Schiphol flights to be limited to 11% below 2019 levels to cut noise

After pressure from communities in the Netherlands, the Dutch Parliament has said Schiphol must reduce its flights from 500,000 a year to a maximum of 440,000 by 2023 in order to cut the noise experienced by impacted communities. That cut is 11% less than in 2019 (about 510,000).  It is understand from the Dutch aviation campaigners that the mix in the current Dutch Parliament helped. The Netherlands has proportional representation and enough small parties backed the proposals to get it agreed.  The decision follows a move by Schiphol itself, in which the Dutch state is the majority shareholder, to impose a cap on the number passengers it can carry this summer – although that was due to staffing shortages. Part of the reason is awareness fo the carbon emissions.  Airlines, predictably, are not happy.  Greenpeace, which had lobbied for traffic at Schiphol to be reduced, hailed the decision as a “historic breakthrough”.  This might be the first time a major airport has been asked to reduce flight numbers.
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Schiphol flights to be limited to 11% below 2019 levels to cut noise, emissions

AMSTERDAM, June 24 (Reuters) –

Flights from Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport will be limited to 440,000 a year, 11% less than in 2019, to cut noise pollution, the Dutch government said on Friday, drawing praise from green groups but dismay from airlines bosses.

The decision follows a move by Schiphol itself, in which the Dutch state is the majority shareholder, to impose a cap on the number passengers it can carry this summer – although that was due to staffing shortages. read more

The government also pointed to the airport’s impact on “nature and climate” for the cuts, following criticism from environmental campaigners and the left-wing opposition for its greenhouse gas and nitrogen oxide emissions.

The move is intended to restore “the balance between a well-operating international airport, the business climate, and the interests of a better and healthier living environment”, Transportation Minister Mark Harbers said in a statement announcing the decision.

“This is a difficult message for the aviation sector that is still recovering from the far-reaching consequences of the coronavirus pandemic,” he said.

KLM, the Dutch arm of Air France-KLM (AIRF.PA), said the move, due to come into effect from the start of next year, would be “highly detrimental” and it would harm the country’s reputation as a reliable place to do business.

“It does not tally with the desire to retain a strong hub function” for Schiphol, and it would “fail to improve our quality of life and climate”, KLM said.

IATA General Director Willie Walsh called the decision “a shocking blow”.

“It comes on top of a tripling of the passenger tax, and a 37% rise in airport charges,” he said.

Greenpeace, which had lobbied for traffic at Schiphol to be reduced, hailed the decision as a “historic breakthrough”.

“It’s good that the cabinet now realises that Schiphol has been flying past all limits for years”, spokesperson Dewi Zloch said.

https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/schiphol-flights-be-limited-11-below-2019-levels-cut-noise-emissions-2022-06-24/

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See earlier:

 

Buyers of new homes near Schiphol airport to get official warnings about aircraft noise (to avoid future complaints)

People moving into new homes close to Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport will be warned about aircraft noise before they move in, and the warning will become part of sales contracts.  Agreement on an official aircraft noise warning has been reached between the Dutch junior infrastructure minister, Schiphol airport, airline KLM and local and provincial governments.  While no new homes are being built directly under flight paths, thousands of houses are being built in areas where noise is likely to be a problem – as aircraft noise is heard some way from the direct line of a flight path. In particular, 4,500 new homes are being built south-east of Amsterdam close to the Buitenveldert runway and there are other building projects in areas where aircraft noise will have to be taken into consideration. People are told they can then not complain about plane noise, so the aviation industry will not be faced with extra costs and further expansion of housing stock will be made possible. It has already been agreed that municipalities and provinces will point out the new residents to potential inconvenience. Municipalities will not submit requests to change the flight path routes. The aim is that housing can not block further aviation growth after 2020. 

https://www.airportwatch.org.uk/2017/10/buyers-of-new-homes-near-schiphol-airport-to-get-official-warnings-about-aircraft-noise-to-avoid-future-complaints/

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Why Schiphol will never become ‘Heathrow’s 3rd runway’ – it has tight noise and ATM limits

We are routinely told that, if Heathrow doesn’t expand, people from other UK airports like Newcastle, Edinburgh and Liverpool will choose to fly to Schiphol (Amsterdam) to interchange onto long-distance flights.  The CEO of Schiphol Airport has even rather cheekily called it ‘Heathrow’s third runway’ or referred to Amsterdam as “London’s 2nd hub.” However, John Stewart explains that this is not a situation that can continue indefinitely. Though Schiphol has 5 runways, in reality only two can be used at one time. And unlike airports in the UK, Schiphol has strict noise regulations about which runways can be used, and when.  The use of the two runways which go over densely-populated areas is avoided whenever possible. Schiphol has almost reached its permissible noise limits, with around 425,565 flights last year – and a limit of 510,000 per year (cf. 480,000 at Heathrow).  When the noise from planes using one runway reaches a certain point, no more is allowed in that year, and traffic should be diverted to alternative runways. The system in use at Schiphol to protect residents from aircraft noise is more rigorous than in the UK, and the Dutch take their noise responsibilities on aircraft noise too seriously to allow Schiphol to become effectively a UK hub.   

https://www.airportwatch.org.uk/2015/04/26072/

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Luton Rising apparently sinking as auditors resign

Local group, Ladacan, has found that the 2021 accounts of Luton Rising (the company that owns the airport, and is owned by Luton Council) reveal serious problems.  The statement by company secretary Mark Turner that PricewaterhouseCoopers have resigned as auditors does not inspire confidence, in a company now burdened by eye-watering debt.  The resignation follows a serious disagreement between the auditors and the directors over the valuation of the Airport.  PricewaterhouseCoopers’ independent assessment put it in the range £835 to £1,300m, and they disagreed with the Luton Rising valuation of £1,488m. This is due to disagreement over the discount rate used in calculating the future value of current investment, and also about the impact of concession earnings. Luton Borough Council’s own auditors, Ernst and Young, have also been raising serious concerns during their efforts to sign off the Council’s own accounts. The valuation matters because of concerns about whether the money invested in the Luton DART light railway, under construction, will be recouped. There are concerns about whether Luton Council will have to provide yet more public money to the airport, and the lack of proper openness of the airport-council link.
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See more on the Ladacan website  https://ladacan.org/


Luton Rising apparently sinking as auditors resign

22.6.2022

From Ladacan (Luton And District Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise)

Everyone knows that aviation has been knocked back as a result of the pandemic. But the 2021 accounts of Luton Rising reveal far worse problems, which are better described as endemic. And the statement by company secretary Mark Turner that PricewaterhouseCoopers have resigned as auditors does not inspire confidence in a company burdened by eye-watering debt.

The resignation follows a serious disagreement between the auditors and the directors over the valuation of the Airport. With PricewaterhouseCoopers’ independent assessment putting it in the range £835 to £1,300m they clearly state “the directors’ valuation of £1,488m falls outside what we consider to be a reasonable range”. They give a number of reasons for the disagreement, including:

  • disagreement over the discount rate used in calculating the future value of current investment: the 8% value used by the directors is stated to be lower than the auditors consider appropriate
  • disagreement over the the treatment of the Force Majeure settlement in which the Airport Operator LLAOL was forgiven £45m of concession fees to account for the effect of the pandemic on its business. The directors’ valuation does not take account of the reduction in concession earnings, which the auditors consider unreasonable

Luton Borough Council’s own auditors, Ernst and Young, have also been raising serious concerns during their efforts to sign off the Council’s own accounts. During the Audit and Scrutiny meeting in January 2022, Robin Porter (LBC Chief Executive) closed down discussion on valuation by insisting that £1.5bn was appropriate.

When concerns were raised over whether the amount of money invested in DART (the new monorail from Luton Airport Parkway to the terminal) would be recouped, Finance Director Dev Gopal brushed them aside, insisting that the Council always undertakes proper business case assessment.

Yet in the LLAL accounts, a massive impairment write-down of £185m has been applied to the DART, slashing its value as a capital asset from £262m to £77m. This is due to reduced expectations on fare revenues, plus the cost remaining to operationalise the system (it’s still not in public use). The auditors state that changes to the operating cost estimates, which are possible during the coming year, could have a material impact on the impairment.

Whilst Luton Rising is still classed as a going concern, PricewaterhouseCoopers refer in their report to “Material uncertainty related to going concern” stating that under “certain severe but plausible downside scenarios it is possible that the company may need to obtain further financial support from Luton Borough Council or defer some interest payments due on the debenture interest”. This would of course put the Council in a difficult position with respect to the government requirement on it to reduce its financial exposure to the Airport in return for the COVID bailout funding.

With interest payments of some £35m due to the Council based on the half-billion pound Public Works Loan Board debt racked up by Luton Rising on its capital works and DCO application, and reduced concession income in 2022 (much of which is likely to be rebated to the Airport Operator anyway), the overall situation comes as no surprise.

The key concern shared by local communities is that the money which the Luton Rising Board has been pouring “down the drain” in the view of many, is public money, yet there is no public scrutiny over how it is spent or what decisions are made and why. Requests to the Council over how its members act with their Luton Rising hats on in private board meetings are met with refusals to answer due to commercial confidentiality.

With the resignation of the auditors, valuable continuity in awareness and visibility of the audit trail into the past will be lost. It’s hardly surprising that the image we have chosen to associate with this story shows hands raised: perhaps they should be clutching whistles?

Anyone wishing to read the accounts for themselves can download them from this link.

https://ladacan.org/luton-rising-sinking-as-auditors-resign/

Luton Rising apparently sinking as auditors resign

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Luton Rising is the name of the company that owns the airport.  Its website says:

“Luton Rising is a business and social enterprise that is owned by a sole shareholder, Luton Council, for community benefit, not private shareholders. Our largest asset is London Luton Airport ….” and it continues.


