Space-tech: Billionaire Bezos’ flight to space to draw in starry-eyed investors July 21, 2021 Following Amazon boss Jeff Bezos’ 10-minute venture into space yesterday, space-tech investment may be set to rocket, space-fund boss Mark Boggett has said. Just last week Boggett’s space investment firm Seraphim Space listed on the London Stock Exchange after rallying £178.4m from starry-eyed investors in mid-July. “Branson, Musk and Bezos initially cracked open the [...]
‘Catastrophic’ backlog at driving license agency due to staff being put at risk July 21, 2021 A series of “catastrophic” decisions made at driving license agency the DVLA has led to 1.4m-long processing backlog, MPs heard today. Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), said that the decisions had also put DVLA workers at risk. He said that there had been 643 Covid cases at the [...]
Daimler warns chip shortage will wipe out first half sales boost July 21, 2021 Mercedes owner Daimler today warned that the global shortage of semiconductor chips would wipe out its impressive first half performance. In a statement announcing today’s second quarter results, the car giant said that sales would now be flat on 2020, rather than up as previously forecast. The German firm added that the supply crisis would [...]
One in ten Londoners do not plan to ever commute again after pandemic July 20, 2021 As employees across the UK are to set to embark on their return to the workplace following the easing of Covid-19 restrictions, a number of commuters are reluctant to return to the office in the coming months, mainly due to increased concern over infection control and social distancing on the daily commute. According to a [...]
Exclusive: Number of private jets available for purchase dries up as demand soars during pandemic July 20, 2021 The number of private jets available for purchase has plummeted sharply in the last year after wealthy individuals snapped up most of the world’s available planes due to the pandemic. Data from private jet broker Colibri Aircraft shows that a mere 4.7 per cent of the world’s pre-owned jet fleet is for sale – this [...]
Government to ease lorry driver qualification requirements to tackle shortage July 20, 2021 Ministers have today proposed easing driver qualification requirements in order to ease the current shortage of lorry drivers, which has left supermarket shelves empty around the country. Retailers are battling an estimated shortfall of around 100,000 hauliers as a result of Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic. In a letter to the logistics sector today, the [...]
Replay: Jeff Bezos launches to the edge of space on Blue Origin’s first passenger flight July 20, 2021 Jeff Bezos has launched aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket. The rocket’s first passenger flight has taken Bezos and three companions to the edge of space. The billionaire founder of Amazon and Blue Origin rode a New Shepard rocket up to the Kármán line – an imaginary boundary 100 kilometers above sea level, where many experts say space begins. There, he experienced weightlessness [...]
High Court rules in favour of government’s traffic light travel system July 20, 2021 The High Court has ruled that the government’s traffic light system for travel was not unlawful, in yet another blow for the aviation sector. A collection of the UK’s biggest airlines and airports, including BA owner IAG, Easyjet, Ryanair, and Manchester Airport Group, had challenged the transparency of the system. As a result of the [...]
EasyJet revenues increase as airline prepares for more flights July 20, 2021 EasyJet reports increased revenues as the airline prepares to “emerge transformed post pandemic” and more people travel abroad. Their headline loss before tax was £318m, reduced from £347m last year. The no-frills airline reported a lower cash burn of £55m during the quarter ended 30 June 2021, in line with expectations. Revenue increased to £213m [...]
Northern Rail ticket machines hit by ransomware attack July 19, 2021 Northern Rail’s new self-service ticket machines have been the subject of a ransomware attack, the rail operator confirmed this evening. The machines were taken offline last week and the government-operated franchise has launched an investigation into the attack. It said that no customer or payment data had been accessed by the attack, which was limited [...]