Airport News
Below are news items relating to specific airports
Plane Stupid activists set up protest, locking themselves together, on Heathrow northern runway
At around 3.30am a group of 13 climate change activists from the group Plane Stupid cut a hole in the perimeter fence at Heathrow, and set up a protest on the northern runway. They set up a tripod of metal poles, and metal fencing panels, and locked themselves onto these. Some were attached by D locks around their necks, onto the fence. Others used arm locks (two people link arms, linked together with carabinas, inside a hard tube) to make it difficult for police to remove them. Police arrived on the scene shortly after the protest was set up. The first flights arrive at Heathrow from around 4.30am. Flights were delayed while the airport needed to shift runways. Six protesters were removed quite quickly. The protest was due to the recommendation of the Airports Commission that a 3rd runway should be built at Heathrow. Besides the serious negative impacts of the runway on noise, air pollution, destruction of Harmondsworth, huge costs to the taxpayer and considerable social disruption for miles around, the issue which has been glossed over is the CO2 emissions that the runway would create from greatly increased flights, many long-haul. The Commission itself was aware that a new runway would mean the UK could not achieve its aviation carbon cap, and make it less likely the UK could meet its legally binding carbon target for 2050.
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Gatwick now says it will “carry out a fresh review of the whole situation” on Gatwick westerly arrivals
The group opposing Gatwick's altered flight paths, "Gatwick Obviously Not" wrote to Global Infrastructure Partners, (GIP), the main owner of Gatwick, on 9th May. Now a reply has been received from Sir Roy McNulty, who is the Chairman of Gatwick Airport Ltd. [Sir John Major, former Prime Minister, is Chairman of the Senior Advisor Panel at GIP] The letter says: "Sir John Major has shared with me your letter of 9th May. Sir John has asked me to look into this matter and reply to you direct. Having reviewed the issues… I have concluded that the best course is to carry out a fresh review of the whole situation as regards westerly arrivals into Gatwick … Yours sincerely." Westerly arrivals are those coming in from the east to Gatwick - in other words the narrowed swathe the people in west Kent, and much of Sussex have all been suffering from. The airport and its owners are aware of the extent of the opposition and anger that their flight paths have caused, from the literally thousands of complaints and letters that have been sent. Many people are not only angry about the aircraft " super-highways" in the sky over their heads, but deeply stressed by having their tranquillity removed, with no consultation or warning. Extracts from one (of many) furious and determined letter are copied here, illustrating the problem.
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Surrey County Council leader says Heathrow runway would require 70,800 new homes and 56 new schools
Surrey County Council leader, David Hodge, says Surrey will require investment in infrastructure if there is a 3rd Heathrow runway. Speaking at the RunwaysUK conference David Hodge said that before a new runway is built 70,800 new homes need to be built in the local area surrounding Heathrow over the next 15 years. This area includes 14 boroughs surrounding Heathrow, including Spelthorne and Runnymede. This would also mean an additional 50 new primary schools and 6 secondary schools would be essential. He said: “We are not against expansion of either Gatwick or Heathrow… but we can only support expansion if the necessary investment in local infrastructure is put in place first.” There need to be significant transport improvements in the area for a Heathrow runway, including adding a 4th lane to the M25 between junctions 10 to 16. Also a new rail service to Waterloo from Heathrow, and more coach and bus links to Camberley, Woking and Guildford would be needed. He added that is not the only priority if there is expansion: “investment will need to go well beyond improving transport links.” [All this comes at a cost to the taxpayer - and would not be paid for by Heathrow.]
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Gatwick Airport mulls response to Airports Commission Heathrow runway recommendation
Gatwick is considering its response to the Airports Commission’s recommendation of Heathrow for a runway, and questions some of the methodology used. Gatwick is on record as having “deep concerns” about some of the modelling used by the Commission, and twice wrote to the Commission late last year highlighting these concerns. In October, Gatwick told Commission Secretariat Head Philip Graham it did not receive “a clear explanation of the Commission’s approach” or “a reasoned response” to points raised “repeatedly” with the Commission. Gatwick took issue with the Commission on the DfT air traffic projections, which it believes are inaccurate and biased toward “allocating forecast traffic to Heathrow instead of Gatwick." They complained that Gatwick is increasing its annual passenger number faster than the Commission predicted, and the traffic predictions feed into many of the Commission’s final conclusions, including the economic benefits generated by Gatwick." Gatwick complains that the Commission presumes long haul routes will go to Heathrow, while it is possible more will go to Gatwick in future - changing the economics. Gatwick is expected to make a decision shortly over what action it may take. Legal action?
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Richmond parties unite to fight “deeply flawed” Heathrow expansion report
Conservative Council leader of Richmond, Lord True, launched a scathing attack on the "wretchedly predictable" Davies Commission recommendation for Heathrow expansion. He called for a cross-party campaign against a 3rd runway. Lord True cited failures to address noise pollution, air quality, security issues and a "questionable loading of the economic dice in favour of big Heathrow" in the "deeply flawed" report and said Richmond Council would never accept expansion in any form. Lord True lambasted the "contemptible" attitude of Davies committee members and quoted from a section of the report that claimed the negative effect of aircraft noise on people’s happiness was less than the negative effect associated with living in social housing. He said that was a shameful comparison. He called for a "fighting fund" to be set up to legally challenge expansion. Leader of Richmond’s Liberal Democrats, Gareth Roberts, was delighted to second a motion calling for a special standing committee to fight expansion. The LibDems want to work together on this, and Richmond will also work with other, similarly opposed local authorities.
