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

Sunday, 08 March 2020

BBC News

• UK will leave EU aviation safety regulator at end of 2020But the owners of BA are critical of the move, saying alternative plans would not be ready by December.

The Guardian

• Thousands held on cruise ship off US west coast as scientists say: ‘This is now a pandemic’Warning after 21 test positive on liner, while in Spain police lock down blocks of flats and in China a quarantine hotel collapsesConcern was mounting yesterday for thousands of passengers – many elderly – on a cruise ship being held off San Francisco, after 21 people on board tested positive for coronavirus.US vice-president Mike Pence urged older Americans to “use cautionâ€� in planning cruise holidays in the near future, as he announced plans to bring the Grand Princess into a “non-commercial portâ€� where all passengers and crew would be tested. Individuals would be quarantined and treated as ...
• UK to withdraw from EU aviation safety regulator, Shapps saysTransport secretary says senior figures will gradually return to UK as regulatory powers revert to CAAThe UK is to withdraw from the European Union aviation safety regulator (EASA) after the Brexit transition period, Grant Shapps has confirmed.The transport secretary said many of the most senior figures at the organisation headquartered in Cologne, Germany were British and that they would gradually return to the UK throughout this year as regulatory powers reverted to the Civil Aviation Authority. Continue reading...
• Russian jets intercepted heading to UK airspaceRAF deploys six Typhoons to force fighter aircraft to change course from north-west coast of ScotlandSix RAF fighter jets were scrambled on Saturday after Russian aircraft were spotted heading towards British airspace.The Typhoons, supported by an air-to-air refuelling aircraft, took to the skies as the unidentified planes were tracked heading towards the north-west coast of Scotland. Continue reading...

The Herald

• Scots ferries row: Counsel warned ministers about state aid over Ferguson nationalisationTHE former managers of the shipyard at the centre of a ferry building fiasco have accused the Scottish Government of having no serious intention of leaving it in private ownership while being warned nationalisation would be subject to EU state aid laws.

The Independent

• UK aviation chiefs criticise decision to pull out of European safety agency after BrexitIndustry body warns Grant Shapps' plan will risk UK companies' access to global markets
• RAF fighter jets scrambled to intercept Russian aircraft near Scotland, MoD saysNato forces move to head off an unknown number of bombers near British airspace

Times Online

• Schools and rail stations may close in Scots coronavirus alert [Subscription]Scottish ministers are to be handed sweeping powers to fight coronavirus as one of the country’s leading doctors warned that the NHS is ill-equipped to cope with an outbreak.
• Aer Lingus staff urged to take unpaid leave as coronavirus hits bookings [Subscription]Flag carrier among several airlines desperate to cut costs as revenues nosedive
• BA waives flight change charges [Subscription]Disruption caused by the coronavirus has seen British Airways waive its flight change fee for new bookings made between March 3 and March 16. Also, flights up until May 31 to and from Hong Kong and until April 3 to and from northern Italy, where there are outbreaks, can be rebooked with no fee.
• What’s wounded Jaguar? [Subscription]The coronavirus is only the latest calamity. The car maker, slow to go electric, is assailed on many fronts, reports John Collingridge
• Jaguar Land Rover boss Ralf Speth: Greta offers no ideas over climate change [Subscription]Jaguar Land Rover’s outgoing boss has accused Greta Thunberg and Extinction Rebellion of “doing wrong in many areas” by highlighting problems but offering no solutions to climate change.
• Elderly may get more time to cross the road [Subscription]Traffic lights in Manchester have been changed so they stay on red for longer, to give elderly people in “age-friendly neighbourhoods” more time to cross the road.
• Britain’s most cancelled train services [Subscription]Commuters in northern England are being hit hardest, new figures reveal

City AM

• Coronavirus: Donald Trump wants thousands left on Grand Princess cruise ship as 21 test positiveUS President Donald Trump has said he would rather leave thousands of people on board the coronavirus-hit Grand Princess cruise The post Coronavirus: Donald Trump wants thousands left on Grand Princess cruise ship as 21 test positive appeared first on CityAM.

The Mirror

• Grand Princess cruise ship with 21 coronavirus passengers on board to dock in OaklandThe Grand Princess, owned by Princess Cruises, will dock at the Port of Oakland where the 21 patients confirmed to have coronavirus will then be moved into isolation

Sky News

• Backlash as UK confirms it will leave EU aviation safety regulatorBritain's aerospace industry has criticised the government after the transport secretary confirmed the UK will leave the European aviation safety regulator by the end of the year.
• RAF jets deployed as Russian aircraft try to enter UK airspaceSix RAF jets were scrambled to intercept Russian aircraft after they attempted to enter British airspace on Saturday.

Belfast Telegraph

• White House overruled health officials on coronavirus flight adviceThe White House reportedly overruled US health officials who wanted to recommend elderly and physically fragile Americans be advised not to fly on commercial airlines because of the coronavirus.

East Anglian Daily Times

• Nearly £46,000 lost in ONE month from just three broken car parking ticket machinesFaulty car park ticket machines have cost a Suffolk council tens of thousands of pounds.

Get Surrey

• Flying Scotsman to steam through Surrey and Hampshire on its way to Salisbury in MayThe locomotive will complete an additional circular tour of the Hampshire countryside as a Cream Tea Special

Other Regional Press

• Taxis carrying card machines could be made mandatory in OxfordTAXI drivers in Oxford might have to carry card machines in the future, if the public and cabbies think it is a good idea.
• 'Ugly £9.1m car park looks cheap as chips'A council has defended the look of its new multi-storey car park after critics called out its 'shoddy' architecture.

Other News Sources

• The London Underground Oyster card change this year that you should be aware of The cards are widely used by the people of Surrey