Airport News
Below are news items relating to specific airports
Heathrow 13 get suspended, 6 week, prison sentences with community service and fines
The Heathrow 13 sentencing took place at Willesden Magistrates court, with the defendants fully expecting that all, or most, of them would be given custodial sentences. A crowd of about 300 cheered the Heathrow 13 as they arrived, and remained outside - with speeches and music - all day. By lunch time, mitigations had been discussed for all the defendants, and they emerged for lunch. Finally at about 4pm, the news filtered out to the crowd that all 13 had 6 weeks prison sentences, suspended for one year. The term could have been 13 weeks, but was reduced to 6 weeks as they had properly considered safety and were all of good character. In addition, ten have to do 120 hours of community service, and 3 (those with previous convictions) have to do 180 hours. There will also be fines, ranging from £500 to £1,000. It was learned that an email had been sent to the court, that morning, from Sir David King - past chief scientist to the UK government - saying that the defendants should not be imprisoned, as their concerns about carbon emissions are justified. Delighted have their freedom, the activists say the campaign against any new runway will continue. One commented that what was intended as a deterrent to climate direct action seems to had the opposite effect.
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“Hurdles” campaign shows the seven insurmountable hurdles faced by a Heathrow 3rd runway
he combined groups opposed to a 3rd Heathrow runway have started a "Seven Hurdles" campaign, setting out some of the key problem posed by a new runway. The hurdles that would have be overcome would be: security, homes, noise, air pollution, costs, carbon emissions, and opposition. An Advan is touring parts of London that would be affected by a new runway, and will be in action for three days, stopping off at various key places. It began its trip on Monday 22nd at Chiswick Town Hall, to a lively reception from the local group, CHATR (Chiswick Against the Third Runway), before heading west. On 23rd it will be in central and east London, and then outside the court in Willesden on 24th, for the sentencing of the Heathrow 13. The details of the seven hurdles are explained in short briefings. They include the 725,000 people already affected by Heathrow plane noise; the increased risk of accident if there are another 50% more flights; the impossibility of the UK meeting its carbon targets if aviation is allowed further expansion; and the cost of at least £5 billion from the UK taxpayer to pay for surface access infrastructure. Not to mention huge and passionate opposition by thousands.
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Istanbul with its massive 3rd airport expected to soon take hub business away from Heathrow
The massive new 3rd airport for Istanbul - Istanbul Grand Airport (IGA) - big enough to take 150 million passengers per year in due course, is due to open on October 29th 2017. With 3 runways built in the first phase, it will have six runways and four terminals when completed. It would mean Istanbul having an airport larger than any in Europe. It will replace Atatürk Airport and provide the capacity that Turkish Airlines wants for huge expansion. Turkey is not doing well in cutting its carbon emissions overall, with more coal power stations planned and inadequate targets. A total of 25 new airports have opened in Turkey in the last 10 years. It is thought that by 2028, the new Istanbul airport may have enough capacity to shift passengers away from Paris Charles de Gaulle airport, Heathrow, Schiphol, and Dubai. Even with the existing airports, Istanbul has been taking share from competitors for transfer traffic between Europe and Asia. Istanbul is one of the top-five largest feeders for Europe. It is likely that even if a 3rd runway was built at Heathrow, Istanbul would overtake Heathrow. It is better located to be a major hub airport, and would take its business. That is expected to start even before 2020. The President of Turkish Airlines says: “The world used to be focused on Northern Europe and America. In this century, it’s our turn.”
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Gatwick begins search for contractors for £75m planning work for its (pipe dream) 2nd runway project
Heathrow and Gatwick continue to slug it out, in their runway battle. With neither willing to accept reality, both are bigging up their confidence in their imminent expansion, and runway success. Gatwick has now announced it is searching for bidders to carry out £75 million worth of design and planning work in preparation for a 2nd runway. The work is separated into three frameworks: airport planning services (especially for infrastructure associated with the runway); architectural, structural and building services projects, and multi-discipline design and engineering for projects greater than £5 million. Gatwick says the work is part of £2.5 billion worth of transformation spending that it aims to have completed by 2021. Gatwick's Development Director hopes this will impress the construction industry, and make them eager to get lucrative work. The runway works in total are expected to cost perhaps £9 billion. But Heathrow is apparently close to choosing preferred bidders for its four pre-collaboration packages on its 3rd runway. It is thought the firms include Arup, Atkins, Jacobs and Mace. Recently a number of the UK’s biggest construction firms wrote a letter to chancellor George Osborne urging him to approve a Heathrow runway. Gatwick says the contractors were ”misguided” in writing the letter, as Heathrow's runway bid is "destined to fail."
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“All that noise & just so people can stop off in Heathrow’s duty free”: Darren Johnson makes the case against airport expansion
"The London Assembly has a longstanding opposition to Heathrow expansion for a very clear reason. We don't need it and we don't want it." So says Darren Johnson, speaking for the Green Party on the London Assembly. In a blog, he says a 3rd runway at Heathrow would undermine efforts to tackle air pollution and climate change, and increase noise for millions of Londoners. TfL and the GLA could help fund a legal challenge by London borough councils' to a Heathrow runway. With a new runway, around 30% of the extra Heathrow passengers would simply be "people who would otherwise fly out of another London airport.".... Why are we considering taking 10m passengers a year from other London airports and concentrating them all at one of most polluted hot spots in the country?" The government's latest modelling shows, to keep aviation within its carbon cap, "it would need to impose a carbon tax on fuel adding £100 to the cost of a return flight to Ibiza by 2050, even if there is no airport expansion.... In other words, we’d build a new runway in a London airport – then tax people so no more flights were taken across the UK as a whole." ... "Why create so many problems when we could easily get the extra passenger journeys out of existing capacity at other British airports?"
