Belarus - The Last Dictatorship In Europe?

In 2005, Condoleeza Rica described Belarus as the ‘last outpost of tyranny in Europe’. So when England played Belarus in a recent World Cup qualifier, I took the opportunity to visit Minsk to see the football and spend a few days looking round the city.



I arranged my visa direct with the Belarus Embassy in London. Although it may seem a bit of a paperwork nightmare, the procedure is fairly simple. For a tourist visa, you need an application form (from the embassy website) and your visa invitation. This is a document that is usually provided by your hotel. It states where you will be staying in Belarus and for how long. If you are staying in more than one hotel, you will probably need an invitation from each hotel. As a general rule, you need to have paperwork to account for every night you will be in Belarus. If you are unsure, contact the embassy. I took the documents down, along with my passport and after a few minutes wait, I was allowed in where I filed my documents paid my fee of £63. The visa would be ready one week later. You don’t need to go to the embassy in person, you can post your documents to them. Check their website for more details.

Direct flights into Minsk are only available a couple of days a week using the national airline, Belavia. If you want to fly to Minsk, there are a few options flying via other European cities. However, I chose to fly to Vilnius and then take the 4 hour 40 minute train ride. Flights to Vilnius from the UK are quite easy to get and my return ticket by train was around £12. Facilities on the train are limited (to say the least) and we had to wait at the border as first the Lithuanian officials came on to check passports then 30 minutes down the track, the Belarus officials also took their turn. However, we arrived right on time in Minsk.

Apartments are a great low cost option for accommodation in Minsk. We arranged an apartment via a website. It was located on the main Prospekt Nezavisimosti, just up from the war memorial (which you can’t miss). They also arranged our visa support (invitation) and transfers. It was clean and comfortable. The kitchen was well equipped there was a little shop a few minutes away where we could buy food.

As our apartment was fairly central, it was very easy to get around. The centre of Minsk is quite small so it is possible to walk everywhere but we also used the metro which is a very cheap alternative. There are only 2 lines so it is fairly simple to find your way around. However, one word of warning; the station maps and metro map is only in Cyrillic. Tickets are in the form of a small plastic coin which are bought from the ticket desk for 600 roubles each (15 pence). One coin is for a single journey, there are no zones. The metro operates between 5:30am and 1:00am. The one occasion we took a taxi, it cost 10,000 roubles (about £2.60) which seemed to be a tourist rate for most places within town.

Tourism in Minsk and throughout Belarus is relatively small. They get around 75,000 visitors per year (less than the number of people stranded abroad when XL collapsed recently) and of those, just 4,000 are British. That doesn’t mean that Minsk isn’t an interesting city. It has a complicated history and was all but destroyed during the war as the Germans went through it as they advanced into the Soviet Union then retreated back again as the Soviets countered. In human terms, the population suffered a staggering casualty rate with around 1:3 citizens being killed.

After the war, a huge rebuilding program took place and as this was in Stalin’s time, you could be forgiven for expecting to see dreary concrete buildings everywhere. However, although some typically Soviet buildings do exist, there are plenty of examples of other types of architecture which add to the charm of Minsk.

The time in Minsk will determine just how much of the city you can see. I started with a short city tour. This type of quick overview is a good idea in any city as it allows you to get your bearings and you can always go back at look at things in a bit more details. I hadn’t realised that Minsk had briefly been home to Lee Harvey Oswald and his former residence is mentioned in a number of Guides to Minsk.

The Island of Tears is a memorial to the 1,700 young men from Belarus who died during the Soviet invasion and occupation of Afghanistan. The focal point of the little island is the small chapel which is quite haunting. It is also a place where newly weds go. Many couples leave padlocks with their names on the gate on the bridge and further round the island is a small statue of a boy-like angel.

Victory Square (Ploshad Pobedy) can be found on Prospekt Nezavisimosti and the centre piece is a towering spire with an eternal flame at the base. Access is gained by going under the road and directly below the spire you will find a large amber ring. On the walls are listed the names of soldiers who were made Hero of the Soviet Union.

Heading back towards to centre is the imposing (and still active) KGB building. Nearby is the Church of Saints Simon & Elena. Dating back to 1910, this red brick catholic church was build by a trader as a memorial to his two young children who died at an early age.

The oldest church in Minsk is the St Peters and Paul Church which dates back to 1613 and can be found on Njamiha. Although the church is well looked after, it is surrounded and dwarfed ugly concrete buildings.

