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

Thursday, 05 March 2020

BBC News

• Tesla downgraded Model 3 chip in China thanks to coronavirusThe electric car firm said it had installed an older processor in new vehicles due to supply problems.
• Scatsta airport in Shetland to close with loss of 50 jobsScatsta airport in the north of Shetland will shut at the beginning of July, with the loss of 50 jobs.
• Translink boss warns of legal action over fundingChris Conway writes to the finance minister, asking for a commitment to protect transport services.
• Flybe: NI reaction as airline is set to collapseAs the airline operates 80% of flights at Belfast City Airport, the implications are huge for the region.
• Delays caused by faulty Tube trains jump by a third, figures showLast year 5,040 mechanical issues on Tube trains led to a delay, a 32% increase in three years.
• Could the coronavirus kill off global motor shows?The Geneva Motor Show's cancellation has forced some car makers to change the way they launch new models.
• Flybe collapse: Your rights explainedMany passengers face losing money as the airline collapses, and staff face the prospect of redundancy.
• Collapsed Flybe tells passengers not to travel to airportsAll flights grounded after the coronavirus outbreak help push the airline into administration.

Financial Times

• Virgin Atlantic cuts chief's pay to help offset hit from coronavirusShai Weiss and executive team agree to salary reductions in emergency move to protect profits
• Qantas rebuked over coronavirus exposure risksAustralian authorities say flawed cleaning processes endangered staff and passengers
• Flybe collapses after last-ditch talks failUK airline failed to secure crucial £100m after coronavirus hit travel demand

The Guardian

• Flybe collapses two months after government announces rescueImpact of coronavirus on flight bookings proves final straw for Europe's largest regional airlineFlybe, Europe's largest regional airline, has collapsed into administration less than two months after the government announced a rescue deal.

The Independent

• Flybe collapse: What went wrong and what happens next?Europe's biggest regional airline has collapsed. These are the key questions about what went wrong with the Flybe business
• Flybe collapse: What went wrong and what happens next?Europe's biggest regional airline has collapsed. These are the key questions about what went wrong with the Flybe business
• United Airlines cancels flights and cuts costs as coronavirus hits demandAs virus has spreading around world outlook for airlines has suffered

Times Online

• Environmental concern takes flight over Heathrow ruling [subscription]The government must offer businesses clearer guidance after court’s decision on third Heathrow runway
• David MacBrayne boss tells of ageing fleet and desperation for delayed ships [subscription]The boss of Scotland’s largest ferry operator says it is “desperate” for two long delayed vessels to come into service to help to ease pressure on the country’s ageing fleet.
• Will Rundle, who led challenge to decision on third runway at Heathrow [subscription]Will Rundle, the head of legal at Friends of the Earth, led the team that successfully challenged the government’s decision to allow a third runway at Heathrow. The Court of Appeal ruled that decision was unlawful because ministers did not take climate commitments into account.
• Hot air from the Tube recycled to keep homes warm [subscription]More than 1,000 homes are being heated by warm air extracted from Tube tunnels in a pioneering scheme that could be replicated across the London Underground network.
• Flybe collapses as coronavirus hits bookings [subscription]The budget airline Flybe collapsed today after its fragile finances were dealt a terminal blow by a slump in bookings linked to coronavirus.

Sky News

• 'Deep sorrow': Coronavirus grounds Flybe for goodFlybe has gone into administration after the regional airline struggled to raise funds, and bookings dropped off due to coronavirus.

Belfast Telegraph

• Government attacked amid Flybe falloutUnions and politicians have reacted with fury over the collapse of Flybe just weeks after the company narrowly avoided going under in January.
• Airline Flybe collapses into administrationEurope’s largest regional airline Flybe has collapsed into administration, sparking fierce condemnation from unions and politicians.

