
Airfares to the US are now the cheapest in years – but people aren't buying
Transatlantic airfares from Europe to the United States have plummeted to pre-pandemic levels, driven by a significant downturn in travel from Western European nations.
Preliminary figures indicate a 2.8 per cent drop in overall overseas arrivals to the US in May, largely due to a 4.4 per cent decrease in travel from Western Europe.
The decline is attributed to factors such as a stronger dollar and a political climate that has led Europeans to reconsider travel to the US.
Airlines including Air France KLM and Lufthansa anticipate weaker demand in the third quarter and are cutting prices to maintain full cabins on transatlantic routes.
Increased demand from US travellers flying to Europe is helping to offset the decline in European travel to the US.
Transatlantic airfares slump as Europeans continue to shun travel to America
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Reuters
24 minutes ago
- Reuters
Separatist Moldovan region facing crisis without Russian gas, minister says
CHISINAU, June 18 (Reuters) - Moldova's pro-Russian separatist Transdniestria region faces a dire economic crisis triggered by this year's halting of gas supplies from Russia and a collapse in industrial and farm production, a senior minister in the enclave said on Wednesday. Moldova's pro-European President Maia Sandu has warned that Russia could use instability in Transdniestria to sow chaos and influence a September election to secure a parliament and government more favourable to Moscow. Sandu is seeking European Union membership by 2030. "Forecasts for Transdniestria's economy are not encouraging, based on uncertainty over gas supplies, a lack of a contract on power exports from the thermal plant and the fact that major industrial plants are idle," Economic Development Minister Sergei Obolonik told a government session on Wednesday. "There remains a risk that Moldova could introduce new sanctions and restrictive regulations," he said, according to local media. Transdniestria broke from Soviet Moldova in 1990. Other than a brief 1992 conflict, it has lived alongside the rest of the now-independent state with little upheaval for more than 30 years thanks largely to assistance provided by Moscow. But Russia halted supplies of virtually free gas in January after Ukraine shut a transit pipeline. Separatist authorities secured alternative gas through a Hungarian supplier with Russian funding, but that supply has proved insufficient to keep the economy afloat. Obolonik forecast a 12% drop in gross domestic product in the second half of the year from a year ago, a 30% plunge in industrial output, a 6% slide in agricultural production, a 20% slide in foreign trade and inflation of 16%. Improvement next year, he said, depended on finding reliable gas sources and on Moldova introducing no punitive measures. "We can expect no real growth in the economy," Obolonik said. "The best scenario is for indicators to remain at this year's levels."


The Sun
42 minutes ago
- The Sun
Britain's £100billion benefits timebomb that no one is brave enough to defuse
TO the hand-wringing Labour MPs plotting to torpedo the government's £5billion in welfare cuts, some facts. Even with that squeeze, we are still hurtling towards a £100billion sickness benefits bill EVERY YEAR by the end of the decade. 4 4 That is roughly equivalent to the entire size of Slovakia's economy — or the annual output of the City of London. It is more than the combined yearly budgets of the police, prisons and courts — and twice that of what we spend on defence. You could buy every Premier League club several times over and then some. And that is before you even scratch the surface on public money for jobseekers and the elderly. Britain is a nation that looks after people — at ease with the language of safety nets, support and compassion. But we have to be honest about what we have become: a nation hooked on handouts that is driving our economy on to the rocks. Painfully clear A creaking welfare state — with a price tag no government can control and no taxpayer can sustain — is ready to burst. The parliamentary bill to reform it — introduced yesterday by Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall — was meant to be the moment Labour got serious. It tightens eligibility for Personal Independence Payments (PIP), slashes Universal Credit for new claimants and freezes it for existing ones. On paper it is a package designed to 'make the system sustainable' and save the Treasury £5billion a year by 2030. Five key changes to PIP & Universal Credit as Labour's benefits crackdown unveiled But when you actually read the figures, it becomes painfully clear just how little difference it will make. Britain is still projected to spend £100.7billion a year on health and disability benefits by 2029–30 — up from £64.7billion just last year. That is a 55 per cent rise in just six years, driven largely by soaring costs in working-age sickness and disability payments, with PIP fuelling the surge. Once meant to help those with serious long-term physical and mental conditions live independently, PIP is now claimed by more than 3.7million people — and demand is only accelerating. The number of new applications has shot up by 70 per cent since 2018, with more than 1,000 new claims A DAY thudding on to DWP desks. The bill for PIP alone has already ballooned from £12billion in 2019 to more than £21billion today, and it is predicted to hit an eye-watering £42.3billion by 2028–29. Driving this explosion is a marked rise in claims linked to mental disorders — now the main condition for nearly 70 per cent of new applicants under-35. Combined with long Covid, chronic fatigue, and musculoskeletal complaints such as back pain, we have arrived at a staggering projection: that by 2030 nearly one in 12 working-age Brits will be economically inactive due to long-term sickness. International comparisons lay bare just how much of an outlier the UK has become. We now spend more on working-age disability benefits as a share of GDP than almost any other advanced economy. Most European countries — including France, Germany and the Netherlands — have seen their incapacity benefit caseloads remain steady while ours is still climbing. Is it any wonder why critics start to mutter about the UK becoming the ' Sicknote Man of Europe '. But far from marking a moment of unity for Labour, the new bill has lit the fuse on a major rebellion and split the party in two. More than 100 Labour MPs are squeamish about the proposals, and many have already threatened to vote it down when it comes to a vote in the next few weeks. Supporters of the reforms say the real betrayal would be pearl-clutching backbenchers pretending the current system can continue. One Labour insider told me: 'You can't call yourself progressive if you ignore a system that's spiralling out of control. This isn't about cruelty. It's about honesty.' The internal row gripping the party was not unexpected — but the scale of it was. A far tougher package was meant to be unveiled at March's Spring Statement to lance the boil in one fell swoop. But after internal leaks and pushback from Labour left-wingers, No10 blinked. 