US airspace expanded for holiday period

It has been announced that airspace in the United States is to be expanded to reduce delays and congestion over the forthcoming Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday periods.

In a speech to the Department of Transportation, US president George Bush confirmed that military airspace in the country's mid-west, south-west and west coast regions would be opened up for use by commercial airlines.

The initiative is an extension of a similar strategy that was used during the peak travel period at the end of 2007.

Mr Bush said that the likelihood of delays and the possibility of lost baggage and overbooking of flights has made people "nervous" about travelling in America during the holiday season.

"They're saying, 'Will travelling home for the holidays be 'It's A Wonderful Life', or will it be 'The Nightmare Before Christmas'?'" the president said.

"We innovated last year to ease the travel; it worked, and now we're expanding that innovation this year."

Mr Bush also confirmed that more staff would be made available to the Federal Aviation Administration and the Transportation Security Administration to help travellers deal with delays, cancellations and other problems.

• Less than a week until Esta launch
• 'Spectacular events' in Italy
• Europe 'to remain popular for skiing holidays'
• US connecting flights proving popular at Bristol Airport
• Record year for London City Airport
• Virgin Atlantic to celebrate 25th year
• Long haul trips 'offer best value this year'
• Budget travellers offered holiday guide
• Record passenger growth for Etihad in 2008
• Spain top for Scots in 2009