Dear Reader

WHOEVER takes over as Prime Minister might want to take a long, hard look at what’s been going on within the travel industry and hold it up as an example of how to lose friends and alienate people.

But then, wait a minute. Up pops junior transport minister Robert Courts on the BBC’s Newsnight suggesting his boss Grant Shapps would be a ‘great choice’ as PM because ‘he has done an outstanding job’ as transport secretary.

Full marks for loyalty, ‘ nul points’ for reality — although Shapps certainly has had the best seats in the house to watch the grisly drama unfold at airports up and down the country.

‘Come fly with me’ might not be Shapps’s first choice as a campaign slogan if he does throw his hat into the ring.

But there was some good news this week in Shapps’s sphere of influence: British Airways checkin staff at Heathrow called off their strike, and yesterday was the final day for airlines using UK airports to cancel flights without fear of punishment.

This should give passengers more certainty about future travel. But it’s still a case of crossing your fingers as you approach the check-in desk.