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DODGING the crowds on Oxford Street could become a thing of the past ahead of new plans to ban all traffic.

The busy London street is taking its first steps to becoming pedestrianised and will partially close to cars in October.

It’s not the first time that Oxford Street has been closed to vehicles – but this will be a move for a permanent change.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan‘s vision is for it to be transformed into a ‘pedestrian plaza’ at the cost of £150million.

At first, not all of Oxford Street will be closed to cars – the plan is for 1km to be traffic free by the second half of October.

Buses won’t be allowed to drive down the pedestrianised area either and will be diverted to other roads.

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The section closed to traffic will be Orchard Street near Selfridges and Great Portland Street.

This area includes the Oxford Circus junction where Oxford Street and Regent Street cross.

Not only will the road be shut, but there will be new seating and planters installed too.

This is a test followed by a review of the scheme which will take place in spring 2027 – work will then start on making it permanent later on in the year.

The end aim is for Oxford Street to undergo an enormous £150million to be completely pedestrianised between Oxford Circus and Marble Arch.

There will be more space for its 500,000 daily visitors to walk around by replacing the roads with paths.

There are concerns though – some locals are worried that the pedestrianisation will push the traffic out into the surrounding areas such as Soho and Mayfair.

Council leader Paul Swaddle has raised further issues including safety.

He said: “At the moment, if you go to Oxford Street at midnight, there are buses, there are people getting night buses – you would feel relatively safe.

“If you were crossing that on your own – if one of my kids was crossing it on their own in the evening, I’d be concerned.”

Other concerns are about emergency services, however unlike private vehicles, they will have access to the street at any time in the new plan.

TWO of Britain’s busiest trains stations will close again just days after reopening.

The busy London hubs had only been reopened for a week following a £20million revamp.

London Charing Cross and Waterloo East will both be closed on Saturday, August 22 and Sunday, August 23.

The stations only reopened on Monday, August 17 after a major 22-day closure for essential engineering work.

Network Rail said the £20million programme saw engineers replace almost 2km of track between Charing Cross and Waterloo East, alongside improvements to platforms and structures.

Engineers also replaced sets of switches and crossings, replacing equipment that had been in use since 1990.

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Drainage at Waterloo East was also upgraded, while platforms at Charing Cross were rebuilt with new foundations and surfaces.

Work was also carried out on the 175-year-old Hungerford Bridge, which carries the railway across the Thames, as well as the pedestrian bridge linking Waterloo East and London Waterloo.

The latest closure is part of the follow-up engineering works linked to the wider project.

Passengers are also being warned that further disruption is planned later in the year, with both stations due to close again on Saturday, October 10 and Sunday, October 11.

Passengers affected by the upcoming weekend closure are being urged to check their journey before setting off.

TWO of the UK’s busiest train stations will reopen tomorrow after a major closure.

The transport hubs were shut off to the public last month in order for a huge £20million refurbishment to take place.

London‘s Charing Cross and Waterloo East train stations were both out of service for 22-days, with the revamp project having begun on July 26.

Serving millions of passengers between them every year, they’re two of the capital’s most used stations.

The closure meant that all Charing Cross and Waterloo East services were cancelled, with commuters having to use alternative routes.

Southeastern Rail trains continued to run during the works but trains that usually terminated at Charing Cross were diverted to London Victoria, London Blackfriars, London Cannon Street or London Bridge.

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But with the works now completed, services will resume as usual on Monday,August 17.

While services will return to normal at the two stations on August 17, a further closure is planned on August 23 for one day so engineers can ensure the works were completed successfully.

The stations shut down in order for engineering works to take place, with £20million spent on regenerating tracks, platforms and bridges.

The work was given the green light in a bid to keep the stations “fit for the future” and make travelling safer and more reliable for passengers.

Almost two kilometres of 36-year-old track was replaced, while Charing Cross’s platforms needed repairs.

Structural repairs to the Waterloo East to London Waterloo pedestrian link bridge and the Hungerford Bridge were also part of the project.

Scott Brightwell, train services director at Southeastern Railway, said: “The £20million investment we are delivering will see 1990s track and platforms upgraded to make journeys safer and more reliable, and Victorian era structures strengthened to remain fit for the future.”

He added that the regeneration was scheduled for over the school summer holidays, in order to reduce disruption.

With schools closed and passenger numbers around 20 per cent lower, the dates were chosen to “help manage the impact on customers”.

