10 Thursday May 26 2022 | the times
News
Thousands of passengers faced disrup-
tion at UK airports yesterday after
British Airways and easyJet cancelled
hundreds of international and
domestic flights.
In yet more trouble for an industry
beset by problems during the past few
months, British Airways cancelled 118
short- and medium-haul flights from its
main base at London Heathrow. These
included short-haul trips to different
parts of the UK but also longer flights to
destinations including Corfu, Ibiza,
Istanbul and Malaga.
EasyJet has also been cancelling
flights, with the company saying that
air-traffic control restrictions led to it
removing 11 round-trips at short notice
on Tuesday evening from its largest
base at London Gatwick.
British Airways said that all the
cancellations were planned, with
customers often told a month or so in
advance, and came as part of a decision
to reduce its summer schedule by 10 per
cent between March and October to
prevent on-the-day disruption.
The airline, which cut 10,000 jobs in
the pandemic, has seen IT problems de-
lay flights and been forced to bring in
crew from its Oneworld partner Fin-
nair to complete its scheduled flights.
Customers whose flights are can-
celled more than two weeks ahead of
the departure date are usually entitled
to compensation, with the airline offer-
ing a refund or an alternative flight
time. For last-minute cancellations
customers can claim money based on
the timing of a rearranged flight, and
airlines are expected to pay for items
such as meal vouchers or, if necessary,
an overnight stay.
Travellers heading to UK airports
have endured disruption for months,
with long queues at check-in and secur-
ity, and flights being cancelled or
rescheduled.
The problems stem from a recruit-
ment crisis. Airports and airlines laid
Half of women feel unsafe at night
Almost half of women feel unsafe using
public transport alone after dark com-
pared with less than one in five men, a
survey suggests.
The Office for National Statistics
(ONS) asked questions about security
on public transport as part of a wider
survey of perceptions of personal safety
and experiences of harassment.
The findings suggest just over a third
of all adults “feel very or fairly unsafe”
using public transport on their own
after dark, while nearly one in 10 feel
unsafe using it during the day.
While the proportion of men and
women who felt unsafe travelling dur-
ing the day was broadly similar — at 8
per cent and 11 per cent respectively —
there was a sharp difference when
using public transport alone at night, at
19 per cent and 48 per cent.
There was also a large gap between
the proportion of disabled people say-
ing they felt unsafe using public trans-
port alone after dark (45 per cent) and
non-disabled people (29 per cent).
A higher percentage of adults in
London felt very or fairly safe by them-
selves on public transport at night (
per cent) compared with all other
regions except Scotland (67 per cent)
and the southwest of England (62 per
cent).
The ONS also looked at how public
perceptions of safety have changed
since a previous survey in June 2021.
More people had stopped walking in
quiet places such as parks or open spa-
ces alone after dark because of feeling
unsafe, with figures increasing for both
men (from 18 per cent to 24 per cent)
and women (32 per cent to 37 per cent).
There had also been an increase in
the proportion of people saying they
felt unsafe in a park or open space,
whether during the day (up from 7 percent to 11 per cent) or at night (from 60
per cent to 63 per cent). However, there
was a decrease in the proportion of
people saying that they had stopped
going to busy public spaces during the
day, down from 38 per cent last year to
23 per cent this year.
This may have been linked to chang-
ing attitudes to Covid-19 risks as well as
feelings of personal safety, the ONS
said.
More women (27 per cent) than men
(16 per cent) said that they had experi-
enced at least one form of harassment
in the previous 12 months, a pattern
similar to the 2021 survey.
The types of harassment included
being insulted or shouted at by a
stranger in public; whistles, unwanted
sexual comments or jokes from a
stranger; feeling they were being fol-
lowed; and feeling physically threaten-
ed by a stranger in a public space.Six months of strikes that could cripple
the railway network could begin in the
next two weeks if negotiations between
unions, train operators and the govern-
ment fail.
This week members of the Rail, Mari-
time and Transport Workers union
(RMT) voted overwhelmingly to walk
out over jobs, pay and conditions.
The mandate for industrial action
lasts until November, which means that
rail passengers could face a series of
strikes in that time. Both sides believe it
is likely that some sort of deal will be
struck before then to avoid continued
disruption, but the union said it would
“exercise” its mandate “if we have to”.
