A round-up of other travel news in brief
Check-in desks vanish
Ryanair removed all its check-in desks this week in its switch to a web-only service. Passengers with luggage to check in now have to use airport “bag drop” desks. In two other changes, the airline will no longer allow children under
the age of 16 to travel unaccompanied, and will accept only passports and national ID cards as photo identification. Ryanair’s web check-in service will be open from 15 days to four hours before the scheduled departure time of each flight.
Space clown blasts off
Canadian billionaire and Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberté became the world’s first space clown when he blasted off to the International Space Station this week. Laliberté paid $35 million (€25 million) for his ticket on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft, becoming the seventh tourist in space. Laliberté entertained his fellow astronauts with a soap-bubble show during their first day in orbit. He says he wants to use the publicity to highlight the importance of access to clean water on Earth.
3
Number of full years for which former Aer Lungus director Seán FitzPatrick can take free flights on the airline. His time on the board entitles him to the travel until 2012