The latest need to know travel news

Cautious optimism in the UK
On Monday, the UK entered the next phase of lockdown easing. The government also announced the Moderna vaccine would be rolled out across the UK in April, with 17 million doses hopefully helping to avoid delays in the vaccination of under 50s. Travel wise, the UK’s global travel taskforce is due to present a report to the Prime Minister on the 12th of April, which will inform plans for the return of safe travel. The decision on when international travel can resume will be dependent on the following (official sounding language Governments own):

• The global and domestic epidemiological picture
• The prevalence and location of any ‘variants of concern
• The progress of vaccine rollouts here and abroad
• What more the government has learned about the efficacy of vaccines on variants, and the impact on transmission, hospitalisation and deaths

Big fines for unapproved travel
Despite the positive vaccine news, travel restrictions are still extremely strict in the UK. Under the current plan, the earliest date people in England could go abroad for a holiday would be 17 May. And now, if you were to try and travel abroad before then without good reason, you could face a £5,000 fine. Some of the reasons you might be able to travel include: work, education, volunteering and medical or compassionate reasons. But you’ll need to complete a travel declaration form before going anywhere.

European countries ramp up vaccine programme 
Germany and France are tightening restrictions after increases in infections in certain areas. While politicians in England are discussing whether to add France to the ‘red list’ which would mean mandatory hotel quarantine for anyone travelling to the UK. But vaccination efforts are also growing, with France announcing almost 400,000 on Friday 26 March alone, with a drive to start vaccinating people aged 70-75 beginning on Saturday. Meanwhile in Germany, about 10% of adults have now had a first dose of vaccine.

Dominica is latest Very Nice Place to offer extended work visas

Denis Burdin | Dreamstime.com

The world of work is changing. A lot of people who previously worked in offices won’t be back five days a week. One recent survey found that 82% of companies plan to offer remote work at least part-time after the pandemic.

Then there are the businesses ditching the office entirely. And it’s not just the tech companies, either. UK building society, Nationwide, recently announced its 13,000 staff can now ‘work anywhere’ albeit in the UK. Point being even big companies are making some positive changes in the way they work.  

So with that word ‘anywhere’ ringing in our ears, we’re excited to announce a number of very desirable countries have announced extended working visas in a bid to entice a new generation of nomadic workers. And right at the very top of our list is the Caribbean island of Dominica...

Earth’s ultimate office?

Sorin Colac | Dreamstime.com

Nestled between St Lucia and Montserrat, Dominica is a mountainous, rainforest-covered beauty that more than earns its nickname of Nature Island. At just 30 miles long, and 18 miles wide, it’s plenty big for adventures, but small enough that you can really get to know it. And did we mention the beaches on the 90-odd miles of coastline? Anyway, they really want you to come and check your emails in the warm Caribbean sun.

Tropical logistics
The island’s ‘Work in Nature’ programme is open to solo travellers, families and even group applications from single companies (wink wink, Jack). The 18-month live/work visa also includes a waiver on income tax, the option to apply for a temporary driver's licence and free travel on the island for the duration of your stay. Some pretty decent sweeteners right there.

Dominica is English speaking, with great infrastructure and high-speed internet, so you can get up and running pretty quick. Accommodation wise, we saw 3-bed apartments for a not-unreasonable $1000 dollars a month if you can find some friends to split with. Perhaps unsurprisingly, prices increase as you get closer to the sea.

The shorefront in Roseau, Dominica’s capital. Irishka777 | Dreamstime.com

Timing is everything
Depending on your work situation – whether you’re freelance, or working full-time for a company etc – one of the biggest things you’ll have to take into account is timezones. Dominica’s on Atlantic Standard Time, so four hours behind the UK. Easier to work with than Australia, but not as simple as Europe.

Applications for the programme cost $100 (£72), and an individual Visa is $800 (£580). One thing to note is there’s an expectation you’ll earn around $50,000 (£36,000) or more per year, or you have the means to support yourself. So if you have those means, it’s tough to think of a better place to have a passive-aggressive chat with colleagues.

Where else can you work?
If Dominica isn’t to your taste (which is weird), plenty of other countries are looking to entice you and your laptop, too. The Caribbean has gone hard on this, with Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Bermuda and the Cayman Islands all offering extended work visas. Tulum in Mexico has a growing digital nomad community, as does Costa Rica. Closer to Europe, Norway and Iceland have 12-month visas available, while Georgia and Estonia offer an arguably more budget-friendly but no less beautiful option thanks to a lower cost of living. So you have plenty of options to choose from if you’re in a position to make it work. And if not, you’d best start drafting that email to your boss. 

New museums and galleries to visit when the world opens

Bourse de Commerce, Paris

Museums and galleries are a vital part of travel and tourism. The British Museum attracted about 5.9 million visitors between April 2019 and March 2020. So when a new one opens it’s a big deal, and, Covid willing, we’re adding a bunch more around the world to the must-see list…

Victoria and Albert Museum, London
The V&A Museum in London sits on 12 acres of land and has 9 miles of gallery space. It is absolutely massive. But just like everywhere else, when the UK went into lockdown last year, it shut its doors.