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The Luton DART is an under-construction automated guided people mover (light metro) which will connect Luton Airport Parkway station and Luton Airport.  DART is an acronym for Direct Air-Rail Transit. It is scheduled to open in 2022 and will replace the existing Shuttle Bus, relieving its roads in peak times and providing a higher capacity.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luton_DART

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See earlier:

Luton airport continuing to be a financial drain (maybe £550 million+) to owners Luton Council

In the last few days, the company (owned by Luton Borough Council) that owns Luton Airport, has changed its name from London Luton Airport Ltd, to “Luton Rising”. That will be its trading name. The company that operates the airport is London Luton Airport Operations.  London Luton Airport Operations has obtained agreement from Luton Rising that it can retain £45 million over three years.  This will support the airport’s recovery from the pandemic.  The money would have been paid by the operator to Luton Rising (ie. the council) if it had not been for the impact of Covid reducing passengers and flights. Luton council usually, pre-Covid, made a good profit from the airport, but that has now been reversed. The Council in 2019 receiving a £19.1m, and £15.8m servicing debt.  In September 2020 there was a £60m loan by Luton Borough Council to its airport company and it was expected that another £23 million would be paid. Then in June 2021 Luton Council loaned a further £119m to the airport. Now this is another £45 million, over three years. The airport is not looking like a great investment for the council …

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Luton Council’s £60m loan to Luton Airport company set for approval ‘in private’

A £60m loan by Luton Borough Council to its airport company is set for approval, in private, by the executive later this month. The first of two emergency loans – together totalling £83m – has gained the support of Luton Council’s scrutiny finance review group, at the second attempt. The second loan worth £23m to London Luton Airport Limited (LLAL) is scheduled for the 2021/22 financial year, after the council’s emergency budget in July.  The Labour controlled council were forced by the Liberal Democrats to discuss the loan report in public. But officers asked for the council to take legal advice and defer the issue. It seems that 5 five Labour councillors recommended the council’s executive approve the £60m loan deal, with the 3 Liberal Democrats in opposition.  The executive will formally decide upon the loan at its meeting on Monday, September 14th. The Liberal Democrats said the almost £400m in loans are secured against the assets of the company. But, the council already owns all of LLAL’s assets by virtue of its 100% ownership of the company. It follows that for all practical and accounting purposes the £400m loans are unsecured.”

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Heathrow hopes 54.4 million passengers, or 67% of 2019 levels, will now use the airport this year,

Heathrow is now forecasting that 54.4 million passengers, or 67% of 2019 levels, will now use the airport this year, up from the 52.8 million it predicted in April. Heathrow expects its adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to rise 257% from 2021 to £1.37bn. Revenue is forecast to double to £2.6bn.  In general, staffing and energy costs are about 45% of an airport’s operating costs, and Heathrow has said higher energy prices will drive up its operating costs by almost half to £1.2bn this year.  In January it forecast its underlying earnings would be £1.04 billion.  But the airport is aware of many factors that may reduce air passenger demand this year, including the cost of jet fuel, the cost of living crisis, the UK inflation rate (currently over 9%), the war in Ukraine and Covid perhaps returning. Airlines continue to have staffing problems, and now BA staff are intending to strike. Heathrow’s finances remain very fragile.
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Heathrow said 20.1mn passengers had travelled through the airport in the first five months of this year

Heathrow airport raises passenger forecast as travel demand surges
Spectre of inflation hangs over recovery of airports, says head of ACI Europe

By Sarah Provan (Financial Times)

22.6.2022

London’s Heathrow airport has upgraded its passenger forecast for the year as summer demand surged more than expected, but warned of further risks to its recovery.

The UK’s biggest airport forecast that 54.4mn passengers, or 67 per cent of 2019 levels, would go through its terminals this year, up from the 52.8mn it predicted in April.

However, the airport warned that “significant downside risks remain”, as the cost of living crisis hits travellers’ finances and desire to go abroad. Meanwhile Covid-19 had the potential to return, while the war in Ukraine would also affect travel plans, the airport said in an investor report published on Thursday.

The latest figure allows for a resurgence in visitors from the US, Heathrow said. Since the airport’s previous passenger estimate, US travellers, which account historically for about 20% of Heathrow’s total, no longer face taking a Covid test on their return, a ruling that was announced on June 10.

Heathrow pointed to a “steady traffic increase” for this year, saying 20.1mn passengers had travelled through the airport in the first five months. That surpassed the 2.9mn of 2021 when travel restrictions were in place for much of the year. May’s figures were the highest since the start of the pandemic.

Outbound leisure at weekends, school and public holidays has driven demand as a lack of Covid-induced restrictions allow people to travel more freely. Inbound leisure and business travel remains weak since many other countries maintain Covid rules.

Latin America, which is outperforming 2019, North America and Europe in particular helped push up numbers compared with last year.

The London airport expected its adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation to rise 257% from 2021 to £1.37bn. Revenue is forecast to double to £2.6bn.

“However, the degree of uncertainty is still significant,” Heathrow said.

Inflation has begun to bite. Staffing and energy costs amount on average to 45% of an airport’s operating costs, Airports Council International figures show. The UK on Wednesday reported 9.1% inflation in May, a 40-year high.

Higher energy prices will drive up its operating costs by almost half to £1.2bn, Heathrow said on Thursday.

“There is no question but that the inflationary spiral we are now in is only making things worse,” said Olivier Jankovec, director-general of ACI Europe, when he opened its annual congress in Rome on Thursday. “Airports will simply not be able to pay back their debt and invest at the same time.”

European airports have cumulatively racked up more than €20bn of losses over the past two years and they “had no other option than to pile on debt”, Jankovec said. Total airport debt and liabilities have increased to €60bn compared with before the pandemic struck in March 2020.

“Restoring earnings to pre-pandemic levels will be challenging — and combined with debt servicing, there is no escaping the fact that airports are facing an investment crunch,” he said.

European airports need about €360bn in capital expenditure by 2040 but inflation has begun to affect their investment decisions, Jankovec added.

Heathrow’s chief executive warned this month that it would take up to 18 months for the aviation industry to return to pre-pandemic levels.

Airlines have cut flight schedules to cope with staff shortages as the summer demand has picked up. British Airways, which culled nearly 10,000 jobs during the pandemic, cut 10% of its schedules between March and October.

https://www.ft.com/content/a2074fb4-db8b-48bc-96f0-796704e76e43

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See earlier:

Heathrow traffic struggles at 50% of pre-pandemic levels as fuel costs and the outbreak of the Ukraine war add to its problems

Low levels of overseas business travel and tourists coming to Britain have kept Heathrow’s passenger numbers at just over half of pre-pandemic volumes. Only 2.9 million people went through Heathrow in February, compared to 5.4 million in February 2019 – the month before the World Health Organisation declared the Covid-19 outbreak to be a pandemic. This was despite the US lifting a 20-month international travel ban on non-US residents and citizens flying to the country, which lead to a surge in travel between the UK and the US. But traveller numbers on Middle Eastern and EU routes rose by over 600%, while the cargo tonnage rose to within 7% of its pre-pandemic levels. Flight bookings continue to be significantly reduced by the continuing strict testing and quarantine rules in multiple countries. Business travel is significantly lower, as companies have cut back expenditure on flights and largely turned to videoconferencing meetings and hybrid working practices.  The cost of jet fuel has risen sharply, due to the war in Ukraine. There is also concern about new Covid variants, and some American travellers worry about the behaviour of Russia in Ukraine.

Click here to view full story…

Heathrow’s financial problems deepen, especially if it has 15% less passengers in 2022 than forecast

Heathrow has been allowed, by its regulator the CAA, to increase its passenger charge from £19.36 to £30.19 this year until the summer. After that the CAA will probably rule on charges for the next 5 years.  Heathrow wanted a larger increase, to £43 per passenger, and based some of its profit forecasts on that – and is peeved with the CAA for limiting its charges. Heathrow has net debts of £15.4 billion of net debt.  It says that if its number of passengers in 2022 is more than 15% below its forecast of 45.5 million, it will have financial problems – though “no covenant breaches are forecast in 2022” but that is possible. Its forecast aeronautical revenue for 2022 has been revised down to £2.19 billion, and its underlying earnings down to £1.04 billion.  If Heathrow has to breach its covenant terms with its lenders, it becomes a less attractive (aka lucrative) investment, and its credit rating  eg. by Standard & Poor’s and Fitch.  The airlines using Heathrow are, predictably, deeply opposed to yet higher Heathrow charges.

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Heathrow losses now £2.9bn and consolidated net debt £15.2 bn

Heathrow has announced that its cumulative losses from the Covid-19 pandemic have hit £2.9 billion. In its results for the first half of 2021,  Heathrow’s revenue dropped from £712 million in the first six months of 2020 to £348 million in the first half of 2021, which is 51.1% less than in the first half of 2020, and 76.2% less than the first half of 2019. Its pre-tax loss widened 18% to a little over £1 billion.  It had 3.85m passengers, which is 75.1% less than the same period in 2020, and 90.1% less than the first half of 2019.  Heathrow (it has a complex structure of numerous companies and levels) had  consolidated net debt of £15.2 billion — not much less than the airport’s £16.9 billion regulated asset base (RAB), or the CAA’s proxy for its value.  Heathrow had been allowed, by the CAA, to increase its RAB by £300 million, to £16.9 billion.  Its chief executive John Holland-Kaye is using the half-year figures to warn about a covenant waiver on its various loans.  The group of Heathrow companies has £4.8 billion of liquidity, (ie. ability to borrow) with average cost of debt just 1.64%.

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Gatwick slightly reduces summer capacity due to problems with insufficient staff

Gatwick will reduce its summer capacity to ward off potential chaos, after there were dozens of last-minute cancellations for holidaymakers over the platinum jubilee and half-term holiday.  It will limit the number of daily take-offs and landings to 850 in August – about 50 more than the average in early June, but more than 10% below its pre-pandemic maximum. EasyJet operates more than half of Gatwick slots, and will have to review its plans.The DfT and the CAA told the industry to ensure that flights on sale were “deliverable”, and called on airport chief executives to set up working groups with airlines and ground handlers to minimise the risk of summer disruption.  A review by the airport found a number of companies would still have a severe lack of staff resources over summer, which would probably leadt o delays and cancellations.  Schiphol, another large European base for easyJet, was expected to make a similar announcement, limiting total daily passenger numbers this summer. The airline sector got rid of thousands of staff due to Covid, many of whom have found preferable jobs elsewhere.
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Gatwick reduces summer capacity to prevent repeat of jubilee chaos

Number of flights in August will be below pre-pandemic levels to ensure those on sale are ‘deliverable’

By Gwyn Topham, Transport correspondent (The Guardian)
@GwynTopham
17 Jun 2022

Gatwick airport will reduce its summer capacity to ward off potential chaos, after dozens of last-minute cancellations wrecked the travel plans of holidaymakers over the platinum jubilee and half-term holiday.

