Connect with us

Oxford News

Emirates issues new travel and flight update for Brits

Published

3 hours ago

on



The latest announcement from the airline, which is based in Dubai, comes after Ryanair’s CEO Michael O’Leary warned UK travellers to book their summer holidays “as quickly as you can” to avoid rising costs, due the recent Middle East conflict.

In a statement on Friday (April 10) Emirates said: “Following the partial reopening of regional airspace, Emirates is operating a reduced flight schedule.

“You can check our latest flight schedules for upcoming flights and book seats to travel.

“We continue to monitor the situation, and we will develop our operational schedule accordingly.

“We would like to thank you for your understanding and patience.

“The safety and security of our passengers and crew remain our highest priority and will not be compromised.”

Emirates adds that before you travel: “Please continue to check your flight status, even after you have checked in.

“You can also review the latest operational updates on emirates.com.

“Make sure your details are up to date to receive notifications and check your email for changes or cancellations to your flights before travelling to the airport.”

The airline advises: “If your travel plans have been affected, we’ll do our best to rebook you on the next available Emirates flight.

“This applies to most disrupted tickets, including journeys connecting beyond Dubai.”

Customers booked to travel between February 28 until and including May 31 can either rebook on an alternate flight or request a refund.

Emirates continues: “To provide further peace of mind, customers who book flights from 2 April will also be offered one complimentary date change, across all cabins.

“Please note, changes must be within ticket validity, and fare difference fees may apply.”

Find out more information about what you can do when it comes to changing your Emirates flight via the airline’s travel updates page online.

Major airline with flights from UK increases fuel surcharges

The latest air travel update from Emirates comes as Air India announced it was increasing its fuel surcharge on domestic and international flights this week.

These revised fees came into effect for UK flights on Friday, although the airline assured passengers who have already booked tickets will be unaffected by the change.

Air India said: “For the avoidance of doubt, tickets that have already been issued prior to the above times will not attract the new surcharge unless customers seek date or itinerary changes that require a recalculation of the fare.

“Air India will review its surcharges periodically and make appropriate adjustments as the situation requires.”

Air India usually operates more than 60 weekly flights between India and the UK, connecting cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, and Amritsar to London (Heathrow and Gatwick) and Birmingham.

UK airline cancels flights due to ‘huge rise in global cost of fuel’

Prior to Air India’s announcement, UK airline Skybus ceased all flights between Newquay Airport and London Gatwick from April 3, partly due to the “huge rise in the global cost of fuel”.

In a statement published by multiple news outlets, including  ITV, Skybus managing director Jonathan Hinkles said: “The huge rise in the global cost of fuel following the conflict in the Gulf, coupled with a significant drop in new passenger bookings since mid-February’s announcement of the planned closure of the PSO air route, forms an insurmountable barrier to the service continuing through April and May.

“At a time of great economic uncertainty and steps being taken to conserve energy worldwide, it is neither environmentally nor economically sound for us to continue flying with vastly reduced passenger numbers.”

The last flight operated on April 2 and all passengers who have had upcoming journeys cancelled will be refunded, according to the airline.

Have you faced any flight disruption over the last few weeks? Let us know in the comments below.





Source link

Related Topics:
Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Oxford News

Oxford City Council election – List of candidates revealed

Published

1 hour ago

on

April 12, 2026

By


Voters across Oxford will go to the polls on Thursday, May 7, to elect councillors to represent wards covering the city.

Oxford City Council has a portion of seats contested in most years, with successful candidates serving four‑year terms.

With 48 councillors in total and two in each of 24 wards, half the seats, equating to one councillor per ward, are elected every two years.

READ MORE: Relief in Wallingford as ‘unwelcome’ 400 homes plan refused

Poll cards are being issued to registered voters, confirming their polling station and reminding them of the date of the election.

Continue Reading

Oxford News

Didcot: Police ‘ban’ youths from Orchard Centre shops

Published

5 hours ago

on

April 12, 2026

By


Thame Valley police and crime commissioner Matthew Barber highlighted the activities of neighbourhood police officers who intervened at the shopping centre.

South and Vale officers for Thames Valley Police stated at the end of March: “We’ve issued banning letters to a number of young people involved in antisocial behaviour within stores.

“Please keep reporting this to us, retail spaces should be enjoyable for everyone – not an obstacle course.”

A police banning letter bans an individual from entering specific premises, often shops, for a set period – usually six to 12 months.

