More than 14,000 ghost flights departed from UK airports during Covid February 23, 2022 New figures have revealed that more than 14,000 ghost flights have departed from UK airports throughout the whole Covid pandemic. With 4,910 flights, Heathrow was crowned the airport with most ghost flights, while Manchester and Gatwick came in second and third place, with 1,548 and 1,044 flights respectively. The figures, which include cargo flights and [...]
Mandatory face masks on TfL scrapped from tomorrow February 23, 2022 Transport for London (TfL) has confirmed that from tomorrow face masks will no longer be mandatory across the network. After considering several factors – including the government’s ‘Living with Covid’ plan and London’s downward rate of infections – the public body decided to scrap the requirement, still encouraging the use as a courtesy to fellow [...]
Rail cleaners take the streets in biggest strike ever February 23, 2022 Hundreds of railway cleaners today are taking the streets in what campaigners consider their biggest strike ever over wages. The cleaners, the majority of whom is employed by professional cleaning company Churchill, work across the UK’s railway network – including on Thameslink, Southeastern, Eurostar and HS1 services. “The rail industry make a lot of noise [...]
Brexit Multiverse of Madness: ‘Jacob Rees-Mogg is hoping for the reality-bending powers of Marvel’s Dr Strange’ February 23, 2022 The new Brexit Opportunities Minister, Jacob Rees-Mogg, has said that Brexit is ‘already a success’ and ‘the evidence that Brexit has caused trade drops is few and far between’. Morning Wire spoke to one of the UK’s biggest international delivery firms and their response was “He said that? Well, not in our universe.” In fact, [...]
‘Rule of Origin’ Brexit rule starts to bite: UK customs duties jump 64 per cent in a year to record £4.5bn February 23, 2022 Customs duties paid by UK businesses have jumped 64 per cent to a record £4.5bn in the year to 31 January 2022, up from £2.9bn in the previous 12 months, according to new research shared with Morning Wire this afternoon. The rise comes as post-Brexit increases in customs duties begin to bite for UK businesses [...]
Covent Garden leasing demand drives Capital & Counties rental growth February 23, 2022 Capital & Counties Properties has revealed strong demand levels for leasing in Covent Garden was one of the main drivers behind the company’s valuation uplift in the second half of 2021. In the year ended 31 December, the property investment giant reported a total equity of £1.8bn, while underlying net rental income increased from £43.6m [...]
£3.8bn stall but still flying: UK’s biggest airport looks ahead after ‘worst year in Heathrow’s history’ February 23, 2022 Heathrow has revealed 2021 was the worst year in its history, as passenger numbers fell to 19.4 million – the lowest since 1972 – while cargo went down 12 per cent as a result of the pandemic’s impact on aviation. In the year ended 31 December, the London hub reported that, despite its efforts to [...]
Rio Tinto to pay out biggest-ever dividend to shareholders after achieving record earnings of £15.7bn February 23, 2022 Mining firm Rio Tinto achieved record financial results in 2021, recording a free cash flow of £13bn and underlying earnings of £15.7bn. The figures led to the company paying its biggest ever dividend to shareholders. Net cash generated from the iron ore producer’s operating activities improved 60 per cent on 2020 levels while profit after [...]
Easyjet on track to rejoin FTSE100 February 22, 2022 Low-cost carrier Easyjet is on track to be added into the FTSE100, almost two years after falling from the index as a result of the pandemic’s economic impact. In an indicative review sent around today, benchmarking provider FTSE Russell reported the company’s potential addition to the index, adding the confirmation will be announced after market [...]
Dubai: World’s busiest airport believes post-Covid recovery to be achieved by 2024 February 22, 2022 Even though it was crowned the world’s busiest airport for the eighth consecutive year, Dubai airport will see passenger numbers come back not before 2024. According to the hub’s boss Paul Griffiths, despite 29.1 million passengers registered in the last year – 12.7 per cent up on 2020, traffic is “nowhere near pre-pandemic levels.” “It [...]