Volcanic ash stopped all four engines on two airliners
British Airways in 1982 and KLM in 1989 lost every engine in volcanic ash. The Met Office now forecasts ash in finer detail to keep more airspace open.
category archive
Transport.
Routes, journeys and the networks connecting everyday life.
Las Vegas has run three self-driving vehicle trials since 2017
The first trial's shuttle crashed within two hours of its 2017 debut. Police cited the lorry driver, not the shuttle, for the crash.
A London cabbie learns 25,000 streets to earn a green badge
London's black cab licence rests on the Knowledge: three or four years learning every street near Charing Cross, then oral tests until examiners approve.
The trouble with ice on a wing
Even thin frost on a wing cuts lift and adds weight. Crews melt it with heated orange glycol, then add a thicker green fluid to stop new ice forming.
London's driverless taxis still carry a human safety driver
Waymo and Wayve are testing driverless cars in London, but a trained safety driver still rides along until regulators sign off.
India's electric car sales cross the 5% mark
Electric cars now take more than 5% of India's car sales, pushed by rising fuel prices and a tougher emissions rule due in April 2027.
Amsterdam's white bicycles, and the idea that outlived them
In 1965 Dutch activists left free white bikes on Amsterdam's streets. Hundreds of cities now run bike-share schemes, but Amsterdam never took one up.
Concorde carried its last passengers in 2003. Nothing replaced it
Concorde's last passenger flight landed at Heathrow on October 24, 2003. Costs, noise and a fatal crash ended it, and no supersonic airliner has flown since.
British rule spread left-hand driving to a third of the world
Britain kept the horseman's habit of riding on the left, then exported it through empire, while Napoleon's conquests pushed the continent right.
The UK road sign system, barely changed since 1965
The UK's road signs were designed by Jock Kinneir and Margaret Calvert in the 1960s, and the colour, shape and pictograms they set have barely changed since.
Houthi attacks pushed global shipping around Africa
Houthi attacks in the Red Sea led the biggest container lines onto the longer route around Africa. It adds 10 to 12 days and about $1m in fuel per ship.