Singapore Air to cut a fifth of workforce amid pandemic chaos September 11, 2020 Singapore Air today said it will cut roughly a fifth of its workforce due to the catastrophic impact of the coronavirus outbreak on aviation demand. The airline will slash 4,300 positions — the largest job losses in its history — with the cuts impacting its main brand as well as its Silkair and Scoot divisions. [...]
Heathrow passenger numbers plummet more than 80 per cent in August September 11, 2020 Heathrow Airport has reported an 81.5 per cent fall in passengers for August compared with last year and has called on the government again to change quarantine rules. The London-based airport was the busiest in Europe prior to the Covid-19 pandemic but has suffered significantly this year. It said its passengers from North America had [...]
DEBATE: Is the government right to wind up the furlough scheme at the end of October? September 11, 2020 The government has split public opinion by saying that it will not be extending the furlough scheme beyond the end of October. For the Morning Wire debate, Annabel Denham of the Institute of Economic affairs and Cyrille Lenoel of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research consider whether it is right to do so. [...]
Bring in airport testing by end of the month or risk ‘ruin’, airline bosses warn September 10, 2020 The bosses of the UK’s largest airlines have called on the government to implement an airport testing regime by the end of the month, warning that the country risks “economic ruin” otherwise. In a letter to Boris Johnson, the chief executives of British Airways, Easyjet, Ryanair, Virgin Atlantic, and Tui, among other, said that the [...]
Jacob Rees-Mogg self-isolates after child shows Covid symptoms September 10, 2020 Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg has gone into self-isolation after one of his children displayed symptoms of Covid-19. Deputy chief whip Stuart Andrew stood in for Rees-Mogg, making the business statement in the chamber this morning. In a tweet the Commons leader wrote: “Many thanks to Stuart Andrew for standing in for me at Business Questions. [...]
Thousands sign petition for ‘seat out to help out’ theatre discount scheme September 9, 2020 Thousands of people have signed a petition calling on the government to introduce a “seat out to help out” scheme to support the theatre industry. The petition proposes that for every seat sold for a live performance, the government could pay £10 for an empty seat. More than 44,000 people have lent support to the [...]
Astrazeneca pauses Covid-19 vaccine trial after patient contracts mystery illness September 9, 2020 Drugs giant Astrazeneca last night said that it had paused trials of its potential coronavirus vaccine after one of the study participants contracted an unknown illness. The vaccine, which is being developed in conjunction with scientists at the University of Oxford, is widely considered one of the leading candidates in the hunt for a way [...]
Virgin Atlantic joins calls for airport testing regime September 9, 2020 Virgin Atlantic’s chief executive has added his voice to calls for airport testing to replace the government’s blanket quarantine regime, saying it is the “only way” to get the economy going again. Speaking to the BBC this morning, Shai Weiss said: “The economy, which is already in deep recession will not take off unless we [...]
On coronavirus, governments have been the most irrational of us all September 9, 2020 Decisions, whether by individuals, companies or governments, are often made with imperfect and incomplete information. This is so obvious as to hardly seem worth stating. But for well over a century economic theory assumed that decisions were made with complete information. Economists knew full well that this was not always the case. The problem was [...]
Business leaders back switch to airport testing September 9, 2020 The majority of UK business leaders believe the government should scrap the current quarantine regime on air travel and replace it with airport testing, new data has shown. According to a survey by London City Airport, 71 per cent of senior executives think that removing the current restrictions in favour of a testing programme would [...]