Tag: airport

Tis the Season to Travel: Tips for a Smooth & Relaxed Christmas Holiday

Excited for the busy festive season? Many of us are, even when it feels like last Christmas wasn’t that long ago. As it is one of the busiest times of year for shopping and visiting family, it means many people are planning on venturing out across the country. According to the latest consumer survey data from Fáilte Ireland, 20% of Irish residents intend on taking a short break in Ireland in the next 3 months, with 26% planning on going abroad. If you are planning on taking a holiday at this time of year, you’ll want to ensure it goes as smoothly as possible.

Whilst the season brings plenty of joy, the combination of busy airports, unpredictable weather and last-minute plans can make travel feel more stressful than it needs to be. However, with a little preparation and a focus on comfort, you can set yourself up for a much smoother experience that allows you to enjoy the journey as much as the destination.

Whether you’re heading overseas or travelling within Ireland, here’s some helpful tips to help you along the way.

Planning Ahead for Peak Season Travel

Travelling at Christmas is exciting, but it can get hectic quickly, especially if everything is left to the last minute. Use this simple checklist to stay organised and avoid last-minute stress.

  •   Book early where possible

It goes without saying that booking early will give you the best chance of getting the train or flight times you need, and the ideal accommodation before it books up. You’ll also hopefully find better prices for these by doing so.

  • Compare travel times and routes

Booking early also means you can compare different days and times you can travel. If you can, consider midweek options rather than weekends, as this will help avoid the crowds whilst giving you potentially cheaper tickets. Seek out early morning flight and train times as these tend to be less popular.

  • Review luggage rules before packing

It can be very easy to pack over your baggage limits, so it’s much better to check what your allowances are before travel (you don’t want to be reshuffling your suitcase at the check-in desk!) Also, check all restrictions, especially if you are planning to take gifts with you. Restrictions on liquids and prohibited items still apply to your presents.

  • Consider priority services

One way to help avoid queuing for too long is to consider priority boarding or fast track security where available, and if within your budget. This will help you avoid tedious queuing, especially with children.

  • Avoid wrapping gifts before travelling

A good tip when taking gifts with you is to avoid wrapping them. As per Ryanair’s advice, wrapped gifts may be opened, searched and screened by security, meaning your beautiful wrapping will be all to waste. If you can use gift bags instead or wait until you’ve arrived, this will be the better option.

  • Give yourself time on travel day

No one likes a last-minute rush, so if you can set off early on the day you plan to travel, it’s best to do so. Take advantage of early check-in options at your accommodation so that you can leave with plenty of time and not have to dash. If flying, this will help you have plenty of time to get through security checks and use the departure lounge facilities and shops.

Packing for Comfort and Convenience

Taking a smart approach to packing will go some way to help avoid taking too much with you and ensure all the essentials are covered. Packing isn’t the most fun aspect of going away, but planning will make this job much simpler, especially if you’ve got children’s suitcases to consider too. It will also ensure you have room for any gifts you bring back with you.

  • Having lightweight layers will help you stay comfortable on the journey when moving between cold weather, a warm car, air-conditioned airport terminals and any change in temperature at your destination. It also takes up less space in your luggage, so go for layers that you can combine and take comfortable footwear, a warm jumper and a compact raincoat just in case.
  • Keeping things organised saves time and stress. If you haven’t already, invest in packing cubes or zip bags as these will help separate clothing, toiletries and electronics so you can find items quickly. If you are bringing gifts, avoid anything too bulky and pack these in your hand luggage where possible.
  •  A small kit of travel essentials can make a big difference too. Keep any medication, chargers and important items in your hand luggage so you have them if plans change.

With a bit of planning, you can travel lighter, stay comfortable and enjoy the journey from the start.

Managing Travel Timings and Transport

Travel during the Christmas season often requires more time and patience. It can be extremely busy on the roads, so plan your onward journey so that you can deal with any unexpected travel delays. If you’re heading to Dublin, Cork or Shannon airports, longer queues and slower security checks are highly likely, especially at peak times, so plan to arrive early for a more relaxed start to your holiday.

If you are flying, it’s a good idea to pre-book your airport parking as this will help you save money compared to paying on the day you travel, and ensure you get a closer spot. If using public transport, check timetables as they may change over the holidays, with reduced services likely on Christmas Eve, St. Stephen’s Day and New Year’s Day.

For those travelling by car, planning fuel stops, charging points for electric vehicles, and rest breaks can help make long journeys safer and more comfortable, especially if you are travelling with children or older family members. The more space you build into your journey, the easier it is to stay calm and enjoy the festive experience. Check the gov.ie Be Winter Ready advice pages for road travel safety tips before you set off.

Staying Calm on the Journey

Travel at the best of times can be difficult, especially when dealing with busy roads and airports, and inevitable long queues. Having a calm mindset can make the experience much more enjoyable, even when delays or minor frustrations happen.

