Belgium lodges case against Ryanair

BRUSSELS, 6 October 2017: Belgium said Wednesday it intends to take Ryanair to court, accusing the low-cost airline of illegally punishing customers hit by thousands of flight cancellations.

The Dublin-based airline has “shown a lack of professionalism”, Belgian Deputy Prime Minister Kris Peeters, who handles the consumer affairs portfolio, said in a statement.

Ryanair has been plagued by a pilot shortage that has led it to axe thousands of flights in Europe — and has now extended the wave of cancellations into early 2018. Read more

Mischief maker swaps bag tags

SINGAPORE, 22 September 2017: A Singaporean baggage handler has been charged with “mischief” for allegedly swapping tags on hundreds of suitcases at the city-state’s airport, causing them to end up at the wrong destination.

Tay Boon Keh, 63, could be jailed if found guilty of having swapped the tags on 286 bags at Changi Airport, one of the world’s busiest hubs and often voted the world’s best airport.

Tay, who appeared in court Tuesday, is facing 286 counts of mischief. Read more

Trump ban gains partial reprieve

WASHINGTON, 28 June 2017: The US Supreme Court on Monday partially reinstated Donald Trump’s controversial travel ban targeting citizens from six predominantly Muslim countries, prompting the president to claim a victory for national security.

The nine justices, who will hear arguments in the case in October, said the ban could now be enforced for travelers from the targeted countries “who lack any bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States.”

The court tempered its ruling by saying the ban could not be implemented against people who have personal links to the US, citing the examples of foreign nationals wishing to visit family or students accepted to attend university. Read more

Trump tries again on travel ban

WASHINGTON, 5 June 2017: President Donald Trump’s administration asked the US Supreme Court late last week to reinstate its temporary ban on travellers from six Muslim majority nations despite repeated setbacks in the lower courts.

In its filing, the government asked the top US court to rule on the legal standing of Trump’s order, appealing a ruling by the federal Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals that upheld a nationwide block of the travel ban.

It also asked the Supreme Court to lift another US-wide injunction issued by a federal judge in a separate case based in Hawaii. That case is currently before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, where a decision is pending. Read more

Booking.com rebuffs block

BANGKOK, 4 April 2017: Booking.com is filing an appeal against a Turkish court injunction that blocked the popular travel website in Turkey.

In a statement to TTR Weekly, Monday, Booking.com said the court blocked the site’s domestic bookings in Turkey.

“We disagree with the injunction and are in the process of filing an appeal. However, Booking.com always abides by local law,” the statement read. Read more

Turkey block Booking.com

ANKARA, 30 March 2017: A Turkish commercial court has ordered the blocking of travel website Booking.com, Wednesday, over alleged unfair competition its hotel and flight reservations platform may pose to local firms.

Legal action was initiated by the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies known as Tursab.

“The decision has been taken to halt the unfair competition activities of Booking.com in a case brought by Tursab,” the association said in a statement on its website. Read more

Trump ban back in court

LOS ANGELES, 13 March 2017: President Donald Trump’s revised travel ban faced mounting new legal challenges at the weekend as the state of Washington, along with several other states, vowed to block the executive order.

The announcement came one day after Hawaii filed the first suit challenging the controversial new directive, which temporarily closes US borders to all refugees and citizens from six mainly-Muslim countries.

Washington’s Attorney General Bob Ferguson, whose state was the first to sue over Trump’s initial travel ban that created airport chaos worldwide and was eventually blocked, said at least three other states — Minnesota, New York and Oregon — are expected to join in the new legal battle. Read more

Backpackers’ killers lose appeal

BANGKOK, 2 March 2017: Two Myanmar men convicted of killing two British backpackers on a Thai holiday island have lost their appeal against the death sentence, a prosecutor said Wednesday, a ruling made without their defence lawyers present.

Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Tun were found guilty of killing David Miller, 24, and the rape and murder of Hannah Witheridge, 23, whose battered bodies were found on a beach on the southern diving resort of Koh Tao in September 2014.

Prosecutors insisted the evidence against the migrant workers was rock solid. Read more

Court hands down hefty fines

SINGAPORE, 17 November 2016: Singapore’s State Court handed down convictions, 9 November, against a travel firm and an individual for contravening the country’s strict travel agency act.

Singapore Tourism Board confirmed that Too Chon Seng and Travel GSH Pte Ltd were both convicted in the State Court.

Too Chon Seng (Too) was found guilty of carrying on the business of a travel agent without a valid travel agent licence. Read more

Bali court tries child sex offender

DENPASAR, 1 July 2016: An Australian went on trial on Thursday accused of molesting dozens of Indonesian children on the popular resort island of Bali.

Prosecutors have accused Melbourne-born Robert Andrew Fiddes Ellis of molesting 24 children since 2014.

The 69-year-old allegedly lured children to his house by offering them gifts and money, before touching them inappropriately while bathing them. Read more