The Museum of the Great Patriotic War is well worth a visit and has some excellent displays and exhibitions, including an array of tanks including the iconic T-34 and an Ilyushin aircraft that looks suspiciously like a DC-3 (Dakota). The museum is quite sombre as it highlights the suffering in the concentration camps with some graphic images.

The match between Belarus and England was played at the Dinamo Stadium which was a roofless bowl which looked typically Eastern European with 4 large, imposing floodlights. The stadium was sold out expect for the upper section of the main stand opposite us. The following day, we walked round the outside of the stadium where there was a market. After seeing all the bland new stadia springing up all over Britain, it was refreshing to see a stadium with a bit of character. The statue of the 3 athletes behind the main stand and the letter “D” carved into stone at regular intervals around the stadium (“D” is for Dinamo Minsk).

I was very impressed with my short time in Minsk. I found it to be an incredibly clean city and I felt safe at all times. There is a relatively small tourist industry so there no hint of a rip-off culture that tourists experience in many cities around the world. You’ll find that your money goes a long way but you would find it useful if you can understand a bit of Russia or at understand Cyrillic writing. If you wanted to stay a bit longer in Belarus, there are places to see outside Minsk. Sadly, I didn’t have time but hopefully at some stage I’ll have the chance to return. In my opinion, Minsk is definitely worth considering a destination for a short break.

Belarus - The Last Dictatorship In Europe?

How To Get The Most From Your ‘Learn To Dive’ Holiday?

As part of my business, I get a lot of people looking to book up a diving holiday so they can learn to dive in the sunshine (usually Egypt). I’ve personally been diving in Egypt for years and consider it to be one of the best places in the world and as a PADI Divemaster, it’s a subject I’m always happy to talk about.

For the novice, Egypt is an excellent place to learn to dive. The weather is always great, the water is always warm, the visibility is always good and the sea is generally quite calm. However, the problem is that when you go off to nice warm destinations such as Egypt, your time there is limited. If you are learning to dive, you want as much time as possible in the water not spending time with your head stuck in a book.

So how do you get round this problem?  The answer is actually quite simple. When learning to dive, the initial course is essentially split into 3 parts; theory, confined water dives and open water dives. The theory part of the course involves reading a manual and understanding some basic concepts of the sport. The confined water dives are performed in a swimming pool where you learn a number of skills such as clearing your mask underwater (don’t worry, it’s not as bad as it sounds). These skills are completed over the course of a couple of dives and once they are to a sufficient standard, they are repeated in the open water (ie – the ocean).

Many people don’t realise that you don’t need to complete the whole course in a consecutive days and those wanting to learn to dive can use this to their advantage. I generally advise people that their best option is to complete the theory and confined water dives at a local dive centre. This means that once they arrive at their holiday destination, all that remains is to complete their open water dives and they are certified. In turn, this means they have an extra 3 days of their holiday left to enjoy their new found status as certified scuba divers which would otherwise be spent studying or in the swimming pool.

The way to do this is quite simple. The most popular entry level diving certification is the PADI Open Water Course so what you need to complete prior to travel is the Open Water Referral. This covers the 3 days of theory and confined water elements of the Open Water course. Once completed, all that remains is to complete the final 4 open water dives which is usually done over 2 days whilst you are in your holiday resort.

The way to do this is quite simple. 

1. Find your local dive centre which will be listed in the Yellow Pages and give them a call to tell them your situation. Explain that you want them to take the Open Water Referral (theory and confined water dives). This shouldn’t be a problem for any dive centre and they will discuss when you can complete this.
2. Contact the dive centre in your holiday resort to book the final part of your Open Water course which may also be called Open Water Referral. They will advise you what you need to bring along and the final 4 dives normally have to be completed no later than 12 months after the theory and confined water modules.
3. Complete the theory and confined water dives before heading off to your holiday resort.
4. At your resort, spend just 2 days instead of 5 completing the final 4 open water dives and congratulations, you are now a certified scuba diver with most of your holiday ahead of you.

 For more information about learning to dive in Egypt, contact Explorer Travel (http://www.redsea.explorertravel.co.uk/Diving/Intro.htm)

How To Get The Most From Your ‘Learn To Dive’ Holiday?

UK’s 3rd Largest Tour Operator Collapses But Where Do The Passengers Stand?

In the early hours of Friday, 12^th September 2008, XL Leisure Group based in Crawley, Sussex announced that they had called in the administrators. The group, who operated holidays to 50 destinations and employed 1,700 people world wide, collapsed with debts of around £143m stranding 67,000 passengers who were already overseas and will result in another 200,000 passengers with advanced bookings, to lose their holidays.

