Happy New Year to all our readers! Before we move on to this year’s news, here’s a round up of some of the biggest stories we covered on this blog in 2011, it certainly was an eventful year!

January started with the troubled BMI threatening to withdraw its Heathrow – Glasgow route after passenger charges at Heathrow were raised (this was confirmed a month later). Ryanair returned to Manchester with four new routes. And the political troubles in Egypt disrupted flights.

Spiraling conflict in Egypt caused complete cancellation of routes to popular holiday destinations in February. Meanwhile, Which? launched a super complaint on airline card fee charges,the cost of Qantas’ engine troubles were revealed, and airlines flying from the UK finally started to show clearer air fares.

March brought faster flight times under a deal signed by traffic controllers. But by far the biggest news of the month was the huge tsunami which hit Japan and led to re-routing of flights to avoid possible radiation risk, and advice to leave Tokyo.

A Skyscanner survey found Spain back in favour for British holidaymakers in April.

In May Belfast Airport started to charge for going for a cigarette break, and the ongoing battle between Unite and British Airways was finally settled!

More natural disasters happened in June with violent aftershocks in Christchurch, New Zealand and volcanic eruptions in Chile.

The News of the World phone-hacking scandal broke in July with airlines withdrawing their advertisements as a result.

In August research revealed the use of smartphones were ruining people’s holidays.

The Rugby World Cup was held in New Zealand in September, where Wales’ hopes were dashed.

The first biofuel passenger flight took place in October, however green campaigners claimed it wasn’t as environmentally friendly as everyone thought.

Europe announced a ban on body scanners at airports in November, but the UK decided to go against the decision.

Finally, December saw 150mph winds hit parts of Scotland, which is where we are now at the start of 2012 as tremendous winds continue to batter the UK once more.

So, what travel news is in store for 2012? Keep up to date here!

A 24 hour general strike in Greece today has forced airlines to cancel flights to and from the country.

British Airways has cancelled seven flights between London Heathrow and Athens. Passengers can either cancel with a full refund or rebook for another time. BA’s London Gatwick and Thessalonika flights will operate but with lengthy delays.

Ryanair has cancelled its flights between Liverpool and Kos but it will offer additional services tomorrow.

EasyJet has also cancelled flights between Gatwick, Manchester and Liverpool to Greece and is offering passengers a choice of a refund or a free transfer to other services. It is warning that flights overnight will be delayed.

Prepare for delays when travelling by air, sea and through the channel tunnel from 6pm tonight and throughout tomorrow as the majority of UK Border Agency staff join in on the public sector walk out.

Airlines have received a letter from the Agency advising that their passengers should “travel on an alternative day” to avoid the disruption. 70% of UKBA staff are members of the striking Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), so travel will also be disrupted through UK sea ports and the channel tunnel.

There are some questions over the country’s security during the walk out as some have suggested that back office staff and managers will struggle during the strike.

The strike starts this evening and continues until midnight on Thursday. It has been organised by four unions protesting about public sector pension reform. Teachers will also strike which will mean childcare issues for millions of working parents tomorrow.

The UK is not the only place struggling to deal with strikes, Greek air traffic controllers are currently on a 48-hour strike, and Parisian taxi drivers are also on strike which will affect transfer times for passengers arriving in the city.

Easyjet has advised passengers of disruption to flights in and out of Greece, Ryanair has already cancelled a flight to the country today, and British Airways has re-scheduled two flights to Athens from London today.

Ryanair and easyJet, the big two no-frills airlines, have become increasingly dominant in the UK low-cost flights market, with many smaller players either cutting back or squeezed out entirely. That has led to fears that reduced competition could eventually lead to much higher fares.

So it’s good to hear that Bmibaby, now owned by Lufthansa, has announced seven new holiday destinations as part of its summer 2012 schedule. The additional routes are from Birmingham to Barcelona, Lisbon and Rome (Fiumicino), and from East Midlands to Corfu, Gibraltar, Murcia and Naples.

Bmibaby is increasingly focusing on the Midlands, with the new routes bringing the airline’s tally of destinations served to 31 from East Midlands and 14 from Birmingham. The new flights will start in April 2012.

A similar strategy of regional specialisation has seen healthy growth from Jet2, which concentraties on the North of England. Exeter-based Flybe, on the other hand, has carved out a different niche by using its fleet of smaller planes to serve routes between regional airports with insufficient traffic to fill the larger jets used by the big two.

Yesterday ferry services were suspended from the ports of Piraeus, Lavrio and Rafina in Greece because of continued snow storms. Many roads were also closed in the capital and a handful of islands lost power.

Today, schools were closed and residents told to stay home where possible, but despite the continued snowfall there was a limited service from Piraeus. The islands of Skiathos, Skopelos, Alonissus, Andros and Tinos are still experiencing severe power failures that could take until Friday to restore.

A planned public services strike set for today was cancelled to help tackle the situation.

Flights however are operating as normal out of Athens International Airport.

While the UK has been enjoying bright sunshine this start of March, Greece is facing snow storms that have halted ferry services and blocked roads . According to a BBC report, Greeks have been warned to make only vital journeys as the severe weather continues.

Some drivers had to endure traffic jams of up to nine miles overnight near Athens.

