Virgin Atlantic accuses Heathrow of ‘cynically’ downplaying recovery to increase fees May 2, 2022 Virgin Atlantic has accused Heathrow of “cynically” downplaying its recovery to increase passenger fees. “With remaining UK travel restrictions now removed, Heathrow is set to be the busiest airport in Europe this year,” a Virgin Atlantic spokesperson told aviation website Simpleflying today. The airline accused the London-hub of “seeding doubt in the strength of demand” [...]
Qantas buys 12 new planes in bid to conquer ‘final frontier’ of 20-hour flights down under from London and New York May 2, 2022 Australia’s national airline Qantas has ordered 12 huge new luxurious planes as it confirmed plans for new long-haul routes from London and New York, to conquer the “final frontier” of aviation. The carrier will launch 20-hour flights on Airbus A350-1000s, complete with wellbeing zones and extra measures for comfort, taking passengers down under from across [...]
Brexit from the moon: Dover lorry queue can now be seen on Google Earth April 30, 2022 As hundreds of lorries continue to queue before they can board a ferry in Dover, it has emerged that the unprecedented queue can now be seen on Google Earth. Earlier this month, a 25-mile coastbound stretch of the M20 was closed to store thousands of lorries heading for the Port of Dover or Eurotunnel as [...]
Easyjet partners with aerospace supplier GKN on £54m hydrogen project April 29, 2022 Easyjet announced today it has partnered with aerospace supplier GKN Aerospace to develop hydrogen fuels for aviation. The airline will support the development GKN Aerospace’s projects on hydrogen combustion and hydrogen fuel cell technology as part of its pledge to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. Easyjet said it will focus on the operational requirements and [...]
Londoners will receive two free rides on Lime’s e-scooters as part of local election push April 28, 2022 Londoners will be entitled to two free rides on Lime’s e-scooters as part of the company’s push to encourage voting in the UK local elections. By using a promotional code, voters in London, Milton Keynes and Salford could ride for free to and from polling stations. “Lime is proud to be providing voters with a [...]
Crew aboard P&O ferry didn’t know how to use survival craft, coastguard says April 28, 2022 Cheaper agency crews brought in after P&O dismissed 800 seafarers didn’t know how to use survival craft, according to a report published today. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) found 23 failures on the Spirit of Britain ferry, including not properly maintained fast rescue boats, broken oil filtering equipment and inadequate fire safety systems. The [...]
French firm handling passport application phone lines is called in by UK government over backlog chaos April 28, 2022 The head of a French firm tasked with handling help lines for passport applications has been called in by the UK government over its handling of the backlog chaos. Teleperformance is being urged to answer questions about lengthy delays on the phones and a failure to process applications, after millions of Brits were left in [...]
China’s lockdowns exacerbate supply chain issues, says Airbus boss April 28, 2022 China’s recent lockdowns have exacerbated ongoing supply chain issues, according to Airbus’s chief executive Guillaume Faury. “The whole worldwide supply chain is complicated at the moment,” he told journalists today. Faury said that, even though lockdown-induced problems with raw materials continue to increase market pressures, the company will remain committed to raise production of A320 aircraft [...]
Volvo beats analysts’ expectations due to strong demand April 28, 2022 Volvo has beaten analysts’ predictions as a result of strong demand and supply chain issues improving, the automotive maker announced today. In the first quarter of 2022, Volvo’s profits slumped by 40 per cent, going down to 6bn Swedish crowns (£488.9m) from 8.4bn a year earlier. Nevertheless, earnings beat the 4.13bn expected by analysts polled [...]
Coastguard clears P&O vessel two days after Irish Sea accident April 28, 2022 The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) announced today it has cleared a P&O vessel two days after it ran out of power off the coast of Northern Ireland. “Our surveyors have carried out a full inspection of the European Causeway and are satisfied that it is safe to sail again,” said an MCA spokesperson. Running [...]