London’s second busiest airport will limit the number of daily take-offs and landings to 850 in August – about 50 more than the average in early June, but more than 10% below its pre-pandemic maximum.

The airport is the biggest base for easyJet, which operates more than half of Gatwick slots, and the airline said it would be reviewing the details. It is likely to have to trim its summer schedules after it made hundreds of last-minute cancellations, more than any other UK carrier, in recent weeks due to multiple problems.

The move comes after the Department for Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority told the industry this week to ensure that flights on sale were “deliverable”, and called on airport chief executives to set up working groups with airlines and ground handlers to minimise the risk of summer disruption.

Gatwick said it was “temporarily moderating its rate of growth” to allow airlines to “manage more predictable and reliable flight programmes” for the summer holiday peak period.

A review by the airport found a number of companies would still have a severe lack of staff resources over summer, which could have led to airport passengers “continuing to experience an unreliable and potentially poor standard of service” – including more queues, delays and last-minute cancellations.

Ground handling companies employed by airlines to manage check-in areas, turn aircraft round on the airfield and handle baggage were understood to be the main concern.

Gatwick’s chief executive, Stewart Wingate, said there had been a “remarkable turnaround” in the number of flights, quadrupling since January, and that the airport had reopened its South terminal and recruited 400 new staff for security.

“All large airports were stretched in half-term week and we’re no exception. We’re calling on airlines now to only schedule flights they are confident in operating.”

He said more air traffic controllers were based at Gatwick now than in 2019, and Gatwick had the staff in security now to handle 900 daily flights. But he added: “It is clear that during the jubilee week a number of companies operating at the airport struggled, in particular because of staff shortages. By taking decisive action now, we aim to help the ground handlers – and also our airlines – to better match their flying programmes with their available resources.

“As has already been the case, the vast majority of flights over the summer will operate as normal.”

An easyJet spokesperson said: “We are aware of the capacity cap announced by Gatwick and are now reviewing the details to assess what this means for easyJet’s Gatwick operation.

“We recognise the need for Gatwick to do this, as airports across Europe have visibility across all airlines and are well placed to decide what capacity is realistic in the current challenging operating environment, so all airlines can provide reliable services for their customers.

“Given the high frequencies of our services to and from Gatwick, we expect to be able to reaccommodate the majority of customers whose flights are affected by the cap.”

Schiphol airport in Amsterdam, another large European base for easyJet, was expected to make a similar announcement, limiting total daily passenger numbers this summer. Customers have been faced with enormous queues and widespread cancellations in recent weeks.

The industry has blamed the chaos on labour shortages and difficulty in clearing enough new recruits through background security checks, as travel demand rebounded when restrictions were lifted suddenly after the pandemic.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jun/17/gatwick-reduces-summer-capacity-to-prevent-repeat-of-jubilee-chaos

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Gatwick to start new 6 week consultation, on its expansion plans, on 14th June

Gatwick airport says it will start a new statutory public consultation into its plans to turn its northern, standby runway into a full runway for departing flights. The 6-week consultation will run from 14th June to 27th July. The airport says the consultation will also have updates, including on the highway design changes, from the Autumn 2021 consultation, based on responses received.  Full details of the revised plans for the roads around the airport will be published at the start of the consultation. There are changes to the plans for the North Terminal junction, and additional road lanes in two places. The main expansion proposal is to reposition the centre line of the northern runway by 12 metres, so planes can use both runways at the same time (though only departures from the northern runway). There are the usual claims about jobs and economic benefits … The only mentions of the carbon emissions are how, magically, more flights are going to help the airport “meet its goal of zero airport emissions before 2040.” Amazing [it excludes the flights …]. They hope the runway could be operational by summer 2029.

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Gatwick re-opens its south terminal

27.3.2022

The airport has reopened its south terminal, with flights increasing from around 300 to 570 a day from 27th March. The terminal had been closed since June 15 2020 to reduce costs during the coronavirus pandemic. Chief executive Stewart Wingate said 80,000 passengers will travel through the airport on Sunday, reaching “well over 150,000 per day” by July.  He said: “We’re going to ramp up very, very quickly over the next two or three weeks and we’ll be busy throughout the summer period and very close to the 2019 volume levels. … It’s pent-up demand, people who haven’t been able to travel now really want to travel.”  British Airways, Wizz Air and Vueling are among the airlines switching their operations from the north to the south terminal between Sunday and Tuesday.

https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/20024406.passengers-return-gatwicks-south-terminal-reopens/

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New smaller Gatwick consultation, largely on road changes, before its 2023 DCO application

In autumn 2021 Gatwick held a consultation on its plans to use its northern, standby, runway as a full runway, for routine use for departing aircraft (not arriving) – alongside the main runway.  The expansion plan means having to reposition the centre line of the standby runway, moving it 12 metres north. The 2021 consultation was not the Development Consent Order (DCO) application itself.  Gatwick hopes to get consent to start the first stages of the runway process by 2023. It is now consulting again, (start 14th June – ends 27th July) on a few aspects of its plans, not the whole thing. This new consultation is largely about road changes, and Gatwick says some of the proposals have been amended, due to responses to the earlier consultation. Gatwick plans a significant redesign of the original plan for the North Terminal junction; the addition of a new lane westbound over the Brighton main rail line; and the addition of a third lane westbound to the A23 approaching Longbridge roundabout. There are also some proposals relating to car parking (slightly fewer than before); more hotel rooms than previously; and a new office block. Gatwick hopes the new runway could be operational by summer 2029.
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Consultation documents are at

https://www.gatwickairport.com/business-community/future-plans/northern-runway/


Additional focused consultation on Gatwick’s updated highway designs starts today

14/06/2022 (Gatwick press release)

Gatwick has today started a focused statutory public consultation on changes to its highway improvement proposals, which form part of the airport’s broader plan to bring its existing Northern Runway into routine use, alongside its Main Runway.

The highway design changes are in response to feedback received during the Autumn 2021 consultation on the airport’s Northern Runway plans.  The new consultation will run for just over six weeks, until 11:59pm on Wednesday 27 July 2022.

Full details of the revised plans for the roads around the airport can be found at gatwickairport.com/futureplans and include:

  • A significant redesign of the original plan for the North Terminal junction
  • The addition of a new lane westbound over the Brighton main rail line
  • The addition of a third lane westbound to the A23 approaching Longbridge roundabout

The plans for the South Terminal roundabout remain largely unchanged.

Feedback on other project updates

Gatwick has also today published updates – and is seeking feedback – on other aspects of its Northern Runway plan, following responses to the Autumn 2021 consultation.  These include:

  •  Car Parking – a reduction of around 35% in the number of new car parking spaces proposed, compared with the previous proposal
  • Hotels – to meet the expected increase in demand, 1250 hotels rooms now proposed, compared to 1000 previously, including by converting the existing Destinations Place office block into a new hotel
  • Offices – single new office block proposed to compensate for loss of Destinations Place and to meet expected growth in demand for office space by other airport operators
  • Busses/ travel – proposal to extend funding for local bus services used by staff and to include other incentives to make it easier for staff to travel to work sustainably

The airport’s proposal would see the Northern Runway brought into routine use, for departing aircraft, by repositioning its centreline further north by 12 metres – enabling dual runway operations with the Main Runway.  The Northern Runway could be operational by summer 2029.

The majority of the construction works associated with the airfield would be contained within the existing airport boundary and the cost of works – approximately £500m – will be privately financed. The proposals are also low impact, are in line with Government policy of making best use of existing runways and would generate approximately 18,400 additional jobs by 2038 and an additional expected £1.5bn annual GVA to the region.

The project will also be delivered in a sustainable way which helps the airport to meet its goal of zero airport emissions.

Stewart Wingate, CEO, Gatwick Airport said: Following our original Northern Runway consultation in the Autumn of 2021, we listened to feedback and have subsequently changed several aspects of our proposals, particularly those related to the roads around the airport.  We’re keen to get further feedback on these amended proposals, and on the other project updates published today, to help us continue to refine our plans.”

Materials to support Gatwick’s latest consultation – along with details on how to respond – are available on the gatwickairport.com/futureplans

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About Gatwick Airport

Gatwick is the UK’s second largest airport and flies a range of both short and long-haul point-to-point services. The airport is a vital piece of the UK’s national infrastructure and is also a major driver for both the regional and national economies. In 2019, a new long-term partnership was formed with VINCI Airports which purchased a 50.01% stake in the airport.

About VINCI Airports

The world’s leading private airport operator, VINCI Airports operates 53 airports in 12 countries in Europe, Asia and the Americas. Thanks to its expertise as a global integrator, VINCI Airports develops, finances, builds and manages airports by providing its investment capacity and its know-how in optimizing operational performance, modernizing infrastructures and managing their operations. environmental transition. VINCI Airports is the first airport operator to have committed to an international environmental strategy in 2016, to achieve the goal of net zero emissions across its entire network by 2050.