The following companies which make up the XL Leisure Group are all in administration:

XL Leisure Group Plc, XL Airways UK Limited, Excel Aviation Limited, Explorer House Limited, Aspire Holidays Limited, Freedom Flights Limited, Freedom Flights (Aviation) Limited, The Really Great Holiday Company plc, Medlife Hotels Limited, Travel City Flights Limited, Kosmar Villa Holidays plc.

The following companies held ATOL Licences:

The Really Great Holiday Company, Kosmar Villa Holidays PLC, Freedom Flights Ltd, Aspire Holidays Ltd.

Unfortunately, not all of the 67,000 passengers who are stranded abroad will receive help. For more details, XL customers should refer to the group’s website – www.xl.com

• Anyone who booked via an ATOL or ABTA bonded Travel Agent or Tour Operator will be covered by the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) who will eventually get them home
• Anyone who has booked direct with XL Holidays will probably not be covered unless they have insurance or used their credit card.
• Anyone who paid by credit card will probably be covered but should check with their bank
• Anyone who has travel insurance will probably be covered by should check with their insurance company
• Anyone who has paid by debit card probably won’t be covered but should check with their bank.

Of the 67,000 passengers who are currently abroad, around 10,000 are not covered and will have to make their own way home. Under terms of the administration order, XL are not allowed to send their planes abroad to bring back their passengers. The CAA are working with Thomson and First Choice to bring home the passengers but as XL Group Chairman Phil Wyatt said at a press conference, bringing 67,000 passengers home is a huge task.

Now, there is no denying, when it comes to travel, we all love a bargain. Even saving a few pounds makes us feel somehow better about our travel. However, like people who don’t always see the need for fully comprehensive car insurance, when you come to need help, it’s usually a time for regret.

It is in unfortunate times like this that the true value of using an ATOL or ABTA bonded travel agent such as Explorer Travel comes to light. Consumer protection is often unclear and when booking out holidays, we are more concerned with facilities at the hotel or how far it is to the beach rather than thinking about what happens if the airline goes bust.

Around 26 airlines have gone bust in the last year or so and with oil prices still over $100 a barrel, it is unlikely that XL Group will be the last company to collapse. British Airways Chairman, Willie Walsh said that there are a lot of “weak” airlines struggling to remain in the business  and that some of them will not survive. With this thought in mind, people really should be paying more attention to the company or airline they are planning to travel with rather than getting the cheapest ticket possible. Going for the cheapest option may well turn out to be the most expensive option.

As I was writing this article, it was not lost on me that just 3 weeks ago, my family and I were on an XL flight coming back from Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt. I had booked the flights direct with XL using a debit card so it could well have been a bad experience for myself and my family.

UK’s 3rd Largest Tour Operator Collapses But Where Do The Passengers Stand?

Sharm el Sheikh - August 2008

I’ve been to Sharm a number of times and its always interesting to see how the place has changed. My last visit was two years ago so the first change I noticed when we arrived that the cost of your visa (on arrival) is down to US15. The visa itself has also changed from the previous 2 ‘postage stamps’ (1 orange, 1 blue) to a larger single sticker complete with hologram. The visa and immigration process, along with luggage collection did seem to be a lot quicker than last time and when we left the arrivals hall, I was also pleasantly surprised to see that the all the old style taxis had been replaced with newer cars. Presumably, the old taxis have been passed on to various science museums.

We spent our first full day in Sharm down on the beach at Na’ama Bay and it struck us that although there were a number of people around, the resort did seem a lot quieter than last time we had visited in August. Conversations with people who work in Sharm as well as other frequent visitors went along with our line of thought. The number of British visitors seems to be around the same and there did seem to be a slight increase in visitors from neighbouring Arab countries. The big difference in numbers seemed to be a drop in the number of Russian visitors. This may be due to the fact that in the past, Egypt has been an easy destination for Russian tourists due to they could just purchase their visas on arrival. Stricter visa application procedures in other countries had meant that it was harder for Russians to visit places in Europe but in the last 12 months or so, an agreement between Russia and many EU countries has meant that it is now easier for Russians to obtain Schengen visas so they may well be visiting different destinations.

