Airport News
Below are news items relating to specific airports
Local people in Chiswick get more crowd-funded air pollution monitors
Air pollution in London is a growing problem, and people are justifiably very concerned about its health impacts. The local campaign group in Chiswick, CHATR, has been involved with moves to get more air pollution monitors installed. With the help of Chiswick Brentford and Isleworth neighbours, the Hounslow Green Party has installed the 3rd round of air pollution monitors targeting the A4/M4 corridor. This follows from monitoring results in summer 2015 that showed pollutants over EU limits. The proposed development schemes presented for the "Golden Mile" - that extends from Chiswick to Osterley- and also a 3rd runway, are expected to have significant adverse effects on already bad quality air. Scientific studies are showing increasing ill health, particularly caused by NO2 and particulates. This ill health is expensive not only in human terms, but in the costs to the NHS and to society. Chiswick would be directly below the arrivals flight path for a 3rd Heathrow runway, so it could suffer from far higher pollution from so many aircraft - emitting NO2 - only perhaps 2,000 feet overhead. The Green Party stresses how changes to transport are urgently needed. The air pollution monitors has been sourced from Mapping for Change, a citizen’s science project.
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Four councils affected by Heathrow threaten to take legal action against Government if it backs Heathrow runway
Four Conservative controlled councils - Hillingdon, Richmond upon Thames, Wandsworth and Windsor & Maidenhead councils - are preparing to sue the government over a proposed 3rd Heathrow runway. The four councils are near Heathrow, and affected adversely by it. The warning to David Cameron, from their lawyers, says an escalation in the number of flights would be “irrational and unlawful”. The legal letter to No 10 says court proceedings will be launched unless the Prime Minister categorically rules out expansion of Heathrow. It says “insurmountable environmental problems” around the airport mean it can never be expanded without subjecting residents to excessive pollution and noise. The councils have believed, since the launch of the (government appointed) Airports Commission's final report, that it made a “flawed assessment” of Heathrow’s ability to deal with environmental issues (noise, NO2, and carbon emissions among them). The councils also say David Cameron’s previous promise - "No ifs, No buts, no 3rd runway" - had created a “legitimate expectation” among residents that there would be no runway. The authorities have appointed Harrison Grant, the solicitors that led a successful High Court challenge in 2010 against the former Labour government’s attempt to expand Heathrow.
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German-owned air traffic company, ANS, takes control (from NATS) of Gatwick tower services below 4,000 feet
Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower services at Gatwick are being provided, since 1st March, by a subsidiary company of German air navigation service provider DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung. The wholly owned DFS subsidiary—Air Navigation Solutions (ANS)—replaces NATS, and is now responsible for air traffic and approach services below 4,000 feet around the airport. NATS continues to provide approach control guidance to Gatwick from its Swanwick area control center. While the German government owns 100% of DFS, NATS is a public-private partnership; the UK government owns 49% of it; airlines own 42%; employees 5% and Heathrow 4%. Gatwick originally tendered for the services in late 2013, but NATS challenged this through the UK High Court of Justice. It won an injunction in October 2014 that suspended the contract award, and the matter was finally settled out of court. NATS is proud that it managed to deal with a record of 934 movements in a single day. Local campaign GACC believe the change will probably make very little practical difference because all the same staff will be operating the Gatwick control tower - just with a different employer. NATS says it has seconded 24 employees to support ANS for 2 years.
