Airport News
Below are news items relating to specific airports
Public meeting in Crowborough hears from Bo Redeborn about his review of Gatwick flight paths
The MP for Wealden, Nus Ghani, organised a meeting on 23rd October for people in the Crowborough area who are being disturbed by flights over them, arriving at Gatwick. In August, in response to the high degree of opposition to changes to fight paths, Gatwick set up an “independent review” of air traffic, which will focus on Westerly Arrivals. This is being led by Bo Redeborn, who is being "assisted by a small independent review team which has been tasked with ensuring the involvement of local communities most affected.” The review is to look at whether everything that can reasonably be done to alleviate the problems which local communities are raising is in fact being done, (by Gatwick, NATS, CAA, DfT or the airlines); and the approaches which Gatwick has adopted for providing information to the local community and for handling complaints are fully adequate for the task. Bo Redeborn was present at the Crowborough meeting, and also Graham Lake, the Technical Adviser to the review team. They answered questions from concerned residents, who are not persuaded that Gatwick has either done enough or responded appropriately to concerns. To submit your views about Gatwick Airport to Nus Ghani MP download a copy of the consultation form: Gatwick Feedback Form.
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Direct flights from Manchester to Beijing, starting June 2016, announced on President Xi’s UK visit
Manchester airport started Cathay Pacific direct flights to Hong Kong in December 2014. Now with the state visit of the Chinese President Xi Jinping to the UK, the first ever direct air link between Beijing and Manchester has been formally unveiled. President Xi was joined at the airport by David Cameron for the announcement of the Hainan Airlines service, which will fly four times per week, from June 2016. There are the usual claims of huge impacts on the economy with the link contributing "£50m annually to the city’s economy" and the usual mentions of both economies being "open for business." Also the "northern powerhouse." There are also other "substantial cooperation agreements" being signed between the two countries, covering economy, trade, investment, infrastructure, scientific innovation, manufacturing and sports. The Manchester Airports Group has been keen to get direct Beijing flights for years, to link northern businesses to the Far East economies - and get high spending tourists. The Chinese state-owned Beijing Construction and Engineering Group (BCEG) has already invested heavily in Manchester's "Airport City." There is also to be a £130 million 'China Cluster' to provide a commercial base for Chinese businesses arriving in the UK, based around two campuses within the Manchester Airport City development.
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Lands Tribunal rules that residents near Farnborough can claim if their homes have been devalued by more flights
The Lands Tribunal has ruled that residents impacted by operations at Farnborough Airport, whose homes have been devalued by flights, can claim against the airport operators TAG. Law firm Hugh James is already dealing with 200 claimants and estimates that compensation could run into the millions. The ruling concerns claims for compensation under Part 1 of the Land Compensation Act 1973, which provides a right to compensation where property value has been depreciated by increases in noise and other physical factors caused by the use of certain works including airports. The deputy president of the Lands Tribunal ruled that claims can proceed for any depreciation in property values caused by the addition of the airport’s West One Apron, completed in May 2010. This Apron was considered to be a substantial alteration built with the purpose of providing facilities for a greater number of aircraft. A partner at Hugh James said: “It’s yet to be determined whether any depreciation has been caused to property values and if so by how much, but it will now be the subject of ongoing proceedings." Any claims for compensation arising out of the decision will need to be brought prior to the expiry of the statutory limitation period in May 2017. Other claims for work done at the airport in 2002 cannot be made, as these are now out of time.
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Local group, PAGNE, at Pulborough and Amberley, in the South Downs, working to get reduction in Gatwick noise
Though at least 20 - 25 kilometres away from Gatwick, the area of Pulborough and Amberley, in the South Downs National Park, suffer from plane noise. A local group - PAGNE, Pulborough Against Gatwick Noise and Emissions - formed last year to oppose the changed Gatwick flight paths. They are affected by arrivals into Gatwick, especially when there are easterly winds, and planes land at Gatwick from the west - which happens around 30 - 35% of the year. Due to the height of parts of Amberley, rising to well over 500 feet, the noise from planes are around 5,000 feet is significantly greater than would be experienced at sea level. PAGNE's Chairman, Ian Hare, said he was working with other flight path groups around Gatwick and with groups around Heathrow to press the government to get flight paths dispersed without any concentration over rural areas. PAGNE also wants aircraft to come in at a higher altitude. Current government guidance is for air traffic management to prioritise minimisation of noise below 4,000 feet; balancing noise and CO2 emissions from 4,000 to 7,000 feet; and prioritising CO2 emissions over 7,000 feet. Groups want noise prioritised up to 7,000 feet, because of the impacts on those being over flown.
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Heathrow slots that should be ‘ring fenced’ for Scottish flights redeployed for leisure routes to Spain, Italy & France
Simon Calder reports that precious landing slots at Heathrow that had been “ring fenced” for Scottish routes are being redeployed by British Airways to open new routes to Spain, Italy and France - leaving Scotland with one million fewer seats a year. When BA bought BMI, it was forced to hand 9 daily slot pairs specifically for use on routes connecting Heathrow with Edinburgh and Aberdeen. The so-called “remedy slots” had been used by BMI to operate flights from Heathrow to Scotland, and were taken up by Virgin Atlantic, which ran them for 2 years as “Little Red”. But last month Virgin scrapped Little Red. Therefore the slots revert to BA, which is using them to launch routes to Menorca, Biarritz and Palermo (starting next spring) - as opposed to the "emerging markets” in Asia, Africa and Latin America that are often cited in support of a 3rd runway at Heathrow. There will also be increases in the number of departures to long-established destinations such as Berlin, Stockholm and Venice. ie more holiday destinations. If another contender were to come forward for the “remedy slots”, BA would be obliged to hand them over. It is difficult to see, though, an airline that could make a success where Virgin Atlantic failed.
