Airport News
Below are news items relating to specific airports
Stansted will hold 3 “community feedback” events on its plans to rise annual passenger number to 43m
Stansted Airport is to host three community feedback events, about its revised proposals for future growth over the next decade. There was an earlier consultation in July about growth plans. The 3 events will provide people with a further opportunity to raise questions about how Stansted intends to grow, the impacts of that growth, and how it could make best use of its existing capacity. Currently Stansted has a planning cap on the annual number of passengers, of 35 million. It initially proposed this being raised to 44.5 million (just under the 10 million rise, that would require it to be dealt with an Nationally Significant Infrastructure project, but a different process) and has now reduced this to 43 million. Stansted claims this could be achieved without increasing the number of aircraft movements (= flights) that are currently permitted to operate each year or the size of the airport’s approved noise ‘footprint’. A key issue for local people who would be affected by the expansion is noise, and just how much that would get, if an extra 8 million passengers per year were permitted. That would require planes being fuller, and also larger planes - which inevitably are noisier than smaller ones, even with new technologies to reduce noise. Stansted will next submit the final planning application to Uttlesford District Council in early 2018.
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Airports NPS (Heathrow runway) – new inquiry launched by Parliament’s Transport Committee
The Transport Committee is to carry out an inquiry into the DfT's revised proposal for an Airports National Policy Statement (NPS) - tabled by the Government on 24 October. The DfT consultation is to end on 19th December, after just 8 weeks. The NPS must receive Parliamentary approval before Heathrow Airport can submit a development consent application to the Planning Inspectorate, which then makes a recommendation to the Secretary of State on whether planning consent should be granted. The Transport Committee (Chair is Lilian Greenwood) will run this second inquiry, as the work of the previous committee was cut short by the general election in June. Some members of the committee have changed since before the election - and the previous Chair was Louise Ellman. This inquiry will specifically look at, and want submissions on, "whether the DfT's revised passenger demand forecasts and air quality assessments have been satisfactorily completed and are represented accurately in the final version of the NPS and Appraisal of Sustainability" - and on "whether any other changes to the NPS based on clarity intention and/or Government policy since February 2017 are suitable." The deadline for submissions to the Transport committee is Thursday 30 November 2017.
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Leader of Richmond Council: Government aviation strategy ignores Heathrow health impacts
The Leader of Richmond Council, commenting on the DfT's consultation on the draft aviation strategy (closed 13th October), says it tries to shut down any discussion on expansion at Heathrow and puts the demand for additional flights ahead of the health impact on communities affected by increased noise and worsening air quality. Leader Paul Hodgins, speaking on behalf of Wandsworth, Richmond, Hillingdon and Windsor and Maidenhead councils, said: “It is difficult to see what purpose the draft aviation strategy serves when, in it, the government is ignoring the problem of Heathrow. First we had a pro-Heathrow airport draft national policy statement with no details on flightpaths, out of date passenger demand figures, an economic case which doesn’t stand up and unattainable pollution limits. Now we have a national strategy that leaves out Heathrow. Any serious attempt at a UK-wide policy must come before any policy on individual airports, including Heathrow." He also said: “The Government should withdraw this partial and disingenuous strategy document, abandon its unjustified policy support for Heathrow and begin again with an approach that people can trust.”
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Insensitive Ad by “Back Heathrow” outside Sipson business (that 3rd runway would destroy) now removed
Heathrow lobby group, "Back Heathrow" were forced to remove an advert after it was placed outside a local business which would be destroyed if a 3rd runway were ever built. The advertisement, which appeared on Friday 27 October, proclaimed the number jobs that would be created if the airport was expanded – a highly controversial figure which even new evidence by the DfT is wildly over-estimated. [The DfT said in October 2016 that the 77,000 figure was wrong, and they recalculated the number of local jobs using a more plausible method. The number they came up with is up to 37,700 jobs. However, they continue to use the phrase "up to 77,000", which could be considered to be highly misleading. See link ] The poster was placed right outside the local hairdressing salon, "Hair by Jackie". Ironically this business, like everything else in that part of Sipson, would be destroyed (Jackie would also lose her homes, as well as her business) if Heathrow was allowed to expand. So much for the jobs claims. Local campaign Stop Heathrow Expansion (SHE) believe the placing of the ad, at best, demonstrated a lack of understanding on the part of "Back Heathrow", or else total disregard for the community and small business owners.
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MPs on BBC “Sunday Politics” on huge Heathrow uncertainties – including on economic benefit
Zac Goldsmith, speaking on the BBC's 'Sunday Politics': “A lot has changed since the Airports Commission produced its report and that, don’t forget, was the bedrock of the government’s decision and the reason supposedly why the government made the decision that it made. But most of the assumptions made in that report have been undermined since by data on passenger numbers, on economic benefits and most of all, on pollution.” and “In the free vote we could have had up to 60 MPs voting against Heathrow expansion. That’s the number that’s normally used and I think it’s right. In the circumstances where it requires an active rebellion, the numbers would be fewer. I can’t tell you what the number would be but I can tell you that there are people right the way through the party, from the back-benches to the heart of government, who will vote against Heathrow expansion.” And Theresa Villiers said: “At the heart of that private at private finance is passengers in the future but also the cost of the surface access is phenomenal. I mean, TfL estimates vary between £10 and 15 billion and there is no suggestion that those private backers are going to meet those costs, so this is a hugely expensive project and one that will create significant economic damage.”
