And a draft government report suggests it could reach 3,000 a day, next month. Mr trump has admitted lifting lockdown restrictions will probably mean the virus kills more people. Virgin atlantic has announced plans to cut more than 3,000 jobs in the uk, and to end its operation at gatwick airport. Virgin blamed what it called the devastating effect of the pandemic. Its another major blow for gatwick, the second Busiest Airport in the uk, just days after British Airways said it could not rule out closing its operation there as well. 0ur transport correspondent tom burridge has more details. Happier times, when Sir Richard Branson launched his Airline Virgin Atlantic at gatwick airport. But that relationship is over for now, at least. When travel restrictions lift, the airline will not run any flights in and out of gatwick. It plans to cut 3,000 of its 10,000 staff. The Airline Industry is shrinking fast. Aviation is heading towards a death spiral, a downward trend across the whole of the aviation sector which will affect airports, which will affect the supply chain. All throughout the country. Virgins exit from gatwick is a blow, but not a killer punch its the ninth Largest Airline here. Ba is the second biggest and it has suggested it may pull out, too. That would be a major hit for businesses and people nearby. The sheer amount of money that comes into the local economy through peoples paycheques at the airport is what powers most of the local economy. Were really looking at something on the scale that we havent seen in this country since the 80s. Before the pandemic, planes would queue to get in and out of this airport. Now, this is a rare sight. Gatwick and other airports were, just a few weeks ago, talking up their expansion plans. Virtually all of their slots were full. But all those static tail fins tell you that airlines and airports are suddenly in a very different era. If theres a vaccine or people feel comfortable about flying, then they will do. There will be a percentage of the population that are quite happy to jump on an aeroplane. But i think a proportion of the people who are not and because of the hassle through the airports, its going to be momentous. Bailing out an airline part owned by a billionaire is potentially toxic. So the government has insisted that Virgin Atlantic finds new investors before it gets emergency loans. The future for this iconic brand is uncertain. Tom burridge, bbc news,
at gatwick airport. Now on bbc news, with all the latest on how the lockdown is affecting the leisure and travel industries, its time for the travel show. Hello, and welcome to the travel show. Its a chilled one for me this week, as were coming from my gaff right here in london. Its a lockdown special with a look at how some of the worlds biggest events and festivals are moving the fun online. Weve got news about offers of free holiday accommodation for key workers. We go on lockdown with the beefeaters at the tower of london. And with so many flights and holidays cancelled, weve got an update on how companies are doing on giving our money back. Spoiler alert not very well. Its a frustrating time for those of us who are itching to get back on the road again, but were actually quite lucky that we can stay at home right now, because there are millions of key workers around the world doctors, nurses, the people we buy our food from, the people who empty our bins who dont have that luxury. But in recent weeks, theres been an outpouring of support for them. Notjust in weekly claps like these, but with the tantalising offer of free holidays once bans are lifted. Here in the uk, a campaign under the hashtag treat0urnhs now has hundreds of giveaways on social media. We have a holiday let in devon, and i put it out there on instagram
for a giveaway, two nights to an nhs member of staff, and very quickly, i had lots of nominations coming in, and ijust thought, only one person is going to win this. So she decided to spearhead the campaign and made this video to help spread the word on social media. Some people with large accounts shared it and very quickly that message got across and the restjust followed, basically. We have over 700 giveaways on board now, which is amazing. Weve got such a breadth of accommodation on offer, it ranges from a shepherds hut in dorset to an amazing chateau in the south of france. Theres just amazing acts of generosity all across the board. Sarah decided to open the offer up
again for her own property and got sent 2,000 nominations. The winner picked at random. Is it a 2 night stay . So, its a 2 night stay when you get down here, and the lovely cafe down the road is giving you a meal and you got breakfast. Oh, my god im going to cry 0h, love. Who nominated you 7 one of the girls who i worked with the other day, she nominated me. That was really sweet. I cant believe it. 0h, bless. Youre making me cry its so nice to win something its hoped that once the lockdown eases here in the uk, it wont be too long before nurse rachel gets that much deserved break. But this idea is notjust limited to Health Workers here in the uk. The International Campaign under the hashtag mytravelpledge has been gaining serious traction abroad with properties and hotel rooms on offer to Health Workers and also low income key workers such as hospital cleaners. Avery and tiffany nominated each other. They are both nurses at saint pauls hospital in vancouver, canada. We just made a plan to nominate each other, but her nomination for me got selected, and, yeah. Within a couple of days, she texted me and was like, oh, my gosh, your nomination was selected of course my first thing was, im going to take you and she was like, no, no, its for you and your husband. It is because avery was supposed to go to spain this year for her 10 Year Anniversary, and of course that got cancelled, so hopefully this can be her