After a few nights in Sharm, we took a trip to the Old Town which is a short taxi ride away. The official price is 15LE (around £1.50) but sometimes as a tourist, it can be tricky to persuade a taxi driver to take you for that. However, we managed it and we were soon in the Old Town. We headed for a Thai restaurant we’d used before and once again the food was excellent and good value for money. After the meal, we headed around the various shops to buy some fruit which is cheaper and more plentiful than in Na’ama Bay. As much as Na’ama Bay had seemed quieter, the Old Town was far busier than I remembered. There also seemed to be more shops than when I was last there 2 years earlier. We spent about 45 minutes wandering round and we bought 3 bags of fruit then headed back to Na’ama Bay.

In between my diving trips, we spent the days at the beach alternating between laying in the sun, snorkelling or just relaxing in the sea. From the beach, its hard to believe just how good the snorkelling can be but within a short time I had seen Parrotfish, Angelfish, Butterflyfish, Surgeonfish, Picasso Triggerfish, Clownfish (Nemos), Porcupinefish, Pipefish and a Yellow Edged Moray Eel.

I also saw two Scorpionfish having a bit of a fight. This is something quite unusual. I’ve never seen Scorpionfish behave like this out on the coral reefs, never mind in Na’ama Bay. There is a more serious angle to this though. Scorpionfish are very difficult to see as their primary defence is camouflage.  Their secondary defence is a row of poisonous spins which run along their spin and as a result people can step on them by mistake. You won’t find Scorpionfish in the sand but there are a couple of very small pieces of coral in Na’ama Bay where they like to hide so it is very important that you NEVER stand on the coral. There are a lot of creatures in there who can cause you a lot of pain and the Scorpionfish is one of them.

So our two week holiday soon came to an end. It has been two years since I was last in Sharm and the resort is expanding all the time. Among the new additions to the centre of Na’ama Bay is a new TGI Fridays and a number of hotels. New shopping malls are also being completed. Further south in the Old Town, the streets seemed busier than ever but the biggest area of growth was north of the airport in Nabq Bay. The evidence is there for all to see that Sharm is aiming to boost the number of visiting tourists and maintain its status as the number one resort in Egypt.

For more information about visiting Sharm el Sheikh or any of the other Red Sea resorts, please visit www.redseaexplorer.com

Sharm el Sheikh - August 2008

Diving in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt

The day after I arrived, I went down to Emperor Divers to check-in. As I got there, I met one of the instructors, Davorin, who was one of the dive leaders when I was here last time. Just over a week ago, a bait ball was sighted off Middle Garden being feasted on by 3 or 4 whale sharks. I had heard about this before I left England and Davorin said that it was an incredible sight. None of the instructors can ever remember seeing anything like this around Sharm before. Some people say the plankton bloom is a bit higher than normal (which would encourage the whale sharks to stay around) but what was apparent from our brief chat was that there does seem to be a lot of good marine sightings at the moment in Sharm. I’d booked 8 days diving so I was hopeful I’d be able to put my camera to good use at some stage over the next fortnight.

The first days’ diving with Emperor Divers is always at a local dive site. This just lets you get a feel for diving again, allowing you to perform a weight check and get back in the swing of things. The following days, you are free to chose where you want to dive. After breakfast, I headed over to the dive centre to sign in for the day. I chatted with a guy called Ian whom I had dived with before in Sharm. He was heading down to Ras Mohammed and I was going to be on the Empress Theresa with dives scheduled to the north of Sharm at White Knights (next to the Savoy Hotel) and Ras Bob. But the disaster struck, as I was getting on the bus, I somehow managed to drop my camera. Thankfully, the camera house wasn’t damaged which meant it was still watertight but the colour correction lens was cracked and the camera wouldn’t switch on. What a nightmare – I was going to be without my camera underwater for the first time for ages. Still, I tried to be positive, diving in the Red Sea without a camera is still infinitely better than being at work.

If you haven’t dived in Sharm before, you shouldn’t be put off by the term ‘local dive site’. After all, Middle Garden where the bait ball and whale sharks were spotted is considered a ‘local dive site’. We plunged into the water at White Knight and headed down. I was buddy paired with a guy called Paul who had his camera so I was going to help him find lots of things to photograph. Almost immediately, I found a good sized Giant Moray Eel which we observed for a while before moving on. One thing I have noticed is that the more I dive, the more I notice the smaller creatures that. Although we saw a good variety of marine life, the highlight for me was a tiny little Djedda Snapping Shrimp which grows to a size of just 4cm. They are generally found sharing a small hole in the sand with a small goby fish. The goby stands guard over the hole and if it is considered to be safe, the goby will move far enough out to allow the shrimp to start shovelling sand out of the hole. It was fascinating to watch this little tandem act go about their business.

