Countraflow in place today after A55 Conwy Tunnel fire

Delays are expected today.
Motorists are being advised to allow extra time for their journey as delays are expected in the area.
The A55 was closed in both directions due to the fire https://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/25252158.major-incident-conwy-tunnel-fire---live-updates/on Thursday.
Black smoke was seen billowing into the sky for miles around.
People in the tunnel had to abandon their cars and exit on foot.
Motorists faced significant delays as they were diverted to avoid the tunnel.

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Telegraph

17 minutes ago

• Telegraph

HS2 staff ordered to come to office more

HS2 has ordered staff back into the office three days a week as it comes under fire over yet more delays and spiralling costs. The beleaguered high speed railway line has told employees they must come into work more often, saying the change will aid 'faster decision-making'. The Transport Secretary last week branded the project an 'appalling mess' as she revealed its completion has been pushed back beyond 2033. HS2 has lagged behind other parts of the public sector on working from home even as its costs have spiralled out of control to an estimated £66 billion. Right up until last month it still only required employees to attend work - either at an office or on site - for a minimum of two days a week. Staff were finally informed on May 1 that they would now have to come in for at least three days, matching the standard set across Whitehall. A spokesman for HS2 said: 'We recently increased our office and site working requirements to a minimum of three days a week. This is in line with many other parts of the public sector and we believe it supports collaboration, communication and faster decision-making. 'We recognise the continued benefits that hybrid working policies bring to employees such as promoting work life balance and enhancing employee wellbeing.' The company insisted that compliance with attendance requirements is 'closely monitored' using swipe card data. Staff who refuse to return to the office for the new three day minimum standard without a reasonable excuse could face disciplinary action. HS2 has been blighted by repeated delays and soaring costs, despite the scope of the project being repeatedly scaled back by ministers. It was originally meant to run on one main line from London to Birmingham, before splitting into separate branches destined for Manchester and Leeds. When it was first announced by Gordon Brown in 2009, the rail line had an estimated price tag of £37.5 billion and was due to open in 2026. Amid alarm over the rising costs and delays, Rishi Sunak significantly curtailed the project in 2023, meaning that it will now only run as far as Birmingham. There have also been doubts over whether the London terminus will be Euston as planned, or if it will be moved to Old Oak Common to save money. The surging costs of the project have largely been blamed on the need to tunnel under the Chilterns, an area of outstanding national beauty. It has also been blighted by green regulations, including the requirement to build a £100 million bat tunnel, which has been criticised by Sir Keir Starmer. Heidi Alexander, the Transport Secretary, told the Commons last week that HS2 was 'an appalling mess' but 'it is one we will sort out'. Announcing the delay beyond 2033, she said: 'We need to set targets which we can confidently deliver, that the public can trust and that will take time. 'But rest assured, where there are inefficiencies we will root them out. Where further ministerial interventions are needed, I will make them without fear or favour. HS2 will finally start delivering on our watch.'

Daily Mail​

25 minutes ago

• Daily Mail​

Vacations in turmoil as JetBlue slashes flights

Published: Updated: Vacations have been thrown into turmoil after JetBlue announced plans to slash summer flights. The budget airline is launching new cost-saving measures after weak travel demand is threatening its bottom line. JetBlue admitted that its chances of breaking even this year are 'unlikely', in a memo seen by Reuters. As a result the carrier is planning to wind down less popular routes and cutting its leadership team, CEO Joanna Geraghty told employees in the note. 'We're hopeful demand and bookings will rebound, but even a recovery won't fully offset the ground we've lost this year and our path back to profitability will take longer than we'd hoped,' Geraghty said. US airlines have taken a hit after President Trump's aggressive trade policies and border crackdowns have seen a significant pullback in travel to the US. JetBlue is not alone in scaling back capacity ahead of the summer travel season, with United also cutting four in every 100 of its domestic flights . 'While most airlines are feeling the impact, it's especially frustrating for us, as we had hoped to reach break-even operating margin this year, which now seems unlikely,' Geraghty explained. JetBlue is under additional financial strain as it us undergoing inspections of some of its engines, which has grounded a number of its aircraft. In other efforts to cut costs the airline is planning to park six of its Airbus jets instead of retrofitting them as initially planned. It comes after JetBlue previously pulled its full year forecast in April to readjust to the new demand environment. The company also previously announced its plans to make a $3 billion saving by deferring buying 44 new Airbus jets. JetBlue's shares are down more than 44 percent so far this year. Earlier this year United announced it would be axing flights due to a dip in demand for US travel. 'The softer economic situation is creating softer demand for travel,' CEO Scott Kirby told investors on the airline's first quarter earnings call in April. United said it also saw flights coming out of Canada see a 9 percent dip, with the rest of international demand coming in to the US down 6 percent. Canadians have been boycotting US travel after Trump threatened to make America's northern neighbor the '51st state.' As a result air travel dropped 13.5 percent in March compared to the same time last year. Flair Airlines was forced to abandoned its routes from Vancouver and Calgary to Phoenix, Arizona as a result of such low demand. Tourist hotspots that rely heavily on Canadian visitors, such as Buffalo, New York and Old Orchard Beach in Maine have seen dramatic drop-offs in visits. Some hotspots such as Palm Springs in California have even hung signs begging Canadians not to boycott them .

