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This summer, US motorists may be hit with more gasoline price shocks
The ongoing war with Iran is causing supply disruptions that are driving up gasoline prices. This will add to the financial strain for drivers as they hit the road to travel for Memorial Day weekend. Retail gasoline prices in the United States have increased by more than $1.50 a gallon or 45% since the United States and Israel attacked Iran late in February. The price of crude oil, which is used to make gasoline, has also risen, along with the prices of many other goods. This is because the conflict led to an effective closure of Strait of Hormuz - a major trade route through which approximately 20% of world oil consumption passes. As households struggle with rising energy costs, President Donald Trump faces increasing political pressure. Many?states have already suspended gas taxes in order to reduce the cost of fuel. Discussions about lowering the federal 18.4 cent gasoline tax are also underway. Memorial Day Weekend, a three day?weekend, is when many Americans will start their summer travels. According to AAA data, even with the higher prices of gas, 39.1 millions people will travel by car and 3.66 by plane. Patrick De Haan is GasBuddy's head of petroleum analyses. He said that this is the most volatile gas price summer in recent years. The Strait of Hormuz closing is at the heart of it. Americans will pay billions of dollars more to travel to their destinations, even after the Strait is reopened. He said that it could take a year or longer for prices to recover. TRAVEL RESCUES HIGHER FEES AND SHORTER TIMES Even so, Americans are still planning to drive less this summer due to the high cost of fuel. GasBuddy's latest survey shows that only 56% of Americans plan to drive for more than 2 hours this summer compared to 69% the year before. The survey shows that cost is the most important factor in travel decisions. 67% of respondents said gas prices directly affect their driving plans, and 36% say rising costs cause them to take less road trips. Analysts warned that a shortage of gasoline could be imminent as summer travel season approaches. Bob Yawger is the director of energy futures for Mizuho. He said, "Gasoline Storage has been falling for 14 weeks in a line, every week since the war in Iran. We are now going to stagger through Memorial Day Weekend, the beginning of summer driving season. This will be within striking distance of the 11-year record low." He said, "We're in big trouble when it comes to gasoline." The Energy Information Administration reported on Wednesday that U.S. gasoline stocks fell by 1.5m barrels to 214.2m barrels in the past week, as opposed to analysts' expectations of a 2.1m barrel draw. Fuel costs will continue to rise due to the uncertainty in the Middle East and the recent refinery problems, as well as the upcoming Atlantic hurricane season, tight global inventories, and the recent refinery failures. GasBuddy's?forecast showed that the national average gasoline price is expected to be $1.48 higher on Memorial Day this year compared to the previous year. If traffic in the Strait of Hormuz remains restricted throughout the summer, the prices could reach $5 per gallon. John Kilduff of Again Capital said, "We must be concerned about the fact that we are drawing down inventories globally at an incredible pace. Global demand is also finding its way to us, not only for crude oil, but also for refined products."
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US invests another $200 Million for rebuilding New York Penn Station
The U.S. Department of Transportation announced on Wednesday that it would provide an additional $200 million to start construction on the $8 billion plan for rebuilding 'New York Penn Station', a major artery in the city. Amtrak, the U.S. passenger rail company and President Donald Trump’s administration have said that this plan will include expanding track capacity and building a grand entry on Eighth Avenue leading to a new station. It will also replace aging walkways and open modern concourses. Penn Station, the busiest transit hub in the U.S. with 10 million Amtrak riders and 100 million passengers when regional train systems are added, is home to the largest number of Amtrak passengers. Sean Duffy, the U.S. Transportation secretary, announced last month that USDOT will spend $4.7 billion to upgrade rail?projects along Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor. This includes New York Penn Station, and Washington Union Station. Duffy announced Tuesday, at a U.S. Senate Hearing: "We are going to give $8 Billion to rebuild Penn Station." New York has decided not to move Madison Square Garden. This is the home of the New York Knicks, the New York Rangers, and other sporting teams, concerts, and shows. New retail is also included in the rebuild, as well as a new look for the exterior. New York will open a $1.6 billion concourse in 2021 at Penn Station, located across Eighth Avenue. The 255,000 square-foot Moynihan Train Hall features a 92 foot high glass ceiling and a?lounge for nursing mothers. It feeds passengers on 17 Amtrak tracks and the Long Island Rail Road. Federal courts rejected the Trump administration's attempt to stop paying for the $16 billion New York Hudson Tunnel. The Hudson 'Tunnel project aims to construct a new commuter train tunnel between Manhattan and New Jersey, and repair an existing?tunnel that is used daily by over?200,000 passengers and 425 trains. The existing tunnel, which was heavily damaged by Sandy in 2012, requires frequent emergency repairs, disrupting travel on America's busiest passenger rail line. Reporting by David Shepardson, Editing by Chris Reese & David Gregorio
