Airport News
Below are news items relating to specific airports
Heathrow cargo consolidation app, to cut NO2 – but outweighed by anticipated freight growth
Heathrow has said it hopes to double the amount of air freight it carries, if it gets a 3rd runway. Most of this freight arrives at the airport, or leaves the airport, in diesel powered lorries or vans. Heathrow knows it has real problems worsening local air quality, with particulates and NO2 in particular. The Airports Commission report was particularly weak on NO2 air pollution, and ignored the emissions from Heathrow’s air cargo. In March 2016 Heathrow put out the news that it is trying to get freight companies to consolidate some loads, share journeys etc. Now Heathrow has put out a similar story, about a new App it has produced. This new load consolidation App is called "Heathrow CargoCloud." It might save companies a bit of money, and it might slightly cut the number of trucks, and hence the levels of NO2 air pollution. The illegal levels of air pollution are a real problem for Heathrow, and neither the airport nor the government has any realistic means of getting these down in the short term. In reality, getting a few trucks off the road - though very welcome - is not going to be enough to negate a planned doubling of freight tonnage. Heathrow hopes its App will make Heathrow "an airport of choice for cargo.” ie. attract more freight (and more congestion and air pollution) cancelling out any improvements ...
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Environmental group launches legal action over plans for new Dublin runway under climate law
The original permission for the proposed 3.1km runway at Dublin airport was granted in 2007, and was due to expire this August. A 5 year extension was granted by Fingal County Council in March 2017. The runway plans were put on hold during the recession.. Now Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE) have sought a judicial review of Fingal County Council’s decision. They allege that the council’s Chief Executive was fully aware that the extra runway would result in increased greenhouse gas emissions before granting the 5-year extension. This would be in contravention of the objectives of the 2015 Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act. FIE say that as the original permission was granted based on an Environmental Impact Statement from 2002, the council has failed to consider new research on climate change over the past 15 years. The FIE’s challenge also refers to the recent refusal of planning permission for a third runway at Vienna Airport by the Austrian Court due to the higher carbon emissions the runway would cause. Two separate groups of residents to be affected by the construction of a 3rd runway have also brought legal challenges. St Margaret’s Concerned Residents Group say the impact of the runway on their homes was not properly considered by the council.
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Residents of Burien City Council, Seattle, sue the FAA on fight path change – and win
Burien is an area affected by Seattle airport, in the US. People there have been badly affected by a new concentrated flight path over them, since June 2016. Residents have got together to fight the changes, and get the noise reduced. In January 2017 the lawyer for Burien City said she had made it clear to the FAA that the city was serious and that if the agency “did not ‘cease and desist by February 10, 2017 and if the FAA did not commit to conduct a full environmental review,’” then the Burien and Quiet Skies Coalition would sue the FAA. They have now done that, and won - and their win is inspiring other cities to make similar moves. The flight path changes were made without any public notice, either to the city or to the Port of Seattle. The FAA had refused to meet the city council to discuss changing the flight plan. Local campaigner Debbie Wagner said: “It’s a huge win, nobody ever beats the federal government.” However, this is a win of a battle - not the war. “You can band together, you can join together and fight and win, but in the grand scheme of things we’re fighting a Goliath that wants to grow even bigger....we are all suffering. We’re suffering now in the present situation, they want to make it twice as bad. I can’t even imagine” she said. Sea-Tac International Airport is expanding, with new buildings etc, and expansion is only going to make the situation worse.
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Stop Stansted Expansion calls on CAA and NATS to reverse 2016 flight path change, that are causing noise misery
SSE says National Air Traffic Services (NATS), who develop flightpaths for Britain's airports, should reverse changes made last year. The changes to flightpaths are causing "noise misery." The changes, introduced in February 2016, have led to a doubling of flights using the easterly Clacton departure routes and led to more than four times the number of complaints about aircraft noise (4,000 in 2016 compared to 760 in 2015). NATS and the CAA are conducting a review of the changes, to assess the impacts and benefits against what was expected when the plans were introduced. SSE noise adviser, Martin Peachey, said: "Whenever there are changes to flight paths there are always winners and losers but in this instance it seems that the only winners are the airlines. There must be more equitable outcome so that local residents do not pay a high price in terms of increased noise misery." The changes were opposed by residents at public consultation, with 82% of those who responded, but were nevertheless approved by the CAA and implemented in February 2016 because there were judged to be benefits for airlines, in terms of fuel savings and time saving. Any minor benefits for airlines are far outweighed by the additional noise misery being inflicted upon local communities. SSE is urging local residents to make their views known to NATS.
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Inadequate draft DEFRA air quality plan remains silent on Heathrow 3rd runway impact on NO2
Defra's new, very weak (due probably to trying not to upset owners of diesel cars in the run-up to the election) air quality plan is not likely to achieve air within legal NO2 limits in parts of London before 2030. A 3rd Heathrow runway would increase levels of NO2 in an area that has remained persistently in breach of legal limits. However, the Aviation Environment Federation (AEF) point out that the draft plan does not mention the airport, with emissions associated with a 3rd runway apparently not even modelled. AEF Deputy Director Cait Hewitt said, while we are waiting to see what legal action is taken on UK air quality: "In the meantime ministers are hoping to lock in parliamentary support for Heathrow expansion by the end of the year, despite new forecasts indicating that London may still be non-compliant with air pollution limits by 2030, and despite knowing that a third runway, due to open mid-2020s, would make the problem worse. The process for approving Heathrow expansion should be halted immediately, and reconsulted on only once an effective and legally compliant air quality plan is in place, so that the impact of a third runway can be properly assessed.” Forecasts from both the Airports Commission and the DfT show that expansion would act to further increase NO2 due to extra emissions from aircraft as well as associated passenger and freight traffic on the roads.
