Studying Boris Johnson’s £335bn idea of a bridge between Scotland and Northern Ireland cost taxpayer £900,000 January 21, 2022 A study commissioned by Prime Minister Boris Johnson into which found it would be too expensive to build a bridge or tunnel between Scotland and Northern Ireland cost taxpayers nearly £900,000. The Department for Transport (DfT) said the research into the feasibility of a fixed link cost £896,681. Network Rail chairman Sir Peter Hendy led [...]
EV battery producer Britishvolt confirms plans for UK gigafactory with £1.7bn funding deal January 21, 2022 British electric vehicle battery producer Britishvolt has today confirmed plans for a new gigafactory in the North East through a £1.7bn funding deal. The firm has secured investment through the government’s Automotive Transformation Fund and private funding from Trixtax and abrdn. The new plant, which will be in Blyth, is expected to create 5,000 jobs [...]
Qatar Airways vs Airbus: Court date set for late April January 20, 2022 A division of London’s High Court has set late April as the court date for Qatar Airways’ $618m lawsuit against plane maker Airbus, according to Reuters sources. The Qatari airline decided in December to take Airbus to court over a damage dispute concerning the A350 model, after it was forced to ground some of its [...]
Airline shares end higher following Ryanair’s ‘sea change’ comments January 20, 2022 Shares of European airlines ended higher today as a result of Ryanair’s ‘sea change’ comments. The Dublin-based carrier ended 4.2 per cent higher, while British Airways’ owner IAG and Easyjet went up 1.60 and 3.29 per cent respectively. Earlier today, low-cost carrier Ryanair said it had registered a ‘sea change’ in customer confidence over the [...]
Around the world in 155 days: 19-year-old is the youngest woman to complete solo journey January 20, 2022 Belgian-British 19-year-old Zara Rutherford has entered the Guinness World Records after she became the youngest woman to fly solo around the world. During her 52,080km journey, which took her 155 days, Rutherford visited 31 countries, taking off from Belgium on 18 August towards the Atlantic. After stopping in Iceland and Greenland, she flew through the [...]
‘High security’ breach at Crossrail as stowaway takes Elizabeth line for a spin January 20, 2022 Crossrail has reported a “high-risk security breach” after a stowaway boarded the Elizabeth line and managed to travel undetected. According to reports, the person boarded at Abbey Wood on 29 November and travelled for 30 minutes reaching Paddington station before being removed by security, trade news website Construction News reported first. “Clearly a customer should [...]
TfL under fire over ‘unfair’ proposed Piccadilly line premium fare to Heathrow January 20, 2022 Transport for London (TfL) is under fire over a proposed increase to Piccadilly line’s journeys to Heathrow, according to recent reports. To be put in place between Zone 1 and Zone 6, the ‘premium fare’ would see commuters pay 60 per cent more to travel, with peak prices implemented all day instead of during rush [...]
Bumpy rides: Number of UK daily flights at half of pre-Covid levels January 20, 2022 Turbulent times are far from over for airlines, as the number of UK daily flights is at an average of 2,443 per day – still 49 per cent down on pre-pandemic levels, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONGS). Commenting on the results, Hargreaves Lansdown’s senior investment and market analyst Susannah Streeter [...]
Ride green: Uber Boat builds UK’s first hybrid high-speed passenger ferries January 20, 2022 Uber Boat by Thames Clippers has announced it is currently building the UK’s first hybrid high speed passenger ferries. Set to respectively launch in autumn 2022 and spring 2023, the ferries will operate solely on battery power when transporting commuters between Tower Pier and Battersea Power Station. “After the challenges of the last two years [...]
Fear of costs taking off as EU check in for airlines to pay for all their emissions January 20, 2022 Airlines are expected to pay for all their European CO2 emissions from 2026, a year earlier than what was initially proposed by the European Commission. According to a European Parliament’s draft, the bloc is re-examining its current climate policies, as it aims to cut 55 per cent of emissions by 2030 from 1990 levels, Reuters [...]