A series of factors like slowing economy, capacity cuts, rising fares and a serious credit crunch have been accounting for a significant drop in the number of passengers at several UK airports. Notably, BAA, the operator of seven airports across the UK including Gatwick and Stansted have seen the fall of passenger numbers by 1.7% during July when compared to the figures recorded during last year. Most remarkably, last year around 14.8m passengers passed through the hubs.

Above all, Stansted Airport witnessed the biggest drop in the number of passengers among all the airports operated by BAA, with 5.3% fewer people using the airport when compared to the figures noted last year. All the three BAA airports at Scotland have also seen a notable reduction with the rate of reduction recorded as 3.2% at Glasgow, 1.3% at Edinburgh and 2.6% at Aberdeen.

Possibly as a result of the Open Skies Agreement, Heathrow was virtually unchanged when compared to last year. In fact, the airport has remarkably shown a significant increase of about 6.5% on long haul routes. However, the loss of Gatwick from the same source is said to be on account of the shift of long-haul traffic to Heathrow that has contributed to an overall drop of 1.8% despite an increase of 11.9% in the European Scheduled Traffic. In fact, the Southampton airport witnessed a drop of passengers by about 1.8%. Among the key markets affected the most by the slowdown noted during last month were the European Flights that saw a 1.4% drop and UK domestic, that saw a 4.5 percent drop.

GlAccording to a recent report published in The Herald, it appears that Glasgow Airport is 'on the brink of a sell-off'. Most notably, the newspaper observes that the owners of Spanish infrastructure giant Ferrovial, the owners of BAA are actually contemplating on plans to take the airport to the market during this month in an effort to avoid a full-scale break-up of BAA that is expected to be imposed by UK watchdogs.

In a warning issued earlier during this year, the Competition Commission warned that the BAA monopoly in both Scotland and the south-east of England might be actually hurting passengers. According to the suggestions made by the Media reports, the commission was now certain about its stand that BAA's control exercised over seven British airports with the list including Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh was truly harmful to the market. According to the Financial Times, this factor has made the sell-offs more probable.

In addition, the report has also cited certain unnamed 'legal sources' that say that the next round of findings would prove to be a crucial step towards an order for BAA to sell away an airport in the Scotland region in addition to an airport in England. In fact, it is said that the commission has consulted the officials from rival airport operators in order to ascertain what wider ownership would mean for the industry. It is significant to note that any such sale would invariably put an end to the monopoly enjoyed by BAA in Scotland.

Recently, the owners of Glasgow Prestwick Airport have ruled out suggestions to rename the facility Robert Burns International in honour of the 250th birthday anniversary of the poet. On the other hand, those who advocate the present name change strongly believe that the re-branding process will certainly help boosting up the image of the airport among international travelers. However, the chief executive of the airport Mark Rodwell feels that the move shall only result in confusing the tourists at large.

At the outset, Robert Burns is popularly acclaimed as the national poet of Scotland, who has been credited with being one of the champions of the Romantic movement of the 18th century.

Though Robert Burns is heralded for his principal and leading role in the development of western culture, Glasgow Prestwick officials have however stated that the popularly known bard can do little to attract the visitors from foreign countries.

As this week began the countdown of the 100 days for the official opening of the new skyhub of the Glasgow Airport, Most notably, the skyhub is the new terminal extension of the airport.

The opening of the domestic arrivals hall sited on the ground floor of the Skyhub has been scheduled on 21st October. In a few days following that the new security control zone located on the first floor will be unveiled.

One of the most notable features of the security control area is the X-Ray machines that help in expediting the check-in process for the passengers, thereby offering them enough time to relax before they board their flights.

Recently released figures show that not less than 2.5 million passengers fly into Heathrow Airport from several British destinations in an average year. Following the release of these figures, the campaign for developing a high-speed rail network has gained a significant momentum. 

Typically, passengers get transferred to a regional hub for connecting with a longer-haul flight. This group becomes the battleground for the debate going on presently concerning the construction of a third runway at the Heathrow Airport. Those opposing the idea of the third runway claim that the data proves that several Heathrow slots are taken up by flights and that this would be unnecessary is there was a high-speed rail service made available.

A transport spokesman noted, "If the case for domestic flights diminishes then the case for a third runway is also weakened. It's absurd to have large numbers of people taking short-haul flights in this country when there is much more extensive use of high-speed rail in other European countries."

After the completion of the physical building, a development project of £30 million at Glasgow Airport has gone into a new stage.

The 4,000 sq metre extension, dubbed skyhub, aims to change the experience of travellers at the Scottish airport when it opens to the public on the 21st of October. This is great news for passengers who would be using the services of Glasgow airport in the coming months, as they would be able to enjoy the new features of the development.

