Leeds Bradford Airport begins flights to Porto and Perpignan

Leeds Bradford Airport has begun flights to Porto in Portugal and Perpignan in France.

The first flights ever to these destinations from Leeds Bradford took to the skies yesterday.

The airport has a record 80 destinations on its schedule for 2023/2024.

The Perpignan route is handy for rugby league fans as the Catalan Dragons’ stadium is a six-minute drive from Perpignan Airport.

Porto has become a popular city break for holidaymakers due to its culture and gastronomy in a coastal setting.

Flights to Perpignan and Porto will operate until the end of October this year.

Nicola McMullen, aviation director at Leeds Bradford Airport, said:

“These new routes have already sold incredibly well and we’re sure that both routes will continue to be popular alongside our wider schedule throughout the year.”

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The Harrogate travel specialists helping to create life-long memories

This article is sponsored by TravelGate.

A husband and wife team in Harrogate are making it their mission to create the best possible memories for people across the district.

Phil and Melanie O’Boyle founded TravelGate to deliver the kind of service they would want to receive from a travel agent: personalised, friendly, and always willing to go the extra mile.

The pair have been running the firm for seven years and are just completing their busiest summer ever. Phil said:

“It can take a huge amount of time to book your own holiday, and it can be stressful, trying to coordinate all the elements and get exactly what you want.

“Using an independent agent takes all that away, especially for people who are time poor.

“We get a lot of repeat custom from people who’ve appreciated the service they get from us, letting them just turn up and enjoy their holiday.

“And the more we work with people, the more we get to know them and can make recommendations of places we know they’ll love.

“It’s fantastic when you reach the stage where they just say, ‘you tell me – where should we go?’ and you know exactly the right thing.”

One of the most remarkable things about TravelGate is the huge range of holidays it can offer to customers.

From simply booking flights for those who might be staying with family abroad, to delivering tailor-made, once-in-a-lifetime adventures around the world, they have seen and done it all.

Independent travel agents

Not only can they make their own recommendations, but their close contacts in the industry mean they are always able to source new hotels and resorts which they know will be a good fit. As independent travel agents, they can access deals which aren’t always open to others, building relationships with hoteliers and reps around the world.

They also keep in touch with customers old and new, hearing about their experiences and using their tips to make recommendations to others. Melanie said:

“We get emails from people while they’re on holiday telling us how much fun they’re having – even sending us holiday snaps.

“It’s really lovely knowing we’ve made sure they got what they wanted and are creating memories.

“That feedback also helps us to make recommendations for them in the future, and to other customers who are considering the same destination.”

When it comes to destinations, Phil and Melanie cover the whole world, and have customers flung far and wide at any given time.

As well as traditional summer package holidays from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean, they work a lot with people who want to visit sout-east Asia, make the most of a trip to Australasia, or try a roadtrip across America.

Keeping everything on track

Though nobody likes to consider what happens when things go wrong, it is in these cases that a knowledgeable, independent travel agent comes into their own.

Whether it’s a cancelled flight or queries over transfers, dealing with any minor hiccups on holiday can be stressful, especially taking into account language and other barriers.

Phil and Melanie are always on hand – even having a phone at home to take out-of-hours calls – to step in and ensure things get back on track.

“We’re getting a lot of new customers at the moment who have never spoken to us before, but who perhaps haven’t been away for a few years and just want that added reassurance of having someone to contact if they need anything.

“Booking without an agent is a risk: you don’t know whether it will live up to the promises you see online or in a brochure.

“Whatever your budget and wherever your destination, a holiday is a big deal. You want it to be right and you want to feel you’ve got value for your money.

“That’s what we’re all about: making sure that investment delivers the experiences and memories that make it all worthwhile.”

You can contact TravelGate by phone on 01423 210 580, email on enquiries@gotravelgate.co.uk or message the TravelGate Facebook page.

What the customers say

There’s no better recommendation than that of someone who has used the service themselves.

TravelGate has hundreds of happy customers who are more than happy to return – and recommend the company to their friends.

Some recent comments sent to Phil and Melanie from around the world include:

Australia and New Zealand

“This is our last night of what has been an unforgettable trip. You know we were very nervous about travelling to Australia and New Zealand but the time you spent with us putting the trip together and going through everything with us a few days before we travelled put us at ease.