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300 black “No 3rd runway” planes planted in Southall, by local anti-noise campaigns
On 29th February, campaigners from EANAG (the Ealing Aircraft Noise Action Group) and West London Friends of the Earth ceremonially planted 300 small black card planes in Southall. The planes, each saying "No 3rd runway" at Heathrow were planted on Norwood Green. The number signifies the extra number of planes that would over-fly the area, if there was a 3rd Heathrow runway. The Ealing and Southall area is affected by take-offs from Heathrow, when the airport is on easterly operations - planes taking off towards the east. Flights can be from about 6.45am to 11.45pm. Aircraft overfly much of the borough on a major flightpath from Norwood Green over south Hanwell, Northfields, south and central Ealing and parts of Acton. There are currently around 20 planes per hour overhead, but this would hugely increase with a new runway. Local residents say life and work in the borough's homes, schools and businesses are continually disrupted by aircraft noise. It interrupts conversation, thought and sleep and prevents residents from enjoying their gardens and the local parks. The planting was joined by Jon Ball, a Liberal Democrat Ealing Councillor and Meena Hans, the Green Party GLA candidate for Ealing and Hillingdon.
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“Why we must thank the Heathrow 13” – Teddington Action Group blog
An excellent blog by TAG (the Teddington Action Group) says we all owe a debt of gratitude to the Heathrow 13. They say: No-one chains themselves to railings for want of something better to do. No-one risks prison for the hell of it .... That this small group of people were willing to do so is testament both to their courage and to their fear ... They had to take action, as this government simply does not have the political will to take unpopular decisions to face [the climate threat] head on .... What is left when the democratic process fails? ....Species are dying out; people are dying prematurely.... Yet the profiteers and the nay-sayers carry on their merry way. Heathrow is effectively saying [even with] another quarter of a million planes in the sky. "We’ll manage to stay within global warming limits. Maybe. Sort of. It’ll be fine. Trust us, dearie!" .... The Paris Agreement signatories agree to restrict global warming levels to ‘well below’ two degrees C.... This requires extensive CO2 mitigation measures which the UK Government seems to be sublimely unaware .... to even countenance more runways in any shape or form .... The Heathrow 13 (climate suffragists?) .... have our gratitude .... We cannot leave it to a few brave people to shoulder this burden for us. It is everyone’s fight.
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Top Gatwick bosses stand to make personal fortunes if airport price raised by 2nd runway
The Sunday Times has found that several of Gatwick's senior bosses are signed up to a bonus scheme that should pay out handsomely if the airport is sold. In small print in Gatwick’s 2011 accounts the bonuses of “certain members” of its board are directly linked to the amount GIP gets from sale of the airport. It has long been suspected that Stewart Wingate, Nick Dunn (and others?) would stand to gain significantly, themselves, if they could raise the value of the airport by getting a 2nd runway. Now the disclosure has proved it. The cap on how much they could make is not revealed. Gatwick lent the executives £2.8m to buy into the share scheme, with the interest-free loans repayable once they sell their shares. GIP owns 42% of the airport, with much of the rest held by investors from Abu Dhabi, California, Korea and Australia. Gatwick have been doing all they can to block a Heathrow runway, to get their own. They are also doing all they can to increase the maximum number of flights per hour through flight path changes - again to raise the airport's price. GIP bought Gatwick for £1.5 billion in 2009, and has just sold London City airport for almost x3 what they paid for it - and almost x32 its annual underlying profits.
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Anger at revelation that Gatwick bosses to personally profit (millions of £s) if 2nd runway allowed
The Gatwick Area Conservation Campaign (GACC) has expressed anger at the revelation in the Sunday Times that Gatwick bosses are set to benefit personally by several million pounds if permission is given for a 2nd runway. GACC says a 2nd runway would bring misery to tens of thousands of people. There would be three times as many people affected by serious amounts of aircraft noise, and new flight paths over peaceful areas. About 50,000 people would suffer from worse air quality. A new runway would mean traffic jams on motorways and local roads, overcrowding on the trains and an influx of new workers with a need to build 40,000 new houses on green fields. But with all these negative impacts on ordinary people, Gatwick bosses would walk away with huge bonuses. GACC chairman, Brendon Sewill, commented: "Until now Gatwick Airport Ltd have tried to persuade the public that a 2nd runway would be in the national interest. Now the cat is out of the bag! There is no real need for a new runway at Gatwick." GACC will be investigating how far these new bonus payments will be subject to the normal full 45% rate of income tax. Despite making large profits, Gatwick Airport has paid no corporation tax since being bought by GIP due to tax fiddles similar to those operated by Starbucks or Google.
