Holiday

Holiday operator says market in good shape, with strong recent recovery in bookings across all destinations as customers take the plungeBusiness live – latest updatesSummer holiday bookings have bounced back recently after the fragile ceasefire in the Middle East, the package holiday operator Jet2 has said.The company, which flies about 20 million people every year, said its summer bookings are up by 7.1% compared with this time last year and the average load factor – which measures its available seating capacity filled with paying passengers – is up 1.2 percentage points. Continue reading...

• The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Nasdaq are closed on July 3, 2026, suspending all regular trading sessions for US stocks, ETFs, and major indices like the S&P 500. • This market closure is part of a long weekend holiday schedule, halting activity for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite. • Upon reopening, investors will focus on upcoming US economic data, Federal Reserve signals, and the potential recovery of AI and semiconductor stocks.

• Americans are seeking clarification on whether banks, the USPS, FedEx, and stock markets are operational on Friday, July 3. • The inquiry stems from the proximity of the date to the Independence Day holiday, which typically affects business hours and federal services. • Determining these schedules is critical for individuals and businesses needing to complete financial transactions or ship packages before the holiday weekend.

• The NYSE and Nasdaq will be closed on Friday, July 3, 2026, in observance of the Independence Day holiday. • Because July 4 falls on a Saturday, the federal government and financial markets have shifted the holiday observance to the preceding Friday. • This closure creates a three-day weekend for Wall Street, with normal trading operations scheduled to resume on Monday, July 6.

Reports of ‘stampede’ for stays near water amid concerns over cancelled flights, higher air fares and EU border delaysSummer bookings at Britain’s hotels and holiday parks have jumped, compared with last year, as fears about flight cancellations and long delays at EU borders have prompted many UK holidaymakers to stay closer to home this year.There has been a surge in last-minute bookings for UK holidays amid warnings that airlines will have to raise their fares because of higher jet fuel bills that have resulted from the war in the Middle East. Continue reading...

Airlines and airports say passengers are struggling in queues of up to five hours for biometric checksAirlines and airports have called for the new EU biometric border check system to be suspended during the peak summer holiday period, warning that some flights are leaving half full and passengers are struggling in queues of up to five hours.In a letter to Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, airlines and airports asked for an option to suspend checks under the system over fears the situation will get much worse during the busy summer season. Continue reading...

Ten years on, leaving the EU has made life more difficult and costly – here are some of the ways we’ve lost outIt is 10 years since voters in the UK chose to leave the EU, and our wallets have been feeling the effects ever since.From paying more to take the dog on holidays in France – and making calls while you are there – to higher grocery bills and the headache of filling in customs forms for parcels, Brexit has made many simple tasks more complicated and expensive. Continue reading...