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Sinkhole closes runway at New York LaGuardia Airport
A sinkhole forced the closure of one of the runways at New York’s LaGuardia Airport on Wednesday, causing cancellations and delays. Emergency repairs are also ongoing. Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the airport management agency for New York City, announced at 11:15 a.m. The?airfield at LaGuardia was being inspected by officials every morning when they discovered a sinkhole. The authority warned that "travelers can expect delays and cancellations today, especially with the forecasted thunderstorms." The Federal Aviation Administration has announced that it is slowing down flights to LaGuardia Airport due to the weather and sinkhole. FlightAware is a flight tracking site. According to them, about 200 flights (or 17% of the departing and arriving flights) were canceled at LaGuardia, and 190 others were delayed. Delta Air Lines accounts for about 40% of flights at LaGuardia. Reporting by David Ljunggren, David Shepardson and Chizu Nomiyama; editing by Aurora Ellis and Chizu Ellis
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Airbus notifies some customers about further A350 delays
Airbus informed some customers of further delays in delivering the?A350 later this decade. This has raised new concerns about shipments coming from a US-based company. Three industry sources confirmed that Airbus recently acquired a parts factory in the United States. Sources said that the delays are mainly due to ongoing difficulties in securing crucial fuselage parts at the former Spirit AeroSystems facility in Kinston, North Carolina. Airbus also said that the cargo doors for the A350 Freighter, which were built in Spain, are also experiencing some problems. Airbus has said that it never makes comments about delivery dates. A spokesperson confirmed that the A350 Freighter is on track to deliver its first aircraft in 2027 and fly its first flight later this year. Airbus purchased the Kinston plant, along with Spirit’s Belfast-based A220 wing factory, last year, as the majority of the supplier returned back to its former parent Boeing. The robot-equipped Kinston facility?makes composite panel for the upper fuselage of the A350 long-haul and carbon-fibre spars or beams for each wing. Sources in the industry said that staffing problems had hindered the transition to 'Airbus,' with some employees choosing to return to former Spirit operations under Boeing. A senior aerospace source said that the transition had not been smooth. Airbus informed analysts that it had found no negative surprises in 'Kinston', but CFO Thomas Toepfer emphasized the logistical difficulty of sending European experts to support the ramp up. Reporting by Tim Hepher. (Editing by Alex Richardson, Mark Potter and Mark Potter.)
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Germany invests in shelters for everyday use, moving away from Cold War bunkers
On 'Wednesday', the German government approved a Civil Defense Plan that will move away from Cold War bunkers and towards everyday locations such as underground parking lots, tunnels and subway stations. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in 2022, the debate over civil defense has intensified in Europe. Germany also increased its military spending. The Interior Ministry stated that the plan was partially funded by a special debt-free fund approved last year. According to the government's plan, Germany has 579 shelters for 480,000 people. Many of these haven't been used since the Cold War. The government plans to spend EUR10 billion ($12billion) on civil defence, as part of a larger?military expenditure drive. The money will go towards buying more than 1,000 vehicles, protective suits, and upgrading the mass alert system. The Interior Ministry plans to also install a central unit for coordinating?work between public entities. Alexander Dobrindt, Interior Minister, said: "This concept, which never worked in the 1980s, must be discarded today's modern environment of security". He said that the new plan is aimed at improving protection for people in their homes, and providing quicker access to "safe places" in public spaces. Defence Minister Boris Pistorius stated that the plan was based upon lessons learned from Ukraine where an app warns citizens of possible attacks and urges them to seek shelter. Pistorius stated that "we can't expect to provide shelter for 80 million Germans". (Reporting and writing by Markus Wacket; editing by Kirstiknolle).
