The (Airports Council International (ACI) has just disclosed preliminary figures linked to passenger traffic in 2003 and put out the list of the thirty busiest airports in the world.
The ACI embraces airport authorities in over 1,500 airports and terminals from 169 countries.
Air Madrid, the brand-new Spanish air carrier, got its license today to start operations as an airline. The announcement was made by Javier Castillo, director-general of Alada Travel Agency from the Air Madrid Group. Javier Taibo will be at the helm of the new air company. Air Madrid´s maiden flight is scheduled on May 30 between the Barajas International Airport in the Spanish capital and Costa Rica´s San Jose. The second flight will come a day later all the way to Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic, plus another trip to Brazil´s Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday, June 1, and two others scheduled for Bogota and Cartagena de Indias, both in Colombia.
Mexico’s culture is rapidly becoming an additional allure for European travelers who seek to know new things about that country other than top-notch sun-and-sand destinations, said Manuel Diaz Cebrian, a promoter of Mexico’s tourism in the Old World.
Today, British tourists are Europe’s top travelers to Mexico with an average of 300,000 vacationers every year, followed by 280,000 Germans and 260,000 Italians, according to official stats.
British charter carrier Excel Airways will start flying from London’s Gatwick Airport to Cuba as soon as July 16 with weekly stops in Varadero and Santiago de Cuba. The route will be covered by a 280-seat Boeing 767-300 jetliner.
The flight will be run by British tour operator Travel Box Direct in a joint effort with City Choice International. For its part, local company Cubatur will provide all receptive services on the island, especially through specialized tourism, congress, conventions and incentive travel packages.
Cuba´s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Felipe Perez Roque, made the announcement yesterday in a press conference to inform about preparations underway for the upcoming Third Conference on Nation and Migration scheduled from May 21 through 23 in Havana. Mr. Roque said the meeting lays bare that open dialogue with Cuban migrants is irreversible as the topics are broached in a mature and responsible manner. The conference will take place weeks after U.S. President George W. Bush imposed a series of measures to further hamper relations between Cuban-Americans and their relatives on the island.
Sitting in for Eric Bourdales as general manager of the Meliá Cohiba Hotel in Havana, the Spanish company’s front office has appointed Rodrigo Silveyra for that position. Mr. Silveyra was serving as general manager of the Paradisus Rio de Oro, also in Cuba.