Airport News
Below are news items relating to specific airports
Residents fear Manchester longer operating hours will mean more noise
Manchester airport has decided to extend the operating hours of its second runway. The airport built a 2nd runway, back in 2001 when it thought there would be an expansion in demand. They forecast badly, the estimates were far too high, and the runway is barely used. The airport only had some 20.6 million passengers in 2013, while over 30 million could be accommodated on one runway. Now Manchester has decided to increase the hours when flights use the 2nd runway for 3 hours per day. The hours were 4pm to 8pm, but these will be increased to 1pm to 8pm from Monday to Saturday. The decision comes after a trial last summer, and will come into force on May 1st. The 2nd runway cannot be used from 10pm to 6am, to avoid noise to local residents. In 2013 Manchester airport had a 5.2% increase in passengers over 2012, the first time it got over the 20 million mark since 2007. Manchester hopes to have a direct flight to Hong Kong from December 2014. People are worried that the extra operating hours will mean an unpleasant increase in noise.
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Letter from a Gatwick flight path trial sufferer: “Home like bizarre noise experiment”
In a heart-felt letter to a local paper in Sussex, a resident who now finds herself - without warning - under a "trial" flight path from Gatwick airport describes how it is affecting her, and her means of earning her living at home. She says the planes start flying overhead before 6am, and continue to do so about every 5 minutes, or less, most of the day. She says, in desperation: "It’s like your home has been turned into some sort of bizarre noise experiment. Where you have no control. On some days you’re OK. The noise isn’t too bad. And on other days - it’s like getting an electric shock, every few minutes. Where you have no control. And it’s not just you – it’s your family as well .... everyone is tired, and ratty and distracted. And annoyed that they didn’t sleep well." Part of her work requires running a webinair, which is now interrupted by the plane noise. "That’s my work. That’s how I make a living. And I can’t even rely on the peace and quiet of my own home to be able to run my own business."
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Latest Back Heathrow newsletter described as ” A work of art: the art of distortion”
Back Heathrow has produced its latest news-sheet and questionnaire, which has been delivered to thousands of homes. In a blog, Chair of HACAN, John Stewart, writes about how it is "A work of art. The art of not quite telling it as it is." Its front page has a heading saying “Hillingdon Council want Thousands of Houses on Airport”. That clearly implies that Hillingdon want Heathrow closed, but that is far from what they have actually said. Its leader, Ray Puddiford, has merely said that, if an Estuary Airport opened and Heathrow had to close, there would be the opportunity for the land to be used for housing and new businesses. The newsletter claims thousands of jobs are at risk if Heathrow were to close. It conveniently overlooks another key finding of the report that the impact of a second runway at Gatwick would have a ‘negligible’ impact on employment at Heathrow. Heathrow is not going to close. The newsletter also quote "residents" - but only highly selected ones. The status of "Back Heathrow" was debated at length, and questioned, at the latest Heathrow Consultative Committee on 26th March.
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GACC launch its “Gatwick’s Big Enough” campaign against any 2nd runway
The Gatwick Area Conservation Campaign, GACC, has launched its campaign against a new Gatwick runway under the slogan "Gatwick’s Big Enough." It has been carefully chosen to show that there is no opposition to the airport as it is, only to the plans to double its size. Thousands of car stickers have been posted to members with this logo. The campaign has also been attending all the Gatwick Airport exhibitions around the area, and has produced a new Fact File. This sets out the information that the airport is not telling people, on the actual impacts a new runway would have, in terms of noise, stress on infrastructure and public services, total change in the character of the area even some distance away, and deteriorating quality of life for many. In GACC's experience, having been to several Gatwick exhibitions, "It is our impression that many people go in with an open mind but come out alarmed at the scale of what is proposed" and ‘My impression was that the overwhelming majority {in Crawley} were against a new runway" and many people "were irritated by the lack of information on flight paths."
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Farnborough airport consultation on hugely expanding its airspace, for questionable reasons
Farnborough airport is consulting on its plans to hugely increase the amount of airspace it controls. This will have considerable impacts on general aviation fliers and helicopters in the area, as they would not be able to fly in the new Farnborough airspace, as at present, but would have to make large detours and fly lower, causing more noise to those living nearby. The aim of the airspace grab by Farnborough is thought to be to speed up the arrival of departure of the private jets and business jets which are the users of Farnborough, so the very few passengers per plane (about 2.7 on average, on planes designed to take hugely more) are spared any small delay. The airport has had declining numbers of flights in recent years, and is nowhere near to its target number. It is therefore surprising that the airport feels the need for such a large increase in its controlled airspace.There are real fears that this is in preparation for Farnborough attempting to expand into commercial aviation. 'Sky grabbing' for future use for a much bigger operation? TAG could make a nice profit if it sells an airport with attached airspace!
