Travelers are warned to wait for delays and disturbances on the roads, railways, sea and air this Easter weekend as people try to escape for a break. Staff shortages and illnesses continue to cause flight cancellations and long queues at airports. On Wednesday, British Airways canceled at least 53 scheduled domestic or European flights to or from Heathrow, while easyJet canceled 23 Gatwick flights. There will also be traffic jams as millions of drivers board their cars, despite record fuel prices increasing driving costs. The RAC has estimated that approximately 21.5 million leisure trips will be made by car between Good Friday and Easter Monday. There will also be pain on the railways as the Network Rail carries out engineering work, including the four-day closure of the main West Coast line between London Euston and Milton Keynes from Good Friday. This is bad news for football fans traveling from the North West to Wembley for the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Manchester City. The FA charters a free return bus service for up to 5,000 fans from each club. And in Kent, P & O’s Ferries between Dover-to-Calais are still canceled today, after a second ship failed to take control, almost a month after the company suddenly laid off 800 employees and replaced them with agencies. Pride of Kent will remain in custody along with Spirit of Britain after inspectors identified “a number of 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 the roads approaching Dover Harbor, as the capacity for trucks and tourists crossing the Channel has been reduced. P&O Ferries Updates (@POferriesupdate) #PODover #POCalais: Services are still canceled. For those who have a confirmed P&O Ferries reservation to travel today, please arrive at the port for the booked P&O departure time. Once at the port, head to the DFDS (Dover) or P&O booth (Calais) booths. April 14, 2022 Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has predicted that he will be “extremely busy on our roads, possibly in our ports, especially in Dover”. Transport Secretary Robert Corts said his department was “working closely with operators to minimize disruption” 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, railways, sea and air this Easter weekend April 14, 2022
He is also coming today
The cost-of-living crisis is affecting tenants, with private rents in Britain rising at a record rate. They jumped 14% in one year in London and more than 19% in hotspots like Manchester. Average rents advertised outside London are 10.8% higher than a year ago, as tenants faced “the most competitive rental market ever recorded”, according to real estate website Rightmove. On the economic front, the latest US retail sales and weekly unemployment figures later today will show how the US economy is doing. Last week, the number of jobless claims in the US fell to its lowest level since 1968 as companies kept workers in tight labor markets. Investors will also be watching the European Central Bank today as its board meets to determine monetary policy. The ECB is facing a difficult dilemma, with inflation soaring to 7.5% last month (above the 2% target) and Ukraine’s war hitting Europe’s economy, but it is not expected to raise interest rates yet.
THE AGENDA
12.45 p.m. BST: Decision on the interest rate of the European Central Bank 13:30 BST: Press conference of the European Central Bank 1.30 p.m. BST: US Retail Sales for March 1.30 p.m. BST: Weekly US jobless claims