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Emirates adds 6th daily A380 flight to Heathrow, and Oman Air breaks slot price record
Heathrow slots are very much in demand, from airlines across the world, especially those at key times of day - such as early morning. Now Oman Air has set a record by paying $75 million for a pair of take-off and landing slots. It has one pair already. The small airline is understood to have bought the pair — which includes a highly prized early morning arrival — from Air France-KLM. The price beats the $60 million paid by American Airlines a year ago, for a slot bought from the Scandinavian carrier SAS. It is understood that Air France also sold another slot for a lower price to Emirates. That means Emirates will have six daily flights to Dubai from Heathrow, and it will use the slot for another A380, starting summer 2016. The slot bought by Oman Air is for a [popular with those over flown in London] a 5.30am arrival from Muscat. Heathrow slots have been changing hands for ever larger amounts of money recently. They are best value for lucrative flights to the USA and for fast-growing Gulf airlines wanting to get passengers through their Middle East hub airports. Last year Virgin Atlantic mortgaged its portfolio of Heathrow slots to raise £200m in a bond issue. The Sunday Times comments that "The high prices commanded by Heathrow may also reflect doubts among airlines over whether the airport will ever get a third runway."
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Virgin flight to New York had to return to Heathrow due to laser attack (6-7 miles west of airport)
A Virgin flight (VS025) heading to New York turned back to Heathrow after a laser beam was shone into the cockpit, Virgin Atlantic has said. The crew told air traffic control there was a "medical issue" with one of the pilots after the laser hit flight VS025 after take-off at 20:13 GMT on Sunday 14th. The flight turned back some way west of Ireland, after burning off and dumping excess fuel, in order to land safely. The radio clip of the conversation between air traffic control and the pilot indicated the laser attack may have happened some 6 - 7 miles west of Heathrow (the plane took off towards the east and turned west). The plane was landed safely, as the other pilot was not affected. [What happens if both pilots are affected ....] Shining lasers at planes is illegal. A new law introduced in 2010 means someone can be charged with "shining a light at an aircraft in flight so as to dazzle the pilot". Balpa general secretary Jim McAuslan said lasers were "incredibly dangerous", and called for the government to classify them as "offensive weapons". Aircraft are attacked with lasers at an alarming rate and with lasers with ever-increasing strength. Between January 2009 and June 2015 more than 8,998 laser incidents across the country were reported to the UK CAA. In 2014, there were 1,440 incidents, with 168 at Heathrow, which has the highest number.
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Residents ‘adopt’ the 13 Plane Stupid activists facing jail over Heathrow runway occupation
There was a great atmosphere on Valentines Day in the Five Bells pub in Harmondsworth, as 13 residents,most of whom face losing their homes if a 3rd runway is built, each ‘adopted’ one of the 13 Plane Stupid activists who face jail after occupying a runway at Heathrow. There was a specially-made Valentines Day cake, with the words; "Heathrow - you're breaking our hearts." The 'adopters' each drew the name of the activist they would 'adopt'. They have promised to write to the activists and support them in any way they can, if they go to jail. A second remarkable cake, with the face and name of each of the Heathrow 13, was made by the mum of one of the activists, Cameron Kaye. John Stewart, chair of HACAN, the residents’ group which opposes a new runway, said, “The event was good fun. There was a warm mood of mutual support in the room. It was made 100% clear that the activists won’t be alone when they are sentenced in 10 days time. Residents and direct action protesters are united as one in their determination to stop a third runway." The serious purpose of the event was to show "the bond of unity there is between the people who put their bodies on the line at Heathrow and the residents who face losing their homes."
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Campaigners vow to fight new Edinburgh Airport flight path plans “all the way”
The campaign group, Stop Edinburgh Airspace Trial (SEAT) against plans for a new Edinburgh flight path has vowed to "fight it all the way". A report was published by Edinburgh Airport recently, with findings from last year's TUTUR trial. The aim of the trial was to get planes departing every minute at peak times instead of every two minutes.That would make more money for the airport. SEAT say noise during the trial caused "misery" but the airport declared it was a technical success. The trial was stopped after 4 months, 2 months early, on 28th October, after nearly 8,000 complaints from 567 individuals. The airport said 57% of the complaints were not about trial flights but were about aircraft operating on flight paths that have existed for a long time - as there were some changes to these. Edinburgh says no decision will be made on the new flight path's future until the end of 2016, but of course, the airport wants to keep the maximum number of flights it can handle per hour, especially at peak times - regardless of annoyance to those overflown. Helena Paul, from SEAT, said the report seriously underestimated the volume of complaints and the sense of outrage people felt. It was grossly unfair to impose noise levels of over 80 decibels on people who bought their homes far from any flight paths.
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François Hollande announces there will be a local referendum on the contentious new airport at Notre-Dame-des-Landes
In late January, the court in Nantes ruled that the remaining people living in the "ZAD", where the planned airport would be at Notre-Dame-des-Landes, should start to be removed after 25th March. However, now President Hollande - realising that this has become an issue of huge national significance and hours after three Green lawmakers joined his cabinet as part of a government reshuffle - has said there will be a local referendum to decide if the new airport should happen. Hollande hopes to put an end to the matter, which has dragged on for years, with elections in France in 2017. The referendum may not be popular with proponents of the airport, though some consider there is a majority in support locally. It is also a concern for opponents, who ask: who will be polled - from how far around Nantes? People from Rennes and Brittany? What will the questions be? Will the alternatives be given? However, François Hollande has said the schedule is settled: "Work must begin in October. If the answer is yes in the referendum, everyone will have to accept the airport. If its "No" we all know that it is a project that has been spearheaded by the government, the government will have to assume the consequences." The evictions cannot proceed, now there is to be a referendum. The 11 families, including 4 farms, are given a breathing space.