Heathrow passenger numbers fall nearly 75 per cent in 2020 January 11, 2021 Just 22.1m passengers passed through Heathrow Airport in 2020, it was revealed today, a 73 per cent fall year-on-year. The UK’s biggest airport said that the coronavirus had seen 58m fewer travellers pass through its gates than in 2019. Cargo volumes through Britain’s biggest port also fell 28.2 per cent because of restrictions on international [...]
Easyjet secures $2bn loan as coronavirus pain goes on January 11, 2021 Easyjet has today secured a new $1.9bn (£1.4bn) five year loan as it takes further steps to bolster its finances amid the coronavirus pandemic. In a statement, the carrier said that the loan would “significantly extend and improve easyJet’s debt maturity profile and strengthen easyJet’s balance sheet by increasing the level of available liquidity”. The [...]
FCA approves world’s first air travel revenue hedging system January 11, 2021 The UK’s financial regulators has approved Airbus subsidiary Skytra’s Air Travel Price Indices, a key step in allowing airlines to manage revenue volatility. Through building the world’s largest air ticketing database, the firm has developed a set of regulated benchmarks based on US$ per Revenue Passenger Kilometre ($/RPK). This represents the price of air travel [...]
Boeing 737: Indonesian passenger plane missing after ‘falling 10,000ft’ January 9, 2021 A Boeing 737 passenger plane with an estimated 62 people on board has disappeared after taking off from Jakarta. According to reports, the Sriwijaya Air Boeing 737 lost contact on its route from the Indonesian capital to Pontianak on the island of Borneo. Flight tracking website Flightradar24 said the aircraft, which set off at 2.37pm [...]
Gove expects Brexit delays at the border with France and Ireland to worsen January 8, 2021 Gove expects Brexit delays at the border with France and Ireland to worsen
Blackstone secures Bill Gates support in bidding war for Signature Aviation January 8, 2021 The Blackstone Group has the support of a big-name backer – Bill Gates- the largest shareholder in Signature Aviation, strengthening the firms bid to buy the private-jet servicing company. The support comes in opposition to rival bidder Carlyle and strengthens Blackstone’s $4.29bn (£3.16bn) offer alongside Gates’ Cascade Investment. Blackstone and Cascade, which own a near [...]
Aviation bosses demand end to quarantine after introduction of mandatory testing January 8, 2021 The aviation industry has called for the government to scrap its quarantine regime following the introduction of a mandatory testing regime. Nearly 10 months after the coronavirus pandemic began to sweep through the UK, the government has finally put in place restrictions on people entering the country. Despite consistent lobbying from the aviation industry, business [...]
Government confirms mandatory testing for all inbound travellers January 8, 2021 Passengers coming to England face fines if they fail to comply with new testing requirements as part of new measures introduced today. From next week all international arrivals, including UK nationals, will be required to present a negative coronavirus test taken up to 72 hours prior to departure. Passengers refusing to comply will be subject [...]
Exclusive: Bolt offers free rides to Londoners getting Covid vaccine January 7, 2021 Ride-hailing app Bolt has offered to provide Londoners with £250,000 worth of free transport to Covid-19 vaccination centres in a bid to aid the inoculation programme. Morning Wire can reveal that the firm has written to the government to offer its services to the NHS. The offer comes as the UK attempts to vaccinate the [...]
Ryanair cuts traffic forecasts again as carrier slams ‘brutal lockdowns’ January 7, 2021 Ryanair has cut its traffic forecast for the full financial year to 26m-30m passengers, just a fifth of last year’s number, amid the new coronavirus lockdowns. The Irish carrier said that due to new restrictions in the UK, Ireland, and parts of the EU, it would reduce flights from 21 January. Few, if any, flights [...]