Category Archives: Transport

Queensland government hoses down suggestions it is considering bailout for Bonza

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Administrators tell creditors meeting they are ‘moving heaven and earth’ to secure a future for grounded airline

The federal and Queensland governments have told the administrators determining the future of budget airline Bonza they’re unlikely to provide financial support to help save the carrier, as the search for aircraft and a new buyer continues.

During a first meeting of creditors on Friday administrators from the firm Hall Chadwick said “we’re moving heaven and earth” to secure a future for the grounded airline.

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Train strikes to halt most trains in south-east England on Tuesday

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Commuter routes in and out of London hit as train drivers begin three days of rolling strikes amid six-day overtime ban

Most trains will not run in south-east England on Tuesday – including on key commuter routes in and out of London – after train drivers embarked on three days of rolling strikes at national rail operators.

Drivers in the Aslef union are striking for 24 hours at each English operator between Tuesday and Thursday, while continuing a week-long nationwide overtime ban that started on Monday, as part of a long-running pay dispute.

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Rail strikes restart as Aslef train drivers embark on new action

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Union to roll out 24-hour strikes across England’s train operators for three days this week and six-day overtime ban from Monday

Rail passengers face a week of disruption as train drivers embark on another round of industrial action on Monday, despite tentative attempts by the industry to restart talks.

Drivers in the Aslef union will strike for 24 hours at each of England’s national train operators over the course of three days from Tuesday until Thursday, while an overtime ban will apply nationwide from Monday until Saturday.

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Bonza administrators in global talks on grounded budget carrier that helped ‘push down air fares’

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Transport minister Catherine King says it is unlikely the airline will be saved, while insiders think repossessed planes will be returned to the US

The administrators determining Bonza’s future have held round-the-clock talks, including with international aviation figures and the owner of the airline’s aircraft, as Australia’s airports maintain the budget carrier was “instrumental in improving competition and pushing down air fares”.

Administrators had meetings scheduled late on Wednesday evening and into Thursday morning with “key industry participants” in Australia and overseas, their second day working to such a schedule. They also had an “open dialogue with the lessor of the company’s fleet” of Boeing 737 Max 8 planes that remain parked at airports across the country.

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Grounded: Bonza set to join long list of failed Australian airlines

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Australia’s aviation industry, dominated by the Qantas-Virgin duopoly, may have claimed another victim – but it’s far from the first to fall

The future of Bonza is in limbo as the fledgling budget airline enters voluntary administration – a well-trodden path in Australian aviation.

While Tuesday’s developments may come as a blow to competition in an industry dominated by a duopoly, the abrupt cancellation of services and seizure of planes will trigger memories of a long history of fallen Australian carriers.

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Australia’s skilled mechanics shortage forcing insurers to write off electric vehicles after minor accidents

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Lack of parts and outdated laws also contributing to long repair wait times and ballooning premiums

Electric vehicles are routinely being written off after minor accidents, as a shortage of skilled mechanics and parts, as well as outdated laws, leads Australian insurers to scrap EVs prematurely instead of repairing them.

Despite the scarcity of supply that has plagued the local market in recent years, in part due to the lack of a fuel-efficiency standard, the financial reality of insuring EVs is continuing to consign them to scrap yards while inflating premiums for owners.

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Heathrow expects summer holiday season to be ‘busiest on record’

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Passengers numbers this year predicted to hit 82.4m but airport’s future uncertain, with proposed £6bn sale in doubt

Heathrow is expecting its busiest ever summer holiday season but faces uncertainty over its long-term future as the proposed £6bn sale of the UK’s biggest airport remains in doubt.

The airport said on Wednesday that the summer getaway this year was expected to be “the busiest on record” and promised to have “robust” plans in place to keep the airport “running smoothly”, even if staff strikes held last year are repeated.

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‘Alarming’ traffic light design at Brisbane intersection where young cyclist died after being hit by bus

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Green light created impression both bike and bus had right of way when 20-year-old Max Patrick McDowall was killed, coroner’s court hears

A forensic crash investigator was “alarmed” at the design of the intersection where a 20-year-old cyclist died, because its traffic lights gave both vehicles the impression they had right of way simultaneously, the Queensland coroner’s court has heard.

A recreation of the fatal accident showed that the driver of the Brisbane city council bus, Andrew Rudnicki, had almost no opportunity to see Maximillian Patrick McDowall, before he struck and killed him.

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Tory candidate for London mayor has Trumpian attitude to climate, says Khan

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London mayor expected to criticise Susan Hall in speech launching panels on school roofs

Sadiq Khan will accuse his Conservative rival in the race to be London’s next mayor of being “Trumpian” over the climate crisis, as he announces plans for solar panels on schools.

Khan is expected to acknowledge resistance to his expansion of the ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) in a speech on Friday but insist that he still intends to “go further”.

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Heathrow urges government to scrap £10 fee for transit passengers

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London hub says charge for overseas travellers using UK airports puts country at competitive disadvantage

Heathrow has called on the government to scrap a new £10 charge for overseas travellers using UK airports to connect to other flights, warning that it puts UK airports at a competitive disadvantage compared with other European rivals.

The government introduced the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) in November for non-UK residents travelling to the UK from Qatar, with a wider rollout for other countries throughout 2024.