10 Year Anniversary vacation. Avery has got a free stay here in the Dominican Republic when travel restrictions finally ease for a well earned rest. Working in the healthcare sector right now is really scary. We are both psychiatric nurses, so we serve really the most marginalised and vulnerable population. With covid, were really afraid it is going to spread within that population, so every time we go to work, we feel uncertain, were scared, were scared to bring it back to ourfamilies. So it is difficult, its uncertain, it is definitely a really challenging time right now to be working in healthcare. Ian and andrew set up the campaign to recognise and reward key workers, but for them, an important side effect is to help out the Tourism Industry in spain, where they run a b b. The pair have had quite a response. They received more than 3,000 nominations in april alone. People assume its a competition or its a prize draw, and we are trying to make it clear that its actually not a prize draw. Either they can nominate themselves, a colleague, a friend, or whatever, or be nominated by somebody, by a friend of theirs, and it comes through to us here, this central database, and we will then try to help allocate them something sensible and something suitable for their requirements. Some people have already specified they would quite like something in the uk because they cant afford a flight. Some people are looking forward to a break in the sun so we try to match it as best we can. The pair have received more than 3,000 nominations in the past month from around the world with a fast growing portfolio of International Properties on offer. The key word for me is hope
hope and support. They are just working full on. If theyre not working, theyre sleeping. So this is just something that they can actually just nominate, they can act on, and they know that someone out there is actually looking out for them and there is a light at the end of the tunnel and a free stay would make their lives so much more bearable at the moment, and to be honest, this situation we are in, is the very least that we can do. What a brilliant campaign, and a richly deserved reward for those people around the world who are doing so much for us at the moment. For the last few weeks, we have been getting loads of messages from people who are still trying to get their money back from cancelled holidays without much success. Now, its probably the Biggest Issue in travel at the moment. Our global guru, simon calder, is across town and hopefully he can bring some clarity to a very confusing situation. Simon, how are you, first of all . I am well and happy, but i have never been busier with just thousands of travel show viewers getting in touch, saying, help, what are my rights . What can i do . So, simon, tell us, what are peoples rights when it comes to getting money back with cancelled holidays . Under european passenger rights rules and also the rules which pertain in the United States, airlines, if they do not operate your flight, have to give you a full refund. However, there have been cases right across europe and the us and the world of airlines saying, we cant refund you, we will give you a credit note, in other words, you are allowed to travel on that airline some time in the next six months, yea r, two yea rs, but your money is tied up with them. Now, if you are covered by consumer rules that entitle you to a refund, and that is the european union, the uk, the United States and some other places, then just keep fighting for a refund, you should get the money back eventually. Elsewhere, well, it might be a matter between you and your credit card company. It feels like a really frustrating situation, but i guess the idea isjust not to give up and keep trying to get that money back . Just keep going, you should get your money back, but i am one of many, many people whove got a ticket, in fact in my case from saudi arabia to egypt for a flight which never took off, and i am having really tough times trying to get my money back from that. If simon calder is struggling to get his money back, what are we going to do . well, keep trying. It sounds like we are not going to be getting back
to normality any time soon then, simon. Youve still got hundreds of flight bans in place, so its a matter, unfortunately, as it has been pretty much throughout this crisis, of wait and see. What i foresee happening is that we will be asked, for example, to have some kind of vaccination certificate. This is my old vaccination certificate, it hasnt seen much action recently, but it will possibly include something to show, when there is a working vaccine against covid i9, that you have had that vaccination and, more to the point, that you have perhaps had the infection and that you are now immune, but of course that is all against a whole backdrop of what the Health Authorities regard as giving you immunity. Alright, cheers, simon. Hopefully i will get to see you soon in person once this is all over. Take care, mate. Alright, now it is time for us to jump across the world to japan to meet another member of the travel show family, carmen hi, carmen hi adi, how are you . Not bad, considering the circumstances. Tell me about whats happening over there, is it the whole of japan in lockdown or just tokyo . The whole of japan is in a state of emergency now but it is more of a soft lockdown, because the government doesnt really have powers to fine you if you leave your home or have a big social gathering, they can just request that you do so. So it is really mixed, the Public Transport is still operating, but my local supermarket insists you wear a mask if you go inside. Small businesses are still open, albeit with limited hours. There are some izakayas, which are smalljapanese eateries, theyre still open, but they have to shut at 8 00pm, so its really, really mixed here. Its such a strange new world that we are living in, isnt it . And another thing forjapan is the paralympics and 0lympics being postponed. That must have been a really huge blow for you guys out there. That mustve been a real huge blow
