Tesla extends production halt at Shanghai plant following city lockdown March 31, 2022 Tesla extended its production halt at a Shanghai plant for at least one more day, as the city was posed under a two-stage lockdown from earlier this week. The lockdown – which ends tomorrow for the eastern part of the city – initially allowed Tesla to resume production on Friday. But according to the latest [...]
Ryanair expects annual losses near middle of forecast range March 31, 2022 Ryanair’s losses are expected to near the middle of its forecast range, chief executive Michael O’Leary announced today. “We think we’ll be somewhere in the middle of that range,” O’Leary said referring to the airline’s forecast loss of between €250m and €400m. The chief executive explained that whether the company reports profits for the financial [...]
Pilot jailed for lying to get British Airways’ job March 31, 2022 A commercial pilot was convicted of fraud after he lied about his experience to get a job at British Airways (BA), the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) announced today. 48-year-old Kentish man Craig Butfoy admitted that between 2016 and 2018 he had falsified details and entries in his pilot logbook to retain work with BA’s London [...]
Lufthansa’s boss ‘open to all options’ on ITA equity stake March 31, 2022 Lufthansa is open to all options regarding an equity stake in Alitalia’s successor ITA Airways, the German carrier’s boss Carsten Spohr said this morning. Spohr told reporters Lufthansa, who had partnered with logistics giant MSC for the possible takeover, would be an ideal partner. The chief executive’s comments come less than a month after he [...]
UK prohibits maintenance on Russian oligarchs’ planes and ships March 30, 2022 The UK Government announced today it has prohibited maintenance works on aircraft or ships belonging to Russian oligarchs sanctioned over ties with Putin. Laid in Parliament today as a Statutory Instrument, the new legislation hit already Russian businessmen Eugene Shvidler, whose aircraft have been detained since last week, and TCS Group founder Oleg Tinkov. Foreign [...]
Grant Shapps says new measures will make P&O “fundamentally rethink” layoffs March 30, 2022 Grant Shapps unveiled today a new set of measures which are expected to make P&O Ferries “fundamentally rethink” the sacking of almost 800 seafarers. “P&O Ferries’ failure to see reason, to recognise the public anger, and to do the right thing by their staff has left the government with no choice,” he told the House [...]
BA flights face massive disruption as IT systems down at Heathrow’s terminal 5 March 30, 2022 Thousands of travellers face disruption today as British Airways’ (BA) IT systems crashed at Heathrow’s terminal 5, causing other flights to be delayed due to a backlog. “We’re live at Heathrow and hearing British Airways IT systems are down globally,” tweeted Big Jet TV. The claims made by the aviation streaming channel were backed by [...]
Air France-KLM loses appeal over EU cartel fine March 30, 2022 Aviation powerhouse Air France-KLM announced today it lost an appeal against a million-euro fine imposed by EU antitrust regulators for participating in an air cargo cartel more than two decades ago. The second-highest court in the EU, the General Court rejected the group’s appeals as well as those brough by Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines and Cargolux. [...]
P&O accuses Coastguard of ‘unprecedented rigour’ after two ships detained March 30, 2022 P&O Ferries accused today the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) of displaying “an unprecedented level of rigour” after it detained two of the firm’s ships. The European Causeway and Pride of Kent vessels were detained in the last few days over safety concerns, as government scrutiny around P&O increased following the layoff of around 800 [...]
TUI’s summer demand grows as bookings ‘unaffected’ by Ukraine war March 30, 2022 TUI’s demand has grown to 80 per cent of 2019 levels as bookings remain almost “unaffected” by the war in Ukraine, the company said today. Overall summer bookings went up by 2.1 million since February, while in the UK demand grew 14 per cent on pre-Covid levels. Nordic countries and Poland, though, registered “subdued” levels [...]