Rolls-Royce and Virgin Atlantic back air taxi firm Vertical Aerospace June 11, 2021 Rolls-Royce and Virgin Atlantic are among firms to have bet on electric flying taxi firm Vertical Aerospace, which announced it would go public in the US in a SPAC deal last night. The British firm, which has already secured $4bn (£2.8bn) worth of pre-orders for 1,000 of its aircraft with firms such as Avolon and [...]
Heathrow passenger numbers keep dwindling as CEO urges G7 for safe travel June 11, 2021 After 15 months of restrictions, Heathrow’s passenger numbers in the UK and across the world have continued to collapse below pre-pandemic levels, with a loss of over 6m passengers in the month, the airport said this morning. From June 2020 to May 2021, there was a 79.3 per cent plunge in terminal passenger numbers in [...]
Thousands of BA staff go back on furlough June 10, 2021 Thousands of British Airways (BA) staff are being put back onto the furlough scheme as the wait for a meaningful return of international travel continues. With 17 May as the date the government had set for the restart of travel, the carrier had begun to bring back workers in preparation for the summer season. But [...]
Croydon tram crash: Safety issues highlighted eight years before fatal accident June 10, 2021 The former chief engineer of the Croydon tram network highlighted safety issues with the Sandilands tunnel almost a decade before a fatal crash killed seven people, an inquest into the deaths has heard. Jim Snowdon told the jury that he had written a paper in 2008 warning there was a risk of accident on the [...]
Mitie forecasts better year as customers start to spend again June 10, 2021 Mitie has forecast a better-than-expected financial year as clients start to resume spending as lockdown restrictions ease. The FTSE-listed outsourcer was hit hard by the pandemic as customers like Rolls Royce and Heathrow slashed costs. “As businesses slowly start to reopen and our customers’ employees return to offices, we are starting to see some green [...]
Airlines bid for furlough to be extended until next May June 10, 2021 The UK airlines industry has called on the Treasury to extend furlough for sector workers until the end of April next year as the wait for the lifting of travel restrictions goes on. After weeks of speculation, the industry’s hopes were dashed in May when the government revealed that just 12 countries and dependencies would [...]
A third of gig economy couriers and delivery drivers have no savings June 9, 2021 Around 30 per cent of gig economy drivers, riders and couriers across Europe had no savings in the first half of 2021. Almost half of the 10,000 workers surveyed had experienced a claimable event such as an accident. Of these, only 12 per cent had actually made a claim and 69 per cent had a [...]
Former Volkswagen and Audi bosses to pay millions in damages over ‘dieselgate’ June 9, 2021 The former bosses of Volkswagen and Audi will pay millions in compensation related to their roles in the “dieselgate scandal”, the German car giant revealed today. The payments will form part of a €288m (£248.5m) deal, of which €270m will come from directors’ and officers’ liability (D&O) insurances. Volkswagen first said that it would seek [...]
Wizz Air says summer flying on course to beat pre-pandemic levels June 9, 2021 Wizz Air’s chief executive today said that the carrier was on track to fly more this summer than it did before the pandemic struck, a rare statement of confidence from an otherwise downbeat industry. Speaking to a conference today, Jozsef Varadi said that the Hungarian flier was already operating at 90 per cent capacity, way [...]
Ryanair wins third case against EU state aid as O’Leary’s crusade goes on June 9, 2021 Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has now bagged a hat-trick of victories in his quest against European state aid for struggling airlines during the pandemic. Luxembourg’s General Court, the EU’s second highest court, today annulled the European Commission’s decision to $550m in support to German charter airline Condor. In its ruling, the court said that the [...]