for you guys out there. Yeah, definitely. It was a huge blow and as you would know, in any city in the lead up to the olympics there is a real buzz about the place and 2020 was meant to be tokyos big year, so many are saying that is why it was so late to declare a state of emergency because they were really hanging on and hoping that the olympics and the paralympics would still go ahead, but once it was finally cancelled, or postponed actually, to next year, that is when they invoked a state of emergency. But the ioc are confident that it is going to happen next year and the olympic flame is burning in fukushima as we speak. It is a symbol of hope and recovery. As well as the olympics, live events across the board have all been cancelled or postponed as the race to contain the virus continues. And whether it is sports, music or art, a lot of these gatherings rely on a shared physical experience that is no longer allowed in over a third of the worlds countries. For the first time in 70 years the Edinburgh Festival has been cancelled. A plug has been pulled on glastonburys 50th anniversary. The plug has been pulled on glastonburys 50th anniversary. And dubai has rescheduled the world expo, resulting in a loss of tourism income from over 20 Million People who were due to attend what was likely to be the uaes biggest event in its history. Well, this hasnt stopped organisers looking for new ways to connect audiences, with many exploring exciting projects to move the fun online. Here is my simulator setup, so you can see we have got the wheel. Formula i has launched a virtual grand prix series, a live stream during which professional drivers compete against each other in a specially adapted video game. But the race is strictly for entertainments sake, with no official points to be won. The champagne antics might have to wait until next year. Another institution trying to capture the spirit of their event online is burning man, a festival usually held deep in the Black Rock Desert of nevada. So for us it really almost wasnt a question. Why cancel burning man and leave this opening, this vacancy, this sadness . But why not take it and turn it towards the opportunity that we have right now and lean in towards what burning man does best and bring people together . 0riginal tickets will still be valid for the online event, with newcomers welcome as well. The experience will be spread across different platforms, which is fitting, considering the theme for this years festival was the multi verse. We are really going to be looking at imagining that members of the community will help participate so that the best parts of what you get at burning man, the inspiration to be with other people, the trust, the playfulness, the creativity. That we can create an environment that is
like that. I think there is an irony right now where we are all more isolated, i am seeing more interesting content coming out of the internet than we have ever seen before. Another highlight of the cultural calendar that is planning to move online is pride. San francisco cancelled its 50th anniversary celebration. The parade is usually one of the largest in the world and this year over Million People were expected to attend. Instead they will be joining hundreds of other cities in the virtual celebration. 0n the 27th ofjune, global pride will take the form of a 24 hour live stream event, featuring performances, speeches, and messages from activists all over the world. So into pride has done a fantastic job at engaging and connecting over 250 pride organisations globally to feel a sense of togetherness, to bring hope to all lgbtiq communities in the face of adversity. You might remember tony and the adventures we joined him on when he visited jerusalem and more recently ethiopia. Now, tony calls himself the blind backpacker, but not only does he have almost no vision, he is also partially deaf. It is his ambition to travel to every country in the world. He is on the road pretty much all of the time, but not any more. Hi, tony. So where are you calling us from this time . Hi. Yeah, im actually in my own apartment at the moment in a small town called teignmouth in devon. Exotic devon yeah, very exotic so i hear you were travelling around africa when the virus hit . Yeah, thats right. I was in southern africa. At the beginning of march i visited johannesburg and then across to zimbabwe and zambia. I had visited both those countries before and wanted to get some videos and photos
of the victoria falls, really. The sound is absolutely unbelievable. At this time of year, march, april, it is the rainy season so it is full of water, so when you are walking through it you just get an absolute drenching. When did you find out that you had to stop your trip and come home, tony . It was starting to get more and more difficult from the end of march. I was planning to go to namibia and i actually went down to the border and they basically wouldnt let me in, they said, no, no. So i thought, 0k, that is that then. And ive got an Underlying Health condition. I had a kidney transplant back in 2008, so i needed medication, and it was getting more and more difficult to try to arrange to get that sent out to zambia, so i thought my best option might be coming back to the uk, as sad as that was. I eventually managed to find
a flight for an extortionate price and then i have been in lockdown more or less ever since. My goal is to visit every country in the world and that is what gets me up in the morning and gets me out of the house in the morning. Where am i going next . So yeah, i am planning the next trip. Sort of looking for the end of the year for the actual travelling, about november, december. It depends on the situation here and in those other countries. Tony, thank you so much. Stay well and looking forward to hearing more about some of your adventures in the future. Take care, be safe yourself. Now, just a few miles away from here, there is one place that has never had a problem with putting people in isolation. It is the tower of london. Welcome to the tower of london, where kings and queens have walked for 500 years. Today is our first day in proper lockdown. Dont worry though, we have got security here, the army here are guarding the jewels and we are under no threat at all. We are locking downjust for safety with the virus. It is very unusual. There is nobody here, just the people who live here. There is 37 of us that guard the tower. We are all former sergeant majors, all spent over 22 years in the military. If we get the job, this is where we have got to live with our families. The tower of london is one of the most iconic sights in the world that we are very proud to keep it, maintain it and look after it. The crown jewels are here and obviously we have our ravens as well. The ravens have been here since time began at the tower of london. An old legend says that if the ravens ever leave the tower, the white tower will crumble and the monarchy will befall a great disaster. So that there is the white tower. Queens and kings of england have lived in that tower for over 500 years. This is where the dungeons