“It was a complicated itinerary but everything has gone so smoothly. My sister recommended you to us and we will definitely be using TravelGate for all our future holidays. Thank you both so much.”

Canada

“Wow wow wow – Canada is amazing. Beyond all our expectations.

“There are so many highlights. The Rocky Mountaineer has always been on our bucket list and did not disappoint.

“Memories of watching grizzly bears from our lodge in British Columbia will stay with us forever. We can’t wait to get over to Niagara Falls on Tuesday.

“Everything has been perfect so far and we cant thank you enough for everything you have done for us.”

Europe

“I just wanted to say thank you finding such a brilliant holiday for us.  The resort was fantastic, Lake Geneva was beautiful and the hotel was stunning.

“The temperature was just right for us and there was the perfect mix of activities to keep everyone busy. We would definitely go back and if you know of any other resorts like this we could try them too!

“Thanks for all your help and hard work on our behalf.”

Ski trip

“Just wanted to say we’re having a lovely time skiing this week. The hotel you chose for us is absolutely great, plenty of snow and even the sun is shining. Thank you for organising another great family holiday!”

Beach holiday

“Just wanted to send you a quick message to say what a find this hotel is. We are currently sitting on the private beach which is stunning. We are loving it and it’s just perfect! A big thank you!”

Florida

“We arrived in Longboat Key yesterday after an action packed Disney week. It all went brilliantly well and we all created life long memories.

“Our apartment at Longboat Key Resort is exceptional. We all love it here. Great choice of resorts guys. Thank you for all your help.

“The boys and I are playing golf tomorrow and the girls are going horse riding on the beach.

“Magical!”

Harrogate hospital staff selling days off to cope with cost of living crisis

Some staff at Harrogate District Hospital are selling their annual leave and applying for further financial help in a desperate bid to make ends meet.

The hospital is allowing NHS workers to trade time off for extra payments until the end of the year, while a hardship fund has also been set up to help with the soaring costs of energy, fuel and food.

This comes at a time when staff are set to vote on strike action over a below-inflation pay offer which unions have described as another real-terms pay cut.

Jonathan Coulter, chief executive of Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, told a board meeting today that he had “always been against” staff selling annual leave, but the cost of living crisis now meant that providing support was “absolutely vital”.

He said:

“My justification for this is that the financial position of some staff is putting them under more stress than the benefit of having a holiday.”

A total of 17 staff have so far applied for extra payments instead of time off, while 271 applications have been made to the hospital’s hardship fund, which is offering grants of up to £500.

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Wallace Sampson, hospital trust board member and chief executive of Harrogate Borough Council, said he had “mixed feelings” about staff being able to sell annual leave as he believes it is “very much needed” to help with their wellbeing.

In response, Mr Coulter said he agreed but this was the preference of some workers and that a five-day limit on the amount of time off that can be traded would ensure staff do get some down time.

He said:

“There is an absolute maximum of five days, so staff can’t sell all of their annual leave.

“We have agreed the policy for this year as a one-off, partly recognising that people have a lot of annual leave because of covid.

“We will need to review the initiatives, but at the moment they are absolutely vital.”

Winter strike possible

His comments come as strike action could span across several months this winter after the Royal College of Midwives union notified hospital bosses that it will ballot its members over pay.

Other unions including GMB and Unison are also said to be making preparations for a vote.

The prospect of staff striking at what is always a busy time for under-strain services in winter has been described as “worrying” by senior officials at Harrogate District Hospital, which has begun making contingency plans.

Around 100 of the hospital’s lowest-paid staff will see an uplift from a rise in the legal minimum wage to £10.90 in October.

However, Dr Suzanne Tyler, executive director at the RCM union, said the government needed to go further and give all workers a better pay rise after its members rejected a 4% increase offer.

Dr Tyler said in a statement:

“Our members have spoken and just like us they believe a below inflation pay award is not good enough, they deserve more.

“The results and turnout speaks volumes about the feelings of a fragile, exhausted, and undervalued workforce, because taking industrial action is always the very last resort for midwives and maternity staff.

