Monthly Archives: October 2011

An airline’s newly launched Gatwick to Barcelona flight service is set to be extended, meaning it’ll be easier than ever to visit the Catalonian city.

Monarch launched the new routes to the Spanish city with initial daily flights on October 21, however the airline plans to expand this to 11 services every week from Saturday.

The new expansion will give Britons even more options when it comes to heading to the city to watch its famous football team and wander its historic streets.

However, before jetting off to enjoy the football, the local culture and the rest of what the city has to offer, holidaymakers should arrange some
travel insurance to protect against unforeseen circumstances.

“Barcelona is one of the UK’s most popular short break destinations and we are delighted to be adding this to our route network from London Gatwick in addition to our existing flights from Manchester,” said Kevin George, Monarch’s managing director.

An airline’s newly launched Gatwick to Barcelona flight service is set to be extended, meaning it’ll be easier than ever to visit the Catalonian city.

Monarch launched the new routes to the Spanish city with initial daily flights on October 21, however the airline plans to expand this to 11 services every week from Saturday.

The new expansion will give Britons even more options when it comes to heading to the city to watch its famous football team and wander its historic streets.

However, before jetting off to enjoy the football, the local culture and the rest of what the city has to offer, holidaymakers should arrange some
travel insurance to protect against unforeseen circumstances.

“Barcelona is one of the UK’s most popular short break destinations and we are delighted to be adding this to our route network from London Gatwick in addition to our existing flights from Manchester,” said Kevin George, Monarch’s managing director.

Britons travelling to New Zealand in the coming weeks might want to purchase
medical travel insurance after health officials warned that a whooping cough outbreak in pockets of the country could become more widespread.

In September there were 40 cases of whooping cough in Nelson, on the northern tip of the South Island, while 27 cases have been identified so far this month and a further 16 are being investigated, according to Nelson Marlborough District Health Board.

There are also confirmed cases along the west coast of New Zealand and in Hawke’s Bay in the North Island. The outbreak has prompted fears that a similar nationwide epidemic to the one in 2004-05 could occur.

Dr Jill Sherwood, Nelson Marlborough District Health Board medical officer, said whooping cough was especially serious for babies who have not yet been immunised.

She went on to say that parents should keep young babies away from anyone with a cough as people who have undiagnosed cases of whooping cough can often infect others in close proximity.

Dr Sherwood said: “See your GP quickly if you are concerned about your health or the health of your child as antibiotics prescribed early in the illness could decrease the seriousness of the symptoms.

“If babies and young children are immunised, they can reduce their chance of this serious and sometimes life-threatening illness.”

Budget airline Ryanair has unveiled plans for a major expansion across Europe.

Speaking to the Financial Times, chief executive Michael O’Leary said he wants to take passenger numbers from the current 72.1 million to 120-130 million over the next 10 years.

As part of the expansion, Ryanair also plans to purchase 200 to 300 new narrow-bodied planes. Talks are being held with aviation firms regarding a possible deal.

The expansion plans would make the Dublin-based carrier one of the world’s biggest airlines.

The announcement comes as demand for low-cost travel is on the rise, and holidaymakers planning breaks abroad will want to seek a good
travel insurance deal to match their newly purchased flights.

Ryanair could deploy 50 new planes to serve Scandinavia and a further 100 for the Baltic states, Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, according to Mr O’Leary.