A flight from Switzerland took off for Spain with a plane full of passengers – but left their bags behind.
Elsewhere, former world-champion tennis player Maria Sharapova has joined forces with Aman Resorts to co-create wellness retreats around the world, and parts of Emirates' first Airbus A380 are being recycled as luggage tags.
Here's a round-up of recent travel and tourism news – in case you missed it.
Emirates’ first Airbus A380 becomes baggage tags
The first Airbus A380 delivered to Emirates, in July 2008, is having its parts sold as luggage tags.
The series of tags, made from recycled aluminium from the dismantled aircraft, which flew under the registration A6-EDA, have been created by Aviationtag in partnership with Falcon Aircraft Recycling.
They're on sale on the Aviationtag website for €59.95 ($64) and are available in 62 versions, each depicting a different airport the superjumbo passed through, and divided in collections by continent. There are 380 tags per version and a total of 23,560.
The tags also come with certificates of authenticity from the Dubai airline, which retired the jet in April 2020.
Part of the profits made from the sales will be donated to the Emirates Airline Foundation, which supports disadvantaged children around the world.
Flight takes off with no bags on board
Passengers who disembarked a Swiss International Air Lines flight from Zurich to Bilbao reportedly waited two hours for their bags to appear on the airport's conveyor belt before they realised they weren't coming.
The plane had taken off from Switzerland with 111 passengers but without any checked suitcases on board. The airline said it was due to a lack of ground staff.
Following a delay, staff decided to fly without any baggage so they could return to Zurich before its airport closed for the night because of the strict night curfew, which runs between 11.30pm and 6am.
“It was possible to deliver most of the luggage to Bilbao the following day,” a representative for the airline told CNN. They added: “We deeply understand the frustration and anger of the passengers” and “are currently reviewing our processes”.
Sardinian village offers digital nomads rent-free accommodation
Ollolai, a village in central Sardinia, has launched a two-year scheme that allows remote workers to stay, one at a time, rent-free for three months. As with several other Italian towns, Ollolai has a dwindling population and an economy in need of a boost. In the past century, its number of residents has dropped from 2,250 to 1,300.
Participants will stay in houses formerly occupied by farmers and shepherds, which have been renovated to include an office and high-speed internet. Rent and municipal service taxes are covered by the municipality, although travellers do need to pay for their own transport and airfare.
They also need to have proven background as a digital nomad and share their knowledge with the local community, whether that be in the form of a conference, essay, research paper or documentary.
This week, Clarese Partis, 39, a software designer from Los Angeles, became the first digital nomad to take part in the programme. Anyone else wanting to participate must apply online before the end of the year.
Couples' retreat to run during AlUla Wellness Festival
AlUla Wellness Festival, which takes place in Saudi Arabia's ancient city of AlUla, returns for its third year next month with a line-up of activities and industry experts.
This includes a four-night couples' retreat guided by specialised therapists. The package includes one tent per couple, airport pickup and drop-off, daily meals, plus one romantic dinner in a canyon.
Partners can also participate in activities such as stargazing and a tour of Hegra, the largest conserved site of the Nabataeans south of Petra and the country's first Unesco World Heritage Site.
The festival runs from October 19 to November 4.
Maria Sharapova to co-create wellness retreats
Former world-champion tennis player Maria Sharapova has joined forces with Aman Resorts to co-create wellness retreats around the world, the first of which will take place at Amanpuri in Thailand.
The group's flagship property, which is located on a private peninsula on Phuket's west coast, will host guests for its three-night Performance and Recovery retreat in February 2024.
Sharapova will curate and mentor fellow athletes through a series of activities, dining experiences and question-and-answer sessions with experts she's worked with during her 20-year career.
She's also designed a half-day Strength and Recovery retreat for Aman New York, which is now available as an add-on for existing bookings.
Details of her other retreats are yet to be revealed.
Japan Airlines' clothes rental service goes global
Since launching in July, Japan Airlines's trial Any Wear, Anywhere service seems to be taking off, literally.
The airline says it has received requests from travellers in more than 100 countries to partake in the service, which allows them to book a set of clothes and receive it at their hotel upon arrival. Users in the US and Australia have reportedly had the highest uptake.
The service, which runs until the end of August next year, is designed to potentially cut carbon emissions by reducing the weight on the Japanese national airline's planes.
Users can log on to the project's website, choose from a few options – whether women's or men's clothing, seasonal varieties, smart or casual, tops and bottoms – and put in dates for pickup and drop-off. The clothes are either pre-owned or from company overstock.
Prices are between $34 and $48 for the whole rental period and, at the end of people's stays, the garments are returned, washed and reused.
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
The specs: 2018 Mercedes-Benz E 300 Cabriolet
Price, base / as tested: Dh275,250 / Dh328,465
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder
Power: 245hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm @ 1,300rpm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.0L / 100km
Origin
Dan Brown
Doubleday
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The Buckingham Murders
Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
Rating: 4 / 5
About Housecall
Date started: July 2020
Founders: Omar and Humaid Alzaabi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech
# of staff: 10
Funding to date: Self-funded
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
Company%C2%A0profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ETuhoon%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EYear%20started%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJune%202021%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECo-founders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFares%20Ghandour%2C%20Dr%20Naif%20Almutawa%2C%20Aymane%20Sennoussi%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERiyadh%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Ehealth%20care%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESize%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E15%20employees%2C%20%24250%2C000%20in%20revenue%0D%3Cbr%3EI%3Cstrong%3Envestment%20stage%3A%20s%3C%2Fstrong%3Eeed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EWamda%20Capital%2C%20Nuwa%20Capital%2C%20angel%20investors%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
On sale: Now
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Rusty%20Cundieff%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJosh%20Hutcherson%2C%20Morgan%20Freeman%2C%20Greg%20Germann%2C%20Lovie%20Simone%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2%2F5%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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Ruwais timeline
1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established
1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants
1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed
1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.
1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex
2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea
2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd
2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens
2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies
2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export
2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.
2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery
2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital
2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13
Source: The National
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Barbie
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One-off T20 International: UAE v Australia
When: Monday, October 22, 2pm start
Where: Abu Dhabi Cricket, Oval 1
Tickets: Admission is free
Australia squad: Aaron Finch (captain), Mitch Marsh, Alex Carey, Ashton Agar, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Chris Lynn, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, Darcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa, Peter Siddle
Dengue%20fever%20symptoms
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo
Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic
Power: 242bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Price: Dh136,814
SQUAD
Ali Khaseif, Fahad Al Dhanhani, Adel Al Hosani, Mohammed Al Shamsi, Bandar Al Ahbabi, Mohammed Barghash, Salem Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Shaheen Abdulrahman, Hassan Al Mahrami, Walid Abbas, Mahmoud Khamis, Yousef Jaber, Saeed Ahmed, Majed Sorour, Majed Hassan, Ali Salmeen, Abdullah Ramadan, Khalil Al Hammadi, Fabio De Lima, Khalfan Mubarak, Tahnoun Al Zaabi, Ali Saleh, Caio Canedo, Muhammed Jumah, Ali Mabkhout, Sebastian Tagliabue, Zayed Al Ameri
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Global Fungi Facts
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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