Airport News
Below are news items relating to specific airports
Mr Justice Holgate has refused permission for JR of Southampton airport expansion
Southampton Airport won planning permission to extend its runway in April. Now a High Court judge, Mr Justice Holgate, has dismissed campaigners' claims that the planned extension of Southampton Airport's runway would be unlawful. GOESA Ltd (Group Opposed to the Expansion of Southampton Airport) was set up after Eastleigh Borough Council gave permission to extend the runway by 164m (538ft) in April 2021. It said the council was wrong to approve it and in justifying it. But now Mr Justice Holgate declined the group's claim for a judicial review. If the runway is extended, the airport will be able to handle larger planes, carrying more passengers - the type of planes used by EasyJet or Ryanair to take people on sunshine holidays to Mediterranean beaches and European short breaks. If GOESA does not appeal, then the runway construction can begin. The airport would likely start that next winter, to be ready for the 2023 season.
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Tees Valley airport loses link to Heathrow. Is the airport even needed?
Heathrow (always keen to make more money) wants to charge the maximum possible on its take-off and landing fees. Airlines and people who like to fly are angry about their trips costing perhaps £10 more than before .... that ignores the fact that rail journeys are hugely more expensive than flights, which are crazily cheap. Teeside airport has now lost its link to Heathrow, as Loganair says it cannot make money on the route, if the Heathrow charges are a bit higher. Councils like the kudos of having an airport, and the Tees Valley Mayor, Ben Houchen, is very keen on the airport increasing its number of passengers are routes, regardless of the increased carbon emissions. Some are asking if there needs to be a Teeside airport, as it is 44 miles from Newcastle airport. The recent launch of a direct train service from Middlesbrough to London means the Heathrow cancellation isn't much of a loss.
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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.
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Judge Holgate’s decision on legality of Southampton Airport runway extension approval expected soon
A High Court ruling, by Justice Holgate, on whether the decision by Eastleigh Borough Council to grant planning permission for the 163 metre extension of the runway at Southampton Airport was unlawful is expected in the coming days. In April 2021, Eastleigh Borough Council voted to approve planning permission for the scheme. Then this was followed in July 2021 by a judicial review (JR) claim filed by GOESA Ltd - the local opposition group. They say the decision should have been called in, for decision by the Secretary of State, and that Southampton Airport has greatly overstated the economic benefits of the expansion and underplayed the environmental impacts. Following an oral hearing in December, permission was granted for a JR, and this was finally heard on April 27 and 28, with Justice Holgate presiding over the case. The review considered the environmental impacts of the scheme, legal and planning issues and whether the plan should have been called in. The judge said a confidential draft of his decision would be circulated to the QCs and their legal teams in the coming days, with a final version to be made public shortly after.
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Heathrow fears drop in air travel demand this winter after summer travel ‘bubble’
In July 2021, Heathrow had £2.9 billion of losses due to the Covid pandemic. By the end of March 2022, the losses were £4 billion. The total consolidated net debt of Heathrow Finance plc was £15.4 billion in January 2022 and £15.576 in March 2022. Heathrow is hoping for a huge increase in its passenger number this year, compared to last year - though it will still be below the number in 2019. Its 2022 passenger forecast has risen from 45.5 million to 52.8 million, but that is still just 65% of the 2019 pre-pandemic level. But Heathrow is till expecting to remain in the red in 2022. There is a current bubble of air travel demand, as people want to go abroad after being in the UK during the pandemic. But it seems likely that with the high price of oil, the considerable cost of living increase, lower GDP growth, continuing Covid around the world, and uncertainties with the Ukraine war, demand for flights will fall after the summer. Heathrow is anticipating a “winter freeze” in demand. It is possible there will be another Covid variant of concern later this year, that could see the return of UK travel restrictions, deterring people from flying.
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Luton airport’s bid to set aside noise limits is called in by Secretary of State
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has called-in Luton Borough Council’s December decision to set aside the noise and growth limits imposed on Luton Airport until 2028. In its decision letter, the DLUHC cites concerns over climate change, policies for enhancing the natural environment, and the local development plan which was to be set aside to allow more airport growth. Campaigners have welcomed the decision as enabling the national Planning Inspectorate to review what many feel is a conflicted situation in which the Council derives significant revenue from the Airport but is also responsible for planning decisions which affect its environmental impacts on the whole local area. Andrew Lambourne, from anti-noise group LADACAN which led the calls for a call-in, said: “People living all around Luton Airport had to put up with far more noise, pollution and traffic congestion than they should have done between 2017 and 2019, and they deserve justice."