The development project is the biggest expansion observed at the airport in a generation, bringing in a new high-tech security search region in addition to a number of lounges, shops, restaurants and bars. So, passengers can well imagine the airport experience they will have once all the development plans are implemented-no wonder that they would love to travel through this airport.

A new route to Turkey from Glasgow Prestwick International Airport has been launched by Scottravel Holidays. This is a wonderful opportunity for people of Glasgow to visit Turkey, which is growing in popularity as a preferred destination among holidaymakers.

The airline started operating the new service from the Scottish airport on the 26th of May.

The carrier will operate its flights to Dalaman once in a week, and from there holidaymakers can enjoy an easy access to a number of popular holiday destinations including Icmeler, Ovacik, Marmaris and Olu Deniz. So, you just need to plan your itinerary and you will be able to visit all the famous spots of this beautiful country.

With a 'topping out' ceremony, Glasgow Airport has commended an important phase in the construction of its new terminal (a £30 million project).

Balfour Beatty, the main contractors of the terminal, joined officials from both BAA Glasgow and Renfrewshire Council to celebrate the accomplishment of the big project: Skyhub, an extension of 400 square metre.

To commemorate the event, there was a small branch tied to the top of the structure, while Gordon Dewar, the managing director of the airport, made use of a silver trowel to level the final section of concrete.

Virgin trains report that due to the unworkable engineering plans of Network Rails, millions of rail travelers using the London-to-Glasgow route will be forced with the hassles of worse overcrowding and more number of bus replacement services. The new work programme suggested by its board is expected to affect the commuter journeys of over 2.5m on the west coast line causing disruptions and troubles on most of the weekends till the end of December.

Virgin Trains feels that this plan is bound to force the cancellation of the services during weekdays and weekends, with the Network Rail scrambling to meet the deadline proposed in the month of December. Virgin Trains states, "Virgin Trains has significant concerns over the viability of introducing this plan, due to the huge disruption that will be caused to our customers, inevitable severe overcrowding on many trains, effect on our revenue and the reputational damage that will be suffered in the longer term."

Network Rail has however requested the Rail Regulation Office to approve the programme. In response to this appeal, the ORR has directed the rail infrastructure company to propose new procedures to upgrade the west coast line. This move followed an investigation over last year's lat-running engineering works.

In a recent move, plans have been submitted for creating a new train station ahead of a £210million rail link at the Glasgow Airport. The application requests permission to construct two platforms within yards from the main terminal. BAA Scotland has agreed to sponsor the walkway for the passengers to move from the station to the centre of the airport.

Once the link is completed in 2011, four trains will be operated in an hour connecting Glasgow Airport with the Glasgow Central stations. The application has been filed by the Strathclyde Partnership for prior approval to ensure the completion of the project on time.

The construction works for the station will commence once the viaduct to link the proposed route over the M8 motorway is completed. Notably, once the new station is accomplished, the journey time to the airport from the city centre will take only 16 minutes with a brief stop at the Paisley Gilmour Street.

After much anticipation, Glasgow Airport's brand new Skyhub, the £31 million extension, is to open its gates on 21st October. This extension is all set to offer a surpassing experience to the travelers in addition to reducing the waiting time to just five minutes for more than 95% of travelers using the airport. This move is deemed as the largest single investment made by the airport since 1994 when the international pier was opened. Notably, the futuristic building is taking shape in between T2 and the main terminal.

The total area of the extension stretching over 4000sq ft is to be adequately illumined by natural light with the main front of the building being covered with claddings of translucent material. This innovative system known as Kalwall have been already employed in Nasa's base at Cape Canaveral, the Arsenal's Emirates Stadium, and Orlando Sanford Airport in Florida. Most notably, the material is highly energy efficient in allowing abundance of daylight to flood into the building in addition to retaining heat.

The brand new facility is also to feature the most advanced security zone in the whole of UK. Each of the passengers will be guided through two-storey hub offering a range of restaurants, shops and bars. Interestingly, over £3m of the estimate has been spent on installing a bombproof steel cage alone that is covered under the structure. Sunk under 120 feet under the ground, the 88 pillars of the facility ensure that the building can easily withstand terrorist attacks.

March at Glasgow is going to be highly exciting with three most popular arts festivals in line throughout the month. These events are expected to draw a record number of audiences to this largest city of Scotland. These notable events include The Magners Glasgow International Comedy Festival, Aye Write! - The Bank of Scotland Book Festival and the 16th French Film Festival UK.