Day two and a trip to Tiran was scheduled. There have been several sightings of Hammerhead Sharks recently so I was quite hopeful of an encounter. However, problems struck again as our boat, the Emperor Marcus had engine problems and we barely reached the local dive sites. While the crew, tried to establish the exact problem, we decided to dive at Fiddle Garden. Following this, another of Emperor Divers boats, the Kastan Sea was going to tow us to a second dive site and then home as by now, the crew had discovered, the engine needed some replacement parts which were not on board. After a long surface interval and lunch, the Kastan Sea towed us towards Near Garden for our second dive. Although we didn’t get to see the Hammerheads at Tiran, we still had 2 good dives. The highlights were a tiny Torpedo Ray and a ‘cleaning station’ with 3 or 4 massive Groupers and a Napoleon Wrasse waiting for the little cleaning fish to come and remove the parasites from them.

Days three and four were also both to Tiran and this time, there were no problems and we were able to dive successfully on both days. On Day Three, conditions were very calm so were able to dive on the back of Jackson Reef which has a reputation as a place to see Hammerheads. We dropped in and swam away from the reef into the blue and sat at 20m waiting. After about 10 minutes, the unmistakeable profile of a large shark. The type of shark was later of some debate. We only caught a glimpse of it for a few seconds and our view was side on so we didn’t have a clear view of the head. Hammerhead sharks get their name from a very distinctive hammer shape and they can’t be confused for any other shark on this basis. Another distinctive feature of a Hammerhead is the tall dorsal fin and this shark definitely had a tall dorsal fin. However, the discussion was that no-one got a good clear view of the head so it may be the shark was a Sand Bar Shark which has a similar body profile and dorsal fin as the Hammerhead.

After this, I took a few days break from diving before starting my last 4 days with a trip to Tiran again. Our first stop was again the back of Jackson to look for Hammerheads and we were not disappointed. I saw two Hammerheads and some of others said they saw three. The next dive on Thomas was uneventful but the on the third dive of the day, my tank started leaking air quite badly and I had to cut the dive short. A day later we were back at Tiran again and our first dive on the front of Jackson was superb with turtle, free swimming moray eel and a crocodile fish. By lunchtime, conditions were a bit calmer so it was off to the back of Jackson. I had my best sightings of 2 Hammerhead which came relatively close to our group and hung around for a while before heading back into the blue. The latter part of the dive was on the reef wall which was quite interesting with sightings of Pyjama Slug, Pipefish and a Leopard Blenny. It proved to be my last trip in the Empress Theresa which has now been sold and no longer available to Emperor Divers.

On my penultimate day, I decided to dive down at Ras Mohammed National Park which is right at the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula. At this point, is the famous Shark and Yolanda reef which boasts wonderful marine life and the wreck of the Yolanda cargo ship which spilled its cargo of bathroom furniture along which the captain’s BMW car. The downside of having such a popular dive site is that it is invariably overcrowded. It was a fairly uneventful dive although I did manage to get stung by some Fire Coral – ouch !! The second dive site was Ras Za’tar, a favourite of mine. It’s the only place I’ve ever seen dolphins while I’ve been underwater. During the dive, we saw a turtle and 4 Napoleon Wrasse but once back on board, we saw a Marlin breaching the surface in pursuit of some little fish. It was the first time I’d seen Marlin in Egypt.

The last days diving always comes round far too quickly and it was off to Tiran again, this time with a small group which is always more relaxing. Conditions at Tiran were too rough to consider going in search of Hammerheads so we started with a dive on Gordon reef and almost immediately came across a massive Feathertail Ray which was best part of 2m in length. We briefly watched the ray before continuing with the drift dive where we found some Garden Eels. These little creatures bury themselves in the sand and come out when it is safe. From a distance, they look like some sort of plant growing from the sea bed but if you get too close, they disappear back into the sand.

My final dive of the trip was again on the front of Jackson. My first success was finding the elusive Longnose Hawkfish hiding on a large Gorgonian fan at a depth of 25m. These shy little fish are white with a red grid pattern and they almost seem to jump around rather than swim. We continued into the fabulous coral gardens and it was here I found yet another first for me – an Undulate Moray which was swimming free. Jackson can get quite crowded with divers in addition to the lunatic snorkellers who, in my opinion, shouldn’t be anywhere near Tiran for their own safety. However, it was a quiet dive and we stayed down for 64 minutes before ending the dive and my own dive trip.

