Airport News
Below are news items relating to specific airports
Local MP, Bim Afolami, and community groups ask Gove to call-in Luton expansion plans
Bim Afolami, MP for Hitchin and Harpenden, has called on the government to review plans to allow for a million more passengers per year through Luton Airport, rising from 18 million to 19 million. On 2nd December, Luton Borough Council (which owns the airport and decides its planning applications) approved the airport's expansion plans and varying the noise conditions it operates under. Now Bim Afolami has asked Communities Secretary Michael Gove, at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) to "call-in" the decision. The DLUHC says it would consider requests for a call-in, taking the decision from the council, to government. This is usually when an application has wider impacts than just the local area, which Luton's extra flights definitely would. Another reason for call-in is if an application conflicts with a national policy - climate in this case. Bim said the decision to approve the expansion "completely ignores the environmental and cross-boundary impact". Local groups, including the Luton and District Association for Control of Aircraft Noise (LADACAN) and Harpenden Sky, have also written to the Minister asking for call-in.
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Southampton Airport runway extension decision set for judicial review
The residents group, GOESA Ltd, that has been challenging plans to extend the runway at Southampton Airport, have won the right to take the matter to judicial review (JR). The judicial review will take place in the New Year, submitting evidence to the High Court, but the date is not yet known. GOESA Ltd is crowdfunding to raise the money for the legal costs. The plans to extend the runway by 164m (538ft) were approved by Eastleigh Borough Council in April. Initially campaigners against the plans had their request for a JR refused by the High Court, but that has now been overturned. Rowan Smith, the group's solicitor, said: "They will now have another opportunity to convince the court that permission for an expanded Southampton Airport was unlawfully granted and should be reversed." The airport claims all sorts of economic benefits from the runway extension. The leader of Eastleigh Borough Council hopes the legal processes can happen quickly, so the airport can proceed quickly with its plans, which he claims are good for the regional economy....
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Preposterous claim by Leeds Bradford airport to become “net zero” by 2030 (ignoring the planes)
Airports are very fond of making grandiose claims about their efforts to cut their carbon emissions, from their buildings and ground operations, and reduce their environmental footprint. That is all very welcome. But it is merely disingenuous and frankly misleading as the claims to be "net zero" or "carbon neutral" ignore the emissions from the flights, that happen because of the airport. Generally the emissions from the airport itself are around 5% - that sort of figure - of the total emissions generated by the overall activities of the airport and its flights. Now Leeds Bradford - trying to increase number of flights - is making claims about how it will be "net zero" (excluding flights) by 2030. The term "net zero" does not mean a lot. Emissions can only be "net" if offsets are bought - there are few offsets that are effective in genuinely reducing carbon, over decades. Carbon capture and storage would reduce carbon, but it is many decades away, on any significant scale. As most passengers using the airport are people who live relatively near the airport, going on leisure trips, the airport is keen that they reduce the carbon impact of their trips to and from the airport. The airport CEO wants them to travel in electric cars ...
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Kent County Council KCC strongly opposes Gatwick’s northern runway proposals
Kent County Council (KCC) has responded to Gatwick Airport’s consultation strongly opposing plans to routinely use its northern runway for departing aircraft. The plans would see the airport grow - if things go Gatwick's way - from 46.6 million passengers per annum (MPPA) in 2019 to 75.6 mppa by 2038. The council's response is in line with their existing Policy on Gatwick Airport, which was adopted by Cabinet in 2014. KCC Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, David Brazier said: “KCC has long argued the impacts of Gatwick’s current single runway configuration are already unacceptable, and a potential increase of these impacts on local communities and the environment would be intolerable" with the extra flights and noise. They are also concerned about the increased carbon emissions, and the pressure on public transport to and from Kent. KCC says the project would have a significant material impact on the Government’s ability to meet carbon reduction targets. Also that the full extent to which communities and the environment will be impacted will not be properly assessed or appropriately mitigated.
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Luton Council approves plans for Luton to increase from 18 to 19 mppa
In February, Luton airport submitted a planning application to Luton Borough Council (its owner) to increase the annual cap on passenger throughput from 18m to 19mppa. Also to expand the day and night noise contours by 11.3% and 15.3% respectively until 2028. Now Luton Borough Council has approved the plan to increase to 19 million - and the plans to change the noise contours, to the huge disappointment of many local groups already negatively affected by aircraft noise. The Council said this application did not affect the airport's long term proposals to increase capacity to 32 million per year, which would be determined by government, through a DCO, not the council. The airport is owned by a company that has changed its name to Luton Rising - and that is owned by Luton Council. How well the airport will do in future years is unknown, with the impact of Covid, targets for aviation to become "carbon neutral" and growing awareness of the climate impact of air travel. Luton's passenger numbers dropped almost 70% between 2019 and 2020 due to Covid.