Hosted for the sixth consecutive year between 6th and 23rd March, the Magners Glasgow International Comedy Festival is to present an interesting line of international and homegrown comedy talent. The highlights include a rare live appearance from French and Saunders, Omid Djalili and Mock the Week’s Dara O’Briain in addition to some of the best talents hailing from Glasgow like Jerry Sadowitz, Craig Hill and Karen Dunbar.

Aye Write! Bank of Scotland Book Festival comes back for the third time to the Mitchell Library between 7th and 15th March, with highlight appearances by Kathleen Turner and Tony Benn.

In Scotland near Glasgow Airport, the Real Hotel Company has recently inaugurated its first Purple hotel. This admirable 'premium budget' hotel features 103 rooms including executive, standard and family rooms with prices starting from £59 per night.

During the recent years, real is taking all necessary steps to position its new budget brand into an affordable and stylish alternative to Premier Inns and Travelodge. Each room of the property is equipped with several state-of-the art facilities including air conditioning, Wi-Fi, walk in showers, flat-screen television, a big desk, large beds and lots of space.

Commenting on the advantages of this brand new property, Iain Hamilton, general manager of the Glasgow Airport hotel observed, "The hotel will bring a new dimension to the market place with its no frills chic style providing clients with everything they need and nothing they don't need. You get a huge amount of room for not very much money."

Scheduled between 27th of March and 30th of March 2008, the Glasgow Art Fair 2008 remains the most eagerly anticipated annual extravaganza for the buyers of art pieces. The fair will take place within the trademark white coloured pavilion tents that superbly dominate George Square located in the heart of Glasgow's city center and is expected to invite over 16,500 visitors on the four days of discovering, buying and selling art.

Since its inception in the year 1996, Glasgow Art Fair has firmly established its reputation as the most prestigious art fairs of the UK of the contemporary times organised outside of London. The Glasgow Art Fair 2008 will feature an amazing record of 46 select galleries from Europe and beyond, Scotland and the rest of the UK displaying accomplishments by more than 1000 artists.

Surprisingly, the sales figures of this fair exceed £1.2million with individual purchases ranging from £50 to over £80K on an average. Several dedicated collectors and occasional art buyers recognise Glasgow Art Fair alike as the ideal place to view and discover fantastic quality work accomplished by renowned artists.

Manchester's new website www.manchester.gov.uk has been voted as the best local government website in the nation, by thousands of visitors of internet users.

The website received this recognition in a poll ran over the last three months and was conducted by BT Total Broadband, offering surfers an opportunity to vote in a total of 17 categories.

Among these categories, the local government category is one and Manchester secured the top position leaving behind others including Camden, Glasgow, Hounslow and Blackburn.

As per the announcement made by the government, more UK airports including Edinburgh and Glasgow have secured permission to allow travellers carry more than one piece of hand baggage with them while travelling with effect from Monday, the 7th of January. Passengers of these airports will be able to carry more than one bag.

Earlier in August 2006, an exposed plot to bombard transatlantic planes using liquid explosives led to the limiting of one carry-on bag for a passenger. However, this measure was met with a lot of complaints from passengers, airports and airlines with the surging of checked items causing broken conveyors and longer waiting times.

Notably, the government will withdraw the rule on the 7th of January for those airports, which have convinced Department for Transport (DfT) with their arrangements to deal with the additional luggage without increasing the queues at the baggage screening. The list announced by DFT last week contained 17 airports that have met these requirements. Now, three more are added to this list including Edinburgh and Glasgow. Surprisingly, Gatwick, the second biggest airport of the UK is yet to enter the list.

Introducing a Meet and Greet service, Airparks is rebranding Q-Park airport car parks all over the UK. Passengers can note the changes and plan their travel accordingly.

At Gatwick Airport, the Q-Park will be re-branded as Airparks Gatwick, with per day prices starting from £4. passengers will also be able to take advantage of a new meet and greet service-they will be met by an Airparks driver on their arrival at their departure terminal building, which will remove the need for transfers.

The Airparks facility, where vehicles will be parked, has a 24-hour CCTV eye and security check patrols.

Rating the best regions of UK for retail therapy, a new research report from Yellow Pages observes that outside London, the most satisfying thing is Christmas shopping in Glasgow.

It is interesting to note that earlier to this research, the Academy of Urbanism named Glasgow's Buchanan Street as the finest shopping street of the UK, even ahead of O'Connell Street in Dublin and Regent Street of London.

The reports follow a survey involving over 2,000 people across Britain pertaining to their shopping habits. The survey ascertained the crucial aspects like gift shops and farmers' markets that are necessary to create a perfect Christmas.

Henceforth, passengers using Glasgow Airport can easily reach the city centre on a fleet of brand new buses. Most interestingly, the £1.5million investment of Arriva has equipped the 11 coaches employed for its fast airport-city centre GlasgowFlyer route with free wireless internet access.