For more information:
www.vinci-airports.com

@VINCIAirports
www.linkedin.com/company/vinci-airports

About Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP)

GIP manages the remaining 49.99% interest in Gatwick, is an independent infrastructure investor that makes equity investments in high quality infrastructure assets in the energy, transport and water/waste sectors. GIP has US$68 billion of Assets under Management. Its 41 portfolio companies operate in over 51 countries with more than 67,000 employees and generate annual revenues of circa US$51 billion. For more information on GIP please visit http://global-infra.com

https://www.mediacentre.gatwickairport.com/press-releases/all/22%2006%2014%20northern%20runway%20plan%20summer%202022%20consultation.aspx

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See earlier:

Gatwick expansion consultation ends 1st December – its plans would have ‘few benefits’ and many negative impacts

November 26, 2021

The Gatwick consultation on its plans to use its northern, standby, runway as a full runway, ends on 1st December.  It is important that anyone who has strong views on the issue submits a response, even if a very brief one. The impact of the expansion would be to hugely increase noise, carbon emissions, local road and rail congestion, air pollution, light pollution and more. The airport is trying to talk up its plans, with extravagant and improbable claims of the number of jobs that might be created locally, and the positive economic impact.  Local campaign group, GACC, has prepared extensive comments to the consultation, to help people respond. Also a short, quick version that people can use – or ideally adapt into their own words – to express their concerns. GACC says Gatwick’s plans “would have few benefits but serious climate change consequences and devastating impacts on local communities and people under flight paths.”  Any increase in jobs would be by displacement from other regions and would be inconsistent with the government’s ‘levelling up’ plans. And its case for growth simply doesn’t stack up and the consequences are unthinkable.

Click here to view full story…

Gatwick public consultation begins on plans to convert standby runway to full use as 2nd runway

Gatwick airport has started a public consultation on its plans to bring its standby runway, just north of the main runway, into routine use for departing aircraft – alongside the main runway.  It means having to reposition the centre line of the standby runway, moving it 12 metres north. That then just meets international runway safety standards.  The consultation ends on 1st December 2021. Due to the size of the proposal, increasing the annual number of passengers by over 10 million, it is classed as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project. Therefore Gatwick will next have to  apply for a Development Consent Order (DCO) to build and operate the altered runway. This consultation is not the DCO application itself.  Gatwick hopes to get consent to start the first stages of the runway process by 2023, starting actual building work in 2024, with the runway finished by 2029. The work is expected currently to cost £500 million – there are extravagant claims about numbers of new jobs and local economic benefit.  This growth is in addition to more growth by increased use of the main runway, but that does not need a DCO application. Gatwick’s annual CO2 emissions could rise by a million tonnes.

Click here to view full story…

Gatwick’s Big Enough – a 2nd runway at Gatwick would be ‘disaster for the climate’

Protesters, organised through the Gatwick Area Conservation Campaign (GACC), gathered near the airport, chanting ‘Gatwick is big enough’, to express their opposition to the airport’s plans to convert its standby runway into a runway for routine flights. Campaigners, residents and councillors held a peaceful demonstration next to a noise monitor in Charlwood, to coincide with the midnight launch of Gatwick’s public consultation into its proposed expansion. Operating as a 2-runway airport would see Gatwick increase its annual passenger capacity from 62 million to 75m by 2038  – making it almost as large as Heathrow today. GACC chairman, Peter Barclay said the expansion of the airport would have negative impacts for people over a wide area – in terms of noise and air pollution, more night noise and sleep deprivation, and impacts on local infrastructure.  All that affects people’s quality of life. While humanity urgently needs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, if we are to avoid the most catastrophic impacts of climate change, it makes no sense d to allow Gatwick to expand, adding another 1 million tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.

Click here to view full story…

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Aviation campaigners from across Britain call on government to stop all airport expansion plans

GALBA (the Group for Action on Leeds Bradford Airport) and 24 other airport campaign groups across the country send an open letter to Robert Courts, Minister for Aviation, and Michael Gove, Minister for Levelling Up and Communities, calling on ministers to re-think their policy of supporting an unconstrained growth of flying. The campaigners want the government to immediately stop all plans to expand airports to help the UK cut its greenhouse gas emissions as much as possible and as quickly as possible. The letter echoes advice from independent experts and national environmental organisations. Due to global heating, we are at an unprecedentedly dangerous moment in human history. Every sector of the economy must halve its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 if we are to preserve a liveable planet for future generations.  They urge the government to stop supporting unconstrained aviation growth and airport expansion plans, until aviation emissions are actually falling and wider emissions are on track to keep global heating to no more than 1.5C.
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Aviation campaigners from across Britain join GALBA to call on government to stop all airport expansion plans

14.6.2022  (GALBA)

Today, the Group for Action on Leeds Bradford Airport (GALBA) joined with 24 other campaign groups across the country to send an open letter to the government calling on ministers to re-think their policy of supporting an unconstrained growth of flying. They want the government to immediately stop all plans to expand airports to help the UK cut its greenhouse gas emissions as much as possible and as quickly as possible. The letter was sent to Robert Courts, Minister for Aviation, and Michael Gove, Minister for Levelling Up and Communities and echoes advice from independent experts and national environmental organisations.

Chris Foren, chair GALBA, said: “It’s great news that Leeds Bradford Airport has dropped its planning application but other airports still want to increase flights – and the government supports them. That is absolute madness! We are at an unprecedentedly dangerous moment in human history. Every sector of the economy must halve its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 if we are to preserve a liveable planet for future generations. But our government supports the unconstrained growth of aviation, which inevitably also means the growth of its emissions, during this decade.”

The letter supports advice recently given to the government by a group of leading environmental organisations, including Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth. They urged the government to prevent any further expansion of airports until aviation emissions are actually falling and wider emissions are on track to keep global heating to no more than 1.5oC. Separate research by independent experts Element Energy has also concluded that “there should be no airport expansion until and unless it is clear that … [aviation] emissions… are on track to meet a fair emissions reduction for 2035 and beyond.”

Chris added: “The government’s hope that new fuels and new technologies will reduce aviation emissions sometime in the distant future is not based on any credible evidence – and anyway, it would be too late! The government’s own civil servants, independent experts and the Climate Change Committee all point out the very great uncertainties and high risks of over-reliance on scaling up these, as yet largely untested, new fuels and technologies. It’s deeply irresponsible to take such a gamble when we’re talking about the threat of climate catastrophe.”

“There is still time to make the right decisions for our planet and for everyone’s future. We sincerely hope that the ministers will take note of our letter and do the right thing.”

ENDS

Letter to Robert Courts and Michael Gove: the letter was initiated by GALBA and has been signed by 24 other aviation/climate campaign groups from across the country, including Manchester and Heathrow. You can read the letter here (and it is copied below)

Expert climate policy advice on airport expansion:

  • Lord Deben, chair of the Climate Change Committee (CCC) said last year, ​”There is not any space for airport expansion” if the UK is to meet its climate goals. The CCC’s policy recommendation is for ​”no net expansion of UK airport capacity unless the sector is on track to sufficiently outperform its net emissions trajectory and can accommodate the additional demand”. That test has not been met and will not be met for many years to come.

  • On 16 May this year, Element Energy analysed the policy options available to government to ensure aviation contributes proportionately to the UK’s target of cutting all green house gas emissions by 78% by 2035. They concluded that “there should be no airport expansion until and unless it is clear that both in-sector (aircraft technology) and out-of-sector (carbon removal) emissions reductions are on track to meet a fair emissions reduction for 2035 and beyond.” Element Energy has previously been contracted by the Dept for Transport to advise the government on its climate-related policy options.

  • On 18 May, an open letter was sent to Robert Courts by a group of large environmental non-governmental organisations, including Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace. They called on the Government to withdraw its policy support for airport expansion until aviation emissions are actually falling and wider emissions are substantially below a 1.5oC-compliant trajectory.


The letter:

To: Robert Courts MP
Minister for Aviation and Maritime
Department for Transport
Great Minster House
33 Horseferry Road
London
SW1P 4DR

To: Michael Gove MP
Minister for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF

 

Dear Mr Courts and Mr Gove,

Aviation policy and net zero

We are aware of an open letter sent in May by a group of environmental non-governmental organisations. In it, they urge the government to prevent any further expansion of UK airports “until aviation emissions are actually falling and wider emissions are substantially below a 1.5oC-compliant trajectory.” We are aviation campaign groups from around the country and we fully support the NGOs’ recommendation.

This is an unprecedentedly dangerous moment in human history. The IPCC tells us that every sector of every economy must halve its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 if we are to preserve a liveable planet for future generations. We share the NGOs’ deep concern about the government’s proposal to allow aviation emissions to rise up to 2030, in the hope that new fuels and technologies will reduce them thereafter. 

As you will be aware, both the DfT’s authors of Jet Zero and the CCC have acknowledged the very great uncertainties and high risks associated with an over-reliance on scaling up those emerging fuels and technologies. You will also be aware of recent analysis by Element Energy which said: “​​We conclude that there should be no airport expansion until and unless it is clear that both in-sector (aircraft technology) and out-of-sector (carbon removal) emissions reductions are on track to meet a fair emissions reduction for 2035 and beyond.”

So we urge you to exercise caution and follow the NGOs’ advice: do not expand airports and aviation emissions until we are sure that future technologies can deliver the necessary reductions fast enough. We look forward to your response to our letter.

