Aviation regulator sets five-year cap on Heathrow’s charges October 19, 2021 The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) will set a five-year price cap on the maximum charges Heathrow can ask its airline customers for using the airport. Coming into force in the summer of 2022, the cap is expected set affordable charges for airlines while making sure the airport can get back on track with its [...]
Former BA boss slams Heathrow’s ‘outrageous’ £100 price hikes October 17, 2021 Former British Airways boss Willie Walsh has criticised Heathrow’s plans to hike landing fees by 90 percent. The move could cost families travelling through Heathrow nearly £100 more for their flights. Walsh called the proposals ‘outrageous’. He said, “Heathrow must understand that gouging its customers is not the road to recovery, for itself, the airlines, [...]
Skiing in Uzbekistan, the cold heart of the Silk Road October 16, 2021 I remembered the loudness of a helicopter, its blades beating the air like an incensed dragon. What I hadn’t realised, though, is that when a helicopter lands on deep snow, the force creates a blast of ice and powder which rips through your clothing and stings any inch of exposed skin. It goes on and [...]
The UK should ban domestic flights, says advocacy group – CityAM : CityAM October 11, 2021 British advocacy group Campaign for Better Transport is calling on the government to ban some domestic flights to reduce the amount of CO2 emissions produced domestically by aviation. If introduced, the ban would end several short-haul routes such as London to Manchester, London to Edinburgh and Birmingham to Glasgow. Travellers would be offered train tickets [...]
Ex BA boss accuses Heathrow of “no commercial nous” over increased costs October 10, 2021 Former British Airways (BA) boss Willie Walsh, who is now the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) director general, has accused Heathrow of having “zero commercial nous” in regards to the airport’s plans to increase charges by over 90 per cent in 2022. “What gets me about Heathrow is that they make all these fancy statements [...]
BA will drop ‘ladies and gentlemen’ to promote diversity October 10, 2021 British Airways will drop the customary ‘ladies and gentlemen’ formula from announcements to promote a more diverse and inclusive environment aboard its planes. “We celebrate diversity and inclusion and we’re committed to ensuring that all our customers feel welcome when travelling with us,” a British Airways spokesperson told the Telegraph. As reported by the paper, [...]
Facebook down again: How persistent is the problem and which sites crash the most? October 9, 2021 Facebook and Instagram were down again for millions of users across the UK last night. The platforms apologised on Twitter for the outage, doing so for the second time this week after another, prolonged down time on Monday. Websites go down all the time from more serious issues like cyber attacks to problems in-house, with [...]
FTSE 100 lifted slightly by travel stocks October 8, 2021 The FTSE 100 inched 0.3 per cent higher this morning, as travel stocks lifted the index after a hoard of destinations were taken off the red list. British-Airways owner ICAG, Whitbread and Ryanair gained between 0.5 per cent and 2.9 per cent. Though the FTSE 250 slipped 0.12 per cent dragged by fellow travel heavyweight TUI, which [...]
Shapps scraps South Africa and 46 other destinations off red list October 7, 2021 Transport secretary Grant Shapps has just announced that from Monday 11 October, 47 destinations – including South Africa – will be scrapped from the UK Government’s travel red list. Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Panama, Peru and Venezuela will remain on it. The secretary also added that rules for those visiting the UK from [...]
Saudi Arabia’s takeover of Newcastle United is about far more than football October 7, 2021 After years of speculation, prevarication and consternation, Saudi Arabia has at last sealed the purchase of a Premier League football club, something it has long coveted. With a deal for Newcastle United finally set to be announced, one of the most tumultuous episodes in English football history is apparently drawing to a close. Rumours have [...]