Home secretary Suella Braverman, meanwhile, has admitted the government could look at taking over unused cruise ships to house asylum seekers.

Elsewhere, travel to, from and within the US is set to be impacted by a major winter storm in the next few days, while a man’s body has been found in the undercarriage of a Tui aircraft at Gatwick.

These are the headlines the travel industry woke up to on Thursday (22 December).

Action by border staff may lead to airport closures

Officials have warned that airports could be forced to close during the upcoming Border Force strikes. Closing airports is one of the contingency plans drawn up to cope with the eight days of industrial action starting on Friday (23 December). (The Times)

Cruise ships could be used to house asylum seekers 

Home secretary Suella Braverman has not ruled out utilising disused cruise ships to house asylum seekers, saying “everything is on the table”. She also said it was “unacceptable” that housing asylum seekers in hotels costs the taxpayer more than £5 million per day. (BBC News)

US braced for blizzards and icy winds as Arctic front sweeps across country

Large parts of the US are set to be hit by a dangerous mix of sub-zero temperatures, howling winds and blizzard conditions, which are expected to disrupt plans for millions of travellers over the Christmas holidays. (The Guardian)

Man’s body found on plane after journey from Gambia to UK

A man’s body has been found in the undercarriage of a Tui Airways flight from Gambia to the UK. The grim discovery was made by staff at Gatwick and police are now investigating the death. (Various)

Morocco’s World Cup run kicks off tourism boom

Morocco and its key destination of Marrakech are set to experience a boom in tourism after the national football team’s unexpected run to the World Cup semi-finals put it in the global spotlight. (The Daily Mail)