Pressure is growing on the government to take action over P&O Ferries’ shock decision to sack its seafaring employees last week.

Elsewhere, hundreds of British Airways passengers had to go home without their bags over the weekend as the airline suffered more operational problems.

Meanwhile, Bourne Leisure’s owner is reported to be considering a bid for UK holiday park operator Parkdean Resorts, and Hong Kong is easing some of its strict Covid-19 rules. 

Here are the headlines the travel industry woke up to on Monday (21 March).

P&O Ferries in the dock

P&O Ferries bosses have until 5pm on Tuesday (22 March) to explain their decision to suddenly sack 800 crew last week, with ministers believing the company may not have followed the correct rules for making these redundancies. Labour has urged business minister Kwasi Kwarteng to take legal action against the ferry operator. (The Mirror)

Fuel duty cut to ease cost of living crisis

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is poised to cut fuel duty this week during his Spring Statement as the government looks for ways to ease the financial impact of rapidly increasing inflation on UK households. (Various)

Butlin’s owner Bourne Leisure eyes bid for Parkdean Resorts

The US firm behind Bourne Leisure is considering making a takeover offer for UK holiday parks group Parkdean Resorts. Bourne and its owner Blackstone are reported to be working with Bank of America on a possible bid for Parkdean, which runs 66 parks in the UK. (The Times)

Hundreds of BA passengers go home without luggage as chaos hits Heathrow

Passengers were forced to go home from Heathrow without their luggage on Saturday (19 March) after British Airways had to cancel more than 25 flights, with many more services being delayed. The airline blamed the disruption on “operational issues”. (The i)

Hong Kong lays out Covid easing plan as frustration rises

Hong Kong is planning to scrap some of its Covid travel restrictions, including lifting the ban on flights from nine countries, including the UK, from 1 April. The amount of time travellers must spend in mandatory hotel quarantine will also be halved to seven days, provided they test negative for the virus. (Financial Times)

Russia accused of genocide over Ukraine attacks

Ukraine’s president Voldymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of acting like “Nazis” after a school was bombed in the besieged city of Mariupol and there were reports of civilians being forced to relocate to Russia. (The Times)