Yours sincerely

Chris Foren, Group for Action on Leeds Bradford Airport

Chloe Jeffries, Climate Emergency Manchester

Lawrence Jones, Liverpool John Lennon Airport Watch

Roger Haydon, Aircraft Noise Action Group (Newcastle)

Tam Brady, Whitecrook Aircraft Noise Association (Glasgow)

Helena Paul, Edinburgh Airport Watch

Steve Clarke, Bristol Airport Action Network

Angela Cotton, AXO Southampton

Jenny Dawes, Manston Airport 

Justine Bayley, Stop Heathrow Expansion 

Maggie Thorburn, Heathrow Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise

John Stewart, HACAN East (London City)

Sally Pavey, Communities Against Gatwick Noise and Emissions

Brian Ross, Stansted Airport Watch

Bridget Bell, Plane Hell Action South East (London)

Andrew Lambourne, Luton And District Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise

Ray Stewart, SW Essex Fight the Flights (London City/Heathrow)

Armelle Thomas, Harmondsworth Residents Association (Heathrow)

Murray Barter, Residents Against Aircraft Noise (Heathrow)

Rose Bridger, Coordinator, Global Anti-Aerotropolis Movement 

Finlay Asher, Safe Landing

Anna Hughes, Flight Free UK 

Claire James, Campaign against Climate Change

Chris Watson, International Climate Safe Travel Institute

Dr Mia Thomas, Medact Leeds

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See the earlier NGO letter: 

 

NGOs write to Aviation Minister asking that airport expansions are stopped until aviation CO2 emissions can actually be reduced

Currently there are expansion plans by 7 UK airports (Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, Bristol, Leeds Bradford, Southampton and Manston) and government has no coherent policy on aviation carbon emissions in relation to the UK “net zero” by 2050 target. So a group of NGOs (AEF, AirportWatch, Friends of the Earth, Green Alliance, Greenpeace, Possible and T&E) has written to Aviation Minister, Robert Courts, calling on the Government to withdraw its policy support for airport expansion until aviation carbon emissions are actually falling, and wider UK emissions are substantially below a 1.5C-compliant trajectory.  It also voices concerns that the Government’s draft Jet Zero strategy is built around assumptions that future increases in sustainable fuels and carbon removals will occur after 2030, but with no clear policy plan to ensure that happens. The letter points out that neither the Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS) for a new runway at Heathrow nor the Making Best Use (MBU) policy for other airports – both released in 2018 – have yet been assessed for their compatibility with achieving net zero aviation by 2050.  Planning authorities should not be left reliant on out-of-date policies when determining applications for airport expansion – as happens now.

Click here to view full story…

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Bristol Airport expansion case highlights loopholes in national climate policy,

The Bristol the campaign group against the airport’s expansion, BAAN, has successfully secured an appeal hearing at the High Court, this coming autumn, where a judge will consider whether a decision to allow the airport to expand was lawful. Lawyers bringing the case want to emphasise that the cumulative climate impact of many airport expansions across the country is not being considered properly.  Currently the UK has no airports policy, and no proper policy on aviation carbon emissions.  As well as this omission, planning law looks at the emissions from the airport activities on the ground, ignoring the CO2 emissions from the planes, and flights facilitated by an enlarged airport. Climate and carbon issues are set at a national level, enabling the Planning Inspectorate (PI) to ignore impact of specific airports.  If BAAN is successful the airport’s planning permission would no longer be valid.  The PI would need to take the judge’s ruling into account when making the decision again and possibly re-run parts of last year’s inquiry. That would set a precedent.

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Bristol Airport expansion case highlights loopholes in national climate policy, say campaigners

Lawyers bringing the anti-expansion case to the High Court want to emphasise that no-one is considering the cumulative impact of regional airport expansions.

14th June, 2022   (The Bristol Cable)

Stephen Clarke from Bristol Airport Action Network (BAAN) has been fighting Bristol Airport’s plans to expand for years. When we meet for a coffee in Wapping Wharf, he explains how the delay caused by their campaign has saved one million tonnes of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere every year since 2020, when the airport initially applied for planning permission. Every year, he also hopes national policy will be updated so that it no longer supports airport expansion.

We’re meeting because the campaign group has successfully secured an appeal hearing at the High Court in the autumn, where a judge will consider whether a decision to allow the transport hub to expand was lawful. The hearing will take place on home turf in Bristol, as the campaigners had hoped.

Securing the hearing means the judge believes their grounds for appeal, based largely on climate issues, have merit. The campaigners’ lawyers intend to highlight how current national policy allows airports to expand without even taking plane emissions or the cumulative impact of regional airport expansions on the UK’s carbon budget into account.

The planning inspectorate – essentially planning experts from Michael Gove’s Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities – decided in February after last year’s 10-week inquiry that Bristol Airport should be allowed to expand. This overturned North Somerset council’s earlier decision to refuse planning permission, due largely to concerns about the climate crisis. It’s what environmentalists have been calling the biggest climate decision facing the South West.

The loophole that ignores plane emissions

One of the key grounds for appeal in the High Court case is that the inspectorate’s decision did not take into account emissions from planes, which will increase with 2 million extra annual passengers if the expansion goes ahead. This is due to a mixture of planning loopholes and out-of-date aviation policy: because emissions targets are set nationally not locally, the inspectors said they did not have to take emissions from planes into account in this landmark climate decision.

Local authorities’ decisions on airport expansions can be overturned based on government policy such as Make Best Use and the Airports National Policy Statement, which both indicate that carbon emissions should be calculated at a national level and support airport expansion. This support is based on a 2018 assessment of emissions, noted Tim Johnson, director of Aviation Environmental Federation (AEF), which means the policy is out of date given the UK’s more recent commitment to be net zero by 2050. [Net zero only means net return to the level of emissions in 1990, not actually zero emissions. AW comment]

“It is nothing short of crazy that this huge decision is being made without taking into account carbon emissions from the 20,000 plus extra planes that will fly over Bristol if this expansion is allowed,” said Clarke. “BAAN has resisted these expansion plans for more than three years and will continue to do so.”

Dan Norris, metro mayor for the West of England, said: “Expanding Bristol Airport, when it’s not full anyway, goes against everything the climate science tells us is urgently needed. Here in the West of England it drives a coach and horses through our ambitious 2030 net zero target.

“This comes from a government that doesn’t take the climate emergency seriously. Remember Rishi Sunak [recently] introduced a 50 per cent cut in Air Passenger Duty for domestic flights.”

The cumulative impact of airport expansions

As it stands, current policy also fails to take into account the cumulative impact of schemes such as airport expansions or new roads on the nation’s carbon targets. So while the government’s Climate Change Committee allows for no more than 25% growth in aviation passenger numbers on 2018 levels, current planned airport expansions at 20 or so regional airports will result in passenger numbers three times this figure, according to analysis by AEF.

On top of this, many existing airports have spare capacity that would be sufficient to reach the cap on growth.

Dan Norris commented: “What urgently needs to change is the Government’s current piecemeal approach to airport policy. They need to consider the cumulative impact of all airport expansion plans across the county, rather than on the current case-by-case basis, and I’ve made this point explicitly to Mr Gove and Department of Transport officials.

“More than 20 regional airports want to expand which would lead to an extra 80 million passengers a year, but no consideration has been given to the combined impact of their additional emissions. Each one is being treated in isolation thereby making their climate impact appear less significant.”

Read more

We need international alliances to stop airport expansions

‘Climate change was taken out of the equation’: Campaigners react to losing the battle over Bristol Airport expansion

Johnson from AEF added: “We believe there should be a moratorium on all airport expansions until the government has set out clear plans showing how passenger growth at UK airports can be consistent with our net zero climate target.”

Nationally, NGOs are lobbying for the government to change its policy support on airport expansion until aviation emissions are actually falling. But so far, it seems to be falling on deaf ears. The government released a ten point plan for aviation last month, which included a point on “support[ing] growth in airport capacity where it is justified.”

Climate is ‘neutral in the planning balance’

Another ground for appeal in the Bristol Airport case is the inspectorate’s assumption that ‘levelling up’ minister Gove would comply with his legal duty under the Climate Change Act 2008. This is what enshrines in law the UK’s target to reach net zero emissions by 2050 – even though, the report admitted, there is no current policy to uphold this.

Other grounds are that the report discounted the climate impact of non-CO2 emissions such as contrails, even though the government’s own planners agree that they greatly influence total emissions, and that it ignored how the expansion would overwhelm North Somerset’s carbon budget. The report’s section on the climate crisis concluded that climate change “must be regarded as neutral in the planning balance”.

A spokesperson from the planning inspectorate said: “Inspectors are independent and impartial. When making a decision, inspectors give careful consideration to the evidence submitted at the time of the appeal taking account of current planning legislation, guidance and policy.”

What happens next

If BAAN is successful the planning permission would no longer be valid. Most of the grounds for appeal are around the climate crisis, so if they win then the planning inspectorate would have to take the judge’s ruling into account when making the decision again and possibly re-run parts of last year’s inquiry.

What’s more important is the precedent that winning will set. “If we are successful in this case, it could have national significance as the other campaigning groups trying to stop expansion elsewhere in the UK could use our decision as a precedent,” said Clarke. “That’s one of the reasons why this is the biggest carbon decision in this area for many years.”

Clarke is cautiously optimistic. 90% of cases are rejected at the appeal stage, but BAAN’s lawyers were told by a judge who examined the papers that they were successful in reaching the full hearing stage without needing to give oral evidence beforehand, which points to the strength of their case. Tim Johnson from the AEF also thinks the Bristol case is strong, especially as the arguments differ from those that were recently rejected by the High Court in relation to the Southampton Airport expansion, which were largely around the legal processes of securing planning permission.

To keep net zero hopes alive, climate activists are taking on airports across the UK. The most high profile was Heathrow’s new runway, which got closer to being given the go ahead in 2020 when the Supreme Court ruled that government policy had taken the Paris Agreement into account.

Then in May 2021, the planning inspectorate overturned Uttlesford District Council’s decision to refuse Stansted’s expansion, which was based on climate concerns.

In May this year, the High Court then threw out a bid from activists to stop Southampton Airport expanding.

And yet, against a backdrop of judges ruling in favour of airport expansion, Gove has increasingly been ‘calling in’ these decisions to make them himself. In January, he put a block on construction at Leeds Bradford Airport, which had been granted planning permission for a new terminal and a near doubling in passenger numbers from four to seven million. His department deliberated until the developers withdrew their application in March due to ‘excessive delays’.

Then again in April, Gove called in the decision on Luton Airport citing ‘concerns over climate change targets’. An inquiry will now take place into the expansion plan.

Clarke hopes Gove could begin considering the Bristol Airport expansion in the context of all the regional airports hoping to expand and the cumulative impact of the increase in emissions.

Metro mayor Norris said: “Michael Gove has also failed to explain why he is calling in expansion plans for Luton and Leeds Bradford but not Bristol and elsewhere. It doesn’t add up. And forcing local planning authorities to rely on outdated policies when making long-term infrastructure decisions flies in the face of good sense. The planning system is not fit-for-purpose.

“I am hopeful the High Court will overturn this flawed decision.”

