Transportinfo.org.uk - today's transport news in the uk, hand picked for you each morning

Sunday, 15 March 2020

BBC News

• Bus cuts leave a million people without a regular serviceCampaigners said reductions in bus routes and funding had left some people
• Coronavirus: Jet2 flights to Spain turn round in mid-air over virus fearsHolidaymakers due to return await news on planes and at airports as the country prepares for lockdown.
• Coronavirus: 'Future of UK aviation' at risk, say airlinesAirlines said the industry may not survive the coronavirus pandemic without financial support.

Financial Times

• Coronavirus puts the brake on America’s gas-guzzling waysWorld’s largest petrol market contracts as workers are told to stay at home
• Paris considers loan to keep Air France-KLM flyingAirlines are scrambling to shore up finances as travel bans and coronavirus fears hit bookings
• Virgin group chairman calls for £7.5bn bailout of UK airlinesPeter Norris warns government that carriers will run low on cash because of coronavirus
• Korean Air faces crisis as coronavirus worsens debt woesInvestor warns national carrier risks ‘falling off cliff’ over financial problems

The Telegraph

• Heathrow expansion ’frozen’ with hundreds of jobs at risk [subscription]Contractors have been told to down tools, with work put 'on hold' until there is further clarity

Times Online

• Leeds section of HS2 in danger of being pushed into sidings, say northern leaders [subscription]Boris Johnson is being warned not to “delay or dilute” plans for the HS2 line to Leeds, which the region’s political leaders say represents the “golden thread” to level up the Tories’ new heartlands.
• Drop in train passenger numbers over coronavirus fears sees services cut [subscription]Ministers are preparing to cut back train services as passenger numbers slump and operators risk going bust.

Mail Online

• Donald Trump's UK travel ban piles pressure on BA as Virgin Atlantic demands £7.5billion bailoutDonald Trump's decision to include the UK in his Europe-wide travel ban in an effort to stem the spread of coronavirus could have huge consequences for the struggling British Airways.

The Mirror

• Coronavirus: Virgin Atlantic boss to plead for £7.5bn airline bailout from governmentPeter Norris is set to write to Prime Minister Boris Johnson for the colossal package as the airline industry is battered by travel bans across the globe to tackle coronavirus

This is Money

• Airlines face collapse if coronavirus continues, experts warn The chief executive of the International Air Transport Association, Alexandre de Juniac, said revenue losses across the industry would likely top the £90bn it estimated a week ago.

Sky News

• Virgin chiefs plead with PM for £7.5bn airline bailoutBritain's airline industry needs emergency government support worth up to £7.5bn to avert a catastrophe that would wipe out tens of thousands of jobs, Boris Johnson will be told next week.
• Chaos for holidaymakers as flights and holidays axed over coronavirusBritish holidaymakers' travel plans have been thrown into disarray after dozens of flights and holidays were cancelled over coronavirus fears.

Daily Post (North Wales)

• Irish Ferries cuts ticket prices in coronavirus responseThe ferry firm - which runs routes between Holyhead and Dublin Port - has released a statement

London Evening Standard

• Jet2 planes turn back mid-air as airline suspends all flights to Spain over coronavirus 'emergency'Read our live updates HERE Coronavirus: The symptoms

Wales Online

• The forgotten people left to grow-up, live and die in pollution caused by the M4People in many parts of Newport live in hideous safety-guideline breaching pollution caused largely as a result of the M4. The cannot access funds like neighbouring Cardiff. They feel forgotten.

Wolverhampton Express and Star

• Bus and train services hit by staff shortagesStaff shortages have led to several bus and train services being halted around the region.

Reading Evening Post

• Third Thames Bridge is vital for improving traffic in Reading but where's the project up to?Councillor Tony Page said there is a lot to be done if the much-needed project is ever to get carried out

Other Regional Press

• Crackdown set to get tough on illegal parking, two years after council first launched itAs first highlighted in 2018, the torn-down streets of Gresham have become a free car park :: The council has once again promised to crackdown
• Tees Valley mayor explains how Darlington rail improvements will benefit all TeessideMeanwhile, Labour MP Andy McDonald has said celebrations over £80m funding may be premature
• Full list of flight cancellations by British Airways, easyJet, Jet2, Ryanair and more due to coronavirusA number of flights have been cancelled and travel restrictions are in place

Green Miscellany

• Cyclo Knitter to the rescueDutch design student George Barratt-Jones has a novel approach to keeping rail commuters warm while they wait on a draughty platform. He has built a pedal-powered knitting machine that can conjure up a scarf in five minutes. According to Barratt-Jones, “It gets you warm by moving, you are making something while you wait and in the end you are left… The post Cyclo Knitter to the rescue appeared first on ETA.

Other News Sources

• These are the UK cities with the most dog-friendly public transportA report by apartment rental company Essential Living, revealed that the London Underground was the most dog-friendly subway in the world, coming ahead of the Tokyo Metro and the Madrid Metro.
• Trump Says Cruise Lines Suspend Departures for 30 DaysU.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said that major cruise lines would suspend cruises for 30 days, following a series of industry announcements that came after repeated transmission of coronavirus among passengers at sea.“At my request, effective midnight tonight…
• Jet2 cancels all flights to mainland Spain Jet2 planes from the UK to Spain turned back in mid-air as the airline announced it was cancelling all flights to the country amid the coronavirus outbreak.
• Startling images of the East Grinstead landslip as Network Rail reveals it's on course for reopening date Drone photography shows the expanse of work being carried out on the stricken line