Airport News
Below are news items relating to specific airports
easyJet criticised for launching 12 new UK routes, some easily linked by train
EasyJet has launched 12 new domestic UK flying routes on Thursday, to take advantage of the bans on foreign travel. Anything to make some money and get people flying, despite needlessly increasing carbon emissions. Some of the routes could easily be travelled by train, in a reasonable time. However, the flights will be cheaper (fares like £23 for a 200 mile journey) than train tickets, especially as the government wants to remove Air Passenger Duty for domestic flights, making them still cheaper in relation to rail tickets. The move by easyJet has been criticised by environmental campaigners, due to the increased greenhouse gas emissions. Some of the new routes were served by other airlines, including Stobart Air, which recently collapsed. The UK government, while claiming to be serious about reducing the country's CO2 emissions, is in sharp contrast with France, which is banning flights where a train journey is available that takes less than 2.5 hours. Support for unnecessarily polluting airlines will further undermine our credibility at the COP26. Though many of the new EasyJet routes are to/from Belfast, or Aberdeen or Jersey, others are within the UK land area, and viable rail routes.
Click here to view full story...
UK government will not commit to immediate lowering of air pollution levels to WHO limits
The government has refused to commit to an immediate lowering of legal levels of air pollution. The death of Ella Kissi-Debrah, from asthma cause by air pollution, sparked calls for the immediate lowering of legal air pollution levels to bring them in line with those recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO says particulate pollution from fine particulate matter PM2.5 should not exceed an annual mean of 10 μg/m3. For PM10 the limit is 20 µg/m3 annual mean. But the UK currently has higher limits for fine particulate matter: 40 µg/m3 annual mean for PM10 and 25 µg/m3 for PM2.5. The coroner investigating Ella's death, called for legally binding levels of particulate pollution to be lowered to meet the WHO limits. He said: “The evidence at the inquest was that there is no safe level for particulate matter and that the WHO guidelines should be seen as minimum requirements." There will be a public consultation on air pollution levels in January 2022, with a view to setting new air pollution targets in October 2022. There are various nice sounding, empty, statements from government about air pollution. Airports are a major source of both NO2 and particulate air pollution, from both planes and surface vehicles - with Heathrow producing the most. It is now known the pollution spreads downwind far from an airport.
Click here to view full story...
Southampton legal challenge against airport decision by Eastleigh Borough Council
The local campaign against the expansion of Southampton airport, AXO, has now decided to make a legal challenge against Eastleigh Borough Council, and their decision to allow extension of the runway. That extension would have the effect of increasing the number of flights using the airport, and allow flights to more distant destinations - increasing the overall carbon emissions. Decisions such as these, resulting in more climate heating, need full scrutiny and that can now only happen by Judicial Review. The opponents of Southampton Airport expansion have instructed a legal team led by Leigh Day and David Wolfe QC to pursue the case, and are launching a public appeal for money to help finance the action. AXO believe strongly that the council’s decision was wrong both in the way it was taken and the arguments to justify it. The airport has greatly overstated the economic benefits of expansion, which will adversely affect the quality of lives of around 46,000 residents, whilst hugely underplaying the environmental impact. Hence they are calling for the decision to undergo independent scrutiny. There is a crowdfunder, to raise £10,000, to help pay the legal costs.
Click here to view full story...
Howard Davies, whose “Airports Commission” decided a Heathrow 3rd runway was needed and justified, now says it no longer is
Back in 2015, Sir Howard Davies chaired the Airports Commission, which had been given the task - by George Osborne - of making the case for a 3rd runway at Heathrow, so the Conservative government could press ahead with it, once they were out of coalition with the LibDems, who opposed it. Sir Howard had financial connections which might be considered to make him biased towards the airport. In July 2015 the Commission produced its report, recommending Heathrow's 3rd runway, as a way to meet anticipated air travel demand in the south east. Now, with the impact of the Covid pandemic, and Heathrow struggling with 72% fewer passengers in 2020 than in 2019, Sir Howard has admitted that no extra runway is now needed, nor will it be for some time. In 2015 he believed there was an economic case for it, and spending up to £18 billion on the expansion. Now, even with the cheaper planned scheme at about £14 billion, he has said: “I would have to redo the numbers to see if the economics made sense." The whole Airports National Policy Statement was based on building a 3rd Heathrow runway, on the recommendation of Sir Howard Davies, before deciding on airport policy for the whole of the UK.
Click here to view full story...
Heathrow’s Matt Gorman awarded MBE for ? reducing airport’s carbon emissions?
Matt Gorman, who has been Heathrow’s “Sustainability Director” for years, and is now its “Carbon Strategy Director” has been awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours, for his work in cutting the airport’s carbon emissions. He has not, of course, reduced the emissions of the planes using Heathrow. Far from it, he has been […]
Click here to view full story...
