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WALKOUT CANCELLED FROM THURSDAY MORNING

A six-day walkout by French air controllers is planned for next week, beginning on Tuesday.

French unions have voted to strike in the midst of the summer getaway, in a move which is set to bring misery to thousands of British holidaymakers

Thousands of British holidaymakers face delays and cancellations to their journeys next week due to a strike by French air traffic controllers.

Members of France’s two biggest air traffic controllers’ unions will begin a six-day walkout on Tuesday in protest at budget cuts.

A similar strike last June caused the cancellation of hundreds of flights, with the number of movements through French airspace cut by 50 per cent, and a further wave of industrial action in January saw 20 per cent of short and medium-haul flights in and out of Paris grounded.

French officials warned passengers to expect “heavy disruption” to journeys between June 24 and 29, and said a minimum of 50 per cent of scheduled flights would be maintained.

Skyscanner, the flight comparison site, estimates there are 354 direct flights scheduled from UK airports to France during the strike period.

Read more here .. 

Seen on Ryanair website too.
Possible Air Traffic Control strike
Ryanair flight info

A decision taken by the government on June 6, to limit the commission charged to shops who accept payment by credit cards to a maximum of 0.3% has meant that credit cards companies will pass on any shortfall in income to credit card users.

Source: Costa Blanca News on Friday

Britons heading to Spain  on holiday have been warned to watch out for highway robbers targeting some of the most popular tourist routes.

Organised gangs are singling out foreign drivers heading for the coast and creating a distraction to steal passports, cash and computers.

As the summer holiday season gets under way, the Foreign Office has warned of a surge in the thefts.
It says most of the 612 emergency travel documents issued by British consulates in Spain this year followed motorway attacks and has released a video showing footage of robberies and some of the tactics used.

Gangs often flag victims down, indicating there is a problem with their car. 

While one robber gets out to distract the tourists, their unseen accomplice steals documents, money and valuables from the car before making a swift getaway.

While there have been isolated incidents in the past, officials say gangs are now operating routinely along the coast between Barcelona and Alicante, across Andalucia in the south and in the Madrid region.

Spanish police have had to deal with 126 British victims of distraction thefts on one motorway – the busy AP7 from the French border to Valencia – in the past two years. 

Another main highway where cars with GB number plates or rental stickers are being targeted is on roads from the northern ferry port of Santander to Madrid and further south to Spain’s popular beaches.

Pensioner Roy Moore, 69, and his wife Helen had the rear tyre of their Peugeot slashed with a knife when they stopped at a service station near Logrono en route to the Costa Calida in Murcia province.............

Read more: DailyMail
 

A friend of mine has recently started volunteering at HELP in the Torrevieja office. She was surprised at the amount of benefits available to members.

The Membership fee is:
Single Membership 
1 year 7 euros 
5 years 30 euros 
Life Membership 100 euros
 

Couple Membership
1 year 12 euros
5 years 45 euros
Life Membership 170 euros

The following benefits are available to members on the production of a current membership card:

Members Benefits and their qualifying periods:

The Next of Kin Scheme - No qualifying period
Free Nursing care on discharge from hospital - 6 months membership
Free Hospital sitting - 6 months membership
Free Interpreting Service - 3 months membership
Discount on orthopaedic equipment hire - 1 month membership
Free consultation (up to 30 minutes) for an assessment of your property or legal status - No qualifying period
Free health checks with Medcare Benijofar - No qualifying period
Discounts on Tours and day trips with Rosa Tours - No qualifying period
Discount on hairdressing of 10% AA coletto - No qualifying period

You can contact the office in Torrevieja on 965704282 for more information and details of any limits etc. 

It's open Monday to Friday 10 - 1:30pm as is the office in San Miguel too.  There is also a 24 hour emergency helpline on 966723733

La Marina Help Desk open 1st and 3rd Friday of the month. Calle Madrid 5, Urb La Marina tel 966443002

The Torrevieja office is just next to Queen Burger in Torrevieja. 

Torrevieja Centre
Rambla Juan Mateo Garcia 4,   Torrevieja 03181, Alicante
​Telephone: 965 704 282 (24 Hr.)
www.helpvegabaja.com
 
​San Miguel Centre:
Calle Lope de Vega 45, San Miguel de Salinas 03193, Alicante
​Telephone: 966 723 733
E-mail office@helpvegabaja.com

Website http://www.helpvegabaja.com/index.htm

Families face the threat of not being able to go on holiday as an overwhelmed Passport Office struggles to issue travel documents in time.

Up to 500,000 may not get their documents before their planned departure date as the under-staffed department struggles to deal with the annual surge in applications.

Labour and Tory MPs have warned that the service is in turmoil and say they have had hundreds of complaints from constituents about delays.

Making changes to passports or issuing new documents should be done within three to four weeks, but travellers are complaining it is taking twice as long.

Some have been advised to pay up to £55.50 extra each to get passports fast-tracked, which should guarantee they arrive  on time. 

In a bid to manage the crisis, a quarter of staff employed to detect fraudulent paperwork have been transferred to help process the thousands of delayed applications. 

But Labour’s immigration spokesman David Hanson has warned that reducing the size of fraud teams is a ‘real worry to the integrity and security of the passport system’.

Mr Hanson said Labour MPs had been inundated with more than 400 complaints in the past six weeks from constituents struggling to get passports in time for holidays and trips abroad.

The Passport Office, part of the Home Office, has received around 300,000 more applications since January than in the same period last year and has blamed the surge on ‘the improving economy and a rise in holiday bookings’.

Read more in  Daily Mail

Changed rules from July 1 2014

What will be changing?

From July 1 2014 you will no longer be able to apply for a residual S1 (formerly residual E106) under which you could currently be entitled to up to 30 months of UK-funded healthcare if you retire early to another EEA country.

What does this mean for me?

Before moving to live abroad, it is important that you check how the healthcare system works in that country and what your entitlement will be if you intend not to work, as this varies from country to country. This means that you will have to access that country’s health system under their rules.

If you are moving abroad on a permanent basis, you will no longer be entitled to medical treatment in the UK under normal NHS rules. This is because the NHS is a residence-based healthcare system. Most people will also not be entitled to use a UK-issued EHIC card to access healthcare abroad.

What if I already have a residual S1?

If you already have a residual S1 this will not affect you – it will continue to be valid until its original expiry date.
What about state pensioners?

If you are a UK state pensioner this will not affect you – S1 forms will still be issued to state pensioners.

Where can I get advice?

For further advice, contact the Overseas Healthcare Team (DWP):
Overseas Healthcare Team
Room MO601, Durham House
Washington 
Tyne & Wear
NE38 7SF
Phone 0191 218 1999 (Monday to Friday 8am–5pm).

Source: NHS 

PRIME Minister Mariano Rajoy has this morning announced that King Juan Carlos has decided to abdicate, passing on the crown to his son Prince Felipe.

Sr Rajoy has stated that the King himself will explain the reason in a public statement later today.

More added here at 14:00 hrs