Divers

🌡 In Greece, authorities closed the Acropolis on Wednesday due to temperatures exceeding 40 degrees. The closure lasted from 12 PM to 5 PM. This is the second instance of closure after a similar event in June, marking nine consecutive days of extreme heat in Athens. The Acropolis, home to the Parthenon, is Athens' top tourist attraction, drawing up to 4 million visitors last year.

🚀 On a recent Friday, an American Airlines flight from Miami landed at San Francisco Airport. Passengers were evacuating an Airbus A321 due to an overheated computer emitting smoke. Chaos ensued as some passengers, disregarding instructions, took their carry-on luggage, delaying the evacuation. This incident on July 13, 2024, highlights the growing risks of electronic devices on flights and passengers prioritizing capturing the event on video over safety protocols.

💶 In an incident over Spanish airspace, a Ryanair Boeing 737 flying from Milan to Marrakech diverted to Málaga-Costa del Sol Airport due to an onboard fight involving a "highly conflictive passenger." Upon crew request, air traffic controllers facilitated "continuous descent and direct approach with priority to runway 12" while coordinating with the airport for police presence.

✈ Finnair, seeking precise weight data, recently trialed weighing passengers and hand luggage to optimize aircraft balance calculations, crucial for stability during takeoff and landing. Weight distribution affects the center of gravity (COG), impacting thrust and takeoff speed, with adjustments needed for passenger, baggage, and fuel weight. Crew may insist passengers stay in assigned seats, especially during landing, to prevent COG shifts that could complicate operations.

🚀 Latam Brazil's Boeing 777 experienced a severe "tail strike" on July 9 while taking off from Milan airport. Security cameras recorded the tail scraping the runway for several meters, creating dust and smoke and causing serious damage. The aircraft ascended to 5,000 feet post-takeoff, assessed for damage, and returned to Milan over an hour later after burning off fuel; the flight was canceled.

✈ Russian private airline S7 to permanently retire its 28 Airbus A320 due to lack of spare parts, impacting air travel as passenger numbers are expected to drop from 105 million in 2023 to around 98 million in 2024. S7 to also cut flights by 15% this winter. Additionally, state-owned Aeroflot faces a staffing crisis with 1,500 employees leaving due to poor relations and excessive work demands, exacerbating air travel difficulties in Russia.

💰 Booking.com announced the removal of price parity clauses in the EU, causing uncertainty in the hotel industry. On May 13, the EU designated Booking as a "gatekeeper" under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), influencing Booking to eliminate price parity clauses that limited hotels' ability to offer lower prices elsewhere. Booking will not explicitly penalize hotels with price disparities but will reduce their visibility, effectively penalizing them indirectly. In 2023, Booking invested nearly $7 billion in marketing, underscoring their significant financial commitment to attracting customers. The OTA's algorithm rewards hotels that maintain price parity with increased visibility and direct valuable customers to them. This persuasive algorithmic strategy aims to maintain Booking's market dominance without explicit retaliation against hotels with price disparities.

AirlineRatings.com a classé les 25 meilleures compagnies aériennes low cost pour 2024, incluant deux espagnoles, Volotea et Vueling, sur plus de 360 opérateurs en utilisant 12 critères et a élu EasyJet comme la meilleure en Europe. Les prix régionaux ont été remportés par Southwest (Amériques), FlyDubai (Moyen-Orient), AirAsia Group (Asie) et Jetstar Group (Australie/Pacifique). [[[POST_SCORE: 0]]]

Madrid se presente comme une ville riche en expériences culturelles avec ses nombreux musées et espaces culturels, comme le Museo del Prado, le Thyssen-Bornemisza, le Reina Sofía et la Fundación María Cristina Masaveu Peterson, offrant un large éventail d'art urbain. La capitale espagnole est également dotée de palais historiques, de grands espaces verts comme la Casa de Campo, de marchés comme El Rastro et de terrasses sur les toits offrant des vues uniques, invitant à la redécouverte à travers des visites multiples. [[[POST_SCORE: 0]]]

Environ 10 000 personnes ont manifesté samedi à Palma, organisées par Banc del Temps de Sencelles, pour protester contre la masification touristique à Mallorca et réclamer un logement digne, en raison des prix abusifs et de l'impact du tourisme de masse sur la qualité de vie des résidents. La manifestation a débuté au Parque de las Estaciones et s'est terminée par la lecture d'un manifeste au Paseo del Borne. [[[POST_SCORE: 8]]]