Manchester Airport Group (MAG) has this week revealed statistics showing the true impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on passenger numbers.
The group has made an appeal to add a fourth category to the UK government’s traffic light travel system – which would mean that passengers don’t have to take a COVID test – after it reported that passenger numbers plummeted by 90% over the last 12 months of the pandemic.
Leaders at Manchester Airport Group (MAG) now argue that “plotting a path to restriction-free travel” will be key to the revival of the travel sector, with a roadmap based on “greater cooperation” needed between the UK government and its overseas counterparts to share information about the emergence of new COVID-19 variants of concern.
It says this fourth category would crucially eliminate the need for travellers to take expensive PCR tests on their return.
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Currently, as part of the traffic light travel system – which is set to come into play from 17th May following review and categorises countries as red, amber or green based on the risk associated with visiting them – the UK government proposes that all passengers, even those returning from the lowest risk ‘green’ destinations, will have to take a PCR test so that it can gather data that will help with genomic sequencing, but MAG has said this could be avoided if governments worked together on sequencing and sharing data on variants.
MAG said that a restriction-free category that capitalises on the success of the UK’s world-leading vaccination programme would “remove significant personal cost to passengers” and inject “much-needed confidence” into the UK aviation sector ahead of what will be a critical summer season.
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Unsplash | Manchester Airport
“The UK government is among the first to have set out proposals for a system that enables international travel to resume and should be applauded for taking the lead.” said MAG’s CEO, Charlie Cornish.
“After more than a year of almost total shutdown, and with so many jobs and so much economic value at stake, it’s really important we get people moving again once it is safe to do so [and] we now need the government to confirm the 17th May start date as soon as possible, along with the list of countries that fall into each ‘traffic light’ category.”
He continued: “The price tag attached to testing will hold back the recovery and hinder the sector’s ability to power the UK’s economic revival as a whole [though].
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“The requirement to complete a PCR test on return from even the safest countries adds potentially unnecessary cost and the government’s attention must now turn to finding smarter and more affordable ways to manage the risk posed by new variants of concern [which] should be achieved by forging ever-closer partnerships with key markets and developing transparent ways of sharing data into these variants so they can be effectively contained.
“Where we can trust data from other countries, forcing people to spend money on expensive PCR tests, to obtain the very same information, would represent a colossal waste of everyone’s money”.
Manchester Airport
He concluded: “Only by setting ourselves on a course back to restriction-free travel now will the aviation industry find itself on a road to full recovery”.
You can find more information via the MAG website here.
Featured Image – Manchester Airport
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Full list of road closures set to be in place for Manchester Day 2024
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Day is back for 2024 this weekend, and the full list of road closures set to be in place has been confirmed.
Now that schools are officially out across Greater Manchester, and the summer holidays are well and truly here, the hugely-popular Manchester Day is making a return once again this Saturday 27 July, and as always, it’s set to be “the day summer officially starts” in the city centre – with a massive celebration of “all things Mancunian” on the cards.
The theme of this year’s annual event is ‘Let The Games Begin’, and it’s inspired by the international summer of sport, just 2024 Olympics kicks off over in Paris.
The day will be packed full of free events and activities to get involved with.
Some city centre roads will be closed on Friday 26 and Saturday 27 July for Manchester Day.
These will include:
🛣️Deansgate 🛣️St Ann Street 🛣️St Mary’s Gate 🛣️Market Street 🛣️King Street
— Manchester City Council (@ManCityCouncil) July 21, 2024
But of course, in order for the all the fun to go ahead as safely as possible, and as tends to be the case for events like these, Manchester City Council says it will need to make some temporary road closures to facilitate it.
The full list of road closures has now been confirmed by the Council, and there’s some major city centre thoroughfares set to be out of action.
Here’s everything you need to know.
