Latest news with #TeessideInternationalAirport
BBC News
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Teesside and County Durham stories you might have missed this week
An escape from a coach fire, a North East book festival, Hula Hoops workers rejecting a strike, driverless coaches, and flood defence plans. Here are five stories from Teesside and County Durham you might have missed this week. Passengers safe after A19 coach fire Part of a major road was closed after a coach caught blaze broke out at the Doxford Park turn-off of the A19, near Seaham, County Durham, at about 10:35 BST on passengers of the coach were safely evacuated and Durham Police said nobody was more about the coach fire here Driverless buses to take holiday-goers to planes Holiday-goers at an airport will be taken to their planes by driverless vehicles following a £1m International Airport has signed a contract with Aurrigo International, which will trial its eight-seater Auto-Shuttle at the site from company will also test its Auto-Dolly Tug, which has been designed to carry cargo and bags around airports, from more about the driverless buses here North East authors join forces at book festival A book festival's return will bring together different generations of North East writers, its organisers Book Festival will take place between 10 and 12 October, hosting Dame Pat Barker, Steph McGovern, Eliza Clark and Ann Cleeves, whose books have been adapted into TV shows Vera and Shetland. Former White House national security adviser Fiona Hill, who was born in Bishop Auckland, will also launch a podcast series as part of a festival more about Durham Book Festival here Crunch talks as Hula Hoops workers reject strike Workers making Hula Hoops, Pom-Bear and Discos crisps have voted against striking in a dispute over union members working at KP Snacks' factory in Billingham, County Durham, were balloted on whether to take industrial action after declining a salary rise of 77p per said its workers had asked for an increase of £1 per hour but, when the ballot votes were counted on Tuesday, there was not enough support for strike more about the Hula Hoops workers' decision here Plans to repair creek's 'poor' flood defences Proposals to repair "poor" flood defences to protect a town and combat coastal erosion have been lodged as part of a multimillion-pound defences at Greatham Creek and Greenabella Marsh, off Tees Road, near Hartlepool, had been badly damaged since they were built in the late 19th Century, the Environment Agency creek flooded in 2014 and has been damaged by drought, erosion and a rise in sea more about the flood defence plans here Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
Scottish Sun
7 days ago
- Business
- Scottish Sun
World first driverless BUS to ferry holidaymakers between terminals at major UK airport is unveiled
The vehicles will complete a test run before carrying passengers HOL YES! World first driverless BUS to ferry holidaymakers between terminals at major UK airport is unveiled Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) HOLIDAYMAKERS will soon get the chance to be ferried between terminals in the world's first driverless bus at a UK airport. The eight-seater auto shuttle will undergo a trial at Teeside International Airport from October. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 Teesside International Airport will be the first in the world to trial driverless buses Credit: Alamy 2 The new vehicle comes complete with a sleek, futuristic look Credit: Teesside International Airport A £1 million deal between the airport and Aurrigo International Plc will see the bus ferry passengers between terminals, while an Auto-Dolly Tug - designed to ferry cargo instead of passengers - will be trialled in January. Managing Director at Teesside International Airport, Phil Forster, said the technology would make moving bags from check-in to planes seamless. But Aurrigo's Auto-Shuttle will be tested before it carries any passengers across the tarmac. It's hoped that, if successful, the new vehicles will transform the way passengers are moved around the airport. And they could be shuttling passengers to their flights as early as 2026. Tees Valley Mayor, Ben Houchen, told the BBC: "These vehicles arriving in just a couple of months' time are a huge boost and I'm excited to see them serving holidaymakers on our year-round flights in the New Year." The futuristic vehicles come to the airport after plans were announced earlier this year to invest £2 million to build a facility that would construct and test trackless trams. The Tees Valley Combined Authority hopes the facility would allow driverless vehicles to be put to work in town centres by the end of 2027. He went on to say that the tech will likely have an impact on the whole aviation industry. Aurrigo has deployed its driverless vehicles across the world before but has never trialled them at a live airport. The Sun test drives the latest driverless taxis in Phoenix Arizona The firm's test will mark a world first as the driverless buses take to the tarmac. Driverless buses have previously been used in Scotland but never deployed to an airport before. The new technology allows for operating costs to be reduced with no need to pay drivers. Driverless vehicles are still relatively new and untested technology and are yet to be rolled out nationwide.