This was the 3rd time I’d been diving in Sharm in August and with the exception of Ras Mohammed, it was probably some of the best diving I’ve experienced in Sharm. I’d seen a number of creatures for the first time in Egypt:

Partner Shrimp & Gobys
Torpedo Ray
Hammerhead Sharks
Yellow Edged Moray
Longnose Hawkfish
Leopard Blenny
Feathertail Ray
Undulate Moray

Not to mention the more dubious firsts of being stung by Firecoral and have an O-Ring go underwater.

I’ve been fortunate to dive in many wonderful places in the world and Egypt is definitely up there with the best of them. Diving conditions are generally excellent, the weather is almost always sunny and the range of marine life across a large number of dive sites means there is always something new to see on your next dive.

For more information about day diving, courses and liveaboards in the Red Sea, please visit http://www.redseaexplorer.com/

Diving in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt

When A Crocodile Eats The Sun

In some parts of southern Africa, the locals believe a solar eclipse occurs when a crocodile eats the sun. It is said this celestial crocodile briefly devours our life giving star to show its displeasure at the actions of man. It is considered to be the very worst of omens.

Today, 1 Aug 2008, the world will experience a solar eclipse. The path will start in northern Canada and then continue through Greenland, central Russia, eastern Kazakhstan, western Mongolia, China and India. A partial eclipse will also be visible in eastern North America, most of Europe and Asia. London will experience a 12% eclipse. The next solar eclipse will be 22 Jul 2009.

The title of this blog and is taken from the excellent book by Peter Godwin who is a former Foreign Correspondent for The Sunday Times (London). It is the follow up to his first book, Mukiwa, which is an account of his time growing up as a white boy in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). His book, “A Crocodile Eats The Sun”, details the ebbings of his father’s life, set in the modern back-drop of Zimbabwe and his discovery of his fathers Polish-Jewish roots.

Living in the west, its very easy to dismiss such superstitions and beliefs of African tribes who believe in this such as “When A Crocodile Eats The Sun” but consider this. During the Battle of Isandlwana, the first battle of the Anglo-Zulu War in 1879, a 73% eclipse covered the battlefield. The terrible omen hovered over the battle that triggered the defeat of the Zulu army and it was not only the Zulus who suffered. The Anglo-Zulu war had been started against the wishes of Queen Victoria and it is said that it was a contributing factor to the defeat of Benjamin Disraeli’s government in the 1880 election.

The planet experiences a solar eclipse about once a year but it is usually decades before the same place experiences another eclipse so when you consider the Zulu superstition and combine it with the fact that the Isandlwana battlefield was darkened by a solar eclipse on 22 Jan 1879. From there, consider the consequences of the battle, it does make you start to wonder that maybe there is a bit more to these superstitions than we in the west are prepared to acknowledge.

For more information about visiting Isandlwana, please visit http://www.battlefields.explorertravel.co.uk/War_Zones/zulubattlefields.htm

When A Crocodile Eats The Sun

A Hard Winter In Store For Airlines

Love them or hate them, Irish budget airline Ryanair, run a very streamlined business which has meant they have been hugely successful. Earlier this week, they announced they would cutting a number of services from London Stansted by around 14% and as a result, operations at seven airports would cease.

Virtually all airlines ‘hedge’ the fuel purchases. In simple terms this means they agree a price with a supplier for several months supply. This means that fluctuations in the price of oil don’t instantly affect them so in turn, they can keep their air fares stable for a period of time. Not so long ago, a barrel of oil cost around $70 a barrel and many airlines have ‘hedged’ their purchases for this summer at around this figure. However, Ryanair do not hedge their fuel purchases and with oil hitting more than $140 a barrel, they are feeling the squeeze.

That said, there is no talk of Ryanair collapsing and they will survive. However, not all airlines are run as efficiently as Ryanair and eventually, their ‘hedged’ oil deals at around $70 a barrel will run out. After that, they will be paying the going rate so what will happen? The summer is generally a good time for airlines with passenger numbers higher than in the winter but once the sun starts to head south and autumn moves in, I believe some airlines will start to struggle.

Since December last year, we have seen nearly a dozen airlines go bust worldwide, many blaming the rising cost of oil. As their ‘hedged’ deals run out, their fuel costs will rise so it would suggest that more airlines are likely to run into trouble.

A Hard Winter In Store For Airlines