“They obviously now see no other alternative to getting a fair and just pay award from their governments.”

Have the district’s glamping sites benefitted from foreign travel chaos?

In the past few years high end camping or “glamping” as it is more commonly known, has become increasing popular, with a number of new sites springing up in the district.

Now as families weigh up whether to risk airport and port chaos to go abroad or remain in the UK, how is this relatively new holiday industry faring?

Some providers in the Harrogate district have reported an increase in trade, others have seen a downturn.

This has been put down to an increase in the cost of living, as well as last year’s demand being “unprecedented” due covid travel restrictions.

The local glamping industry

Tom Sterne, owner of Yurtshire, between Ripon and Pateley Bridge, said advance bookings for the luxury glamping and wellness retreat have been growing by the day.

He said:

“Since the news about flight cancellations and chaotic scenes at airports hit the media, the number of enquiries we have received has increased markedly.

“When we opened last July, we benefited from the sudden switch to staycations, from people across the Harrogate district and further afield, who would normally fly off to the sun and we are witnessing a repeat this year.”

A break in Nidderdale

Lindsay and Chris Morrell, whose annual summer holidays in Tuscany have been on hold since the covid lockdowns began in March 2020, have booked Italy next year.

But the couple, who used to live in Harrogate and have since moved to Northumberland, decided to take a break in Nidderdale for their 2022 getaway.

Ms Morrell said:

“With the problems people are encountering at airports, we didn’t want to risk booking for Tuscany this year and hope that issues affecting overseas travel will be sorted out by the time we are ready to venture abroad.”

Chris and Lindsay Morrell at Yurtshire

Chris and Lindsay Morrell

For friends Carroll Shaw and Annie Brown, who live in Ripon, overseas holidays are no longer on the agenda.

Ms Shaw said:

“Why would anybody who lives so close to the gorgeous Nidderdale countryside, want the hassle of flying thousands of miles to lie on a crowded beach?”

A slow start

Louise Pullan co-owns the Breaks Fold Farm camping and glamping site in the Washburn Valley, next to Thruscross Reservoir, in the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

She told the Stray Ferret that the beginning of the year had been very quiet, but it had started to pick up.

Breaks Fold Farm.

Ms Pullan, who runs the site with her husband Richard, said:

“It has been a very slow start.

“We were 60 per cent down in May and June based on our 2019 bookings.

“However we have seen a rapid uptake in bookings into July and August in all our accommodation.

“People are watching their finances and holidays maybe aren’t top of their priority lists.

“We have noticed we are getting a lot of local guests from Harrogate and Skipton, so maybe the fuel prices are also having an impact on people’s choices.”

Ms Pullan said the campsite’s main customer base is short stays of two to three nights.

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A difficult financial time

She said the price had been kept the same for the last three years, with discounts on longer stays to try and help people out during what is a difficult financial time.

She said:

“This is difficult as we as a business are now seeing increasing costs. For example our waste emptying costs have gone up 30 per cent, a bottle of gas has gone from £55 to £85 and our business insurance is double last year’s.

“We can’t afford to employ somebody this year due to soaring inflation, which is putting a huge pressure on us as a two-man band.

“Energy prices are just completely unbelievable and some of our fellow owners are up on 57p per kw, seeing their energy bills over double on previous years.

“We are only going to be able to absorb this for so long, unless hospitality businesses are offered some form of relief such as a VAT cut, like they were through 2021.

“Some sites have tried massively to capitalise on the staycation boom from 2020 and have made their prices unreachable for some.”

Cutting back

Claire Jones, owner of Strawberry Safari shepherds huts, in Wormald Green, between Harrogate and Ripon, said she had also seen a quieter year compared to last year.

Strawberry Safari.

She said:

“We believe this is due to a combination of people going abroad and also cutting back on short breaks in between their main holidays, due to cost of living increases.

“That said, last year’s demand was unprecedented and so it’s hard to compare the two.

“We have still seen some lovely guests this year, many of whom are here to enjoy the many events happening in and around Harrogate.”

Leeds Bradford Airport scraps plans for £150m terminal

Leeds Bradford Airport has abandoned plans to build a new £150m terminal, blaming “excessive delays” around a decision on whether it could go ahead.