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Elderly couple in Harmondsworth vow to fight Heathrow 3rd runway, which would see their home bulldozed
Armelle Thomas, wife of a 93-year-old WW2 veteran and Harmondsworth resident, is "incensed" after a Heathrow letter was delivered to her door 90 minutes after the Airport Commission's recommendation. The letter was a reminder about the compulsory purchase order on her home - just 90 minutes after the Davies recommendation for a 3rd Heathrow (destroying most of Harmondsworth) was announced. The couple face their home being bulldozed if the north-west runway goes ahead. Arnelle says there is “no way” they'd consider leaving the village her husband “fell in love with” when he first moved there in 1964. She was shocked that Heathrow had those letters out within just 90 minutes of the announcement. Armelle said: “If they actually try to bulldoze, my husband - who by then will be 97 - will be standing outside and we'll see what happens. We have no intention of moving. My husband has the right to die in this house and I promised him as much." A promise made is a promise kept.” Tommy fought in World War 2 with distinction, and now in his twilight years, he is going to be turned out of his home. This plays on his mind all the time, and the stress is not helping his health. All Heathrow is offering is 125% of the price of the homes to be demolished. Their house prices have been blighted for years by Heathrow.
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Leeds Bradford airport expansion plans need 36.2 hectares of green belt land owned by Leeds Council
Expansion plans have been unveiled for Leeds Bradford Airport to enable it to bring in double the amount of passengers over the next 15 years. The proposals would see Leeds Council releasing 36.2 hectares of greenbelt land in and near to the airport. It would be used to increase the passenger terminal building and develop an airport village, including a hotel, restaurant and shops. The plans would also result in new flight destinations being introduced. Leeds Bradford airport currently handles around 3.3 million passengers per year but its forecasts show a potential to increase that to 7.1 million by 2030. The plans include an air innovation park to attract research and development companies and an air freight park for improved cargo handling. Leeds Council said releasing the council-owned land would help businesses grow and bring in new jobs and skills. Better transport connections including a new link road are also being looked at. The proposals were discussed at a meeting of the council's executive board on 15 July. They will go out to public consultation later in the year. The airport was bought from local councils in 2007 for £145.5 million. Although Bridgepoint Capital own the airport 100% financially, the councils hold a "special share" in the airport, to protect its name and continued operation as an air transport gateway for the Yorkshire region.
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Teddington Action Group continue towards Judicial Review of Airports Commission decision
Campaigners against expansion of Heathrow are calling for a judicial review of the Airports Commission’s decision to back a 3rd runway. The Teddington Action Group argues that there was a potential conflict of interest over Commission chairman Sir Howard Davies accepting the chairmanship of Royal Bank of Scotland, banker for companies that own Heathrow and Gatwick, and that the Commission’s 3 week May consultation on air quality was “rushed and insufficiently publicised”. The Airports Commission rejected both assertions in a response from the Treasury Solicitor. But Teddington Action Group spokesman, Paul McGuinness, said: “We are advised that the Treasury Solicitor's response, on behalf of the Airports Commission, is inadequate and that we should be able to see this Judicial Review through to a successful conclusion”. So work on this continues ...
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John Holland-Kaye reluctant to accept conditions on Heathrow runway set by Airports Commission
The Airports Commission, in recommending a 3rd runway at Heathrow, set out a short set of conditions Heathrow would have to meet, to be allowed to build the runway. These conditions are not very onerous. These included a ban on all flights between 11.30pm and 6.00am, better air quality, a legally-enforced “noise envelope”, and that Heathrow should be held to its pledge to spend over £1bn on community compensation. And no 4th runway ever. But now, just days after the Commission's report, John Holland-Kaye, CEO of Heathrow, says the airport is “still assessing” the conditions, and “We’ll have to see how it fits into all the other things we’re doing," and "I’m sure there is a package in there that we can agree with our local communities, with the airlines and with Government." Quite why conditions to be imposed on a runway to protect the public need to be agreed by the airport itself, not just imposed on it, is a mystery. Lord Adonis said the noise envelope, which the commission said might stipulate that there should be “no overall increase above current levels”, was one of the “weaknesses” of the Commission's report. It is not even clear what it even means - “total incidence of noise, high levels of noise, noise in particular communities”. Manifestly adding another 50% more planes will increase the overall amount of noise.
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Heathrow hopes to make a monster 3-runway airport acceptable by building a 9,000 home “garden city”
At the RunwaysUK conference, Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye spoke of his plans to create a 3-runway “aerotropolis” around the airport, with a 9,000-home Heathrow Garden City. He said: “When you are relocating hotels and offices, why not put them next to the rail interchange, so that we can have fewer cars on the road — an aerotropolis, if you like .... If you are re-landscaping the airport boundary, why not link up the open spaces to create a green ribbon round the airport, with better local amenities .... and .... improve local flood defences? Why not improve the local road network and cycle paths?” He said west London needs regeneration just as much as east London, and the airport would do that. The development is understood to be planned for the Hounslow area. Heathrow hopes to get public transport up by over 10% in 4 years, to try and get the air pollution problem down low enough to be allowed a runway. And then: "We should get shovels in the ground by 2020 and the benefits of an expanded Heathrow in 2025.” Work was starting on gaining the planning consents needed for the development. Holland-Kaye said the airport may not agree to all the conditions for expansion proposed by the Airports Commission, but believes "an agreement could be struck on them."