Daily Mail
25-04-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE My family trip was cancelled by Balkan Holidays collapse - now rebooking is going to cost me hundreds more
Having saved up all year, Chantelle Thompson had been looking forward to a big family holiday to Sunny Beach, Bulgaria, due to fly on May 25, 2025. But the 40-year-old sales assistant, husband Alan, 48, and 12-year-old son Matthew were left distraught last night whenBalkan Holidays - the travel company they'd booked through - suddenly announced it was to cease trading with immediate effect. 'I'm pretty angry,' Chantelle, from Teeside, tells us. 'We only found when Balkan put a statement on Facebook. We've not heard anything from them. 'The holiday cost £1,700, and we'd been saving up nearly a year for it. 'We don't know when our refund is going to come, and if we want to book another holiday, sorry, we don't have any money under the mattress. 'By the time we get our refund, they'll probably have put the prices up on flights too!' Balkan, which offered holidaymakers trips to Bulgaria, Croatia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Malta and Northern Cyprus, said it would aim to process refunds as fast as possible, working in order of departure date. Direct customers have been asked to contact the company directly to arrange refunds, but expectant travellers who booked trips via a third party have been told they will need to speak to their travel agent to get their money back. Having booked through a travel agent, Chantelle contacted them first thing this morning - with Balkan having released the statement after her travel agent closed. 'They're as much in the dark as we are,' she says. 'They said, "We're shocked how this has happened. We weren't expecting it." 'They're waiting for updates from head office.' Chantelle and her family were due to be flying from Teesside International Airport - just a 30-minute drive from where they live. She says: 'It was perfect because my husband works behind the airport as a warehouse operative, so we could leave the car at the airport, which would've saved us money on parking.' But alternative flights to and from Bulgaria on the same dates in May are very limited from there. She continues: 'Unfortunately we're going to have to fly from a different airport if I want the same dates. I've checked online myself. 'We're going to have to go up to Newcastle, which I know is only an hour away, or go a couple of hours to Manchester or Leeds-Bradford. 'My son's also going to have to miss one or two days of school with other flights, as they come back late, nearly midnight, so I can't get back and expect my son to get up and ready for school with only a few hours' sleep. 'The next flights are on Monday, and he'll get back on the Monday afternoon, so he's going to miss school either way. 'He's got 100% attendance and he really doesn't want to miss school. 'We're all gutted, to be honest.' Balkan Holidays was launched nearly six decades ago, and specialised in trips to Bulgaria. It offered departures from 17 British airports, more than any other UK tour operator. At its peak, it served 130,000 people a year. But its numbers have dwindled in recent years, with it being licensed to carry just 27,817 Atol-protected passengers in the year to the end of March 2026. It said in a statement on its social media pages and website: 'We regret to inform you that Balkan Holidays Ltd has, as of 24th of April 2025, closed for business in the UK. 'The company has not gone into liquidation, however all forward holiday bookings have been cancelled. 'All clients will be notified and refunded in full. 'May we kindly ask for patience as we process the refunds and appreciate your understanding. 'Thank you for your past business and please accept our most sincere apologies for the disappointment and inconvenience.'
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Plan for new airport hangar to be built
Plans have been announced for a new hangar to be built at a regional airport. Teesside International Airport in Darlington will house the structure to store a fleet of planes and provide office and workshop space. It will be used by Draken, which provides training for organisations such as the RAF and the US Air Force and recently signed a £173m contract with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to retain its operations at Teesside Airport. Planning documents said: "The new hangar will provide a modern facility for the storage of aircraft that meets government energy performance requirements." The site is about 1.35 hectares and is currently a piece of undeveloped grassland within the airport grounds. The airport said Draken already occupied two hangers at the site and the new structure would be next to them, with a new parking area also created. The documents said the hanger would support their L-159 "Honey Badger" fighter planes. Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram. Fighter pilot training firm retains airport base Airport still losing money after public takeover Teesside International Airport
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Plan for new airport hangar to be built
Plans have been announced for a new hangar to be built at a regional airport. Teesside International Airport in Darlington will house the structure to store a fleet of planes and provide office and workshop space. It will be used by Draken, which provides training for organisations such as the RAF and the US Air Force and recently signed a £173m contract with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to retain its operations at Teesside Airport. Planning documents said: "The new hangar will provide a modern facility for the storage of aircraft that meets government energy performance requirements." The site is about 1.35 hectares and is currently a piece of undeveloped grassland within the airport grounds. The airport said Draken already occupied two hangers at the site and the new structure would be next to them, with a new parking area also created. The documents said the hanger would support their L-159 "Honey Badger" fighter planes. Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram. Fighter pilot training firm retains airport base Airport still losing money after public takeover Teesside International Airport