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Birmingham Airport 6-month flight path trials – due to runway extension – to begin in May
It has been confirmed that controversial ‘alternative flight plans’ proposed by Birmingham Airport are to be trialled from May, for 6 months. Birmingham Airport has been developing an Airspace Change Proposal, required for a change to departure flight paths to the south of the Airport due to the runway extension. After considering two viable options in detail - and following extensive public consultations - the airport submitted its preferred route, Option 5, to the CAA in August 2013, saying it believed the overall environmental and operational attributes of both routes considered (Options 5 and 6) were 'very marginal'. Perhaps due to news about the fury that has been generated in the Warham area by a new Gatwick flight path trial, Birmingham airport has agreed to carry out trials of both options, in order to better understand the actual impact of the proposed changes rather than theoretical modelling. The proposals sparked outrage in the affected villages when they were revealed last year. A final decision is expected in spring 2015 and the airport has reiterated that the trials are 'not a further consultation'.
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Birmingham Airport wildly optimistic in anticipating 8,000 jobs from its runway extension
David Cameron has visited Birmingham airport, and effusively welcoming the announcement that 8,000 new jobs would be created, principally as a result of the long-awaited runway extension, with anticipated direct links to destinations like the West Coast of America and China. Shamelessly linking the airport jobs announcement with totally unrelated Government tax-cutting measures, the PM boomed: “The announcement of 8,000 jobs from Birmingham Airport is more great news in a week when we are cutting tax for 26 million hard-working people and taking over three million people out of income tax altogether.” Paul Kehoe used the PM's visit for his PR purposes. Kehoe says by 2020 he forecasts Birmingham airport will have 15 million passengers a year, up from 9 million now. He claims this will create 4,000 jobs on-site and a further 4,000 in the immediate supply chain (doubtful figures, generally involving much double counting and optimism). "Politicians and business leaders are very good at talking the talk, but not always so assiduous at walking the walk."
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Study suggests London City Airport site could be put to more economically & socially efficient use by closing airport
A new report from the New Economics Foundation (NEF) makes the case for closing London’s City Airport and redeveloping the site to create more jobs, boost local business and build new homes. The report looked at the actual contribution, and the restrictions, caused by the airport on the surrounding area, and it has come to some conclusion that may seem surprising. They found London City Airport creates little value to the UK economy – despite occupying 500,000 square metres at the heart of London. Its direct contribution in 2011 was £110m – compared to £513 million generated by the nearby ExCeL Centre. It provides relatively few jobs, and restrictions on development near the airport due to the public safety zone and height restrictions in the nearby area limit many potentially more efficient uses of the land. Local residents bear all the costs but reap few of the benefits – the average salary of a London City Airport passenger is over £90,000, while 40% of Newham residents earn less than £20,000. Only about 28% of the airport jobs go to Newham people. London's transport no longer needs City Airport – City Airport’s passengers account for just 2.4% of London’s total flight demand. These passengers could be readily absorbed by Heathrow, Gatwick or Stansted. By 2019 Crossrail will allow City workers to reach Heathrow in just 30 minutes.
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Manston Airport: KLM last flight today and it ‘will not return’
KLM's last flight will leave Manston on 9th April morning. The Dutch airline has confirmed that will not return to an airport threatened by closure even if a buyer is found. Up to 150 mostly part-time jobs were put at risk last month when loss-making Manston revealed it was in talks over a possible closure. KLM then announced it would axe its Cityhopper flights from 10 April. It began operating twice-daily return flights to Amsterdam in April 2013. KLM Cityhopper managing director said it was impossible to do "business in a shaky environment". "We can't flip-flop in and out all the time. That is not the way we work." An initial offer for the airport from an unnamed buyer was withdrawn without explanation last week and there are currently no offers. Strangely, Manston is UKIP's site of choice for a new south east hub airport - they oppose Heathrow expansion. Supporters will wave off the last KLM flight with posters and banners. The airport has said it will remain operational until at least the end of April and staff would be given 10 days notice of closure thereafter. Planes are sometimes landed there in emergencies.
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Southend airport hopes it will reach 2 million passengers per year by 2015, up from below 1 million in 2013
Southend Airport is now expecting to carry 2 million passengers by 2015 - five years earlier than originally planned. It had said, only two months earlier, that it would reach 2 million passengers per year by 2020. Passenger numbers at Southend were 970,000 in 2013 and are predicted to be 1.3 million this year. By contrast, before the arrival of easyJet, there were some 42,000 passengers in 2011. A £10m extension to the airport terminal was formally opened by the Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin in February 2014. The extension marks the end of a £120m revamp by the Stobart Group, which bought the airport in 2008. The growth in numbers of flights has caused a lot more noise for local residents now finding themselves over-flown. The local community group, SAEN, say they will continue to oppose the airport's expansion plans, due to the noise nuisance - and particularly if the airport tries to alter its operating hours. There is also more road congestion, as the airport is only served by one small road.