4 The result? A lightweight version, rushed out early and designed to placate mutinous MPs. One senior Government figure admitted to me a few months ago: 'We had one shot to fix this, and we bottled it. These are half-measures. They won't be enough.' The deeper danger now is not just the cost but the fact political will to act is slipping away. We are an old population, with flatlining productivity, who have very few babies. We cannot have a generous welfare state and a national social care service, and a massive in-work support system Backbencher Some inside the party get it. They know the writing is on the wall: an ageing population, low birth rates, flatlining productivity and soaring demand on every part of the state. Commons humiliation As one influential backbencher put it: 'We have to get serious about reforming the state. "We are an old population, with flatlining productivity, who have very few babies. We cannot have a generous welfare state and a national social care service, and a massive in-work support system. 'We need to change expectations about what Government does in a radical and sustained way. I do not see us being serious about that right now.' Behind the scenes, the whips are in damage control mode, trying to keep a lid on the rebellion. Abstentions might help Labour avoid a Commons humiliation but they will not solve the underlying dilemma. This is not just about one benefit, or one Budget line. It is about what kind of state Britain can be in the 2020s and beyond — and how much we can afford. For too long politicians have ducked the debate, layering new promises on top of old ones without ever confronting the trade-offs. Now, the bill is landing and it's not just a financial one, it's political, too. Labour may win the vote but its bigger test is yet to come: can it finally level with the public, not just about what needs cutting, but what kind of country we want to be? 4


Sky News
an hour ago
- Sky News
Welfare cuts vote could be the government's biggest parliamentary test to date
Liz Kendall, the welfare secretary, said today that the welfare system was at a crossroads - and that the road she had chosen was the one of "compassion, opportunity and dignity". Dozens of Labour MPs feel that what was promised as a plan to support disabled people into work has instead turned into a cost-cutting exercise to shave £5bn off the budget. Kendall announced the reforms in March, saying that the welfare bill was "spiralling" and "unsustainable". The figures are striking: nine million working-age people are economically inactive. Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claims per month have doubled in just five years. Many MPs agree the system needs reform, but worry the government is acting without fully thinking through the consequences. Today saw the legislation published - the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill - setting out a tightening of criteria for the main disability benefit in England, PIP. It also sets out plans to cut the health element of Universal Credit and delay access to it until age 22. Forty-two Labour MPs have signed a letter saying they cannot support the changes - and the names include newly-elected MPs who have not been critical of the government before. They say concessions, such as a longer grace period before benefits are removed, are not good enough. Cat Eccles, MP for Stourbridge, who spoke to Sky News today, has been on sickness benefits herself - after an unexpected illness saw her forced out of her job. She said she was worried about people who rely on PIP for the costs of working – such as petrol, and those who would lose it, but not be ready for employment. "It's really not good enough because we know so many people this is going to affect," she said. "We know PIP can be a gateway to getting other benefits like carers allowance which really help families just survive. We're not even talking about people having some great lifestyle, they're literally barely surviving on these payments. It all just doesn't feel very Labour to me." Other MPs who have not yet spoken publicly are concerned. "It seems as if we're getting all the bad stuff first – before we hear about the job schemes and child poverty strategy", one said. Several MPs say while the £1bn for tailored support in job centres is welcome, they worry it will not help all those losing out; and they worry about the economic outlook and employers being willing to take people on. Government insiders believe the rebellion can be contained. But it poses a challenge, and both Ms Kendall and Stephen Timms have been devoting time to one-on-one meetings to win around individual MPs. PIP – paid at a basic rate of £73.90 a week at the standard rate, and £110.40 at the enhanced rate – would be restricted from people who do not score four points on the daily living criteria. Disability groups say people who struggle to feed and dress themselves could lose out. 1:34 Kathy Laprell, from Eastbourne, who suffers pain and mobility problems following a serious car accident, has been receiving PIP for nine years. She currently qualifies for the enhanced rate, but fears she would not meet the new criteria and lose £440 a month if reassessed when these changes take effect next year. "People are terrified, we're angry, that yet again we're the scapegoat, we had it with the conservatives for 14 years", she told Sky News. "I use it to help pay for my carer's expenses because I pay her, I use it for petrol for the car so I can get out and about, and obviously extra winter fuel; the increase in bills since April has been astronomical. Losing it would mean I would be at food banks to actually be able to eat. "We're not scroungers. If I could work I would work," she said. 1:23 Yesterday, employment minister Alison McGovern faced down some angry Labour MPs who had called for the money to be taken from the wealthiest instead, saying the government had already put taxes on private schools and private jets, as well as increasing inheritance tax. MPs are also concerned that after spending months defending the decision to slash Winter Fuel Payments from pensioners, the government was forced into a U-turn. With many yet to be convinced, the first vote in two weeks could be the biggest parliamentary test the government has faced yet.