Coronavirus: Sadiq Khan says Tube travel ban very unlikely March 3, 2020 Londoners are unlikely to be advised to stop using the Tube during the coronavirus outbreak, according to Sadiq Khan. Speaking after the launch of his re-election campaign today, the mayor of London said he does not believe it will be necessary to ban public gatherings or tell people to stay away from public transport. Khan [...]
DVLA says excuses for not paying car tax include too many chickens and looming jail time March 3, 2020 The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) said today that excuses it has received for not paying vehicle tax included their van being full of chickens. The agency said that inventive excuses it had received for nonpayment included: “I’m about to start a prison sentence, so is there any way you could hang on to [...]
Net asset value grows at John Laing but profit falls March 3, 2020 Infrastructure company John Laing said today its net asset value (NAV) grew 4.3 per in 2019. The FTSE 250 company said NAV per share was 337p at 31 December, compared to 323p per share on 31 December 2018. NAV grew to £1.6bn from £1.5bn the previous year. Pre-tax profit for the year fell to £100m [...]
No fly zone: As coronavirus fears grow, airlines must brace for the worst March 3, 2020 One of last month’s more outlandish news stories was the report that the coronavirus outbreak had caused an upsurge in private jet inquiries. More wealthy travellers than ever, it seems, are willing to pay thousands of pounds an hour for a plane unto themselves, in an attempt to dodge the risk of getting infected. The [...]
Electric chauffeur service Havn launches in London March 3, 2020 An all-electric premium chauffeur service that gives passengers the options to adjust playlists, temperature and chauffeur interaction launches in London today. Havn launches with a fleet of all-electric Jaguar I-PACEs which can be booked via an app or an online portal. The service is backed by Jaguar Land Rover’s investment vehicle Inmotion. Unlike similar ride-hailing [...]
Exclusive: Mystery of HS2 letter deepens as Chinese ambassador calls document ‘fake’ March 3, 2020 The provenance of a letter claiming to be from China’s state-run railway offering to build HS2 has been plunged into mystery after the Chinese ambassador to the UK said that no such letter had ever been written. Speaking at Chatham House, ambassador Liu Xiaoming said “the Chinese railway authority did not write a letter to [...]
Coronavirus: British Airways and Ryanair cancel hundreds of flights as demand sinks March 2, 2020 Two of the UK’s leading airlines are cutting flights from their London hubs as coronavirus fears have led to a demand slump. British Airways will cancel more than 400 flights, while budget carrier Ryanair is cutting capacity to and from Italy. BA’s affected flights are between 16 and 28 March from Heathrow airport to cities [...]
Wizz Air agrees to launch spin-off airline out of Abu Dhabi March 2, 2020 Wizz Air has today announced that it has signed an agreement to launch a spin-off airline out of Abu Dhabi, with flights set to begin in the autumn. The Hungarian airline has entered a partnership with Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company (ADDH) to set up Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, a new low-cost airline servicing destinations [...]
Senior warns of turbulent 2020 on 737 Max delays and coronavirus fears March 2, 2020 Boeing supplier Senior could be in for a rough ride in 2020 after the firm warned that continued issues over the production of the 737 Max and potential disruption from the coronavirus outbreak could hit sales. Despite the warning, shares in the FTSE 250 firm rose over two per cent today. The figures Although the [...]
TfL rolls out 20mph speed limit for central London March 2, 2020 A speed limit of 20mph has come into place today on all central London roads managed by Transport for London (TfL). The rollout of the new limit will apply to 8.9km of roads within the congestion charge zone, including some in the City of London. Some of the main roads affected inlcude Albert Embankent, Millbank [...]