In February 2021, the airport was granted planning permission by Leeds City Council to build the facility that would have replaced its current terminal.

The airport said it would help increase annual passenger numbers from four million to seven million and extend flight hours.

The company claimed the proposals would “deliver one of the UK’s most environmentally efficient airport buildings” but the plans faced criticism from environmental groups, including Zero Carbon Harrogate.

Following the council’s approval, the government decided to “call-in” the plans, which meant it would have had the final say on whether it would go ahead.

A public inquiry was announced by the government’s Levelling Up Secretary, Michael Gove, in January, but no dates had been set.

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LBA said “excessive delays” around the government’s decision to call in the plans led them to withdraw its plans.

Instead, the airport will focus on refurbishing its existing terminal.

Vincent Hodder, chief executive of LBA, said:

“It is with regret that we have made the decision to withdraw LBA’s application for the development of a new replacement terminal.

“As the travel and aviation industry continues to recover from the impacts of the pandemic, LBA needs to be able to respond to rapidly increasing demand within the next few years.

“Whilst this is a setback for our airport and region, we remain committed to investing in LBA to be an outstanding, decarbonised, modern airport for the future.”

‘Nothing to lose’ by booking summer holidays, says Harrogate travel agent

A Harrogate travel agent has encouraged people to book holidays for the summer, despite the uncertainty surrounding future coronavirus restrictions.

Holiday travel is currently illegal but operators are allowed to sell flights and packages for summer and beyond.

The UK watchdog, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), says you should usually get your money back if coronavirus restrictions force plans to be cancelled.

Ben Poole, owner of The Travel Journal on Montepellier Mews, says people thinking about booking their holidays for the summer should feel reassured.

He said:

“It’s not illegal to have a holiday to look forward to. I have been telling anybody that has been calling up asking about holidays that they have nothing to lose by booking.

“There are really competitive deals available for June and July, for example, and the worst that will happen is you will get a refund if it’s cancelled”.

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Boris Johnson is due to set out rules for foreign travel later this month.

The travel sector has criticised government ministers for sending mixed messages surrounding holidays.

Yesterday, transport secretary Grant Shapps said people shouldn’t be booking holidays.

Yet this morning health secretary Matt Hancock declined to answer when asked by the BBC if people should book foreign holidays or not.

Mr Poole believes the government should close the borders, which could mean travel agents would be able to receive a package of financial support.

He added:

“The borders should have been closed in March 2020, with no exceptions. The trade is in full support of that.”

Harrogate travel agents refuse to take holiday bookings

Some travel agents in Harrogate are refusing to take bookings for July and August until the government clears up its “vague” guidance around travel.

The current guidance advises British nationals against all but essential international travel but booking ahead is permitted. Travel agents are expecting an announcement around “travel bubbles” to countries such as Spain and France this week.

However, one Harrogate travel agent who didn’t wish to be named said even if the government says it’s safe to travel he won’t be accepting bookings for July and August. He said he does not believe travellers will be properly covered by insurance because travel rules could change again.

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Ben Poole launched his first own travel agency, The Travel Journal, in January. He missed out on the government’s support grant for businesses and spent March and April dealing with refunds and re-bookings. He’s now having to turn customers away at what should be the most profitable time of the year.

He told the Stray Ferret that the government’s expected announcement for “travel bubbles” should give insurance companies the confidence to offer protection. But he doesn’t expect there to be a rush of bookings and said most holidaymakers are looking ahead to Christmas and the new year.

He said:

“Morally, people are asking if it’s right to go now with what’s going on in the world. A customer is going to Greece in September. He says he feels crazy for wanting to go.”

Keith Butterfield owns Number One Travel in Harrogate and also has concerns about travel insurance. He told the Stray Ferret he won’t be taking any immediate bookings until the situation is cleared up.

He said:

“We’ve been advising people against booking for July until we know what the situation is.

“If we book a holiday now and it’s subsequently cancelled then we have the problem of getting the refund to them. We’d be out of pocket but people would have looked forward to their holiday and then they can’t have it.”

“We’re eager to book holidays but we don’t want our customers travelling abroad then finding they’re not covered by insurance. If flights are cancelled then there’ll be disappointed.”