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UK delays import ban on jet fuel and diesel derived from Russian crude
The UK announced on Wednesday that it would continue to allow the importation of jet fuel and diesel refined from Russian crude into third-country countries. This ban was first announced in October to help the country deal with the supply problems caused by the Iran War. The decision was criticized by lawmakers in Britain and Ukraine, who claimed that the government had backed down on its promises to stop Moscow from profiting off oil production and using it to fund their war against Ukraine. The Prime Minister Keir starmer said that the measures are part of a larger sanctions package which increases pressure on Moscow. He also stated that allowing the imports to continue is a way to phase in the ban. Starmer said in Britain's Parliament that there was no question of lifting sanctions. The government did not ease the pressure on Moscow. Chris Bryant, the minister of trade and commerce, said that the measures are being taken in light of the Middle East situation. He also stated his intention to suspend the measures - essentially implementing the prohibition - as quickly as possible. The carve-out that comes into effect Wednesday allows Britain to import jet fuel and diesel from third countries, such as India or Turkey, that could?be derived directly from Russian oil. This will allow for additional supplies at a time when prices are rising. In April, airlines warned of a possible summer shortage of jet fuel, but have recently sounded a more optimistic tone about availability. However, many carriers have raised fares or?cut flights. BRITISH LAWMAKERS CHALLENGE A MOVE Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative opposition leader in Parliament, told Starmer that he chose to "buy dirty Russian crude oil" and "that money will fund the killings of Ukrainian soldiers". Senior Labour legislator Emily Thornberry added that Ukraine was "very disappointed". Oleksiy Honcharenko, a Ukrainian opposition lawmaker, told Times Radio the British decision had been "deeply disappointed" and questioned the support of the country. A Volodymyr Zelenskiy adviser said that the Ukrainian President's Office was in "very active contact" with the British government which was clarifying the details. Brent crude traded at $109 per barrel on Wednesday. This is 50% more than it was before the Iran War, due to the disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. The United States extended on Monday a waiver of sanctions allowing the purchase of Russian seaborne crude oil in order to help energy-vulnerable nations hit by supply disruptions. The European Commission has criticised Washington for extending the waiver. This is the second extension of a March measure. It warned that it could boost Russia's revenue. Valdis Dombrovskis, EU Economy Commissioner said Tuesday that the EU does not believe this is the right time to reduce pressure on Russia. There are still thousands of sanctions left. Since Russia invaded Ukraine on a large scale in 2022, Britain sanctioned over 3,200 people, businesses, and ships. The British government announced in October that it planned to ban the importation of oil products, such as jet fuel and diesel refined from Russian crude oil in third-country countries. Yvette Cooper, the then-foreign minister, described the measures at the time as a "huge hit" on the war machine of Russian President Vladimir Putin, while Rachel Reeves, the finance minister, said that Russian oil was "off the markets". The UK also signed a G7 declaration on Tuesday reaffirming its "unwavering" commitment to impose "severe" costs on Russia. The wider package of sanctions includes restrictions?linked to Russian trade in energy and a ban on uranium and related services. BRITAIN'S CAPACITY GAP Britain now has only four active refineries. This is down from nine refineries in 2000. After the recent closing of the Lindsey Refinery, the combined capacity of these refineries is around one million barrels a day. According to the latest IEA Report, Britain's total product demand for March was 1.35 million barrels a day, with 61% being diesel and jet fuel. Kpler data shows that in 2025 Britain imported 483,000 barrels per day of middle distillates. India, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia accounted for 35%. Dan Tomlinson, junior treasury secretary, also defended this change as "a sensible decision" that would help to ensure the security of supply while helping industry and household. Tomlinson, a BBC reporter, said that Britain continues to "support Ukraine" by providing billions in military equipment as well as through the numerous sanctions still in place. Separately, Britain issued on Tuesday a license until January for the maritime transport of liquefied gas from the Sakhalin-2 project and Yamal project, and related services including shipping, finance and brokerage. Sakhalin-2 in the Far East and Yamal LNG, in the Arctic are two of Russia's biggest gas export projects. Sam Tabahriti, Seher Dareen and Sarah Young in Kiyv, Shadia Nasralla, Olena Hartmarsh and Sarah Young in Kiyv, and Sam Tabahriti, writing. David Goodman, Daniel Wallis and Elizabeth Piper edited the article.