and the torture chambers were once located. I have been asked by my social media adviser, my 23 year old son, that i have got to ask you to like and subscribe to this channel. I have absolutely no idea what that means, but if that means anything to you do that. I would say that in the 1,000 year history of the tower of london this is completely unprecedented because there is no one here. Normally this site would be packed. An average of 10,000 12,000 people per day. When you think about what has happened in the past, yes, we have had world wars and bombs dropping on the tower. Things were still going on. Its a big crisis across the world, but here in the tower we are trying to make things as normal as possible. You know, we have got to get on as a community. It is a community and there are 45 families and the children and all the rest of it. We all know each other very, very well and all find it an honour to live within the walls of the tower. Within the tower we actually have a few key workers, we have got nhs workers, nurses, lifeboats, crewmen, border force, special constables, so tonight, any minute now, when i cut back and hopefully we should have lit the tower blue, and we shall be showing our appreciation. Go applause, cheering thank you to the nhs. Personally, i know quite a bit about coronavirus because my wife actually was tested positive and spent two weeks in hospital. She fought for her life, but it is a Success Story because she is now out and she is really, really doing well. I personally do miss the buzz
of having the visitors here and engaging with them and having a good time, really. We didnt like the words of when they were raising the drawbridge, as former sergeant majors because we tend not to want to give in. But we did. We cant wait for the drawbridge to be lowered and to start inviting our visitors from all over the world to come and see this absolutely fantastic, iconic site. Well, thats it from us for this week. Wherever you are, though, stay safe, keep dreaming those dreams of travel and we will be back with you with a brand new episode in a few weeks time. Bye bye. Hello there. Theres a real shock in store for this weekend but, before we get there, it is getting warmer. It will turn very warm in many places. Mind you, early wednesday morning, its not going to feel very warm, maybe a pinch of frost in some rural parts in eastern areas, underneath the clearer skies and lighter winds. With the lighter winds, it will feel warmer in the sunshine on wednesday. And, for many of us, there will be a lot of that to come. One or two exceptions, a bit more cloud threatening one or two showers in the Far Southwest of england and wales. And there is more cloud coming in across the Northern Isles of scotland. But with later winds, it will feel warm in the sunshine. Temperatures are likely to be higher on wednesday, probably peaking at around 19 20 degrees. Now, during the evening and overnight, we will start to see more of this cloud running its way northwards, up through the irish sea and towards northern ireland, threatening a few more showers for these western parts of the uk. Further east though, we will have clearer skies and light winds. Again, another chilly but, because its a bit warmer by day, it may not get quite as chilly by the end of the night and into thursday morning. We have still got High Pressure in charge. It will shrink away towards the southeast, and that is where we will see the heat for longer. Further north and west, these weather fronts encroaching, threatening some showers and a bit more cloud. And we will certainly see more of that coming in on thursday across northern ireland, up into scotland a few sharp showers here, and perhaps the chance of a shower across more western parts of england and wales. Head further east though, a good chance it will stay dry. Still a fair bit of sunshine around, and those temperatures are continuing to rise, up to 22 23 celsius. Probably the peak of the warmth is going to be on friday, and thats for the southeast of the uk. It may be a bit more cloud across england and wales, northern ireland, maybe one or two showers breaking out as well. But we have got this band of rain across northern scotland, and, here, those temperatures are dropping away quite markedly. Further south, where we will see those temperatures 211 25 degrees, a very warm day. That band of rain is on that weather front there, and that will be significant, because its that thats going to sweep its way southwards during this weekend, and, behind it, a stronger northerly wind will push down much colder air across all areas. Now, on saturday, it will be cooler across the northern half of the uk, perhaps some rain. Further south, still largely dry and warm, with some sunshine, but, even here, it gets much colder on sunday, with temperatures dropping as much as 10 11 degrees. This is bbc news welcome if youre watching here in the uk, on pbs in america or around the globe. Im mike embley. Our top stories the uk records the highest number of deaths linked to coronavirus of any european country. Ministers say its too early to compare. One of the british governments Senior Scientific advisers, stands down, after breaking social distancing rules. President trump confirms the white house is planning to wind down its Coronavirus Task force, despite the high number of cases in the us. Climate experts predict the global lockdown will see the the biggest decline in carbon emissions, ever recorded. And, we meet the choir that
comes together online,