Simple things like taking breaks, eating regularly and staying hydrated all help maintain energy levels and prevent stress from building up during the journey. If you are travelling with children, planning small activities can make a big difference. Keep them from boredom with books, colouring sheets, snacks or simple travel games. Above all, be flexible and take your time. That way, you and your family will arrive feeling happy and ready to enjoy your break.

Staying Prepared and Protected on Winter Trips

As the weather in Ireland and across Europe at this time of year can cause sudden delays and changes to your travel plans at very short notice, it’s fair to say Christmas travel comes with its fair share of unpredictability. That’s why building a bit of flexibility into your plans can make a world of difference when things do not go as expected. Simple habits like checking weather forecasts, signing up for delay alerts and giving yourself extra time for travel can help you stay ahead of potential problems without feeling rushed.

Unexpected changes to your plans can have more serious consequences if you live with a medical condition. Winter travel can be tiring, and colder weather or long journeys may make certain health needs more difficult to manage. If you are heading abroad this Winter, having the right support in place is important.

Medical care overseas can be expensive, and accessing it without the correct documents can be stressful. Specific policies that offer travel insurance for medical conditions from providers like Staysure can help you feel much more confident that emergencies, flare-ups or even lost baggage and medication will not turn your festive break into a financial worry.

Disruptions are often unavoidable at this time of year, but being prepared both practically and financially can make them easier to endure. Declaring any pre-existing conditions, reading policy wording carefully and packing essentials with organisation in mind will all contribute to a smoother experience. That way, you can enjoy your Christmas holiday knowing you are ready for whatever winter travel brings.

Ending the Trip on a Positive Note

Returning home after festive travel can feel both comforting and a little overwhelming, especially if you have spent time away from your usual routine. If you can, give yourself a gentle transition back into everyday life by having a day or so before returning to work and other responsibilities. It will make the post-holiday period feel less rushed.

Hopefully, your Christmas travel plans are a positive experience overall, and that you have plenty of new memories to look back on. Returning to work or school is always easier when you carry positive memories with you, so here’s to starting the new year more relaxed and refreshed than before the break.

Lift-Off from Shannon Airport for NASA competition winning teen scientists

It’s lift-off for five Irish secondary school students flying from Shannon Airport to Orlando today having won a prestigious space design competition founded by NASA. The St Flannan’s College students from Ennis, County Clare, flew from Shannon to Chicago this morning before continuing on to Orlando, where they will present their design at the International Space Development Conference, an annual gathering organised by the National Space Society which brings together leaders and enthusiasts from all sectors of the space industry.

The student’s – Alex Furey, Damian Woros, Najib Haq, Gavin Shiels and Ahmed Ibrahim from St Flannan’s, together with Shreya Mariya Saju and Lexie McKenna from St Dominic’s College in Cabra, Dublin – designed a next-generation space habitat which they named “Inis Beatha” or “Island of Life”. This design uses artificial gravity and plants grown without soil to create a system capable of recycling the food, water and oxygen needed to sustain life in space.

Speaking from Shannon Airport ahead of their flight to Chicago, physics teacher John Conneely from St. Flannan’s College said: “Winning first place in the senior section of this year’s NSS Space Settlement Contest—against over 26,000 entries from schools worldwide—is an incredible achievement, and we couldn’t be prouder of our students! We’re also immensely grateful to Shannon Airport for their continued support, making this unforgettable trip to Orlando possible for our students.

I think Shannon Airport has always been inspirational when it comes to innovation —from welcoming the first transatlantic passenger flight 80 years ago to the recent debut of an Advanced Air Mobility aircraft. Remarkably, at one point it was also an alternate landing site for the space shuttle, making it the perfect launchpad for our students as they set out on this incredible journey to the International Space Conference.”

Welcoming them this morning Tim Ryan, Group Head of Brand & Marketing at The Shannon Airport Group said: “We are thrilled to welcome the team from St Flannan’s College to Shannon Airport today as they travel to such a prestigious event in the U.S. These innovative young minds are a testament to the exceptional talent and ambition coming from this region, making an impact on the world stage. We are immensely proud to support Alex, Damian, Najib, Gavin, Ahmed, and their dedicated teachers on this exciting adventure.”

PACE Airports to Revolutionise International Standards for Airport Emissions Reporting

PACE, Fexco’s leading aviation sustainability data and analytics platform, has expanded its product offering with PACE Airports and is announcing Christchurch Airport as its first customer. PACE has established itself as the market leader for aviation financiers and is trusted by the world’s largest banks, like JP Morgan, and the second largest aircraft lessor in the world, SMBC AC, to inform them on their financed aviation emissions.

Christchurch Airport is a global leader in sustainable airport management and a pioneer in the Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA) program. It is the first airport in the world to reach level 4 in 2020 and to achieve level 5 accreditation in 2023. It is among only 18 other airports worldwide to achieve this rating. The airport chose PACE Airports so they can track, analyse and action live data rather than on an annual basis. Leveraging multiple new data points allows the sustainability team to have more accurate data-led conversations with airline operators and external stakeholders.