ONE airport in Europe has just become the most busy on the continent – beating London Heathrow’s record.

It’s about to get even busier too as it’s preparing to open a fourth runway later this year.

In the hope to get up to 200million passengers by 2028, Istanbul Airport in Turkey is increasing the amount of runways it has from three to four.

Kadri Samsunlu, the CEO of İGA revealed the fourth runway was being been constructed at the cost £428million, according to local media.

At the moment, the hub has a rare triple runway – and it was the first hub in Europe to have one.

Essentially, it means the airport can have three flights take off or land at the same time.

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As a result, it increases the airport’s hourly traffic capacity from 120 to 148 aircraft movements.

The airport recently saw a record-breaking number of passengers through its doors with 289,260 people passing through the hub on August 1, 2026.

That makes it even busier than London Heathrow, which saw exactly 270,869 passengers in 24 hours.

Istanbul Airport handled a total of 39.92 million passengers in January-June.

These figures show an increase from 39.25 million in the same period of last year, according to data from the General Directorate of State Airports Authority (DHMİ).

Istanbul Airport is the second airport in the city and officially opened in late October 2018, before becoming fully operational in April 2019.

It was even announced as being the ‘world best’ in 2024, according to Travel + Leisure.

Inside, the airport has sleep pods for anyone with a layover who wants to take a nap.

It also has business pods for those needing to take work calls.

For passengers aged between 15 and 30 years old, there is a Youth Lounge Area with lots to do, it has a PlayStation, music, snacks and four hours of free Wi-Fi.

The airport even has its own spa offering wellness treatments and massages and TV-viewing areas as well as a museum and library.

What is it like to travel through Istanbul Airport?

THE Sun’s Assitant Travel Editor Sophie Swietochowski visited the airport in 2024 – here’s what she found…

“If there’s one airport I wouldn’t mind being seriously delayed in, it’s Istanbul in Turkey.

“The place is vast and shiny with enough food (for any budget), shopping (think chic clothes and hand-painted kitchenware), and entertainment (there’s even a library home to 2,000 books) to keep you occupied for hours on end.

“Better still, if your flight gets cancelled you won’t even need to endure the faff of security again as the large Yotel sits airside.

“I visited last year and couldn’t have been more grateful for the size of the place, meaning I could whizz straight past the screaming kids in the massive Lego store and head straight to the food courts where I had no problem finding a quiet seat for a drink – Çay Saati has traditional Turkish tea.

“In fact many stores in the airport blend Turkish traditions with the modern world and you could certainly get a flavour of Turkey without ever leaving the terminal.

“The size of the place comes with a downside, though. Make sure you keep an eye out for your gate as it will take you a while to walk there – and try not to get lost on the way.”

GETTING around the capital is about to get harder for three weeks of the school summer holidays.

Charing Cross and Waterloo East train stations will close today until the middle of next month.

It comes as both stations are set to get an upgrade, costing £20million overall.

The stations will then both reopen on August 16.

However, this won’t be the end of closures for the two stations as there will be further closures between August 22 and 23 and between October 10 and 11.

Across the initial first closure, travellers will need to head to London Victoria, London Bridge, London Cannon Street or London Blackfriars instead.

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Though, commuters will be able to use alternative routes, including on the Underground and on buses, for no extra cost.

Works on the stations include repairing the 175-year-old Hungerford Bridge, which trains head over the River Thames on.

A number of commuters have taken to social media to share their outrage at the closure.

One person commented: “All these upgrades they do, and yet their still rail replacement most weekends.”

Another person said: “With Charing Cross and Waterloo East closed for three weeks, this will inconvenience a huge number of passengers.

“The least Southeastern could do is provide more off-peak trains during the morning rush hour to help cope with the increased demand.”

A third person said: “R.I.P. my commute I guess.”

Scott Brightwell, train services director at Southeastern Railway, previously said: “The £20 million investment we are delivering will see 1990s track and platforms upgraded to make journeys safer and more reliable, and Victorian- era structures strengthened to remain fit for the future.

“By consolidating the work into a 22-day closure, supported by preparation and follow-up weekends, we can complete the work more quickly and with less disruption overall than the alternative options of 60 weekend closures or four to five, nine-day closures.”

He added: “We have planned the closure for the summer, when passenger numbers are around 20 per cent lower and schools are closed, to help manage the impact on customers.”

Travellers are urged to plan ahead and check before they travel.