Deadline for submissions – 9th July – for Transport Sec of State re-determination of Manston DCO
RiverOak Strategic Partners (RSP) have been trying for a long time to turn Manston back into a functioning freight airport. The development has to go through the DCO process. In July 2020, DfT Sec of State Grant Shapps, decided to ignore the Planning Inspectorate’s advice, and allow the DCO. This was then legally challenged by local campaigner, Jenny Dawes. In February a High Court judge ruled that the DCO had been quashed, because the decision approval letter issued from the Minister of State did not contain enough detail about why approval was given against the advice of the Planning Inspectorate and said the Judicial Review would not be contested. Now the DfT says the DCO will be re-determined, and people have until the 9th July to submit more evidence. The Secretary of State is now asking for more evidence on the extent to which current national or local policies (including any changes since 9 July 2020) such as the re-instatement of the ANPS, future level of demand, future benefits, other material matters, and the extent to which the Secretary of State should, have regard to the Sixth carbon budget (covering the years between 2033 – 2037).
Click here to view full story...
Airports and airlines expect to make huge losses this summer and want more government financial help
Airports are likely to have a bad summer, with far fewer air passengers than they had hoped for. The Airport Operators Association (AOA) have told the government that they might collectively lose £2.6 billion this summer, between April and September, not the recovery they dreamed of. It could be even worse than summer 2020 for them. In summer 2020 there were, at their highest, about <20% of the level in 2019. It is likely to be lower this year. The AOA says "1.6 million jobs in the UK aviation and tourism industries rely on aviation having a meaningful restart." And "If the government decides it cannot reopen travel more meaningfully, then they should stand ready to give substantial financial compensation to airports and others in aviation and tourism.... As airports remain open for critical services, support should include operational costs, such as policing, air traffic and CAA regulatory costs, and extending business rate relief in full until the end of the tax year." Airlines UK are also demanding government help, asking for continuation of furlough, extension of repayment terms for any Covid loans, and a new grant scheme for airlines.
Click here to view full story...
Uttlesford District Council leader calls for Government to intervene on Stansted Airport Expansion
The leader of Uttlesford District Council (UDC), Cllr John Lodge, has condemned the Planning Inspectorate’s (PI) decision to allow expansion at Stansted as “an insult to local democracy”. He has written to the Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps and his Housing, Communities and Local Government counterpart Robert Jenrick and urged them to intervene. The application was rejected by UDC councillors, but the airport appealed - and the PI recently approved it - going against the democratic council vote. John Lodge called on the Government to commit to "aviation demand management" to prevent the implementation of the planning permission at the airport, to raise the cap on annual passengers, from 35 to 43 million over the next 10 to 15 years. The PI considered the behaviour of the council to have been unreasonable, as officers had recommended approval. The PI also said costs should be awarded against UDC. The decision to let the number of flights and passengers increase is completely contrary to government's stated seriousness about cutting CO2 emissions. The owners of the airport, the Manchester Airports Group, are mainly councils. So money will be taken by one council, UDC (not a rich council), to be paid to other councils.
Click here to view full story...
Shapps supports decision by the CAA to revoke Flybe’s operating licence – losing its Heathrow slots
Flybe collapsed into administration in March 2020. It had some slots at Heathrow because it was given them under “remedy” procedures aimed at preventing British Airways from dominating the market. The (how many) pairs of slots, which prior to the pandemic changed hands for up to £52 million each are still believed to be worth about £10m despite the impact of coronavirus. When Flybe failed, the slots were allocated back to BA last summer. Flybe still had the right to access them – but only if the airline had an operating licence after June 3. But now Grant Shapps has supported a decision by the Civil Aviation Authority to revoke Flybe’s operating licence. The slots therefore remain with BA. Had Flybe been granted the licence, it could have meant a lot of money of hedge fund manager, Lucien Farrell of Cyrus Capital. Flybe has been bought by a new company called Thyme Opco, now called Flybe Limited. It hopes to resurrect the brand (though it has always made a loss) and wanted those valuable slots, but has been awarded separate but less valuable slots at Manchester and Birmingham airports.
Click here to view full story...
Flights v flamingos: can Barcelona wetland wildlife reserve survive airport expansion plans?
The Delta del Llobregat, one of the most important wetlands in the western Mediterranean, is being eroded on one side by the sea and on the other by Barcelona's land-hungry airport. Before the pandemic there were already close to 90 flights an hour and, if the airport authority has its way, this will increase still further. The delta covers 920 hectares and has 14 distinct ecosystems, ranging from coastal, marshland and lagoons to pine forests and farmland. As well as being home to a birds, a colony of turtles, there are more than 1,000 plant species, including 22 varieties of orchids. In the decades-long war of flamingos versus air passengers, the flamingos have lost every round. The airport wants to extend the runway into the wetlands and build another terminal, allowing passenger numbers to rise from 55 to 70 million a year. But now the European commission has weighed in, accusing the Spanish and Catalan governments of failing to protect the wetlands and warning against a proposed expansion of the airport. The EC says the Llobregat Delta ecosystem hosts outstanding biodiversity and plays a crucial role in the migratory routes of many European bird species.