The snow and gale force winds struck late yesterday, there have been power cuts on a number of the islands, in Athens and in other parts of the mainland. The snow that closed down the road at Malakasa was comparatively light and Transport Minister Dimitris Reppas accused the consortium that manages it, Nea Odos, of failing to do its job properly.

The ports of Piraeus, Lavrio and Rafina are closed, but the Athens Airport website show that flights are currently operating as normal.

The cold weather is expected continue into tomorrow, with overnight temperatures in Athens due to dip just below zero.

The UK might be having trouble with its deficit and strikes but Greece is really suffering with a 24 hour general strike  today. Flights to and from the country have been cancelled as air traffic controllers said no planes would be allowed to take off or land for the duration of the strike. Ferries operating into Piraeus have also stopped running.

Unions from the public and private sector across Greece are staging the strike in response to government austerity measures. It also coincides with the Greek government’s discussions this week on how to get the country out of its huge debt. It has already received a €110 billion bailout from the EU and the IMF.

Astonishingly, nine out of every ten Brits holidaying in Spain this year will have got there on a no-frills airline like easyjet or Ryanair. The percentage for most other European destinations isn’t far behind. And with the budget airlines’ charge for checking in a suitcase ever rising, an increasing number of holidaymakers are taking just what will fit into a cabin bag with maximum dimensions of 55x40x20cm. Ryanair also imposes a 10kg weight limit whereas easyJet allows any weight ‘within reason’.

Ryanair has been especially tough on slightly oversize bags, sometimes creating lengthy departure gate queues as passengers with a cabin bag bulging beyond the max argue with staff then desperately extract enough to slim the bag.

If no-one has yet coined the phrase cabin bag anxiety, it’s time they did. But what the extortionate bag check-in charges do mean is that it’s worth investing in a cabin bag that makes the most of what you’re allowed. Luggage specialist Antler has come up a bag specifically designed for that purpose. It claims the Duolite is the lightest, most durable case it has ever produced. Combining a hybrid ABS and nylon material with a frameless construction, the Duolite is super lightweight, with the cabin case weighing in at just 2.1kg. With dimensions of 55x35x20, it meets most airlines’ cabin bag size limits (but always check before flying).

A weight of 2.1kg probably doesn’t mean much to most people, but we’ve been trying one out and the first thing everyone says is, “Isn’t it light?” The second is that  it nevertheless feels well made and strong in a high-tech sort of way, and the third is that it wheels along very easily. So although it has a recommended retail price of £89 (the lowest discounted price we saw online was £84), that could be a worthwhile investment. Our only reservation is that its width of 35cm is actually 5cm, or a couple of inches, less than most airlines allow, so you aren’t quite maximising the allowance. Having said that, the structure of the case intrudes very little into the internal space, which can also be expanded slightly by undoing a zip-fastened gusset extension to give a depth of 23cm if the airline isn’t being too strict. The bag has one zipped external pocket, and comes complete with a TSA padlock (which can be opened by security staff without having to break into the case).

For those trips where a cabin bag just isn’t enough, Antler does two matching suitcases of similar construction. The medium case (67x44x30/33cm) weighs 2.5kg, with a rrp of £105 and the large (74x49x33/36cm) weighs 2.9kg with a rrp of £109. With excess baggage charges of up to £40 per kilo, the two kilos or so saved compared with a typical case could almost pay for these cases, which all come with a 10-year warranty. Further details and stockists at www.antler.co.uk

A further 24 hour general strike against cost cutting reforms in Greece last night left many tourists stranded at ferry ports and some flights were cancelled.

The tourism industry is up in arms as a strike conducted last week in Piraeus was declared illegal yet the government had not acted on the court order.

At the time of writing I cannot find any information on whether the promise by Greek tourism and culture minister Pavlos Geroulanos that tourists affected by strikes would be helped/compensated. He had said at a conference in Athens: “We are guaranteeing to pay any extra room and board for any visitor in Greece even if stuck here because of a volcano in Iceland.”

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If you are stranded in Greece or have been affected by the strikes, please leave a comment about your experience and whether you have received any help from the Greek government with regards to extra board during the time.

In an attempt to turn around debt-ridden Greece’s fortunes since striking and rioting broke out following deep spending cuts, Greek tourism and culture minister Pavlos Geroulanos said that the country would cover the costs incurred by tourists stranded there either by the strikes or ash cloud.

He told a new conference in Athens : “We are guaranteeing to pay any extra room and board for any visitor in Greece even if stuck here because of a volcano in Iceland.”

The country has been experiencing a major debt crisis and only avoided going bankrupt by using the first installment of an E110 billion EU and IMF bail-out; however, in order to get that money the government has had to make gargantuan cuts which have enraged the capital’s civil service whose pay and pensions have been affected. Strikes at airports, ferry ports and rail stations came shortly afterwards which meant that public transport ground to a halt.

One in five jobs in Greece is connected to tourism and the situation has seriously affected the numbers of visitors coming to Greece. Despite this, Geroulanos told the press conference that tourism was starting to pick up.

“The numbers are not really as gloomy as they were with the first cancellations. Some destinations have suffered greatly due to the crisis, but others are doing better than before.” He said.

I’d be interested to know whether readers of this blog have been affected by the strikes in Greece, if you’ve been put off booking a holiday there this summer, and if the news that Greece will foot the bill if you are affected by strikes or ash cloud will change your mind?