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Letter from an angry and exasperated sufferer of noise from Gatwick’s changed flight paths
People living to the east of Gatwick continue to suffer from the intense noise of newly concentrated flight paths over their heads. This not only causes "annoyance" - the euphemistic term used by the government for noise nuisance - but real anguish for those now afflicted by the change. For many the newly increased number of flights over their homes, and often lower planes, all day and into the night, is intolerable. The degree of anger and upset of thousands of people is intense. It is all the more so because of the failure of Gatwick, the CAA or NATS to give proper responses to complaints, or proper explanations of what has happened. Stewart Wingate has said "some people have the impression that something may have changed, but I can assure you that is not the case." That sort of comment by the airport, often repeated, has merely strengthened the determination and anger of the new noise sufferers to get change. Below is (slightly edited) a letter from someone badly affected by now having effectively an "aerial motorway" in the sky over their home. It reflects how people feel, when through no fault of their own, they find the pleasant area in which they chose to live, has become a noise "ghetto" and the powers that be are reluctant to do anything about it. Concentrated flight paths are not proving to be a success with the over-flown public.
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Teddington Action Group show – from Heathrow report – that they are now suffering more aircraft noise
Residents in Twickenham and Teddington have been aware of greatly increased aircraft noise from Heathrow, over the past year. However, Heathrow have for months insisted that the noise has not increased. Now an independent report commissioned and paid for by Heathrow, by PA Consulting has shown that the residents are right. Examining data between November 2011 and May 2015, the report confirms that planes - especially the heavier, noisier types - are flying lower than previously over the area, in greater numbers and concentrated within flight paths. Also that the periods of greatest disruption are increasingly late at night and early in the morning. Rather than being associated with the 2014 Flight Path Trials, which saw record numbers of noise complaints from residents, the report states that these developments merely reflect the general trend of fleet development and air traffic movements. TAG say they have more of the noisiest long haul planes flying over lower than before, sometimes at little more than 2,000 feet in Teddington and 1,400 feet in Twickenham. Worryingly, if this disruption stems from new flight trends, it is only likely to get worse, and for many other areas overflown by Heathrow planes.
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Boris warns regional airports, including Liverpool & Aberdeen, of likely cut in links to Heathrow with a 3rd runway
London Mayor Boris Johnson has rubbished claims a Heathrow 3rd runway would boost connectivity for the regions. He says Liverpool may not get a domestic link to Heathrow, even with a new runway. He has warned other regional airports of the same thing. In 1990 Heathrow supported 18 domestic routes, but that has fallen to seven. With a new runway, the Airports Commission expects that to fall to just four. The current seven are Aberdeen, Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Manchester and Newcastle. They have all on average seen their number of daily flights to London. If businesses in the Liverpool City Region, such as advanced engineering, creative and financial and professional services, need to air link to the world, they could do that through a hub airport (Heathrow, Schiphol, Paris etc). Or they could do it by their own direct flight links, but those would be less likely if there is an even bigger monopoly airport in the south east of England. Since 2012, the number of daily flights between Aberdeen and Heathrow has dropped from 13 flights a day to 8 flights a day. Heathrow claims it would provide more regional links - but it has cut these in the past, preferring to focus on more profitable long haul flights. That tendency is likely to continue, even with a new runway.
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Istanbul’s 3rd airport places €11 billion financial burden on future generations
Turkey is planning a massive third airport for Istanbul. It is linked with other mega-projects – a third bridge over the Bosphorus, a motorway and a canal linking the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara. It is expected that this airport would cost €11 billion, and paying this back would become a burden for Turkish citizens in future - according to Mr Erdoğdu from the main opposition party. He said the Treasury has assured contractors of a financing guarantee worth €4.6 billion should the construction of the airport fail to be realized or if it does not commence operation, plus a €6.5 billion guarantee should the estimated flight volume fail to come to fruition. Mr Erdoğdu said that aside from its environmental effects, the project is economically a mega disaster - it is meant to be a prestige project to rival vast airports around the world. The consortium of 5 contractors spent two years seeking overseas financing for the project but failed, so most of the money has had to come from 6 state-owned banks. There is also wide-scale opposition to the project from scientists and environmentalists concerned about its huge impacts. The 5 companies are estimated to be spending €10.2 billion for construction and paying €22.15 billion euros to the government for operating rights for 25 years.
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Citizens in major cities across the USA will unite on Saturday 24th for #NoFlyDay – against NextGen
On Saturday 24th October, thousands of citizens in major cities across the USA will be protesting - to mark #NoFlyDay - a national movement to restore peace and quiet to communities where it has been destroyed by the FAA’s NextGen (like PBN in the UK) program. The organisers say the protests will draw attention to the FAA’s brazen disregard of citizens' health and welfare, being put at risk by NextGen's program to redesign airspace and modernize air traffic control. They want Congress to put the program on hold until major modifications are made. “The FAA is in the process of building an interstate highway in the sky largely under the radar of the American public,” said a #NoFlyDay organiseer. “Their formula is simple: tell as few people as possible, use vague language, and in some cases disregard community outreach and input all together. This is a gross violation of our right to due process under the law.” In 2012 the FAA led Congress to believe that NextGen would have “no significant noise impacts” and convinced it to pass a bill exempting NextGen from the environmental review process and from public hearings. People are angry at how the FAA has behaved, and want all Americans protected from unacceptable levels of jet noise, and their health impacts.