The RMT is threatening walkouts atRail strikes could start in
next two weeks if talks fail
Network Rail, the state-owned body
that manages rail infrastructure, and 13
train operators. That would be the big-
gest rail strike since privatisation in the
1990s, and since the union was founded
in 1990.
Mick Lynch, the RMT’s general sec-
retary, said: “We sincerely hope minis-
ters will encourage the employers to
return to the negotiating table and
hammer out a reasonable settlement.”
Railway operators are making
contingency plans for a “commuter
curfew” that would limit services to
7am to 7pm on main lines and a reduc-
tion to about a fifth of normal weekday
timetables.
If strikes go ahead, they would cost
the rail industry about £30 million each
day, according to sources.Charlie ParkerPassengers left
high and dry
as hundreds of
flights are axed
off employees, or staff left voluntarily
during the pandemic, and there have
been delays in recruiting replacements
as travel returns to normal. Covid out-
breaks have hit remaining staff, who
have had to isolate and take time off.
There have been numerous exam-
ples of easyJet passengers reporting
disruption. Newlyweds Natasha and
Chris Stewart had two flights home
from their honeymoon cancelled last
month, while others have reported can-
cellations announced on their way to
the airport. Nicola Booth said she trav-
elled to Gatwick with her family by bus
after her flight from Manchester Air-
port was cancelled on Monday. When
another flight from Gatwick was
cancelled they were left stranded in
London and “had to sleep on the airport
floor, no help or answers”, she wrote on
Twitter.
Emma Murphy from Belfast said she
was stranded when her easyJet flight
home was “cancelled right as the gate
was meant to be announced”. She said
on Twitter that there was “no help apart
from being escorted out and told we
had to arrange an alternative flight
ourselves”.
British Airways said: “The past few
weeks have been challenging for the
entire industry, and at British Airways
we’re completely focused on three pri-
orities: our customers, supporting the
biggest recruitment drive in our history
and increasing our operational resil-
ience.” EasyJet told passengers affected
by cancellations: “We’re sorry that your
flight has been cancelled. This is due to
air-traffic control restrictions which re-
sulted in crew on your flight reaching
their maximum legal working hours.
“There are strict industry-wide rules
on the number of hours the crew are
allowed to work. To protect the safety
of our customers and crew these can-
not be exceeded. As a result we had no
option but to cancel your flight.
“The disruption to your flight is
outside our control and is considered to
be an extraordinary circumstance.”Laurence Sleator
Don’t rain on my parade The Duchess of Cambridge shielded her eye-catching
hat from the elements during a garden party at Buckingham Palace yesterdayDOMINIC LIPINSKI/PAE-scooter
collision
injuries
quadruple
The number of pedestrians injured
after being hit by e-scooters was nearly
four times higher in 2021 than the pre-
vious year, according to figures from
the Department for Transport.
A total of 223 people travelling on
foot were wounded by the contraptions
in Britain last year, including 63 who
were seriously hurt.
That is up from 57 pedestrian
casualties in 2020, which included 13
serious injuries.
Living Streets, a walking charity,
warned that the situation would wors-
en unless the ban on using e-scooters
on pavements was enforced.
The figures came weeks after the
government announced plans for new
legislation over the use of e-scooters.
Private e-scooters are often used on
public roads and pavements despite
being banned.
Legalised trials of rented e-scooters
on roads have been set up in dozens of
towns and cities across England.
The casualty statistics also show that
64 cyclists were injured in e-scooter
crashes last year, up from 21 during the
previous 12 months.
A total of 1,034 e-scooter riders or
passengers were injured in 2021,
accounting for 76 per cent of all casual-
ties in crashes involving the devices.
That includes nine users who were
killed and 305 who were seriously hurt.
Not all police provided full data for
last year so the total number of casual-
ties is likely to be higher.
Dr Rachel Lee, policy and research
manager at Living Streets, said: “There
are more than 750,000 illegal, privately
owned e-scooters already being used
on public roads. That can’t be undone.
As well as legislating for e-scooter con-
struction and use, government must
now address enforcement against use
on pavements.”
A government spokesman said: “We
extend our deepest sympathies to those
involved in these tragic incidents.
“Safety is at the heart of our e-scooter
trials, looking to protect riders, pedes-
trians and other road users. We have set
out clear regulations and guidance for
users and rental providers on wearing
helmets, speed limits and precautions
to keep everyone safe.
“While riding a privately owned
e-scooter on public land is currently
illegal, we are considering how best to
design future regulations.”