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Rozelle interchange: hundreds of residents vent frustration over traffic chaos as inquiry begins

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Survey reveals locals’ disappointment with NSW transport agency’s response after bungled opening of $3.9bn junction

Hundreds of Sydney residents have vented their frustration about the traffic chaos caused by the Rozelle interchange in a survey released on the first day of an inquiry into the $3.9bn junction.

The majority of the 1,034 people who participated in the survey said the interchange had negatively affected them since it opened last November, with many voicing their disappointment at the New South Wales transport agency’s response.

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Two passenger planes clip wings on Heathrow runway

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Footage on social media shows wing of Virgin Atlantic plane overlapping wing of BA aircraft

Two passenger planes clipped wings on the runway while one of the aircraft was being towed at Heathrow.

Footage on social media shows the wing of a Virgin Atlantic plane overlapping the wing of a British Airways aircraft while emergency services surround the area at the UK’s busiest airport.

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Train drivers in England begin three-day series of strikes

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Avanti West Coast services among those affected by Aslef industrial action, which continues on Saturday and Monday

Rail passengers across England will face significant disruption on Friday as train drivers at five operating companies carry out industrial action.

The 24-hour strike will be the first of three days of rolling strike action being taken by the train drivers’ union Aslef, with services on Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway all affected.

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Liquid restrictions at UK airports to remain in place until June 2025

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Travellers will have to wait another year for 100ml limit to be lifted after government extends deadline for new scanners

Holidaymakers will continue to face limits on the amount of liquid they can carry on flights out of the UK this summer after the government extended the deadline for airports to install new security scanners by a year.

The Department for Transport had previously set a target for the introduction of 3D scanners in all UK airports by 1 June, but this has now been extended by 12 months because some major airports will not be ready in time.

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Network Rail to spend £2.8bn to cope with effects of climate crisis

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Funding for drains, embankments and other measures is part £45.4bn five-year investment plan

Network Rail is to spend nearly £3bn to protect the railway from the effects of the climate crisis and extreme weather, as it warned that the country’s network was having to contend with hotter summers and increased winter floods.

As part of its new £45.4bn five-year investment plan, the body in charge of Great Britain’s rail network will spend £2.8bn over the next five years on activities and technology to help it cope with the impact of climate change.

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UK weather warnings for wind and rain issued in run-up to Easter weekend

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Met Office says unsettled conditions could disrupt travel and pose danger to life in parts of Northern Ireland and southern England

Heavy rain and strong winds could disrupt travel and pose a risk to life in the run-up to the Easter weekend, forecasters have said.

The Met Office issued yellow warnings across parts of Northern Ireland and the south of England.

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Labor unveils watered-down fuel efficiency standard that eases emission rules for large SUVs

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Bill to be introduced to parliament this week will incentivise carmakers to import cleaner vehicles

The Albanese government has watered down flagship new laws aimed at disincentivising the use of high-polluting cars and hastening the importation of cleaner vehicles amid pressure from the auto industry.

On Tuesday the transport minister, Catherine King, and the energy minister, Chris Bowen, revealed the details of compromise bill to be introduced to parliament this week, with the changes largely easing rules for popular large SUVs.

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At least 14m Easter car journeys could take twice as long as usual, RAC says

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Bank holiday weekend and start of school holidays take place at same time, with high traffic volumes expected

Drivers are being warned to expect long delays over Easter as millions of getaway trips lead to soaring traffic volumes and congested motorways.

The RAC said that more than 14m journeys on some popular routes could take twice as long as normal, as the first bank holiday weekend of the spring coincides with the start of a two-week holiday for many schools.

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Heathrow Border Force staff vote to strike in dispute over shift patterns

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No dates announced for industrial action, but stoppages could begin as soon as 8 April, says PCS union

Border Force staff at Heathrow have voted to strike in a dispute over shift patterns.

The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) said 600 of its members, who carry out immigration controls and passport checks, voted 90% in favour of strike action.

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Australia politics live: Steven Miles says Suncorp Stadium will host Brisbane Olympics opening and closing ceremonies

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Follow the day’s news live

‘There’ll be a lot of people grieving today’

Both Barnaby Joyce and Tanya Plibersek were asked about soldier Jack Fitzgibbon, the son of former defence minister Joel Fitzgibbon.

The Fitzgibbon family are a family of honour. Jack died in service to our nation. Joel has served our nation. The family will be absolutely grieving. We hope and pray Jack is with our maker, give comfort to them. You’ve seen the Fitzgibbons, you’ve watched them on television. They’re a great family. He is also my mate. We’ll turn up and give what support we can to Jack’s family.

It’s just the worst thing that any parent can imagine and so our hearts go out to Joel and Diane and their family and the friends and comrades that Jack had in the service as well. We know there’ll be a lot of people grieving today.

Well, first of all, of course it’s not on government devices in Australia either. We’ve got a ban here in Australia on government devices. But there are 8.5 million Australians who are using it.

We’ll take the advice of our security and intelligence agencies on anything we need to do around TikTok. I think people should be careful of the data that they put online in general. Like I say, if the security and intelligence agencies give us advice on TikTok, we’ll take it.

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