The International Air Transport Association (Iata) has blamed the half-term gridlock besetting UK airports on a problem with getting clearances for new staff, saying the time taken to approve recruits has more than tripled. Willie Walsh, director general of Iata, said it was now taking as long as three months to get security badges for new employees in the UK, compared with three to four weeks previously, meaning potential staff were seeking out other jobs. – Guardian
Shop prices accelerated in May at the fastest rate in more than a decade, according to new figures that reveal the pressure on retailers to pass on the cost of rising energy bills and the soaring price of imports. Amid warnings that consumers face further pain in the summer from high street and online price hikes, the latest shop price index from the British Retail Consortium and NielsenIQ revealed retail price inflation of 2.8% in May, the highest figure since July 2011. – Guardian
Eighteen miles off the coast of Yorkshire, and more than a mile underneath the seabed, lies a gigantic sandstone reservoir where 70pc of the UK’s gas reserves were once held. The Rough field, in the North Sea Basin, fulfilled this purpose for three decades before being closed in 2017 by Centrica, the parent company of British Gas. Now, however, as Vladimir Putin’s threats to Europe’s gas supplies loom large, the ageing structure may be brought out of retirement, with ministers trying to brace Britain’s energy system against disruptions. – Telegraph
Brewdog, the brewer and pubs group, has narrowed its annual loss after its revenue grew by 21 per cent. The company’s annual results show revenue including duty was at £286 million in 2021, up from £238 million in the previous year, helping to narrow its pre-tax loss to £9.4 million, down from a £12.5 million loss in 2020. – The Times
