guardian sat up and took notice with the headline ‘KSI: Money Gravitates Towards Me’ stating ‘KSI is as recognisable to teenagers as Tom Hanks is to the rest of us’.
    Today he owns ten properties around England worth over £10 million.
    The Sunday Times estimates he makes over £12,000,000 per year. In 2020. The Times rank KSI as Britain’s biggest influencer.
    This is the same man that used referred to girls as ‘sluts ’in his content. He was widely criticised for his self-described ‘rape face’ in 2012 and 2013.
    Microsoft even cut ties with him and he was banned from Eurogamer events after third party allegations of sexual harassment of female staff.
    But today, a more grown up KSI is both a social media and traditional media crossover Superstar.
    And he’s pretty much the CEO of all of businesses that he’s leveraged off his profile.
    Becoming a Professional Boxer generated $8.5 million from pay per view and $3.5 million for ticket sales.
    In 2015, he published his biography titled KSI: I Am A Bellend.
    His solo album Dissimulation was released on 22nd May 2020 debuting at No. 2 on the charts. His second album went straight in at No. 1. He owns his own music company called ‘The Online Takeover’ and has been signed to BMG, Atlantic Records and MORE.
    He’s also a comedy actor, featuring in the British comedy film, Laid in America (2016).
    The Sidemen are like his family business. They own their own food company called ‘Sides’.
    Prime Hydration is a drink company created with his boxing rival Logan Paul and they are official sponsors of Arsenal Football Club.
    The Sidemen who he is a part of also own XIX Vodka and a restaurant chain known as Sides.
    But most interestingly, he’s now properly crossed over into traditional media. – even though he’s totally born of YouTube.
    He did The Great Stand Up To Cancer Bake Off. He appeared on an episode of BBC’s Blue Peter in July 2021. He was on Channel 4’s Celebrity Gogglebox from 2020-21.
    Then there’s the one and only British YouTube fitness sensation, Joe Wicks, The Body Coach.
    The Lockdown was good to Joe where he have us his daily diet of remote-fitness classes via YouTube. His Twitter is now 428,100 followers. YouTube is 2.81 Million subscribers. Instagram is 4.5 Million Followers. Facebook is 4.5 Million Followers.
    Joe Wicks MBE became ‘Dr Joe’ at a Graduation Ceremony at St Mary’s University, Twickenham in July 2022, receiving an honorary doctorate in Sport and Exercise Science. He’s now as much a darling of traditional media as Jamie Oliver – becoming a true household name.
    Another entrepreneur whose stepped from the social world and embraced the traditional media world is Steven Bartlett. Steven Bartlett’s Twitter is at 212,000 followers. Linkedin is 847,258 followers. YouTube is 482,000 subscribers. He founded Social Chain. Now he’s on BBC Dragons’ Den is an investor.
    Social media is exposing and hanging out to dry some of the pre-internet icons – or at least showing they’re somewhat ‘challenged’ by the social media world.
    Some winners and some losers. A quick audit.
    Lord Sugar has used his mainstream TV profile to build a big fan base on Twitter and delivers them his brand of nonsense witticisms. On Instagram he’s less prolific.
    Twitter
    @Lord_Sugar
    Chairman of Amshold Group, owner of @Amscreen and Amsprop.
    Born March 24 Joined June 2010
    3,110 Following
    5.2M Followers
    Instagram
    # lord_sugar
    Verified
    803 posts
    176K followers
    869 following
    Alan Sugar
    Chairman of Amshold Group. Owner of @Amscreen and Amsprop. Host of The BBC Apprentice. amsvest.co.uk
    Robert De Niro, one of the biggest stars in the world had one brief foray with social media. Below is his first and last tweet, which was on May 16, 2014.
    Robert De Niro
    @Rob_D_Niro
    Official Twitter Account of Robert DeNiro / Actor, director, producer, voice actor & father.
    Joined May 2014
    0 Following
    10.9K Followers
    May 16, 2014
    Hello Twitter! Unfortantly its official and I’ve given into the blue bird! #myfirstTweet #RobertDeNiro #official #sharethenews
    Rupert Murdoch, the most powerful media tycoon in the world had a burst on Twitter, but then was never to be seen or heard from again since March 2016.
    @rupertmurdoch
    Joined December 2011
    125 Following
    670.5K Followers
    3:31 PM · Mar 4, 2016·Twitter for iPad
    No more tweets for ten days or ever! Feel like the luckiest AND happiest man in world.
    The most daunting aspect of starting out on social media is the sheer scale of content production and distribution that is required.
    Production of content. Then scheduling. The ask is enormous.
    It’s the modern equivalent to making the film, Ben Hur.
    President Barack Obama may look like he’s getting idea popping into his head and posting it on social media.
    But its actually a team of around 50 people handling his personal social media posts.
    Back in 2009, Barack Obama was one of the first people to truly embrace the power of social media properly. Back then he had 115,000 Twitter followers and used 14 social media channels. Today, he has 133 million Twitter followers.
    Canva simplifies the process of designing beautiful posts and then resizing them for all the different size requirements.
    Then there’s a flood of AI tools that now author a multitude of pithy posts en masse, all spell checked, nothing plagarised that could upset Google’s algorithms.
    So rather than a team of 50 to keep up with Obama on social media, you can keep up much easier with AI augmentation. ‘Yes you can’.
    The key when unleashing ‘augmentation’ of your social media activity, is to still give it your own defined style and feel.
    Everyone, armed with AI tools is starting to look and sound very much the same even though their supposed ‘high quality content’ is prolific.
    There’s a soup of samey ‘high quality’ well-designed social media content out there.
    Remember to always adhere to the single minded proposition and your ‘sales objectives’ when planning.
    But particularly for social media, there should be around 30 themes or hubs with all the content falling within it– whether it’s article links, videos, retweets falling in a repeating fashion into each of these hubs.
    Wakelet is the world’s best tool for organising all the these content pillars and storing online all the tweets, PDFs, PJpegs, MP4s you find and want to push out across all your social channels later.
    Well timed out and scheduled regularity builds an organised pattern and slowly but surely pushes the single-minded proposition which sits behind it all.