Good morning and welcome to our ongoing coverage of business, the global economy, financial markets and the latest travel issues affecting the UK.
Travelers are warned to expect delays and disturbances on roads, rails, sea and air this Easter weekend as people try to escape for a holiday.
Lack of staff and disease continue to cause flight cancellations and long queues at airports. On Wednesday, British Airways canceled at least 53 flights scheduled for domestic or European routes to or from Heathrow, while easyJet canceled 23 flights to Gatwick.
There will also be congestion as millions of drivers get in their cars, despite record fuel prices that are raising the price of the car. The RAC estimates that about 21.5 million leisure trips will be made by car between Good Friday and Easter Monday.
There will also be pain in the railways as Network Rail implements engineering projects, including a four-day closure of the West Coast main line between London Euston and Milton Keynes on Good Friday.
This is bad news for football fans traveling from the Northwest to Wembley for the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Manchester City; The FA hires a free return bus service for up to 5,000 fans from each club.
And in Kent, P&O’s ferry services between Dover to Calais were canceled today after a second ferry failed an inspection nearly a month after the company abruptly fired 800 employees and replaced them with agency workers.
Pride of Kent will remain in custody with Spirit of Britain after surveyors identify “several shortcomings” that could halt P & O’s Ferries’ plans to restart the Dover-Calais route before Easter.
This is likely to mean more delays on roads approaching Dover Harbor, as capacity for trucks and tourists crossing the English Channel has been reduced.
P&O Ferries Updates (@POferriesupdate)
#PODover #POCalais: Services remain canceled today. For those with a confirmed booking for P&O Ferries for travel today, please arrive at the port for the reserved P&O sailing time. Once in port, please head to DFDS (Dover) or P&O (Calais) cabins.
April 14, 2022
Transport Secretary Grant Shaps predicts it will be “extremely busy on our roads, potentially in our ports, especially in Dover”.
And Transport Minister Robert Corts said his department “works closely with operators to minimize interruptions” during the break, but advised people to “plan ahead and check for updates from operators.”
We will follow the latest developments.
BBC Radio Sussex (@BBCSussex)
Warnings of “travel chaos” on the roads, rails, sea and air this Easter weekend
April 14, 2022
It is coming today
The cost of living crisis is hitting tenants as private rents in the UK rise at a record pace. They jumped 14% in one year in London and more than 19% in hotspots like Manchester.
The average advertised rent outside London is 10.8% higher than a year ago as tenants struggle with “the most competitive rental market ever registered”, according to the real estate website Rightmove.
On the economic front, the latest US retail data and weekly unemployment data later today will show how the US economy is developing.
Last week, the number of applications for unemployment in the United States fell to its lowest level since 1968, as companies detained workers in narrow labor markets.
Investors will also monitor the European Central Bank today as its board meets to determine monetary policy. The ECB is facing a difficult dilemma, with inflation jumping to 7.5% last month (above the 2% target) and the war in Ukraine hitting the European economy, but it is not yet expected to raise interest rates.
The agenda
- 12.45 BST: Decision on the interest rate of the European Central Bank
- 13.30 BST: Press conference of the European Central Bank
- 13.30 BST: US retail sales for March
- 13.30 BST: weekly US unemployment applications
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