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East Midlands airport handled more freight, due to Covid and internet shopping
East Midlands airport handled 381,954 tonnes of air freight in 2020 (14% up from 2019). The freight tonnage at Heathrow in 2020 was 1,146,310 which was down -28% compared to 2019. The total tonnage of air freight at UK airports was 2,002,187 tonnes in 2020 (21% down on 2019) - it had been 2,535,423 tonnes in 2019. East Midlands airport says it is now a major hub for dedicated express freight operators such as DHL, UPS, FedEx and the Royal Mail. There has been growth of SEGRO’s vast East Midlands Gateway distribution park to the north and the new Maritime Rail Freight Interchange linking the park to the rail network. The rise in internet shopping has also added to freight movements. During early 2020 there had been a lot of air freight, bringing in personal protective equipment (PPE) and other supplies. This had caused airlines to be willing to pay the added costs of flying at night and in older or more noisy aircraft. This had been unpleasant for people being noisily over-flown at night as 60% of the airport's freight cargo was flown between 11pm to 7am.
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Cardiff airport needs public money, and cannot survive without it
Cardiff Airport's CEO says it would not have kept going without an £85m bailout from the Welsh government during Covid. The Welsh government wrote off £42.6m of airport debt in March this year and also gave it a 5 year recovery grant of £42.6m. The airport's passenger numbers were down by 90% in August 2021, compared to 2019. It currently has flights to 15 destinations, while in 2019 it had 52. It loses business to its rival, Bristol airport. The value of the airport has dropped by more than two thirds. The Welsh Conservatives have said the Welsh government should sell it. The Welsh government bought the airport in 2013 for £52m and has since invested more than £130m of taxpayers' money into it. The airport was doing reasonably well before Covid. The airport claims to still support many jobs, and that in "normal times" it generated some £240m per year in revenue. The Welsh government is aware that it has climate commitments, and increasing flights from Cardiff will conflict with targets of reducing carbon emissions. Professor Calvin Jones, an economist at Cardiff University's business school, questioned how compatible owning an airport was with tackling a climate emergency.
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Gatwick expansion consultation ends 1st December – its plans would have ‘few benefits’
The Gatwick consultation on its plans to use its northern, standby, runway as a full runway, ends on 1st December. It is important that anyone who has strong views on the issue submits a response, even if a very brief one. The impact of the expansion would be to hugely increase noise, carbon emissions, local road and rail congestion, air pollution, light pollution and more. The airport is trying to talk up its plans, with extravagant and improbable claims of the number of jobs that might be created locally, and the positive economic impact. Local campaign group, GACC, has prepared extensive comments to the consultation, to help people respond. Also a short, quick version that people can use - or ideally adapt into their own words - to express their concerns. GACC says Gatwick's plans "would have few benefits but serious climate change consequences and devastating impacts on local communities and people under flight paths.” Any increase in jobs would be by displacement from other regions and would be inconsistent with the government’s ‘levelling up’ plans. And its case for growth simply doesn’t stack up and the consequences are unthinkable.
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Luton airport continuing to be a financial drain (maybe £550 million+) to owners Luton Council
In the last few days, the company (owned by Luton Borough Council) that owns Luton Airport, has changed its name from London Luton Airport Ltd, to Luton Rising. That will be its trading name. The company that operates the airport is London Luton Airport Operations. London Luton Airport Operations has obtained agreement from Luton Rising that it can retain £45 million over three years. This will support the airport's recovery from the pandemic. The money would have been paid by the operator to Luton Rising (ie. the council) if it had not been for the impact of Covid reducing passengers and flights. Luton council usually, pre-Covid, made a good profit from the airport, but that has now been reversed. The Council in 2019 receiving a £19.1m, and £15.8m servicing debt. In September 2020 there was a £60m loan by Luton Borough Council to its airport company and it was expected that another £23 million would be paid. Then in June 2021 Luton Council loaned a further £119m to the airport. Now this is another £45 million, over three years. The airport is not looking like a great investment for the council ...
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Government subsidising flights between London and Newquay, and London and Dundee, by £4.3m over 2 years
The DfT has announced that £4.3 million of public funds will be given for two regional air routes, through PSO (Public Service Obligation) agreements. Flights between Newquay and London, by Eastern Airways, will be subsidised by Cornwall Council receiving up to £1.8 million over 2 years, which the government claims will help tourism and business travel. The flights have been subsidised for many years. The other route is London to Dundee, by Loganair, for which the government has confirmed that it will provide up to £2.5 million to fund direct flights for a further 2 years. Again, tourism and business travel are cited as benefits. PSOs are for routes where there is not enough demand to even half fill a small regional aircraft and that to attract a commercial operator to fly the route, the government has to provide a financial incentive. So it is mildly curious that Robert Courts Aviation Minister talked of "the hugely popular London to Dundee" route. Over the years, there has been a lot of churn in which airline can be persuaded to fly these routes.