Airports globally are challenged to understand and track their aviation-related emissions. One of the leading causes of this is a considerable lack of consistency within the industry in defining a standardised methodology that can be independently verified. Calculating carbon emissions is usually done on an annual basis at the end of the year, so the lack of real-time data inhibits airports from making actionable decisions to lower their carbon footprint. PACE Airports offers real-time aviation emissions calculations at the click of a button, allowing sustainability teams to focus on the actions rather than the calculations.

In addition, banks can use PACE Airports to evaluate emissions in airport financing deals. Both banks and airports can rely on a single source of truth for emissions metrics to measure performance in sustainability-linked finance deals.

PACE Airports tracks all commercial flight activity globally and calculates specific emissions based on over 10 billion data points, right down to the engine on the wing. It is highly configurable to allow airports to track specific runway taxi times and distances, enabling them to drill down into the minute details for highly accurate output data.

Claire Waghorn, Sustainability Transition Leader at Christchurch Airport, said: “Christchurch Airport has always leaned into sustainability and innovation. We first started tracking our emissions in 2006, and we have continually challenged what more we can do in decarbonisation through innovation and adaptability. Our strategy has always been data-driven, and PACE unlocks a new level of insight and intelligence that is really exciting for us as we continue our sustainability journey. At Christchurch Airport, our key focus on this sustainability journey has always been optimising our entire operations to reduce emissions; the insights from the PACE Airports platform now give us data to consider our aviation-related emissions across the entire airport operations.”

Bertie Murphy, CSO of Fexco Group, added: “Our vision at PACE is to be the independent aviation emissions source across the aviation value chain, trusted and relied upon by all stakeholders. Expanding into Airports is a natural next step in the evolution of our product. We are thrilled to welcome Christchurch Airport, a global leader in sustainability, as a customer. We are enthused to see the impact the data and insights from PACE are having at Christchurch Airport, supporting the team in delivering on their emissions reduction targets.”

PACE delivers up-to-date emissions data, covering over 99% of commercial flights, recording over 370,000 individual routes and over 10 billion flight data points, which are updated every 24 hours. PACE is trusted by the largest aviation financiers in the world, such as JP Morgan Chase. To find out more, visit the PACE website.

PACE, Fexco’s carbon emissions calculator, expands services to Airport and Corporate Travel Sectors

PACE, Fexco’s sustainability data and analytics product suite, today launched PACE Data Services. This new product suite provides insights for the airport and corporate travel sectors to measure, manage and mitigate their emissions.

Built on PACE’s data platform, a global benchmark for the aviation industry, the service aligns with carbon reduction regulations by using live flight tracking data to monitor over 99% of commercial flights and analyse over 370,000 routes. PACE’s suite of data and analytics is already relied upon by most of the aviation finance sector and the largest financial institutions in the world, like JP Morgan and SMBC.

PACE Data Services will provide airports with a cohesive and precise view of their flight-related emissions. This data will be critical to enabling airports to better manage and mitigate their emissions. In fact, Heathrow’s most recent sustainability report for 2023 stated that 99% of its emissions came from Scope 3 emission reduction targets[1].

In the corporate travel sector, PACE’s data will enable more informed decision-making when it comes to both booking travel and providing more accurate reporting of corporate travel emissions. Recent research from Deloitte shows one in three companies is seeking guidance from travel management companies to reduce their carbon footprint.

In one use case alone, which would have a significant impact on decision-making for corporate travel management, PACE data reveals considerable variations in CO2 emissions per occupied seat—up to 50%—on the same popular transatlantic route across different aircraft. These differences are primarily due to factors such as aircraft seat configuration and aircraft type.

This new offering from PACE enables both these sectors to comply with evolving regulatory frameworks, such as the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). These regulations require the provision of accurate, independently verified, and robust reports on their plans and progress in reducing emissions.

Since its launch in 2022, PACE has become the only Irish company to meet stringent independent aviation measurement standards, including the recent Pegasus Guidelines

“This new service builds on PACE’s rapid growth, driven by demand to address carbon emissions across the aviation value chain,” said Cathal Foley, CEO of PACE. “This will enable airports and corporate travellers to better understand how we fly better while continuing to support ambitious growth strategies. PACE’s vision is to be the global leader in the spaces we operate and deploy our data to enable meaningful change.”

“We are an island and so the aviation sector is a vital part of Ireland’s economy, both as a contributor and an enabler of economic growth. But aviation, like all sectors, will have to transition to a new low-carbon future. It is very exciting to see an Irish company positioned to help transform this sector by utilising its exceptional data and analytics to inform better conversations across the aviation value chain. Measurement is critical to understanding the real impact of carbon reduction measures and claims,” said Minister Eamon Ryan, TD, Minister for the Environment, Climate, Communications and Transport. “Ireland has globally acknowledged aviation expertise, and it is fitting that a successful Irish multinational like Fexco is leading the way in meaningfully enabling the sector to make better decisions on its journey to net zero emissions.”

To find out more, visit the PACE website.