Former PM Tony Blair warns quarantine restrictions ‘killing’ international travel September 3, 2020 Former Prime Minister Tony Blair has warned that quarantine restrictions are “killing” international travel, arguing that the policy wouldn’t be necessary with a better testing regime. Blair, who believes we could be living with coronavirus restrictions for a further two years, said he opposed the blanket quarantine measures currently in place. The former Labour Prime [...]
Jet2 to add more flight capacity despite quarantine regime September 3, 2020 Jet2 owner Dart Group said that it would increase its flying capacity over the rest of the summer season, sending its shares up 2.4 per cent this morning. Despite the coronavirus quarantine restrictions, the London-listed firm said that it was “satisfied with the average load factors and financial contribution” achieved over the summer. Since restarting [...]
Commuter numbers rise to highest level since end of lockdown September 3, 2020 The number of people travelling to work rose to its highest level since the end of lockdown, new data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) showed today, as the government seeks to encourage workers back to the office. According to the ONS, the proportion of working adults who travelled to their place of work [...]
Heathrow Airport outlines pay cuts as it warns of job losses September 3, 2020 Heathrow Airport has opened talks with unions over a round of pay cuts that will affect roughly half of its 4,700 frontline workers. As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the UK’s largest airport has lost over £1bn since March, and is now looking to make pay cuts of 15 to 20 per cent. If [...]
Government accused of ‘overseeing demise’ of UK aviation September 3, 2020 Ministers have been accused of overseeing the demise of UK aviation as the sector braces for thousands of job losses and further travel restrictions. Derek Provan, chief executive of AGS Airports, which runs Southampton, Aberdeen and Glasgow, said the sector was suffering more job losses than the demise of the coal industry in the 1980s. [...]
London Tories call for Waterloo and City Tube line to reopen September 3, 2020 A group of Conservative London MPs and London Assembly members have called for the Waterloo and City Tube line to reopen in a bid to boost the number of people returning to central London. The line – which travels directly between Bank and Waterloo stations – was closed when the country was put into the [...]
City workers slowly beginning to return to office after lockdown September 2, 2020 Commuters are slowly starting to return to London’s business districts after the coronavirus lockdowns, new data from Transport for London has shown. As of last Friday, 17,852 passengers entered and exited Bank tube station in the City, ten times more than the 1,800 who did so at the height of the pandemic. The figure is [...]
Boris Johnson confirms rail industry working on flexible season tickets September 2, 2020 Boris Johnson today said that the government was working with the rail industry on flexible season tickets to encourage commuters to return to the office. Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions today, Johnson said: “We are working at pace with rail companies to try to deliver new products in terms of ticketing to ensure not just [...]
Travel sector pleads for government support to stave off sweeping job cuts September 2, 2020 Leading figures from across the UK travel industry have come together in an urgent plea for government support to help stave off hundreds of thousands of potential job cuts. In an open letter to chancellor Rishi Sunak and transport secretary Grant Shapps, which has now been signed by over 10,000 people, the “Save Travel” campaign [...]
Rolls-Royce sales rebound as luxury car firm commits to UK September 2, 2020 The boss of luxury car maker Rolls-Royce today said that the company was committed to a future in the UK, adding that demand for the firm’s vehicles has come back after the coronavirus lockdown. Speaking with Reuters as Rolls-Royce launched a new £250,000 car, Torsten Muller-Otvos described the firm as one of the “crown jewels” [...]