The 24-hour GlasgowFlyer service has been launched as part of an agreement with BAA, the owner and operator of Glasgow Airport. Under the arrangement, the airport and Buchanan Bus Station are linked via the M8 for less than £4, operating 8 coaches per hour during peak times.

Boss of Arriva Scotland West, Ralph Robert remarked, "We are delighted to be launching 11 new high spec, environmentally friendly vehicles on our GlasgowFlyer service. We hope that airport staff, visitors and the people of Glasgow make good use of the benefits of this premium bus service."

Worldwide flights have been discounted by Emirates from a number of airports in the UK. Book before 30th November and travel is valid between 16th April and 30th June, 2008.

From Heathrow, book a flight to: Auckland at a price starting from £736, Brisbane at a price starting from £713, Melbourne at a price starting from £709, Perth at a price starting from £664 and Sydney at a price starting from £717.

From Manchester, book flights to: Auckland at a price starting from £731, Brisbane at a price starting from £708, Melbourne at a price starting from £704, Perth at a price starting from £660 and Sydney at a price starting from £712.

Launched on 5th November 2007 and continuing until 29 March 2008, the Winter Schedule of Aer Arann is to operate eighteen routes between the UK and Ireland. With continuous expansion, Aer Arann is increasing its flights between London and Galway to about three times for this winter.

This would be a very good option offered by the airlines to the passengers as now they will have more choices to choose the schedule and timing of flights while vising these famous cities in UK.

The routes are operated from various regional airports of the UK namely Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow-Prestwick, Leeds Bradford, Manchester, London Luton, Newcastle, Cardiff, Birmingham and Isle of Man. On the routes of Manchester to Kerry, Edinburgh to Galway, and London to Galway, the capacity will be added up further. Almost all the major cities of UK and Scotland are covered under this plan.

Launching its new schedule to be operated till 29th March 2008, Air Malta offers a choice of over 40 destinations and 150 flights in a week for passengers flying from Malta base.

Some of the notable destinations in the list include Amsterdam, Bari, Athens, Benghazi, Birmingham, Berlin, Bologna, Bristol, Bremen, Budapest, Brussels, Catania, Casablanca, Düsseldorf, Dresden, Frankfurt, Glasgow, Hannover, Hamburg, Istanbul, Larnaca, London - Heathrow, London - Gatwick, London - Stansted, Milan, Manchester, Moscow Sheremetyevo, Moscow Domodedovo, Munich, Newcastle, Paris, Palermo, Reggio Calabria, Sofia, Rome, Tripoli, Vienna, Tunis, Washington DC and Zurich.

Air Malta's Chief Officer Commercial, Dr Brock Friesen observed, "This season will be yet another exciting one for our customers. The airline is once again offering the best connections and services at value for money prices to and from the Maltese islands, connecting the islands to major European gateways. We are focusing on our marketing campaigns and aggressively promoting value for money travel opportunities during lean months. Our recent seasonal sales includes '13 has just turned lucky' which is offering our customers the exciting opportunity to travel to 18 destinations from Malta, at the fantastic price starting from Lm 13 one-way."

Glasgow's biennial International Festival of Light, Radiance comes back to the city from November 23 to November 25. The festival is part of Winterfest Glasgow 2007, funded by the Cities Growth Fund. 

Lighting artworks will witness courtyards, structures, and even gable ends from High Street to Buchanan Street changed by internationally renowned designers.

The highlights of this year's event include the project of Xavier de Richemont at Glasgow Cathedral, where the whole of the Cathedral will emerge as a present-day scene. His work was never seen in the UK before this.

City Inn is designing, constructing and running contemporary fashioned hotels in UK top city centre areas. Current sites include Bristol, Westminster, Manchester, Glasgow and Birmingham. 

Recently, City Inn has come out a fresh contemporary and stylish bedroom design across its hotels in the UK in consultation with Fox Linton- the leading London interior design firm.

City Inn received the Best Hotel Brand at the Business Travel World Awards 2007 and 2006. The hotel company is offering bespoke services for individuals and companies looking for an access to facilities required for their business, with a choice of state-of-the-art conference facilities, meeting rooms and private dining rooms.

Glasgow City Council is supporting a scheme to change acres of woodland in Pollok Park into a large adventure playground. The support is a part of its health agenda.

But, the people who are frequently visiting the famous park are fearful that the peace of the woodland will be disturbed by the high-wire obstacle course.

The course which is developed by the forest adventure operators 'Go Ape', is marked for a place just a few hundred yards away from the Burrell Collection in the North Wood or the Park. A public recommendation is in its final month and If planning permission is given, it could be in place by the spring next year..