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Southwest Airlines will expand its India Global Centre to 1,000 employees, says executive
Southwest Airlines will hire 1,000 people at its newly opened global capability center in India over the next several years, as it builds a hub outside headquarters to build tech capabilities. Southwest Airlines Vice President and Global Director of Innovation (India), Krishna Kallepalli said in an interview that the airline has already hired over a dozen people and plans to increase this number to 200 in the near future. He said that the new office wasn't intended to function as a "traditional back-office hub". He said: "We don't just want to do a shift and lift?and create another office." "We're looking at technology-driven business capabilities." The move comes at a moment when the U.S. Government is trying to encourage hiring domestically, and companies continue to tap India’s engineering talent pools and AI talent. GCCs are no longer low-cost outsource hubs, but rather local offices that support their parent companies in various functions including finance, daily operations, and research and development. Kallepalli stated that "we're starting (with hiring) the core engineering side...?platform, cloud, and network engineering," adding that the next area of roles included data science and machine-learning skills. Southwest has leased 20,000 square foot in?Hyderabad, and can accommodate 200 employees immediately. He didn't give a specific timeline for the expansion of the company to 1,000 employees but said that the company wanted to expand at the "right pragmatic scale". The executive also added that AI is currently driving hiring in India's GCC industry rather than replacing existing jobs. Reporting by Rishika Sadam; Writing by Nishit Navin in Bengaluru, Editing by Janane Venkatraman
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ADNOC CEO: New UAE pipeline bypassing Hormuz is now 50% completed.
Sultan Al Jaber said that the new crude oil pipeline, which bypasses the Strait of Hormuz, and was started by the United Arab Emirates?last year, is now?50% completed. Since the U.S. and Israeli strikes in February, Iran has kept the critical waterway for global oil-and-gas supplies closed to all ships except its own. This has sent energy prices and inflation soaring, which has fuelled fears of a recession. Abu Dhabi Media Office announced the existence of the project for the first-time last week. The UAE plans to accelerate the construction of a new oil pipeline via Fujairah in order to double exports by 2027. The media office reported that Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed, during a meeting of the executive committee, ordered ADNOC's?West-East Pipeline Project to be expedited. Al Jaber, speaking at a live streamed Atlantic Council event, said, "Today it is already almost 50% completed, and we will accelerate its delivery to 2027." "At the moment, too much energy is still moving through too few chokepoints." Al Jaber stated that the UAE took the decision to invest more than 10 years ago in infrastructure bypassing the Strait of Hormuz. The Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline, also known as the Habshan-Fujairah Pipeline, is capable of carrying up to 1.8 millions barrels of oil per day. This has proven crucial to the UAE's efforts to maximize exports of Gulf of Oman crude oil from just outside the strait. Al Jaber stated that some ADNOC facilities and infrastructure were directly 'hit' and that the damage assessment was still ongoing. He said that it will take weeks in some cases and months in others to get back to full operational capability.
Airline cancellations in response to Middle East conflict
Middle Eastern carriers increased capacity following the Iran War, and airlines outside the Gulf have rerouted flights between Europe & Asia away from major hubs within the region.
The following is a list of the latest flights in alphabetical order.
AEGEAN AIRLINES
On May 21, Greece's largest airline will resume flights from Heraklion to Tel Aviv. Thessaloniki-Tel Aviv flights are cancelled up until June 26.
Flights to Riyadh, Amman and Erbil will resume on May 21. The airline has cancelled flights to Dubai until June 29 and Erbil and Baghdad until July 2.
AEROFLOT
The Russian flag carrier announced that it will resume flights to the United Arab Emirates on June 1.
AIRBALTIC
AirBaltic, a Latvian airline, has announced that flights to Tel Aviv are cancelled until the 28th of June. Dubai flights are cancelled until 24 October.
AIR CANADA
The Canadian carrier has canceled flights to Tel Aviv, Dubai and Abu Dhabi until September 7.
AIR EUROPA
Spanish Airlines has cancelled all flights to Tel Aviv from June 9 until now.
AIR FRANCE-KLM
Air France has suspended flights to Riyadh, Riyadh and Beirut until May 19, and Tel Aviv until June 3.
KLM suspends flights to Riyadh Dammam, and Dubai until 28 June.
CATHAY PACIFIC
Hong Kong Airlines has suspended all flights to Dubai, Riyadh and cargo services until May 31, and will resume them on June 30. The airline plans to continue all scheduled flights after June.