Times

28 minutes ago

• Times

Now, in which idiot-proof place did I put my passport?

I was on my way to the airport on Sunday when, quite sensibly, I decided to check I had my passport. It would have been even more sensible to check before leaving the hotel, but hindsight's a wonderful thing. So is having a passport, which, at that moment on that pavement in Stockholm, I did not. Normal people would panic at this point but I'm not normal. I always lose my passport and then, a few minutes later, I always find it again. No cause for alarm. I took a deep breath and had another look. Still no passport. I tipped everything out of my bag and on to the pavement. Nothing, but I still didn't panic. There are people who are good at losing things and people who are good at finding things. I'm one of the former. Harriet is one of the latter. She knows where everything is at all times and it's such an amazing skill that I enjoy testing her. I'll say, 'Do you know where the Euro plug is?' and she'll say, 'Fourth drawer, cabinet, shower room.' I'll say, 'Have we still got that book about mushrooms?' and she'll say, 'One's in the green box in the loft and one's in the office next to the book about bees.' • Matt Rudd: We're off for a walk is everybody? Harriet was not in Stockholm and this was both good and bad news. It was good news because I could get on with the search without the eye-rolling. It was bad news because if she was here, the passport would be as well. I still didn't panic. Obviously I must have left it at the hotel. I packed my bag again and started running, not because I was panicking but because if I didn't run I'd miss the flight. So maybe panicking a little. The room was as I'd left it — tiny, sparsely furnished, not obviously containing a passport. I went through the bedding, I shook out the curtains, I looked in the mini-fridge and the bin. Nothing. I emptied my bag again. Still nothing. • Matt Rudd: How to beat the scammers? Bore them to death Then I decided to panic. I pulled off the bedsheets, flipped over the mattress, lifted up the cupboard and the rugs. Then I asked myself the world's most irritating question — 'Where did you last have it?' — and, to my astonishment, it helped. I last had the passport in this room yesterday morning. I had taken it out of my bag because I didn't want to lose it in the city because I know what I'm like. Of the people who are good at losing things, there are those who just accept it and those who adapt. I have tried to adapt. With some success I have trained myself to put my wallet and keys on the hall table the minute I get home. As a result I am proud to say that the frantic morning wallet-and-key search is now an exception rather than the rule. I have a list on my phone of Where Weird Things Are. It says things like 'rugby boot stud spanner next to shoe polish' and 'shoe polish next to rugby boot stud spanner'. And when I check into a hotel I make a mental note of where I put my passport. This system relies on good recall, which, in that sweaty, stressful moment, I did not have. All I could remember was that I'd put it 'somewhere clever' where burglars would least expect it — but the hotel room was tiny and I'd looked everywhere, clever and not clever. • Matt Rudd: I'm helping my son with his GCSE revision. But what's the point? The UK government website says it takes at least 48 hours to process an emergency travel document. I tried hard not to think about all the logistical repercussions of spending 'at least' two more days in Sweden. I ransacked the room again. Nothing. I looked at the bin. A flicker of a memory of a mental note. The newspaper? Maybe I'd put the passport inside to outfox the burglars and apparently myself. I grabbed it from the bin and shook it. No. I went back to the application: £125. Ouch. Plus a new flight. Ouch again. And hotels. Maybe one last look. And there it was, at the very bottom of the bin. It had dived out of the newspaper, commando-style, and snuck under a Coke can at exactly the wrong moment. In seconds I'd packed my bag again and was running. Could I still make the flight? I reached for my phone to check the time. No phone! Normal people would panic at this point but…