Singapore Airlines will operate daily flights between Manchester and Singapore from July 13, 2026, up from the current five per week.

Flights to London Gatwick will also increase from three per week to daily services from October 25, 2026.

This will give the airline a total of six daily flights to London, including its four existing Heathrow routes.

If flights are cancelled you’d usually be entitled to choose between a refund or alternative flight, but what about the hotel cost?

Full info in the Martin Lewis Money Show Travel Special: How to protect yourself & save, watch it on: https://t.co/X2NCh7Kr5a pic.twitter.com/RNKU9BUTA3

— Martin Lewis (@MartinSLewis) April 29, 2026

Where else is Singapore Airlines expanding into?

According to TravellingForBusiness , the airline is also increasing services to Milan and Munich.

Milan flights will move from four per week to daily from October 25, 2026.

Additionally, a new three-times-weekly service to Munich will launch on October 26, 2026, bringing the total to 10 weekly flights to the German city.

The increased flight frequencies come as the airline prepares to launch a new route to Madrid via Barcelona.

Starting October 26, 2026, subject to regulatory approval, Singapore Airlines will offer five weekly flights to Madrid.

The service will use the Airbus A350-900 long-haul aircraft and will mark Madrid as the carrier’s 15th European destination.

To support this new service, its current Singapore-Milan-Barcelona route will be discontinued from October 27, 2026.

The airline has confirmed all flights are subject to regulatory approval and that schedules could change based on operational needs.

Tickets for the new Madrid route will go on sale from June 2026.

Tonnes of flights being cancelled plus a new virus in town ..clearly the universe knows I have a trip booked

— Andrew Fox (@afoxdesign) May 7, 2026

Ryanair’s O’Leary urges booze ban

In an interview with The Times newspaper , O’Leary said the problem of unruly travellers was becoming worse, thanks to alcohol.

Ryanair, which flies mainly across Europe, was having to divert almost one aircraft a day because of boozy behaviour by passengers, he pointed out.

“It’s becoming a real challenge for all airlines,” Michael O’Leary said.

“I fail to understand why anybody is serving people at five or six o’clock in the morning,” he told the paper.

Have you had a flight cancelled recently? Let us know in the comments

On Thursday, May 7, the city took to the polls, with half of the council’s seats up for grabs, one in each of its 24 wards.

There is no overall majority at the local authority, which was previously run by a Labour minority administration with 21 seats.

Now, the council makeup is as follows: Labour with 20 seats (-1), Green 13 seats (+4) and Liberal Democrats nine seats (no change).

Independent Cllr Sajjad Malik, part of the Real Independents group, held his seat, meaning the group maintains its two seats (no change).

Independent Oxford Alliance did not gain any new seats, but does hold four on the council (no change).

Oxford Independent Group now has zero seats (-2), both councillors who were members of the group did not stand for re-election this year.

Conservatives and Reform have no seats and gained no seats at this election.

What now?

Party groups and their leaders are now digesting” and having “conversations” about who will run the council.

The biggest gains of the night were by the Greens in a vote that Cllr Chris Jarvis said showed a wish for “change” in the city.

After a campaign which included “leafletting in the rain” and “a few run-ins with dogs” for Mr Jarvis, who is “terrified” of the pets, he was pleased with the historic wins.

The councillor said: “Over the next few days, we’ll be having conversations with other parties because no party has a majority on the council now, and so we need to work out how we’re going to run the council going forward.”

Mr Jarvis said he was “very, very glad that Reform didn’t win any seats” and his group would be unwilling to work with them or the Independent Oxford Alliance (IOA).

He stated: “We’re open to talks with other parties.”

The Liberal Democrats are the likeliest partners in a Green Oxford city council coalition, but together the two parties still fall short of a majority.

Earlier in the night, the leader of the Lib Dem group, Cllr Dr Christopher Smowton, said he was hoping for a “change of control” at the council, adding “there is a lot still up in the air”.

Lib Dems at the city council count (Image: Isabella Harris/NQ)

The party held all of its seats that were up for election, but made no gains in other wards.

With Mr Jarvis stating the Greens would not turn to the IOA, it is not entirely clear what shape a coalition administration could take.

The IOA does hold a number of seats on the council, but, only having formed in 2023, none of these were up for election this year.

Despite a hope expressed by IOA leader, Cllr David Henwood, to “take a few Labour scalps” and “a few Liberal Democrats as well”, the IOA took no new seats.

Labour has lost two seats and made a gain in what Labour group leader, Cllr Susan Brown, described as a “rollercoaster of a night”.

IOA at the city council count (Image: Isabella Harris/NQ)

Labour celebrate a win at the count (Image: Isabella Harris/NQ)

The party had the most to lose with Labour 11 seats up for election in what has historically been a stronghold council for it.

She said: “At the end of the night we have got nearly the same number of councillors that we started the night with.”

Ms Brown added: “I think we’ll want to digest the results of the elections.

“We were very proud in Oxford Labour to stand on our record.

“We put that in front of the people of Oxford, and we have ended the night winning more seats than any other party.”

Cllr Susan Brown (Image: Isabella Harris/NQ)

Labour is still the biggest party on the council, despite an overall loss of one seat, and had been running a minority administration previously.

The party will also be looking into its options moving forward.

Sally-Ann Spence, a Golden Buzzer act from this year’s series and a member of Jeremy Clarkson’s Hawkstone Farmers Choir, visited Ashbury Primary School on Friday, May 1 to judge its annual talent competition, Ashbury’s Got Talent.

Ms Spence, who is from Berrycroft Farm in Ashbury, also has a long personal connection to the school through her children, and a classroom is named in honour of her family’s farm.

Headteacher Tim Miller said: “The standard this year was absolutely brilliant.

“Every performer showed real courage, creativity and commitment.

“I am incredibly proud of all of them.”

The finals featured a wide range of performances from pupils, including dancing, singing, boxing, bike riding, a band performance, and a poem recital.

The eventual winner, Ivor, delivered a standout performance by learning and performing Roald Dahl’s The Porcupine entirely by heart, with acting, humour and enthusiasm, impressing both judges and audience alike.

Ms Spence’s involvement provided a meaningful link between a national stage and a local school environment, inspiring pupils to pursue their own talents.

The entire school community thanked Sally-Ann for her time and encouragement.

They also wished her good luck in the upcoming Britain’s Got Talent semi-final.