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Government response to EAC on Heathrow air pollution are vague and entirely unsatisfactory
The Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) criticised the UK Government for its failure to deal adequately with air pollution from a 3rd Heathrow runway. Before its dissolution, for the general election on 8th June 2017, the EAC published the response by the government (dated 21st April) to questions put to it by the committee in February. The responses on air pollution are not satisfactory. Asked by the EAC to carry out work to reduce the significant health impacts identified, the government just says it is updating "its evidence base on airport capacity as appropriate to ensure that any final NPS is based on the most up to date information" ... and that "The Government is determined to meet its air quality obligations and to do so in the shortest time possible." ..."The draft NPS stipulates that final development consent will only be granted if the Secretary of State is satisfied that, with mitigation, the scheme would be compliant with legal air quality requirements." ie. totally vague, saying almost nothing specific. The EAC said Government must publish a comprehensive assessment of the infrastructure requirements of a 3rd runway and consult on it before publishing a final NPS. The Government just said "necessary changes to the transport system will rightly be considered as part of the statutory planning process." And so on.
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Campaigners incredulous at Rob Gray’s appointment as the new head of community engagement at Heathrow
Heathrow airport has effectively stuck two fingers up at the local opposition to the 3rd runway, by appointing to the post of Director of Community and Stakeholder Relations at the airport. Mr Gray starts in May, working under executive director for expansion, Emma Gilthorpe. The job will be to "work with local communities to ensure our plans reflect their views.” Rob Gray has been deeply disliked by opponents of Heathrow expansion, due to his 4 years as director of the astro-turf organisation, "Back Heathrow" which was set up to look like a genuine community group. Mr Gray is unpopular not only because of his personal style and hostile attitude to those whose lives would be damaged by the runway, but also because of untruthful campaigns. One was banned by the ASA in October 2016, for having incorrectly used statistics claiming the extent of support for a 3rd runway. Back Heathrow also produced promotional materials and letters implying *(falsely) that Heathrow would close without the runway, and jobs would be lost. Mr Gray's attitudes towards runway opponents makes him a highly unsuitable person to have the role of liaison - if the airport was serious in undertaking genuine dialogue. His appointment is being seen as a signal that they are not. Back Heathrow has a new director, Parmjit Dhanda, and its recent letter to its supporters, asking them to send in NPS submissions in favour of the runway says: “It is now up to you to save Heathrow’s future.” and “PS. Don’t risk Heathrow’s future.”
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Guide to impact of Election on work of parliamentary committees, especially relating to Heathrow NPS
For those of us who are unfamiliar with the way parliament works etc, and especially in relation to select committees and the effect of a general election, here is a short briefing on what will happen in the coming months, especially in relation to Heathrow. From the 3rd May Parliament is dissolved. The parliamentary select committees have also ceased to function. The chairs of these committees need to be elected first, and the decision made on which party will chair each committee, according to the strength of the party in the House. It could be mid July before committee chairs are appointed. Then members of the committees have to be appointed, and that needs a motion setting out the membership of each committee, agreed on the floor of the House. In both 2010 and 2015, this took approximately six weeks to be agreed. Therefore, the earliest the final composition of select committees will be known is likely to be September 2017. The election means that any current inquiries not completed (such as the Transport Committee one on the draft NPS) have been paused. It will be up to the members of the new Transport Select Committee if they wish to pick up this inquiry and continue with it. There is also an inquiry by 4 select committees into air quality. That will also have to be picked up by the new committees.
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Govt under pressure on 3rd runway air pollution – Heathrow just “confident” on future “exciting breakthroughs”
The UK Government is under increasing pressure to clarify how a 3rd Heathrow runway could be delivered without breaching air quality and CO2 dioxide emissions targets. In February the parliamentary EAC issued a report that called on the Government to produce a new air quality strategy “to determine whether Heathrow Airport expansion can be delivered within legal air quality limits”. It also said the Government “must not allow our air quality standards to be watered down as a result of leaving the EU”, and urged clarification on what a post-Brexit air quality national plan would look like. The UK needs to ensure EU air quality targets won’t be quietly dropped. The government's draft NPS has made vague assurances that “final development consent [for a third Heathrow runway] will only be granted if the Secretary of State [for Transport] is satisfied that, with mitigation, the scheme would be compliant with legal air quality requirements”. However, there is no clarity on what that means. They surely would not prevent Heathrow using its runway, after spending so much money building it. Heathrow just says “Although we don’t have all these solutions yet we have a strong history of innovation and we’re confident that the next 10 years will hold even more exciting breakthroughs than the last.” ie. fingers crossed it all just - possibly - might be OK ....
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Large number of delays on Piccadilly line in the last 10 months – even with just a 2 runway Heathrow
Passengers on the Piccadilly line suffered 47,800 hours of delays during the last 10 months, official statistics reveal. Problems with the 40 year old trains accounted for a third of all rush hour delays while 7% were because of faulty signals on the ageing line. The line, fourth busiest on the network and used by more than 70,000 passengers a day, has been beset with problems. Lost passenger hours are calculated by measuring the delay caused to each train and then multiplying by the number of people affected. The information was obtained by a FoI request to TfL. The figures highlight the need for urgent upgrade work on the line. The director of the Piccadilly line said this was caused by "a large number of damaged train wheels during November and December last year" (due to rain, apparently - rain happens every year?). In autumn 2016 leaves-on-the line resulted in half the Piccadilly line fleet being taken out of service for repairs. This is the main tube line to Heathrow, and Heathrow pledges (if anyone could believe them ...) that 55% of its passengers will use public transport by 2031 - up from about 42% now. That is a massively higher number of people, expected to use a line that already struggles. The 3rd runway can only make this worse, and Heathrow refuses to pay for transport infrastructure improvement.