Ministers postpone rail fare increase following HS2 cuts backlash December 2, 2021 A UK Government announcement regarding a 3.8 per cent increase in rail fares from March was postponed last week following the backlash caused by the slashing of rail investments in the north. Rail fares in England and Wales will see the biggest increase in nine years, the Guardian reported exclusively after seeing leaked documents. A [...]
City’s nitrogen dioxide dropped 42 per cent in five years December 2, 2021 The levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in Square Mile have dropped 42 per cent since 2016. Figures from the City of London Corporation – which were later confirmed by air quality monitors such as Beech Street and the Aldgate School – revealed a year-on-year improvement over the last five years, as a result of air [...]
Ryanair remains positive despite Omicron concerns December 2, 2021 Eddie Wilson, chief executive of Ryanair DAC, said this morning the airline remains positive about summer demand, bypassing concerns related to the new Covid variant, Omicron, and its impact on Christmas demand. Speaking at London’s World Aviation Festival, Wilson said that the carrier’s focus remained on next summer. “We were hoping that the demand curve [...]
“Don’t panic” about Omicron variant, Heathrow boss says December 2, 2021 Heathrow’s chief executive John Holland-Kaye told both the aviation industry and passengers not to panic about the latest Covid variant, Omicron. Speaking at London’s World Aviation Festival, he said: “We’re going to have a lot of these variants over the years. I suspect that with most of them, vaccines will be fine. We got through [...]
Wizz Air passenger traffic rockets amid Omicron concerns December 2, 2021 Passenger traffic on low-cost carrier Wizz Air has continued to grow in November, amid concerns for the new Covid variant, Omicron. The airline announced this morning that last month it carried more than 2 million passengers, a 375.7 per cent increase compared with the same time last year. The company’s load factor also increased by [...]
British icon Selfridges becomes Thai: Weston family agrees £4bn sale December 2, 2021 Selfridges’ owner the Weston family has agreed to sell the iconic high-end department store chain to Thai private conglomerate Central Group for £4bn. The Canadian billionaires have reached an agreement with Central Group in the last few days, hoping to close the deal by the end of the month, the Times reported. Founded by American [...]
Business travel equilibrium unclear to everyone, Virgin Atlantic boss says December 1, 2021 Virgin Atlantic’s chief executive Shai Weiss believes business travel forecasts are still very unclear to all airlines, because of the pandemic’s unpredictable nature and the consequent measures taken by governments to curb the spread of the virus. Speaking on a panel at London’s World Aviation Festival today, Weiss stated that despite seeing a recovery of [...]
Heathrow reopens Covid terminal to respond to Omicron challenge December 1, 2021 Heathrow reopened today its Covid terminal to process travellers arriving from red list countries. From 3pm today, Terminal 4 will see only those arriving from countries where there is a higher rate of Omicron cases, keeping them away from the rest of passengers. Mandatory face coverings as well as intensive cleaning regimes, enhanced ventilation and [...]
Number of UK unlicensed vehicles up by 85,000, DfT stats show December 1, 2021 The number of unlicensed vehicles being driven across the country has gone up by 85,000 in the last two years. Statistics from the Department for Transport (DfT) have shown that in 2021, 1.9 per cent of all vehicles in UK traffic did not pay their vehicle excise duty (VED). Data have also revealed that the [...]
Pendragon raises profit outlook as supply issues deemed “not as bad” December 1, 2021 UK motor retailer Pendragon has raised its profit outlook for the full year for the second time in less than two months. After initially lifting it from between £55m and £60m to approximately £70m on 7 October, the group said this morning its underlying profit for the full year to 31 December 2021 has gone [...]
