Severn Trent ups dividend but warns of coronavirus impact May 20, 2020 Severn Trent today said it would pay a final dividend but warned the coronavirus pandemic was likely to lead to unpaid bills and a decline in sales to businesses over the next year. Severn Trent proposed a final dividend of 60p, up from 56p last year. The water company booked a bad debt charge of [...]
Lufthansa says hundreds of planes will remain grounded until 2023 May 19, 2020 German state airline Lufthansa has said that hundreds of its aircraft will remain grounded until 2023 due to the prolonged impact of coronavirus on global aviation. In a letter to staff seen by Reuters, the flag carrier said that next year would see 300 of its 763 planes grounded, with the number falling to 200 [...]
Hackers steal 9m Easyjet customers’ data in cyber attack May 19, 2020 Low-cost airline Easyjet said this morning that hackers had obtained the email and travel details of 9m customers, and the credit card details of a further 2,000. In a statement, the firm said: “There is no evidence that any personal information of any nature has been misused. “However, we are communicating with the approximately 9m [...]
Luggage brand Antler collapses into administration May 19, 2020 Luggage brand Antler has become the latest victim of the coronavirus crisis, collapsing into administration today due to the collapse in international travel. Big four auditor KPMG has been appointed as the administrator for the brand, which is over a century old. Administrators have already made 164 of the firm’s 199 staff redundant, KPMG said [...]
Downing Street confirms ‘air bridges’ quarantine exemption is under review May 19, 2020 Downing Street has confirmed the government is considering “air bridges” between the UK and other countries to allow Britons to travel to some locations without quarantine. Transport secretary Grant Shapps floated the idea in the House of Commons yesterday, suggesting deals could be struck with some countries to exempt travellers from quarantining on arrival or [...]
Government considering ‘air bridges’ to countries with similar Covid-19 infection rate May 18, 2020 Transport secretary Grant Shapps has confirmed that the government is considering “air bridges” between the UK and other countries with a low coronavirus infection rate, potentially cutting out the need to quarantine all arrivals. Last weekend Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that all incoming travellers to the UK would have to be quarantined for 14 [...]
The 20 busiest Tube stations TfL wants commuters to avoid May 18, 2020 Transport for London has issued a list of the Tube stations that commuters should try to avoid as more people begin to return to work after lockdown. From today, London’s transport network will aim to run 75 per cent of Tube services and 85 per cent of bus services. Government advice remains that those who [...]
Railways introduce crowd control measures to help stop coronavirus spread May 18, 2020 Rail and Tube chiefs today put in place crowd control measures at stations around the UK and added more train services amid fears overcrowding could help spread coronavirus. Last Sunday Prime Minister Boris Johnson encouraged those who could not work from home to go back to work in an easing of the coronavirus lockdown. Network [...]
Ryanair cuts 2021 traffic target again over coronavirus, but boosts profit May 18, 2020 Ryanair has slashed its passenger traffic target by another 20 per cent for 2021 as it recorded a 13 per cent rise in profit after tax for its latest full-year. The budget airline revealed the profit jump today but warned it may pull out of some of Europe’s airports over coronavirus travel bans. Michael O’Leary’s [...]
HS2: MPs say controversial rail project ‘badly off course’ May 17, 2020 MPs have slammed the controversial HS2 rail project, saying that the scheme is “badly off course” and calling for far greater transparency from its executives. In a new report, the Public Accounts Committee criticised the body for failing to provide an accurate picture of the project’s health when providing evidence to the committee. It also [...]