Gove may still call in the Bristol Airport case. His decision to do this with airports elsewhere, while no substitute for proper policy, could mark the beginning of a shift away from unfettered airport expansion. As Johnson from the AEF said, these latest moves “certainly suggest the government is cautious about relying on its existing policies without further scrutiny of the impacts”. Whether the same thing will happen with Bristol Airport before autumn’s High Court hearing remains to be seen.

https://thebristolcable.org/2022/06/bristol-airport-expansion-case-highlights-loopholes-in-national-climate-policy-say-campaigners/ 

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See earlier:

High Court hearing granted on the Bristol Airport expansion ruling

Bristol Airport Action Network (BAAN) campaigners have been given permission to go to the High Court to appeal against the expansion of Bristol Airport.  The date is still to be set.  A judge has decided that BAAN raised arguable grounds following the Planning Inspectorate’s (PI) decision to permit expansion of annual capacity, from 10 to 12 million passengers.  The airport will continue to fight for their expansion. Government planning inspectors granted permission for the expansion plans, on appeal in February, after the plans were rejected by North Somerset Council in 2020 on environmental grounds.  These include far higher carbon emissions, more noise, more air pollution and more road traffic. BAAN has raised more than £20,000, through crowd funding, to pay for legal costs to support its appeal.  Stephen Clarke, from BAAN, said: “The idea that airports can just continue to expand without limit, in the middle of a climate and ecological crisis, is so obviously wrong. We are delighted that the judge agrees we have arguable grounds that the inspector’s decision has errors in law and we look forward to the full hearing.”  If the court rules in favour of BAAN, then the PI will have to reconsider its decision.

Click here to view full story…

Bristol Airport expansion decision to be taken to High Court by local campaigners, BAAN

On 2nd February the Planning Inspectorate allowed the appeal by Bristol airport against refusal by North Somerset Council, for the airport’s expansion plans – that would allow it to increase its capacity from 10 million to 12 million passengers per year. Now the campaign group, Bristol Airport Action Network (BAAN), is taking the battle to the High Court. They have raised more than £20,000 to appeal the Planning Inspectorate’s decision. BAAN believes the expansion will be damaging for local people and the environment, citing a rise in road traffic, increased noise and air pollution and an “inevitable rise in carbon emissions”. The Planning Inspectorate said at the time it recognised the “major disappointment” campaigners would have, but the considered economic benefits would outweigh the harm to green belt land. But North Somerset Council will not pursue a legal challenge to the ruling, fearing they would lose and there would be an unacceptable cost to ratepayers.  A legal challenge through the High Court can only be successful if the inspectors can be shown to have erred in law, and currently the UK has “no policy which seeks to limit airport expansion” nationally, or on aviation carbon. 

Click here to view full story…

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Anglesey to Cardiff PSO route scrapped by Welsh government – with the money going to public transport

The Welsh Government has scrapped its North to South Wales funded, PSO funded, air service, between Anglesey and Cardiff, saying it will instead use the annual £2.9m public subsidy to improve integrated public transport. The route had been suspended since March 2020 and will not be re-started. The Welsh Government said pre-Covid some 77% of people using route did so for work, but that a shift to hybrid and home-working has cut demand. There is far less demand for business flying.  Instead the money saved from running the service will be used to improve public transport in north Wales. This will benefit more people and help reach the Welsh net zero target by 2050. The decision follows an independent study commissioned by the Welsh Government into the carbon impact of the service on the environment. It said this shows the service had a more negative impact on the environment than any other form of travel between Anglesey and Cardiff. Often travel by rail was actually faster, door to door, than by plane.
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North to South Wales air route scrapped by the Welsh Government

It said it will use the public subsidy for the route to make improvements in public transport across North Wales

By Sion Barry, Media Wales Business Editor (Business Live)
8 JUN 2022

The Welsh Government has scrapped its North to South Wales funded air service, saying it will instead use the annual £2.9m public subsidy to improve integrated public transport.

The public service obligation route, between RAF Valley on Anglesey and Cardiff Airport, had been suspended since March, 2020, due to pandemic. The Welsh Government has now confirmed it will not recommence the route. It had been operated by Eastern Airways. Prior to the pandemic the route carried nearly 14,000 passengers a year.

The Welsh Government said pre-Covid some 77% of people using route did so for working purposes, but that a shift to hybrid and homeworking has changed demand patterns.

Deputy Minister for Climate Change, with responsibility for transport, Lee Waters, said: “The pandemic has driven huge change to the way people work, with a reduction in business travel over the past few years.

“We don’t think passenger levels will return to a level that makes this service viable economically or environmentally. Instead we will invest the money saved from running the service into improving public transport in north Wales. This will benefit more people and help us reach our net zero target by 2050”.

The decision follows an independent study commissioned by the Welsh Government into the carbon impact of the service on the environment. It said this shows the service had a more negative impact on the environment than any other form of travel between Anglesey and Cardiff, unless it was flying close to full capacity every day.

The analysis also showed that despite common perceptions, the air service was not always the fastest link to Cardiff from North Wales, especially east of Bangor, where it said rail travel is faster, door-to-door.

Mr Waters said: “We need to achieve greater reductions in our emissions in the next decade than we’ve achieved over the course of the last three decades if we are to avert catastrophic climate change. It’s going to an uphill challenge and difficult choices will need to be confronted.”

A spokesman for Eastern Airways, said: “Eastern Airways as the operator of the service acknowledge the decision of the Welsh Government and understand fully the pressures National, Regional and Local Government are under to manage spending and the need to make such tough decisions that impact remoter communities disproportionately. We do however disagree with the analysis that the service had a more negative impact on the environment than the resulting fifty-six one-way five-hour car journeys or indeed local low-volume utilisation of rail services”

“The loss of the service which pre-covid had grown to its highest patronage does also mean Liverpool and Manchester now become the primary air service gateways for North West Wales rather than connectivity over Cardiff Airport which the service facilitated. We will seek ways of working proactively with Cardiff Airport, however, to develop alternate air services and help the much needed economic recovery we each support and bring.”

The Welsh Government, who wholly-owned Cardiff Airport, has established a North Wales Transport Commission that has already begun looking at options to build more efficient train and bus connections across and into North Wales.

However, while new Welsh Government bus regulation is improving services across North Wales and it operates the Wales & Borders rail franchise, the rail infrastructure network is not a devolved asset, with investment decisions a matter for the UK Government

The Welsh Government said the £2.9m annual funding from the air route will be ringfenced for the North Wales Metro programme – increasing the provision of integrated public transport, as well as seeking to increase services between the north and south of the country.

Welsh Conservative Shadow Transport Minister, Natasha Asghar MS said “Whilst I understand some people will be frustrated with this news, I believe it is the right decision especially given around £3m of taxpayer cash is used to prop the service up every year.

“I despise any task that fritters away taxpayers’ hard-earned money and keeping this service going would have done just that.“

It is, however, disappointing that Labour ministers have only now axed the airlink. Instead of wasting some £10m on the airlink, which hasn’t operated since the pandemic began, over the last three years, they should’ve taken decisive action and scrapped it as soon as it became a loss-making exercise.

“The pandemic has drastically changed the way people work and with many now working from home the demand for the airlink simply isn’t there.

“It is vital Labour ministers now start heavily investing in transport infrastructure and connectivity in North Wales and make sure those affected by this decision aren’t losing out. ”

https://www.business-live.co.uk/economic-development/north-south-wales-air-route-24176732


See earlier:

‘A total waste of Welsh taxpayers money’ What people really think about Cardiff Airport

Cardiff airport was bought by Welsh Government for £52m in 2013.
In March 2021, the airport was given another £42m of taxpayers’ cash, while another £42.6m it owed in debt to the Welsh Government was being written off.
It was valued at around £15m in 2021.  It continues making huge losses
 

Welsh Assembly Member questions £21m Cardiff Airport loan from taxpayer – on top of an earlier £38m loan, not yet repaid

Monmouth AM Nick Ramsay has criticised the Welsh Government for its ‘blank cheque’ approach to funding for Cardiff Airport. Mr Ramsay said: “The Welsh Government has committed to this new loan without providing any detail on what the money is for or when it will be paid back. This comes on top of a previous loan of £38 million in 2015 which has also yet to be paid back. Transport minister Ken Skates said the funding – in the form of a loan the airport will pay back – would support “ambitious plans for the future” including a target of two million passengers a year.  Mr Ramsay questioned the fairness of the loan, saying: “Businesses in my constituency do not receive this level of support from the Welsh Government and will understandably be questioning the fairness of these funding priorities.  We need far more clarity on what this money is being provided for and when we will see an end to what effectively amounts to a “blank cheque” for the Airport. … the public have the right to expect a coherent and rigid timetable for this money to be recovered.” But following the transport minister’s announcement, the Welsh Conservatives said Cardiff Airport would do better if it were re-privatised, where it would not need Welsh taxpayers to shoulder the financial burden. 

https://www.airportwatch.org.uk/2019/10/welsh-assembly-member-questions-21m-cardiff-airport-loan-from-taxpayer-on-top-of-an-earlier-38m-loan-not-yet-repaid/

 


Cardiff to Anglesey air link continues to get large government subsidy as bus grants are slashed

The Welsh Government has defended a big increase in subsidy for the North-South Wales air service while it cuts funding for lifeline bus services. From 2010-11 to 2012-13, subsidy for the flights between Anglesey and Cardiff increased by 37.2%. Subsidy was £184 for each passenger who used the service in 2012-13. Over the same 2-year period, the Welsh government reduced its grant to councils for unprofitable bus services by 29.2%. At least 94 bus routes have been withdrawn since 2011. Other services are under review because subsidy per passenger exceeds £2 or £3. The Welsh Government has been reviewing bus funding since early 2012 – but has not evaluated the air service’s costs and benefits since the global financial problems and major reductions in public-sector budgets. The route from Cardiff to Anglesey has 2 flights each way, each weekday, and there were almost 15,000 passenger journeys in 2008-09, but only 8,406 passenger journeys in 2012-13. Subsidy for the air operator and the civilian air terminal at RAF Valley on Anglesey increased from £1.08m in 2008-09 to £1.55m in 2012-13. 

