Travel News: Which Country Has the Scariest Border Control?

From the world’s youngest globe-trotter to a major map mix up, read on for some of our top stories from the past seven days.

Double Doozy

A 37-stone passenger caused a flurry of confusion at a Welsh airport this week when he checked in for his Ireland-bound flight with two tickets. After adhering to the airline’s policy that people over 20 stone pay for an extra seat, the man was stunned to learn that despite his regard for the rules, his seats were located on two different rows. Oops!

Record Breakers

While the likes of Magellan and Columbus might have been the world’s first explorers, an Englishman claims to be the youngest to get around the globe. But not only has the 24-year-old visited all 196 countries before the age of 25, he’s managed to do it within the span of five years too. That’s some speedy sightseeing.

TNT Takes Some Heat

TNT magazine showed the world that geography is not its strong suit this week after confusing Scotland with Ireland. Not only did the travel mag label the countries wrongly, but they also mistook the Shetland Islands for ‘Northern Ireland’ while ‘Dublin’ was left floating in the middle of the North Sea.

I hate to break it to you TNT magazine but that’s Scotland not Ireland #‎epicmapfail pic.twitter.com/6YTwE0Or4c

— Samantha Barry (@samanthabarry) October 14, 2013

Taking Tagging to New Levels

British Airways are in the process of testing digital luggage tags, which could save travellers some serious time at check-in. The new techy tags, which could be introduced next year, use the same electronic ink as e-readers, and would mean that passengers could potentially manage their check-in themselves via the airline’s app.

United States of Intimidation

A recent poll asked jetsetters which country’s border security made them feel the most uneasy. The USA topped the list with 22% of the 1,000 people surveyed naming it the most intimidating place to pass through passport control. Runners up included the UAE, Mexico and Canada – with 5% of travellers voting for the UK.