Birmingham Post

• Jaguar Land Rover will stop production at its Halewood factory for nine daysThe planned move comes a month after hundreds of redundancies were announced as part of major changes to shift patterns
• East Midlands Airport taking on 100 staffEast Midlands taking on extra staff ahead of the busy summer season, which starts at the end of this month
• Official launch for new rail freight terminal connecting East Midlands with UK portsIt is based at the East Midlands Gateway development at Castle Donington

London Evening Standard

• Virgin Atlantic waive flight date change fees amidst coronavirus chaosThe new policy is available to customers until March 31
• Flybe collapses sparking chaos as flights are grounded after coronavirus takes toll on struggling airlineFlybe has gone into administration, sparking chaos for passengers whose flights were cancelled and diverted.

Manchester Evening News

• Flybe goes bust blaming coronavirus - this is the what passengers are being told todayWhat happens to people already on holiday, will they get a refund and what type of holidays are protected

Cambridge News

• Major Stagecoach bus changes coming to key Cambridge routesThe alterations will take effect from next week
• New section of A14 upgrade to open by the end of the weekThe original junction 30 westbound exit slip at Bar Hill will not reopen after this closure

East Anglian Daily Times

• It’s time to see fuel duty go up to get us off the roads – or switch to cleaner carsThis time next week we will all be digesting the news from Rishi Sunak’s first budget. At the same time officials in Suffolk will be starting to think about the new Ipswich traffic taskforce – and about ways of reducing traffic congestion.
• Ipswich-based Fred. Olsen announces new cruise destinations over next two yearsWith the worldwide cruise industry facing nervous times because of bad publicity over coronavirus problems, Ipswich-based Fred. Olsen is looking ahead with confidence and the launch of its busiest programme ever over the next 18 months.

Leeds Live

• International experts have their say on West Yorkshire proposals for self-driving mass transit system120 organisations from around the world have been weighing in on plans for a mass transit system serving Leeds, Bradford and Kirklees
• Pudsey Bus Station is 'acting like a magnet' for anti social behaviour"We have been working extremely hard to curb the anti-social behaviour"

Other Regional Press

• Does Heathrow judgment spell doom for Luton Airport expansion plans?Plans to expand Luton Airport could be in jeopardy after a historic ruling was made against a third runway at Heathrow Airport last week on environmental grounds.
• Weapon seized during station security blitzPolice seized this weapon during a security clampdown at one of Kent's busiest railway stations.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Government backs cleaner planes, ships and automobiles with £37 million boostBusiness Secretary and COP26 President Alok Sharma has announced a £36.7 million investment to design, test and manufacture electric machines in some of the UK’s most polluting industries. The announcement comes as the Prime Minister holds the first meeting of a new Cabinet committee focused on tackling climate change, discussing how the government can go further and faster towards net zero. £30 million will be used to create 4 new, cutting-edge centres of excellence - based in Newport, Nottingham, Strathclyde and Sunderland – which will bring together climate change p...
• Fleet drivers can be better prepared for risks associated with ADAS, says DriveTechPerhaps the single largest topic for discussion in the automotive industry is automation. Whether we are to believe Elon Musk’s promises of self-driving Teslas within the year, there is no doubt that fully autonomous vehicles will be a feature of future roadways.  DriveTech has released the latest in its series of Whitepapers focusing on the range of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (or, more popularly, ADAS) and how increasing automation is providing benefits, but also new challenges for drivers and driver training. Newer vehicles feature a wealth of systems aimed at both improv...

Aviation Industry

• Heathrow expansion unlawful given failure to assess climate impacts, court of appeal rulesThe Government's case for Heathrow expansion, which formed the basis of the parliamentary vote in support of the project in 2018, failed to take proper account of its climate change impacts under the Paris Agreement, the Court of Appeal ruled …

Other News Sources

• National Express To Switch To Electric Bus And Coach In The UKNational Express is done purchasing diesel buses. It's time to go electric.
• Readers' letter: 'Government should take smart motorways more seriously'SIR: Letters to this page last week highlighted the urgent need for repair to our roads.
• Huge London Road redevelopment in Camberley could take another 10 years to complete, council saysThe 5.5-acre site is one of many areas of Camberley set to or already undergoing significant regeneration works
• Guildford's MP Angela Richardson wants to see the old Cranleigh train line reopen for electric busesShe announced her intentions during her maiden speech in the House of Commons