Rail operators awarded new contracts for Great Western and Southeastern franchises March 30, 2020 First Group and Go Ahead Group have been awarded new contracts to run the Great Western and Southeastern rail franchises respectively with just a day to go before the existing deals run out. The new contracts will run concurrently with the emergency measures the government put in place last week to protect the rail industry [...]
Easyjet grounds all airplanes over coronavirus March 30, 2020 Easyjet has grounded its entire fleet of more than 300 aircraft in the wake of “unprecedented” travel restrictions over the global coronavirus pandemic. The budget flyer warned today “there can be no certainty of the date for restarting commercial flights”. It has grounded its entire fleet of commercial aircraft and put its cabin crew staff [...]
Airlines ask grounded staff to answer NHS volunteer call March 30, 2020 Virgin Atlantic and Easyjet have written to grounded staff members asking them to help in the NHS’ new Nightingale hospitals in a bid to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. Easyjet has already contacted all 9,000 of its employees, including 4,000 or so cabin crew staff trained in CPR, whilst Virgin will begin writing to 4,000 of [...]
State could be landed with £8bn rail pension deficit March 29, 2020 Taxpayers could be on the hook for £8bn of railway pensions after the government effectively nationalised a portion of the rail system after coronavirus hit demand. The Telegraph reported that the massive government intervention could shift the pension deficit of franchises from the private sector to the public sector. The Department for Transport (DfT) last [...]
Coronavirus: Government urged to take ‘every possible step’ to bring UK tourists home March 29, 2020 Foreign affairs select committee chair Tom Tugendhat has written to foreign secretary Dominic Raab seeking assurances that the government has taken “every possible step” to return UK citizens stranded abroad to the UK. Although the exact number is unclear, there are currently hundreds of thousands of British tourists stuck overseas due to the coronavirus outbreak. [...]
Government in talks over state takeover of Flybe – report March 29, 2020 Collapsed airline Flybe’s administrator EY has denied reports that it is in negotiations with the government to buy the regional carrier out of bankruptcy in order to protect the UK’s battered aviation sector. According to the Telegraph, the Big Four auditor has opened talks with government officials about nationalising the airline in order to serve [...]
MPs urge chancellor Rishi Sunak to act ‘urgently’ to save UK’s airlines March 29, 2020 A group of 38 MPs has written to chancellor Rishi Sunak asking him to “urgently review” the support that the UK’s airlines and airports have asked for in a bid to survive the coronavirus pandemic. Since the outbreak began, the global aviation industry has been decimated, with travel restrictions now covering 98 per cent of [...]
Qatar Airways says it will need state aid as cash begins to run out March 29, 2020 Qatar Airways has become the latest airline to warn that it will need state aid in order to continue flying, the carrier’s chief executive has told Reuters. The Gulf state’s flag carrier is one of few airlines to continue operating a relatively normal schedule of flights during the coronavirus crisis. In recent weeks it has [...]
Over 4,000 North Sea oil rig jobs cut to halt spread of Covid-19 March 27, 2020 The North Sea’s workforce has plummeted 40 per cent over the last fortnight as oil companies seek to limit the spread of Covid-19. Over 4,000 jobs have been cut according to Oil and Gas UK, among growing concerns that oil rigs could become hotbeds of coronavirus infection. The number of North Sea workers usually stands [...]
Virgin Atlantic set to ask for government bailout March 27, 2020 Virgin Atlantic is set to ask the UK government for a package of commercial loans and guarantees worth hundreds of millions of pounds. The airline will be among the first to do so, according to the Financial Times, after the government said this week it would only help the struggling aviation industry as a “last [...]