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Report for Heathrow shows the Compton route is indeed being flown differently and more noisily than before
People complaining about Heathrow flights on the Compton route have been adamant there have been changes, planes are over different areas and they are lower. Heathrow has said, month after month, that these people are mistaken. Now research carried out by consultants have shown there are indeed changes. The report says there has been an increase in traffic from 2007 to 2015 – from 65 flights per day to 89 per day. There has been an increase in the proportion of flights using the northern edge of the departure route rather than across the 3km swathe. There has been an increase in the number of heavy aircraft (e.g. 747s and A340s) using the Compton route, and many are now going to ultra-long-haul destinations, so are very heavy with fuel; these planes are now lower over areas near the airport - and therefore noisier. The consultants say the Compton route was designed before huge planes like the A380, which has difficulty flying it. Though Heathrow is meant to fine aircraft that do not stick to the NPR, this has not been happening. The planes cannot stick to the route - but are still using it as if they could. A very unsatisfactory situation. Heathrow says it will be working with NATS and members of the Heathrow Community Noise Forum this year to "revisit the procedures used on the Compton route."
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With referendum awaited, 10 – 15,000 attend another massive protest against new Nantes airport
On the 9th January, there were estimated to have been 20,000 people at huge protests against the planned new airport for Nantes in countryside at Notre-Dame-des-Landes. Then on 26th January, the local court confirmed that 11 families would be evicted from their homes on the ZAD (zone à défendre) within about two months. On 13th February, President Hollande declared there would be a referendum on whether the airport should be built. This has caused local concerns. But neither the date nor the exact questions, nor the scope of the consultation's geographical area, have been settled. In response to the referendum proposal, the local campaign organised another massive demonstration (manifestation), to show the authorities the strength of feeling against the airport. Around 10,000 to 15,000 people came, from all across France. There are over 100 support committees across the country. They filled all 4 lanes of two local dual-carriageways, for many hours - in a peaceful protest, with a festival atmosphere. Two of the Heathrow 13 (spared prison on 24th February, with suspended 6 week sentences for their Heathrow runway occupation) attended the protest, showing solidarity from the London campaign. Campaigners in Turkey, against the new Istanbul airport, also sent messages of support.
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London City airport sold to Canadian Pension funds, for £2 billion (bought by GIP in 2006 for £760 million)
A Canadian-led consortium of pension funds has beaten rivals to buy London City airport, from GIP, which paid £760 million for it. So that is a hefty profit. The valuation has proved controversial because the largest airline at City airport, BA, threatened to pull most of its aircraft out of the airport if the new owner raised airline charges to cover the high sale price. Willie Walsh, CEO of BA's owner IAG, considers £2 billion a foolish price. GIP owns 75% of the airport, and Oaktree Capital own 25%. The consortium that has bought the airport is led by the Ontario Teachers’ pension fund. It includes Borealis Infrastructure, which manages funds for one of Canada's largest pension funds, and also Japanese pension funds. The consortium is made up of AIMCo (Alberta Investment Management Corporation), OMERS (Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System), Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and Wren House Infrastructure Management. Kuwait’s Wren House Infrastructure Management is an investment vehicle owned by the Kuwait Investment Authority. The Canadian Teachers’ pension fund has $160bn in assets, and already owns 4 airports (share of Birmingham, Bristol, Brussels and Copenhagen). HS1 Ltd is jointly owned by Borealis Infrastructure and Ontario Teachers Pension Plan, both Canadian pension funds. GIP bought the airport for an estimated £750m in 2006 from Dermot Desmond, the Irish financier, who paid just £23.5m for it in 1995 from Mowlem.