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

Monday, 25 January 2021

BBC News

• Boeing 737 Max cleared to fly again 'too early'A former Boeing manager says more investigations are needed on the plane, grounded after two crashes.

Financial Times

• EasyJet sets sights on winning business from national flag carriersChief Johan Lundgren says airline will not focus on going head-to-head with low-cost rivals
• Long-term bet on airlines drives investors to aircraft leasing bondsLessors raise $14.9bn in January thanks to confidence in robustness of niche in travel market

The Telegraph

• Thames project expands size by 70pc to bolster bid for freeport status [subscription]Managers of the 1,700-acre area hope it will be one of 10 zones to benefit from zero-tariff exports in post-Brexit boost
• Boris Johnson’s mission to level up the UK has been made four times harder by Covid pandemic [subscription]Official data shows the number of people that the Government will have to get off benefits and into work in the north and Midlands in order to achieve parity with the south east of England has quadrupled in just ten months.

Times Online

• Drink-drive limit should be cut to revive deterrent, ministers told [subscription]The drink-driving limit in England and Wales should be cut for the first time since the 1960s because progress has ground to a halt, ministers have heard.
• Levelling up has become tougher because of Covid-19, think tank Centre for Cities warns [subscription]The government’s plan for levelling up the country has become four times harder because of the damage the pandemic has inflicted on the employment market, a think tank has warned.
• Police chief warned about smart motorway dangers in 2013 [subscription]The government was warned seven years ago by a chief constable that smart motorways would lead to more deaths, it has emerged.
• Empty lorries leave Britain as Brexit trade laws unnerve exporters [subscription]Up to half of all lorries bringing goods into Britain are returning to Europe empty as British companies put off resuming exports to the Continent to avoid getting caught by new customs regulations.

City AM

• Gatwick Airport borrows extra £75m from government due to pandemicGatwick Airport has borrowed an extra £75m from the government to bolster its finances due to the ongoing impact of The post Gatwick Airport borrows extra £75m from government due to pandemic

Daily Express

• Brits may have to CANCEL holiday plans as new quarantine for ALL travellers plannedBORIS JOHNSON is likely enforce quarantine of all travellers entering the UK in a drastic new move to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

The Mirror

• Boris Johnson warned not to 'betray' Northern voters over HS2 rail eastern legFailing to build HS2 in full would be a “betrayal” of Northern voters, Boris Johnson is warned tonight. Regional leaders fear the Prime Minister is poised to axe the eastern leg of the 225mph rail project to cut costs.
• Medical grade masks 'should be made compulsory' on public transport and in shopsThe former health secretary added his voice to epidemiologists saying that simple "cloth" isn't enough to protect against new, highly contagious strains of the virus

Sky News

• Biden set to reimpose travel ban on UK and EU over fears of new COVID variantsUS President Joe Biden will reimpose a number of travel bans that were repealed by his predecessor.

Birmingham Post

• Bombardier secures £1.7bn backing for Egyptian monorail schemes£1.7bn UK Export Finance guarantee will help unlock trade to Egypt and support UK jobs
• East Midlands Airport records busiest Christmas for cargoAlthough passenger flights are down 90 per, airport has seen a big rise in cargo-only planes
• Ten key objectives to drive Welsh hydrogen sectorWelsh Government commissioned Element Energy to study the opportunities for hydrogen
• Manchester Clean Air Zone: New areas, details and start date as report publishedKey changes to the controversial scheme set to charge polluting vehicles

Bolton News

• Greater Manchester's Clean Air Zone could be approved by summerGreater Manchester’s long-delayed Clean Air Zone could be signed off by leaders by the summer after months of public consultation.

Bradford Telegraph & Argus

• Levelling up North would 'fall at first hurdle' without HS2 eastern leg, Government warned THE Government has been urged to honour its commitment to the Eastern leg of HS2 in full as an integral part of High Speed North. The leaders of the Connecting Britain Campaign, a coalition of Mayoral combined authorities, local authorities and businesses, have called on the Government to reject the Rail Needs Assessment (RNA) from the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC).

Northern Echo

• MPs continue to press for improved junction safety on the A19 THIRSK and Richmond's MPs have stepped up their campaign to secure safety improvements to the A19 in North Yorkshire.

Other Regional Press

• The plan for UK arrivals that could be introduced to stop Covid-19Those arriving into the country being forced to quarantine as part of tighter border restrictions
• 'Increasing parking charges by 70p an hour will kill our high street'Angry businesses already struggling with the effects of the pandemic have branded plans to hike parking charges across a Kent district as 'greedy'.
• Council pushes on with bike lanesA court ruling for cycle schemes in London should not affect plans drawn up for Kent.
• Quarantine rules 'sound death knell for summer holidays'British holidaymakers returning from abroad will have to isolate for ten days at airport hotels as soon as they enter the country under new proposals.

C.N.N.

• Transportation officials weigh options to enforce Biden's mask requirement for travelersFederal transportation officials are considering a range of options to enforce President Joe Biden's new face mask requirement for interstate travelers, including the possibility of fines in the thousands of dollars, multiple sources told CNN.

The Business Desk

• HS2 Eastern Leg leaders ‘wholeheartedly reject’ recent high speed reportLeaders from along HS2’s Eastern Leg have written to the Prime Minsiter urging him to deliver both the local improvements and national connectivity they say are needed to level-up the UK economy, and spearhead an economic recovery post-pandemic.

Other News Sources

• Coronavirus: Millions passed through Gatwick Airport MILLIONS of international passengers have passed through Gatwick Airport during the pandemic, latest figures confirm.