https://www.airportwatch.org.uk/2014/03/cardiff-to-anglesey-air-line-continues-to-get-large-government-subsidy-as-bus-grants-are-slashed/

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Gatwick to start new 6 week consultation, on its expansion plans, on 14th June

Gatwick airport says it will start a new statutory public consultation into its plans to turn its northern, standby runway into a full runway for departing flights. The 6-week consultation will run from 14th June to 27th July. The airport says the consultation will also have updates, including on the highway design changes, from the Autumn 2021 consultation, based on responses received.  Full details of the revised plans for the roads around the airport will be published at the start of the consultation. There are changes to the plans for the North Terminal junction, and additional road lanes in two places. The main expansion proposal is to reposition the centre line of the northern runway by 12 metres, so planes can use both runways at the same time (though only departures from the northern runway). There are the usual claims about jobs and economic benefits … The only mentions of the carbon emissions are how, magically, more flights are going to help the airport “meet its goal of zero airport emissions before 2040.” Amazing.  [That, of course, excludes the 10 million extra annual passengers].  They hope the runway could be operational by summer 2029.
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Gatwick announces additional focused consultation on its Northern Runway plans – with updated highways design

PRESS RELEASE:  Gatwick airport

26 May, 2022

· An additional public consultation on updated highways design will run for just over six weeks from 14 June 2022 to 27 July 2022
· All materials and details on how to respond to the consultation will be available at gatwickairport.com/futureplans
· Gatwick will also update on other aspects of its proposals, following feedback received from the Autumn 2021 consultation last year
· Northern Runway plans would generate around 18,400 jobs and £1.5bn GVA to the region

Gatwick has announced that it will start a focused statutory public consultation on Tuesday 14 June 2022 about its plans to bring the airport’s existing Northern Runway into routine use alongside its Main Runway.

The consultation will focus on the airport’s updated highway design, which has changed in response to feedback received during the Autumn 2021 consultation. It will run for just over six weeks, until 11:59pm on Wednesday 27 July 2022.

Full details of the revised plans for the roads around the airport will be published at the start of the consultation and will newly include proposals to:

  • Significantly redesign the original plan for the North Terminal junction
  • Add a new lane westbound over the Brighton main rail line
  • Add a third lane to the A23 approaching Longbridge roundabout

The plans for the South Terminal roundabout remain largely unchanged.

When publishing the consultation, Gatwick will also provide an update on other aspects of its Northern Runway plan, following feedback from the initial public consultation last year.

The UK Government has also today published its 10-point plan for Aviation – a strategy designed to build an industry that is not only fit for the future, but one that is also world leading. Gatwick’s plans align closely with the Government’s strategy to rebuild consumer confidence, build back sustainably from the pandemic, support jobs and build a skilled and diverse workforce that is fit for the future.

The airport’s proposal would see the airport’s Northern Runway brought into routine use, for departing aircraft, by repositioning its centre line further north by 12 metres – enabling dual runway operations with the airport’s Main Runway. The Northern Runway could be operational by summer 2029.

The majority of the construction works associated with the airfield would be contained within the existing airport boundary and the cost of works – approximately £500m – will be privately financed. The proposals are also low impact, are in line with Government policy of making best use of existing runways and would generate approximately 18,400 additional jobs by 2038 and an additional expected £1.5bn GVA to the region.

The project will also be delivered in a sustainable way which helps the airport to meet its goal of zero airport emissions before 2040.

Stewart Wingate, CEO, Gatwick Airport said: “When we launched our initial public consultation last September, we wanted to hear from people and interested groups on our plans to bring our existing Northern Runway into regular use alongside our Main Runway. Following feedback on our proposals, we have listened and taken the decision to amend several aspects of these plans, particularly our highways designs, so we are keen to get further feedback from local people and other stakeholders on these updated changes before we take our plans forward.”

Materials to support Gatwick’s latest consultation will be made available on the gatwickairport.com/futureplans web pages from 14 June 2022, along with details on how to respond.

NOTES
About Gatwick Airport
Gatwick is the UK’s second largest airport and flies a range of both short and long-haul point-to-point services. The airport is a vital piece of the UK’s national infrastructure and is also a major driver for both the regional and national economies. In 2019, a new long-term partnership was formed with VINCI Airports which purchased a 50.01% stake in the airport.

About VINCI Airports
The world’s leading private airport operator, VINCI Airports operates more than 50 airports in 11 countries in Europe, Asia and the Americas. Thanks to its expertise as a global integrator, VINCI Airports develops, finances, builds and manages airports by providing its investment capacity and its know-how in optimizing operational performance, modernizing infrastructures and managing their operations and environmental transition. VINCI Airports is the first airport operator to have committed to a global international environmental strategy in 2016, to achieve the goal of net zero emission across its entire network by 2050. For more information: www.vinciairports.com @VINCIAirports www.linkedin.com/company/vinci-airports/

About Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP)
GIP manages the remaining 49.99% interest in Gatwick, is an independent infrastructure investor that makes equity investments in high quality infrastructure assets in the energy, transport and water/waste sectors. GIP has US$68 billion of Assets under Management. Its 41 portfolio companies operate in over 51 countries with more than 67,000 employees and generate annual revenues of circa US$51 billion. For more information on GIP please visit http://global-infra.com

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See earlier:

Gatwick expansion consultation ends 1st December – its plans would have ‘few benefits’ and many negative impacts

November 26, 2021

The Gatwick consultation on its plans to use its northern, standby, runway as a full runway, ends on 1st December.  It is important that anyone who has strong views on the issue submits a response, even if a very brief one. The impact of the expansion would be to hugely increase noise, carbon emissions, local road and rail congestion, air pollution, light pollution and more. The airport is trying to talk up its plans, with extravagant and improbable claims of the number of jobs that might be created locally, and the positive economic impact.  Local campaign group, GACC, has prepared extensive comments to the consultation, to help people respond. Also a short, quick version that people can use – or ideally adapt into their own words – to express their concerns. GACC says Gatwick’s plans “would have few benefits but serious climate change consequences and devastating impacts on local communities and people under flight paths.”  Any increase in jobs would be by displacement from other regions and would be inconsistent with the government’s ‘levelling up’ plans. And its case for growth simply doesn’t stack up and the consequences are unthinkable.

Click here to view full story…

 

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Gatwick public consultation begins on plans to convert standby runway to full use as 2nd runway

Gatwick airport has started a public consultation on its plans to bring its standby runway, just north of the main runway, into routine use for departing aircraft – alongside the main runway.  It means having to reposition the centre line of the standby runway, moving it 12 metres north. That then just meets international runway safety standards.  The consultation ends on 1st December 2021. Due to the size of the proposal, increasing the annual number of passengers by over 10 million, it is classed as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project. Therefore Gatwick will next have to  apply for a Development Consent Order (DCO) to build and operate the altered runway. This consultation is not the DCO application itself.  Gatwick hopes to get consent to start the first stages of the runway process by 2023, starting actual building work in 2024, with the runway finished by 2029. The work is expected currently to cost £500 million – there are extravagant claims about numbers of new jobs and local economic benefit.  This growth is in addition to more growth by increased use of the main runway, but that does not need a DCO application. Gatwick’s annual CO2 emissions could rise by a million tonnes.

Click here to view full story…

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Government policy document “Flightpath to the Future” – hand in glove with aviation industry, for more growth 

The UK government has published a new statement on aviation, called  “Flightpath to the future: a strategic framework for the aviation sector”  –  medium-term strategic framework for the UK aviation sector.  It is a 10-point plan that “supports the Department for Transport’s vision for a modern, innovative and efficient sector over the next 10 years.” The DfT wants the sector to be “successful.”  The plan is focused on growing a “sustainable” sector; it wants airport growth “within our strict environmental criteria.” (sic).  It wants to help the consumer by cutting ticket prices. Nowhere is there any substantive ambition to reduce carbon emissions, other than aspirations to deliver “on our aspiration for zero emission flights across the UK this decade. We will also seek to deliver our ambition for 10% SAF to be blended into the UK fuel mix by 2030”.  It demonstrates how closely the DfT and the aviation industry are aligned. There is nothing concrete on noise.  It is far more interested in the convenience of air passengers, the financial success of the sector, and numbers of jobs, than environmental impacts. 
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“This 10-point plan focuses on how government and industry can work together to deliver a successful aviation sector of the future.”

Written statement to Parliament: A strategic framework for aviation

https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/a-strategic-framework-for-aviation


Flightpath to the Future – strategy document.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/flightpath-to-the-future-a-strategic-framework-for-the-aviation-sector

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/jobs-and-passengers-at-the-heart-of-governments-10-point-plan-for-aviation


The 10 point plan

Ten point plan for the future of UK aviation

Enhancing global impact for a sustainable recovery

1. Recover, learn lessons from the pandemic and sustainably grow the sector – commit
to growth and work together with industry and the CAA towards a future where the sector can
recover, grow and thrive in a way that is sustainable, resilient and connected. We will work with international partners and the COVID-19 Public Inquiry to learn lessons from the pandemic and build the resilience of the sector, as well as informing broader future pandemic preparedness.
We will also enhance global connectivity and trade through the prioritisation of our work on
Air Services Agreements, and ensuring new FTAs include liberal provisions for the trade in
auxiliary air transport services and for investment in aviation businesses. We will retain our
position as one of the strongest aviation and aerospace sectors in the world, whilst also
delivering a greener and cleaner sector. We will also establish a new Aviation Council
to work with the sector and across Government to discuss and deliver these
ten priorities.

2. Enhance the UK’s global aviation impact and leadership – allowing the UK to set the
agenda on key international aviation issues for the future, including the global reopening of international travel, decarbonisation, safety and security. This will be delivered by widening our existing relationships and influence, through multilateral organisations, such as ICAO, the
European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC) and EUROCONTROL. Bilateral relationships with our key partners, and building on the globally leading role and reputation of our key aviation agencies, will also be key. We will use our influence and reputation to push for greater environmental ambition by ICAO through the agreement of a long-term emissions
reduction goal for international aviation in 2022.