The U.S. carrier plans to resume flights from New York JFK Airport to Tel Aviv on September 6, and has extended the suspension of service for Atlanta-Tel Aviv until November 30, 2018. The launch of the Boston-Tel Aviv route was delayed until further notice.
In May, the company announced that it would extend its suspension of service from Atlanta to Tel Aviv.
EL AL ISRAEL AIRLINES
All flights to Dubai have been?cancelled up until May 31.
FINNAIR
It has cancelled all flights to Doha until July 2 and continues to avoid the airspaces of Iraq, Iran Syria, and Israel. The airline will not resume Dubai flights until October.
British Airways, owned by IAG, will reduce flights to the Middle East once services resume. They will?permanently drop Jeddah from their list of destinations, while increasing capacity in India and Africa.
From July 1, it plans to reduce the number of flights to Dubai, Doha, and Tel Aviv from two daily flights to just one. From mid-May, the airline will reduce Riyadh's two daily flights down to just one. Changes will be made until the end of the summer season on October 24. One Dubai service will resume on October 16.
Iberia Express, the Spanish low-cost carrier of IAG, has cancelled all flights to Tel Aviv until May 31.
JAPAN AIRLINES
Japan Airlines has suspended its scheduled Tokyo-Doha and Doha-Tokyo flight until June 30, and Doha-Tokyo until July 1.
The Polish airline suspended its flights to Tel Aviv from June 12 until now. The Polish airline has also cancelled flights from March 31 until June 27 to Beirut and Riyadh. LOT will operate its winter route from Dubai to Riyadh in October.
LUFTHANSA GROUP
Austrian Airlines plans to restart flights to Tel Aviv on June 1. SWISS, ITA Airways, and Lufthansa plan to resume flights in July. Brussels Airlines suspended its operations until October 24,
ITA Airways, SWISS, and Lufthansa will continue to suspend flights from Dubai until September 13
Until October 24, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Lufthansa and SWISS have suspended their flights to Abu Dhabi and other destinations, including Amman, Beirut and Dammam as well as Riyadh. Erbil, Muscat, Tehran and Riyadh are also affected.
Eurowings, a low-cost carrier, has suspended flights from Tel Aviv to Beirut and Erbil to June 22, as well as Dubai to Abu Dhabi until October 24.
ITA Airways has also extended its suspension of flights to Riyadh through June 30.
MALAYSIA Airlines will resume limited service to Doha on July 2nd.
NORWEGIAN AIR
The low-cost carrier has delayed the launch of its Tel Aviv, Beirut and Beirut services until June 15.
PEGASUS
Pegasus Airlines, Turkey's national airline, has cancelled all flights to Iran, Iraq Kuwait, Bahrain, Dammam Riyadh Abu Dhabi Sharjah until June 1.
QANTAS
Australia's flag-carrier is increasing flights to Rome, Paris and other European destinations to meet the increased demand. The number of flights to Paris will rise from three to five weekly return flights, and the Perth to Singapore service will go from daily to ten a week. A new schedule will be implemented gradually for flights starting in mid-April. It will run through late July.
QATAR AIRWAYS
From June 16, it will also expand its international flight network, with more than 150 destinations.
ROYAL MAROC
Moroccan airline said that flights to Doha and Dubai were cancelled until the 30th of June.
SINGAPORE Airlines
In response to increased demand, the carrier has extended the suspension of Singapore-Dubai flights until August 2 and added services on Singapore-London Gatwick (late March) and Singapore-Melbourne (late March-October 24).
TURKISH AIRLINES
SunExpress, Turkish Airlines joint venture with Lufthansa has cancelled flights until June 30, including to Dubai, Bahrain and Erbil.
WIZZ AIR
Low-cost airlines will resume their flights to Tel Aviv from May 28, but flights from Europe to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Amman remain suspended until the middle of September. All flights to Medina have been suspended permanently. (Compiled by Josephine Mason and Jamie Freed. Elviira Loma, Tiago Branao, Agnieszka Olenka, Bernadette HOG, Boleslaw LaSocki, Romolo Tosiani. Matt Scuffham and Alexander Smith edited by Milla Nissi, Susan Fenton, Jonathan Ananda, Milla Nissi-Prussak, and Jonathan Ananda.
(source: Reuters)