The banning letters are often served to combat shoplifting, antisocial behaviour, or threats. It is not known which shops were affected.

Mocky Khan (Image: Oxford Mail)

South Oxfordshire district councillor Mocky Khan, who represents Didcot South and is a former town mayor, has now welcomed police issuing the banning letters.

He said: “It’s very important that our shop staff feel safe, so when there is antisocial behaviour in the Orchard Centre security staff and police do need to take appropriate action.

“Some young people are hanging around the shopping centre and at fast food restaurants because they feel like they don’t have anything else to do.

“The Edmonds Park sports pavilion has been improved and we need to continue with that kind of investment in facilities which young people can use.

“If young people are congregating, or are in a group, that shouldn’t be a concern but if antisocial behaviour is happening in shops then I back police taking appropriate action.”

The Orchard Centre in Didcot (Image: Oxford Mail)

Mr Khan said he wanted independent shops in Broadway to thrive, as well as chain stores in the Orchard Centre.

He added: “I want to see any empty units at the Orchard Centre to be filled, and for the Broadway to be busy too – they are both employing local people.”

The councillor said he was pleased that a parking issue affecting shoppers at the Orchard Centre has now been resolved.

Last year, the centre announced it would be introducing parking charges for anyone using the car park after 7pm Monday to Saturday and any time on Sundays, after two free hours, at the end of August.

Olly Glover, MP for Didcot and Wantage, had discussions with the centre’s parking management following “confusion” raised by customers over the new charges and payment arrangements.

The shopping centre then agreed to reverse the introduction of the evening charges on the 875-space car park, which is controlled by an automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) camera.

The Orchard Centre doubled in size in 2018 in a £50m expansion, which added more than 20 new shops including an M&S foodhall and clothing brand TK Maxx.

Last year, Mountain Warehouse moved to a larger retail premises and the centre welcomed the arrival of Hotel Chocolat.

Cardzone featuring Thornton’s closed in January.





Source link

Continue Reading

Oxford News

Oxfordshire town’s £1m hospital development behind schedule

Published

8 hours ago

on

April 12, 2026

By


The £950,000 project at Wantage Community Hospital on Garston Lane is now expected to be finished later in 2026 due to “unforeseen issues” says Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust.

The refurbishment of the ground floor of the hospital will allow for a wider range of health and care services to be accommodated at the hospital as well as an increase in clinic space by eight rooms.

Works began last Autumn and are being progressed in phases, the trust confirmed on March 31, with the first of those already complete.

READ MORE: Oxfordshire MP calls for more as hospital gets £1 million

A spokesperson said: “The first phase of refurbishment works at Wantage Community Hospital is now complete with phase two well underway as part of a large programme of phased works to improve the ground floor space to provide more community-based health and care services from the building. 

“The programme is being completed in phases to keep as many existing services open at the hospital as possible.

Wantage Community Hospital (Image: Oxford Health)

“The overall programme is slightly behind due to unforeseen issues found with the building at the commencement of the first phase that have now been resolved.

“As a result, we now expect the overall refurbishment work to complete later this year.”

Almost £950,000 has been allocated to the project, money taken from the community infrastructure levy healthcare allocation, which is collected from new building developments.

Didcot and Wantage MP Olly Glover (Image: Contributed)

The trust confirmed that its works had not gone over-budget yet as infrastructure projects and households alike face spiralling energy costs due to the ongoing war in Iran.

“The community infrastructure levy funding secured for the programme continues to be held and drawn down as the work progresses,” the spokesperson said.

The news that Wantage Community Hospital was to be refurbished was welcomed by local leaders when announced last autumn.

Wantage Hospital (Image: Ed Nix)

Emma Leaver, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust’s interim chief operating officer for community health services, dentistry and primary care, said: “The works will not only make the hospital fit for purpose, it will allow us to increase the overall number of services offered to local people and improve access for patients, carers and their families.

“Some of the new services coming to the community hospital will include a dedicated area for children and adolescent mental health services – something that local people wanted to see included.”

READ MORE: Suspected WW2 bomb found in River Thames as police race to town

MP for Wantage and Didcot, Olly Glover, was also pleased by the news, calling it “crucial”, but said that more funding for infrastructure is needed.

The Liberal Democrat said: “Using developer contributions to help fund health, leisure, education infrastructure, or projects like a new station at Grove, is the right approach.

“However, government investment is also needed to ensure local facilities are provided ahead of new homes to ensure sufficient infrastructure to meet community needs.”





Source link

Continue Reading

Trending