3. Support growth in airport capacity where it is justified, ensuring that capacity is used in a way that delivers for the UK – airport expansion has a key role to play in enhancing the UK’s global connectivity and we remain supportive of sustainable airport growth. We will also support the sector to drive forward continued quality improvements, so slot capacity is used effectively and delivers the best possible results for the UK. An important aspect of this will be carrying out a detailed review of the airport slot allocation system to look at how we can improve it. This will ensure that the system meets the needs of the UK now that we have left the European Union, and we will consult on this shortly.

Embracing innovation for a sustainable future

4. Put the sector on course to achieve Jet Zero by 2050 – as set out in the Jet Zero
Consultation, this will include delivering on our aspiration for zero emission flights across the UK this decade. We will also seek to deliver our ambition for 10% SAF to be blended into the UK fuel mix by 2030, supported by £180 million of new funding in 2022-2025 and a SAF
mandate under development. This will require extensive collaboration between Government
and industry, including through the Jet Zero Council. We will also continue to work with the sector to reduce the localised impacts of aviation from noise and air pollution.

5. Capture the potential of new technology and its uses – benefitting from new regulatory
freedoms outside the EU, we will be one of the first countries in the world to routinely use new aircraft to provide new and improved low carbon services, and local and regional air mobility for goods and people. This will include aircraft such as drones and electrical vertical take-off and landing aircraft. This will be achieved through providing additional funding to CAA to scale up support to innovators and setting up a Future of Flight Industry Group to work with industry and the CAA to develop, publish and implement a plan for Future of Flight. The plan will include delivery of the necessary regulatory framework for aviation innovation to thrive.
We will also support the sector in delivering the Airspace Modernisation Strategy to
achieve quicker, quieter, and cleaner flights. The strategy will also ensure that all new
and current airspace users can operate and coexist safely in UK airspace.

Realising benefits for the UK 

6. Unlock local benefits and level up – recognise how our extensive airport, airfield and aviation infrastructure network acts as a catalyst for national and local benefits. This includes through trade, air freight, aerospace, investment and tourism, as well as allowing people to benefit from improved connections across the union and regions. We are bolstering air connectivity within the union through a 50% cut in domestic Air Passenger Duty (APD), while further aligning APD with UK environmental objectives by adding a new ultra-long-haul distance band. We will also support routes that are in danger of being lost, through our Public Service Obligation policy for domestic aviation. Where journeys are too long to be reasonably taken by road or rail, our PSO policy can provide support. As part of the independent Union Connectivity Review there were recommendations on PSO policy which will be carefully considered as part of the Government’s response. Airport expansion also has a key role to play in unlocking benefits to the UK and levelling up. Our existing policy frameworks on airport planning provide a robust and balanced framework for sustainable growth, and continue to have full effect.

7. Unleash the potential of the next generation of aviation professionals – enhance skills and diversity across the entirety of the sector. This includes maximising the impact of the Aviation Skills Retention Platform and Talentview Aviation to support the sector’s skills
and workers as it recovers. The Government will also support the development of STEM skills within aviation and aerospace, as well as driving ambitious delivery of our Reach for the Sky programme. The twelve Aviation Ambassadors will also play an important role in
supporting and improving diversity, inclusion and accessibility in aviation careers and related
jobs. The Government will also work in partnership with the CAA and the sector to better
understand and plan for the future skills needs of aviation across the UK.

8. Make the UK the best place in the world for General Aviation – recognise the important
role General Aviation plays in providing domestic and international connectivity for a range of
areas. This includes business, sport and leisure, training and emergency services. It also
supports businesses and aviation services, including maintenance and manufacturing firms.
We also recognise the important role General Aviation, and businesses within General Aviation, play in supporting innovation, decarbonisation and skills. We will continue to work in partnership with the CAA and the sector to implement our ambitious General Aviation Roadmap. In addition, we will ensure we seize opportunities from leaving the EU, including making further changes to improve the regulatory environment.

Delivering for users

9. Improve the consumer experience – build consumer confidence, make aviation accessible and inclusive for all, and facilitate a smooth border experience. We will work with industry and the CAA to offer greater consumer protections and improve accessibility through modernising our approach. This will include building on opportunities to improve consumer protection on domestic flights following our exit from the EU. We will also communicate better with consumers than ever before through publishing an Aviation Passenger Charter.

10. Retain our world-leading record on security and safety with a world-leading regulator
– leaving the EU has given us increased autonomy to develop a safety regulatory framework that meets both the needs of the UK and global standards. We will continue to work closely with the CAA to ensure safety standards are clear but flexible, and continue to be seen as the best in the world. We will also ensure we are regularly modernising and adapting to meet the needs of the sector and consumers, now and in the future. As part of this, we will work closely with ICAO following the Universal Security Audit Programme, and ahead of the Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme, to ensure the UK is seen at the global forefront of regulatory standards and practices. We are also refreshing the UK Aviation Security Strategy to ensure our security activity stays ahead of the threats to aviation and continues to meet the needs of an evolving aviation sector, including promoting the most effective security standards globally.

 

See the full, truly depressing (and oblivious of environmental responsibility) document at

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1079042/flightpath-to-the-future.pdf


Jobs and passengers at the heart of government’s 10-point plan for aviation

New strategy launches to build an innovative and sustainable aviation sector.

DfT press release

From:   Department for Transport and Robert Courts MP
Published    26 May 2022

Government launches 10-point strategy to deliver an innovative and sustainable aviation sector as it recovers from the pandemic
new aviation passenger charter will ensure consumers know their rights when flying
Aviation Council established to bring the aviation sector together to learn the lessons of the pandemic and grow back sustainably
Consumers, jobs and innovation are at the heart of the government’s new strategy for building the aviation sector of tomorrow.

Launched by Aviation Minister Robert Courts during a visit to Heathrow Airport, Flightpath to the future aims to rebuild consumer confidence, build back sustainably from the pandemic, support jobs across the country and build a skilled and diverse workforce that’s fit for the future.

The delivery of the new 10-point plan will be supported by an all-new Aviation Council made up of airlines, airports and wider representatives from the aviation sector, as well as ministers and officials from both the UK government and devolved administrations.

The council will work to use the lessons learned from the pandemic to support recovery and make air travel better for passengers and better for the planet.

As outlined in the strategy, the government will launch a new aviation passenger charter later this year, a one-stop guide for consumers informing them of their rights and what they can reasonably expect of the aviation industry when flying.

The charter will be developed in partnership with industry and consumer groups to help rebuild consumer confidence in air travel following the pandemic.

Aviation Minister Robert Courts said:

The pandemic posed an existential threat to the aviation sector. Now recovery has started, we have a chance to build back better than ever before.

Through this new strategy, I’m setting out 10 priorities to ensure we build an industry that’s not only fit for the future but one that’s world-leading.

By working closely with the sector to focus on sustainable growth, powered by the latest innovations, we can ensure aviation creates jobs and opportunities across all 4 nations of the UK.

The past few months have been challenging for the sector as it returns to business as usual with a massive recruitment drive now underway to meet demand. As set out in ‘Flightpath to the future’, the government will work closely with industry and consumer groups to help the sector to provide the best service possible for consumers.

Airport Operators Association Chief Executive, Karen Dee, said:

Airports provide the vital aviation links businesses across the UK need to trade within the UK and abroad. Post-pandemic, it is vital government and airports work together to rebuild and grow those links to support jobs and create new economic opportunities across all regions of the UK.

Airports look forward to working through the new Aviation Council with government ensure effective delivery of our shared ambitions to support levelling-up while also enabling people to take well-earned breaks abroad and reconnect with family and friends in other countries.

With the sector on the cusp of a green flying revolution, the government will work with it to develop the right skills and workforce to accommodate new technologies from drones, flying taxis and electric planes.

Richard Moriarty, Chief Executive of the UK Civil Aviation Authority, said:

As aviation recovers, we share government’s ambitions for the sector to build back to become cleaner, greener, more innovative and to continue prioritising safety and delivering for its consumers.

The established and emerging aviation and aerospace sectors and their stakeholders will need to work together to deliver this and I’m looking forward to the Civil Aviation Authority being part of that collective effort.

The plans form a key part of the government’s levelling-up agenda, focusing on attracting and retaining the skills the sector needs as it recovers, unleashing the potential of the next generation and supporting a diverse workforce across the 4 nations of the UK that is fit for the future.

Ian Wilson, CEO DHL Express UK, said:

Air freight accounts for 40% of UK imports and exports and is vital for the UK economy, enabling international trade and supporting UK businesses.

As we look to the future, aviation will continue to play an important role in delivering on the UK’s freight ambitions, particularly when it comes to decarbonisation of the supply chain.

As a global business, DHL Express is making significant investments in zero and low emission innovations such as sustainable aviation fuel and electric cargo planes and we look forward to working alongside the government as the UK becomes a leading market for these clean technologies.

The plans set out today (26 May 2022) will also deliver benefits for communities across the whole country through new jobs and better connectivity by becoming one of the first countries in the world to routinely use new aircraft to provide new and improved low carbon transport for goods, people and trade.

We can also benefit from new regulatory freedoms outside the EU, for example, to support further growth of general aviation.

The government will also later this year publish its jet zero strategy and set out its vision for how the aviation sector can reach net zero by 2050.

UK ingenuity is already developing zero emission aircraft and sustainable aviation fuels and combined with improvements to airport and airspace efficiency, we will deliver net zero flying for everyone.

Today’s publication follows the Transport Secretary’s historic challenge to the industry to deliver the first ever net zero transatlantic flight by the end of 2023, powered purely by sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) – made from waste products, including household cooking oil and black bin rubbish.

Announced earlier this month, the pioneering test flight will be supported by up to £1 million of competition funding and will increase understanding of commercial flights powered by these fuels.

Aviation, Europe and technology media enquiries

Media enquiries 020 7944 3021

Out of hours media enquiries 020 7944 4292

Switchboard 0300 330 3000

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/jobs-and-passengers-at-the-heart-of-governments-10-point-plan-for-aviation

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