Tough new quarantine regime for travellers arriving in the UK ruins hopes of ‘air bridges’

Families’ hopes of a summer getaway were dealt a blow last night as Downing Street played down the idea of opening ‘air bridges’ to some foreign resorts. The prospect of quarantine-free travel between the UK and countries with low coronavirus rates had been raised by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps. But with ministers expected to unveil … Read more

Are we all going on a summer holiday? Millions are wondering

Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary is not often seen as a consumer champion, but he spoke for many when he branded the Government’s plans for the tourism industry ‘idiotic’. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps added fuel to the fire by saying that a ‘blanket’ 14-day quarantine rule for arrivals to be introduced from next month will include … Read more

Commuters are enraged by short trains and as police patrol stations as trains return to 70% capacity

Passengers face major changes on the railways as services are ramped back up to 70 per cent of normal levels today – but panicked commuters complained of packed trains and some mainline services ran with half the usual number of carriages. Travellers will be required to wear face coverings during their journey and to allow for … Read more

Train capacities boosted to 70% of normal from TODAY with passengers to reserve seats before travel

Passengers face major changes on the railways as services are ramped back up to 70 per cent of normal levels today. Travellers will be required to wear face coverings during their journey. To allow for social distancing, passengers on at least four major lines will be told to reserve a seat in advance if they … Read more

City centre parking charges could be AXED in a bid to tempt commuters off buses and trains 

City centre parking charges could be AXED in a desperate bid to tempt commuters off buses and trains Grant Shapps said parking charges may be waived to ward commuters off trains The Transport Secretary said people have ‘a civic duty to avoid public transport’ His warning comes as Sadiq Khan threatened to run fewer summer … Read more

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps pledges £2bn to improve road and rail networks

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps says building new hospitals in weeks during coronavirus crisis shows it should not take ’20 years to build a road’ as he pledges to ‘rapidly improve’ UK infrastructure Grant Shapps pointed to building of NHS Nightingale hospitals during crisis  He said if hospitals can be built quickly there is no reason … Read more

Coronavirus contact tracing app will start Isle of Wight trials this week

Test, track and trace is the Government’s three-point plan for keeping tabs on the coronavirus when the lockdown is lifted. It will move back to a surveillance system similar to what was happening before the major outbreak started in the UK. Widespread testing will pick up on infections and local clusters early, random population testing … Read more

Grant Shapps says foreign arrivals could FINALLY be quarantined over coronavirus risk

Foreign arrivals to UK could FINALLY be quarantined and forced to install NHS contact tracing app to lower the risk of bringing in a new wave of coronavirus, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps reveals The UK has been very much an outlier by not insisting arrivals are checked   Airport arrivals are advised to self-isolate but there … Read more

Coronavirus contact tracing app will go into testing on Isle of Wight this week

Coronavirus contact tracing app will go into testing on Isle of Wight this week ahead of UK rollout this month NHSX app will be tested on the Isle of Wight this week, Grant Shapps revealed  Smartphone app will be ‘completely confidential’ with data seen by NHS staff  It will need to be downloaded by more … Read more