Manchester Day is back for 2024 to celebrate the international summer of sport / Credit: Manchester City Council
Manchester Day 2024 – Road Closures
Saturday 27 July
From 6am to 11:59pm, Manchester City Council has confirmed that the following roads will be closed:
Deansgate (Manchester Cathedral to John Dalton Street) – access will be maintained to Marks and Spencer’s car park and Number One Deansgate.
St Ann Street (Deansgate to Cross Street)
St Mary’s Gate (Exchange Street to Deansgate)
St Mary’s Street (Southbridge Street to Deansgate)
Market Street (Exchange Street to Cross Street)
Fennel Street (Corporation Street to Cathedral Street) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cathedral Street (Fennel Street to Exchange Square) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cateaton Street (Exchange Square to Deansgate)
Barton Square (St Ann’s Square to St Ann Street)
King Street (Cross Street to Deansgate) – no access for deliveries.
All accessible bays, bus lanes, and taxi ranks within the closed areas will also be suspended during from 6pm on Friday 26 July to 11:59pm on Saturday 27 July.
The parking suspensions set to be in place are:
Deansgate (Manchester Cathedral to John Dalton Street)
St Ann Street – including the bays outside St Ann’s Church (Deansgate to Cross Street)
St Mary’s Gate (Exchange Street to Deansgate)
St Mary’s Street (Southbridge Street to Deansgate)
Southgate (St Mary’s Street to King Street West)
Market Street (Exchange Street to Cross Street)
Fennel Street (Corporation Street to Cathedral Street) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cathedral Street (Fennel Street to Exchange Square) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cateaton Street (Exchange Square to Deansgate)
Victoria Street (Cathedral Approach to Deansgate)
Todd Street (Corporation Street to Station Approach)
King Street (Spring Gardens to Southgate)
South King Street (Ridgefield to Deansgate)
Barton Square (St Ann’s Square to St Ann Street)
King Street West (Deansgate to St Mary’s Parsonage)
St James’s Square (John Dalton Street to South King Street)
Cross Street (King Street to Corporation Street)
Museum Street (Peter Street to Windmill Street)
Marsden Street (Cheapside to Brown Street)
Manchester Day 2024: Let The Games Begin! will take over the city centre on Saturday 27 July from 12pm-6pm.
Check out everything you need to know ahead of the event here.
‘Complex’ Metrolink repairs to the Rochdale via Oldham line could take weeks to complete
Emily Sergeant
Work currently underway on the Rochdale via Oldham line is expected to take several weeks to complete.
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has confirmed that land movement affecting the Metrolink network near Derker has now “slowed”, and this means that detailed ground investigations and temporary repair works have been able to get underway.
In order for trams to run again on the crucial line from the city centre to the two major Greater Manchester towns, TfGM says that a small section of track has to be moved back – also known as ‘slewed’ – into its original position.
The overhead line poles also need to be repaired too, the transport operator revealed.
Rochdale line update
Land movement affecting the Metrolink network near Derker has slowed, enabling detailed ground investigations and temporary repair works to get underway.
To get trams running again, a small section of track has to be moved back into its original position… pic.twitter.com/byERjitdi1
Unfortunately though, due to the “complex” nature of these works, and despite the fact that TfGM says it’s actively looking to “accelerate” the repairs, the project is expected to take up to five weeks to complete in full.
On top of this, the detailed ground investigations will also establish whether any further work to strengthen foundations beneath the track will be needed at a later date.
TfGM has apologised for the inconvenience caused to passengers.
‘Complex’ Metrolink repairs to the Rochdale via Oldham line could take weeks to complete / Credit: TfGM
Speaking on the scale of works currently underway, and how long he expects them to continue for, Pete Sommers, who is TfGM’s Network Director for Metrolink, said: “I’m sorry for the impact this is having, and will continue to have, on people’s journeys.
“We are working to get trams running through the area again, but this remains a complex and challenging issue and it could still be a few weeks before this happens.
“We will of course keep passengers updated, and I’d encourage people to check our social media channels and website for the latest information and advice.”