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Heathrow expansion plan is reckless & shows shocking disregard for government health obligations
"The Government’s revised proposals for the expansion of Heathrow highlight how much damage would be caused by this reckless project. They reveal that Heathrow is already having a more detrimental impact on our air than we realised, with an estimated 86% of the toxic air in the surrounding area related to the airport — rather than the previously estimated 70%. It has also emerged that building a 3rd runway will increase toxic air pollution even more than originally predicted. As a result, the Government must rule out the possibility of a 3rd runway at Heathrow. But before the Gatwick PR machine leaps into action, it is worth pointing out that there is simply no need for a new runway in London. Every airport but one is operating under capacity, and the cases put forward by Gatwick and Heathrow to solve the manufactured “crisis” rely on vastly inflated job creation predictions. By continuing to pursue this strategy, the Government is displaying a shocking disregard for the UK’s moral obligation to tackle a genuine air pollution public health emergency." Say the Green Party. And add in the Government’s inexplicable denial of information relating to the new flight paths that the new runway will create.
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HACAN East presents London City Airport with a 30th Birthday cake – it’s time for it to clean up its act
Campaigners at local group HACAN East want London City airport to stop growing, cap the number of annual flights & end concentrated flight paths, to protect residents from the noise and the pollution. Today was London City Airport's 30th birthday. Campaigners - dressed up as bakers - presented the airport will a beautiful cake. They say that now it is 30 years old, it should CLEAN UP ITS ACT. The campaign wants London City to be a better neighbour - the airport is in a totally inappropriate location, surrounded by such densely populated areas that are home to so many people. The airport should NOT be allowed to grow further, as it affects too many people. There is a moving film, with people affected by the airport speaking out. One lady says: "We have lived in our house in Mottingham, SE 9, for over 35 years, Then last year without any consultation or warning we suddenly found we had low flying, noisy planes coming over our house from early morning till late at nights. These flights are devastating to me. I sometimes hate living in my house and I want to move. But the thought of moving away from family and friends at this stage in our life is just too hard to do." A sad reflection on how aviation impacts people's lives.
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Residents across many areas negatively affected by Heathrow protest against 700 MORE planes per day
A number of areas already badly affected by Heathrow plane noise held photo shoots early today, to provide a graphic visual reminder of just how much worse the noise problem would be, if a Heathrow 3rd runway was built. Links to photos of some of the actions below. It is likely that a 3rd runway would enable about 50% more flights per year. That translates to around 700 more planes, every day (350 more landings, 350 more take offs) with the runway. Though not all would go over the same areas, it means more planes and more noise for those under existing flight paths, and new intense noise pollution to many areas (details are not yet known) not currently overflown. The groups in areas already overflown, especially in areas near Heathrow, used 700 red cardboard planes, at their different locations - getting their message across "loud and clear" just one day after the DfT announced its second phase of consultation on the Airports NPS (National Policy Statement), which aims to press through the Heathrow 3rd runway. This consultation deals with air pollution, noise and passenger forecast data - none of which was properly available during the earlier NPS consultation that closed in May. The need for the 2nd consultation demonstrates just how weak the case for the Heathrow runway is, and the enormity of the hurdles it faces, including those on environmental issues.
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East Midlands Airport boss on plans for future expansion (hope to double passengers and triple freight)
East Midlands Airport (EMA) is owned by MAG, the Manchester Airports Group, and the 3rd largest after Manchester and Stansted. In its most recent accounts, revenue grew by 3.6% to £62.4m for the year to March 2017 – far behind Manchester airport’s 12.5% growth to £444.5m, but slightly above the 3% for Stansted, which had a £294.1m turnover. The airport's management hopes that being near Nottingham, Derby and Leicester, and with programmes such as HS2 and the Midlands Engine aiming to grow the local economy, it has growth prospects for the future. There are always hopes of connections to 2nd-tier Chinese cities such as Ningbo, where the University of Nottingham has a campus, India and the United States – possibly key markets in the post-Brexit world. East Midlands wants to double is passenger number, to 10 million - and almost treble the amount of freight to one million tonnes by around 2030 to 2035. It is the UK’s largest pure freight airport – for aircraft dedicated to carrying cargo – in the UK. (Heathrow has much more, but that comes as belly-hold cargo, in passenger planes). EMA handles about 350,000 tonnes of freight and cargo through a 24/7 operation. Noisy planes fly all night.
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DfT publishes another 8 week consultation on the Heathrow NPS, showing further weaknesses
As stated in September, the Government has now published a second part of its consultation on the "Airports NPS", on building a 3rd Heathrow runway. The 8 week consultation ends on 19th December. This consultation contains updated air passenger forecasts which were not produced for the earlier NPS consultation (which ended in May). It also looks at air pollution issues, which were not covered properly before, and also noise. This consultation comes exactly one year since the Government announced it favoured a 3rd Heathrow runway. The DfT is very aware of the problem Heathrow has with air pollution saying the runway means "there remains, however, a risk that the options could delay or worsen compliance with limit values, albeit decreasing over time." Since the report by the Airports Commission, in July 2015, the arguments it put forward for the 3rd Heathrow runway have been seriously undermined - on economics, air pollution, carbon emission, noise, cost to the taxpayer etc. Yet Government tries to push on with it. Zac Goldsmith, MP for Richmond Park, commented: “It is as if our politicians have been collectively hypnotised, but sooner or later reality will click and the project will be shelved once again.”