With the majority of staff sent home, it was up to the museum’s security to keep an eye on things, including the preservation of the artefacts by changing batteries on atmospheric sensors and keeping an eye out for art eating rodents. Then there was the threat of art thieves. The V&A security team used social media to remind any opportunists they were very much present after thieves used a sledgehammer to break into an empty Dutch museum to steal a £5 million Van Gogh.


Bourse de Commerce, Paris
Housed in a spectacular domed former stock exchange, the Bourse de Commerce will be home to 5000 pieces from the collection of billionaire French businessman, Francois Pinault. Having previously renovated two museums and a theatre in Venice, Pinault is definitely a safe pair of hands to marshall the €100m Bouse project. It’s unclear what exactly will be in the gallery, but Pinault’s collection is heavy on the contemporary modern with pieces Louise Bourgeois, Jeff Koons, and Cindy Sherman.
When does it open: TBC, but this year hopefully

Head over to the blog for the full list >

The secret language of the air

Every workplace has its own set of internal codes and slang. If you’re on the London Underground, for example, and hear a call for ‘Inspector Sands’ over the tannoy, it means there’s an emergency and they don’t want to panic the public. Which neatly illustrates why you need to keep some codes under wraps otherwise they don’t work.

And the aviation industry is no different. In fact, it’s probably got more codes than most (excluding the military). So how well do you know your airline language? Have a look at the list below and see if you can pick the real slang from the ones we made up. Answers at the bottom underneath click-worthy. 

Deadhead
Sounds rude, actually fine. ‘Deadheads’ are off-duty pilots or members of the cabin crew hitching a ride home or to another airport.

Blue lagoon
The thankfully rare situation when an aeroplane’s toilet malfunctions and backs-up meaning it needs to be taken out of action for the rest of the flight.

Zulu time
To avoid confusion when zipping between time zones, all pilots and airlines operate at the same time when in the air, Zulu time. Known officially as UTC (Coordinated Universal Time), Zulu time is essentially an aviation specific version of Greenwich Mean Time.

George is flying the plane
Just a cute name for the autopilot. Some say it’s after George DeBeeson, who patented an early autopilot. Others reckon it’s from the RAF in WWII when King George VI technically owned the planes.

Crowd-control measures
An alert shared between cabin crew when a large group of potentially over-refreshed (looking at you, stag dos) passengers board the plane.   

Pan-Pan
Not something us punters are likely to hear. Instead, this is the code pilots use when speaking to air traffic control in a just-before-panic-stations situation. It’s derived from the French panne, meaning breakdown.

Santa’s list
An informal list of passengers who appear to be naughty or nice. Depending on the list you land on, you might receive preferential treatment from cabin crew.

Starburst
This is what cabin crew call it when they start a food or drinks service from the middle of the plane and work up and down the aisles. 

The geek seat
A lightly mocking name for aeroplane enthusiasts who ask if they can sit in one of the cabin crew’s jump seats during a flight.

Self-loading cargo
Another one you probably won’t hear unless something’s gone wrong, this is a not so polite term for passengers. Replace with SLF (self-loading freight) if you’re in the States.

7500
This is actually a transponder code that’s only used in the event of a hijacking. You defo don't want to hear this one.

Your close animal encounters

Over on Facebook we asked JFC members what their best animal encounter was while travelling. Here’s what they had to say…

• “Hawksbill Turtle at Baros in the Maldives. Absolute magic & a life highlight - the extra aspect being I can't swim!! so this was thanks to a life jacket, calm water & a lovely instructor”
• “Maybe not the best, but my husband spent about 25 mins trying to get a photo of a duck-billed platypus in Oz. When the picture came out it was a giant Rat!!!”
• “Sheldrake Wildlife Trust in Nairobi was amazing! Everything about the place. Kenya in general, but the baby elephants with their formula milk will stay with me forever”
• “I chased a raccoon around Central Park I'd never seen a raccoon before”
• “Having our hire car attacked by a pride of lions in South Africa. They ripped off ½ the front bumper and left huge paw prints on the boot! Luckily we managed to secure the bumper back on before taking the car back. Couldn't get the teeth marks out of the plastic though!”
• “A wild boar in Turkey”
• “Feeding Rock Wallabies in Australia and getting up close to wild sloths in Costa Rica.”
• “Seeing a black bear near Jasper. Had the biggest grin for the rest of the day.”

Click worthy

All the other cool stuff from the web in clickable / shareable / stealable format. Nice.

• Hooray, we’ll all be living on Mars by *checks notes* 2100!
• What’s it really like to pilot one of the world’s biggest boats?
• Dolphins are swimming up the East River in New York
• The best adventure documentaries to watch right now
• Off-road roller skating looks super fun/dangerous
• Watch the evolution of movie car chases

Airline slang answers: Real - deadhead, Zulu time, George is flying the plane, pan-pan, starburst, self-loading cargo, 7500. Fake - blue lagoon, crowd control, Santa’s list, the geek seat.

Thanks for reading, Jack