London Underground workers to be balloted on tube strikes in pay row February 28, 2020 London Underground’s thousands of workers are to be balloted on tube strikes as the long-running dispute over pay continues. The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union has said it will ballot the 10,000 staff across the underground after more than a year of negotiating yielded no results. The union said London Underground had failed to [...]
British Airways owner IAG warns of coronavirus hit to 2020 profit February 28, 2020 British Airways-owner IAG today said that it was “not possible” to give an accurate forecast for its full year profit as the coronavirus outbreak continued to disrupt the airline group’s operations. The firm said the net impact of current cancellations had lowered its capacity across the whole year by two per cent as the airline [...]
Easyjet to cancel Italy flights as coronavirus hits demand February 28, 2020 Budget airline Easyjet today said that it would cancel a number of flights to Italy as it warned of a “significant softening of demand” across its short-haul network as the coronavirus outbreak continued to impact global airlines. The firm said it would continue monitor the situation and adapting its flying program to support demand. Shares [...]
DEBATE: Should the Heathrow expansion go ahead? February 28, 2020 Following a court ruling in favour of environmentalists, should the Heathrow expansion go ahead? Dr Adam Marshall, director general of the British Chamber of Commerce, says YES. Business communities across the UK will be bitterly disappointed that plans for a world-leading hub airport are now at risk. Without expansion, firms risk losing crucial regional connectivity [...]
Court date set for Uber’s London ban appeal February 27, 2020 The court date for Uber’s appeal of its London ban is set for 6 July, with a judge deciding today that the capital’s largest taxi union can take part in the proceedings. Chief Magistrate of England and Wales Emma Arbuthnot ruled today that the Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association (LTDA) are an “interested party” in the [...]
Air France to cut 1,500 jobs in attempt to limit coronavirus impact February 27, 2020 Air France will cut 1,500 jobs by the end of 2022, union sources told AFP today, as the airline tries to limit damage from the coronavirus outbreak. Only this morning AFP obtained an internal letter from the company saying that it would introduce a partial hiring freeze in order to cut costs at the airline. [...]
New HS2 minister promises to oversee project with ‘forensic scrutiny’ February 27, 2020 The new minister for HS2 rail has promised to oversee the controversial project with “forensic scrutiny”, saying that the rail link had to regain “the public’s trust”. The project was given the go-ahead by Prime Minister Boris Johnson earlier this month, despite estimations that the cost could run to more than £100bn by the time [...]
Half of London Waterloo station to be closed this weekend February 27, 2020 Half of London Waterloo station will be closed for the whole of this weekend as South Western Railway carries out major track maintenance and renewal work on the lines. Some lines between Waterloo and Clapham Junction will be closed, with a reduced service running in and out of the former. A spokesman for the franchise [...]
Heathrow third runway: Businesses react as High Court blocks expansion February 27, 2020 Climate groups reacted joyously this morning after the Court of Appeal upheld their challenge to the planned third runway expansion of Heathrow Airport. However, business groups expressed their “bitter disappointment” at the decision. In a seismic decision for environmental campaigners, the court found that the government’s policy statement for the third runway was “unlawful” as [...]
Heathrow third runway plans ruled ‘unlawful’ as legal challenge upheld February 27, 2020 Heathrow Airport’s third runway expansion has stalled, after a challenge in the high court was upheld in the Court of Appeal. The court found that the government’s policy statement for the third runway was “unlawful” as it did not take into account the government’s commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement, a challenge brought by mayor [...]