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Surinder Arora is rekindling his rival bid to build a new terminal at Heathrow
Hotels tycoon Surinder Arora wants to build a rival terminal at Heathrow. He is understood to have held talks with the Department for Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority about his plans to a new terminal, that might be dedicated (or may not) to Virgin Atlantic, Air France and Delta flights, on Heathrow-owned land. Mr Arora wants to expand Heathrow's capacity using the new terminal by up to 18 mppa more, without building a new runway - so there would be more planes on the existing runways. Heathrow airport has plans for a third runway, that have been held up for years and look increasingly unlikely after the financial losses caused by the Covid pandemic, and the change in flying behaviour of many companies and individuals. There are also serious climate concerns, so no government should allow airport expansion when aviation carbon emissions are meant to be reducing.
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By March 2021 Teeside airport had liabilities of £27.48m and net assets of £1.8m
Teesside Airport has reported a £13.4m operating loss as the pandemic caused a 90% fall in passenger numbers in the year to March 2021. The airport's newly published show its turnover for the year fell 38% to £4.8m, down from £7.7m from the year ending March 2020. The number of passengers fell to just 14,521 from 139,448. It incurred £2.73m costs associated with contract termination, including a contact with Close Security Protection. During the year, a total of £20m was drawn down from two loan facilities - a £34.4m facility from Tees Valley Combined Authority and a further £23.6m set up last year to fund development of the airport’s Southside business park. The airport hopes to get thousands more tourists for holiday flights this year, to destinations such as Alicante, Palma, Corfu and Faro. The airport benefited from Government support packages of £886,278 - including £407,439 from the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and £478,839 via the Airport and Ground Operations Support Scheme run by the DfT and used to cover business rates during the period. The accounts show that at the end of March 2021 the airport had liabilities of £27.48m and net assets of £1.8m.
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There were an average of 500 “ghost flight” international departures per month from UK between October and December 2021
In February, Alex Sobel MP obtained information from the DfT and CAA, to a parliamentary question, on "ghost flights." There had been almost 15,000 “ghost flights” that took off from the 32 UK airports between March 2020 and September 2021. That only includes international departures, not the arrivals or any domestic flights. There were an average of 760 ghost flights a month over the period. Now more recent data shows that, despite more air travel and fewer Covid restrictions, almost 500 “ghost flights” a month departed from the UK airports between October and December 2021. A ghost flight is one with fewer than 10% of passenger load capacity. The government relaxed the "use it or lose it" slot use rule during the pandemic, so airlines no longer had to use 80% of their slots. It was then increased to 50% use and from 27th March 2022 it reverted to 70% use. Though some low capacity flights can be explained, the vast majority cannot be justified, in terms of carbon emissions. The government needs to review its policy on ghost flights, especially the aviation industry claims it is aiming to be "net zero" for carbon.
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UK government paying £685 million for “sustainable aviation fuel” development over 3 years
The aviation industry, and pro-aviation governments, are doing all they can to convince themselves and the world in general that it will be possible - at some not-too-far-ahead date - to fly huge, heavy planes thousands of miles, but with no additional carbon entering the atmosphere. The trick most are banking on is "sustainable aviation fuels" (SAF). These fuels are going to have to be impressive, in being combusted in a jet engine, with no net carbon produced ... The aviation sector is keen not to have to pay the fuel research costs itself. So it wants financial assistance from governments (ie. taxpayer money). The UK Sec of State for Transport, Grant Shapps, is an aviation enthusiast (he has his own plane), and is enthusiastic about funding being given to companies trying to make flying "green." In October 2021 the UK government announced it would provide £180 million to support the development of SAF plants. In December we were told of £15 million being given to 8 companies. But now it is announced that £685 million is being given for a "sustainable aviation" programme over 3 years. The government wants to see perhaps 10% of SAF being used by planes by 2030 - even 50% by 2050 - the current figure is well below 1%.