Airport News
Below are news items relating to specific airports
Gatwick boss Stewart Wingate says: “It’s between me and Heathrow” for a new runway
Stewart Wingate, the CEO of Gatwick, has said the growing number of new routes and rising passenger traffic at Gatwick are proof the airport is the best place for an extra runway. This comes in the run-up to the anticipated interim report by the Airports Commission, due in mid December, short-listing possible sites for a new runway. Stewart Wingate has said he will resign if Gatwick is not on the short-list, which it is bound to be. He said: "What I’m offering is a mixture of carriers with low costs, low environmental impact [?] that nobody else can offer.” There are a growing number of long haul routes from Gatwick, and Gatwick firmly believes that the hub model that suits Heathrow is not necessary for UK aviation. Much of Gatwick's travel is low cost holiday flights to Europe, which Heathrow does little of. The recent CAA air passenger survey showed that in 2012 Gatwick had 17.5% of its passengers on business trips (12.6% international) with the remaining 82.5% travelling for leisure purposes. The number of passengers using Gatwick in the first 6 months of 2013 was 2.6% up on 2012.
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Thousands Heathrow of T5 high ceiling light bulbs to be replaced by high-wire artists – as no records kept of agreement on how to maintain them
Heathrow is calling in a team of high-wire artists to replace thousands of out-of-reach light bulbs at Terminal 5. The departure concourse has got progressively darker as bulb after bulb has failed, till now some 60% are blown. No bulbs have been replaced over 5 years, as no safe and effective means had been found of doing so. Now a specialist company using staff hanging off ropes will change all the bulbs for LEDs that should last at least 5 years, over some 4 months. It may cost several million pounds. T5 has one of the world's largest controlled-lighting system, with 120,000 light fittings and 2,600 sensors designed to switch off lights when no motion is detected. Heathrow Airport Holdings confirmed that it was taking responsibility for changing the bulbs. All minutes and information relating to discussion with the architects, RSHP, some 8 years ago about the maintenance of the lights had been lost. No record remains of what was agreed then. "No-one can remember how they were supposed to change light bulbs and the manufacturer's instruction book/ facilities management manual has been lost........." The architects said the number of bulbs to be changed is more like 1,000 rather than 120,000.
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Unresolved issues on noise and NSIP status delay Luton Airport planning application
The planning application for expansion at Luton airport remains unresolved. There was due have been a meeting of the Luton Borough Council Development Control committee to specifically debate the matter on 21st November, but this was cancelled. Two crucial issues remain unresolved. The first is whether the project counts as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (in which case it must be referred to the Secretary of State); the second is an apparent ambiguity on noise levels. Legislation is clear in defining whether an airport expansion project counts as an NSIP: if the work would deliver capability to handle more than an extra 10 million passengers/ year. It appears that the plans would indeed result in the capability to deliver 10 million/year. There is current argument about which set of noise levels in 1999 should be used as the baseline level. Luton Borough Council has postponed the planning meeting and engaged a QC to review the NSIP issue. It may also be the Commissioner for Local Government might issue a holding direction preventing LBC from granting planning permission – even though the application can still go to the committee.
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Qatar Airways new service between Edinburgh and Doha – and others – avoiding need for connecting flights
A new non-stop flight between Edinburgh Airport and Doha in Qatar is to be launched next year. It will be operated x5 per week by Qatar Airways, which serves more than 100 international destinations from Doha. The 787 Dreamliner aircraft will fly all year round on the route, providing connections to Australian hubs in Perth and Melbourne. It will be the Dreamliner's first scheduled service from Scotland. Officials at Edinburgh Airport have long wanted to attract a major Middle Eastern carrier to allow them to compete with Glasgow, which provides a twice daily Emirates service to Dubai. There will also be a US Airways route linking Edinburgh with Philadelphia. Scotland's Transport Minister Keith Brown hailed the move as "excellent news" for the aviation sector and said the new route was "yet more evidence of the strong bonds we are building with Qatar. The direct flights remove the need to use Heathrow for hub connections. In 2014 Scotland has the Commonwealth Games, and the Ryder Cup and wants to get in more visitors to these, as well as other business and tourists.
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SSE challenges Airports Commission at the High Court on “apparent bias” due to involvement of Geoff Muirhead
Stop Stansted Expansion (SSE) has launched a High Court bid to force the Airports Commission to revise its work on the future of aviation expansion in the UK. SSE's case, asking that the Airports Commission should re-determine its so-called “sift criteria” for assessing growth options, was heard by Mrs Justice Patterson. SSE claims that the sift criteria process was infected by apparent bias because Geoff Muirhead, then still a member of the Commission, had worked as Chief Executive for - and continued to work for - MAG. The sift criteria will ultimately guide the Commission in its final decision on where any new runways in the UK should be built. SSE's barrister, Paul Stinchcombe QC, argued that Mr Muirhead's resignation was too late to save the sift criteria proceedings and that his involvement had tainted and was continuing to taint the activities and decisions of the commission by reason of apparent bias. The DfT said "there is no evidence whatsoever of bias and the Airports Commission is content that decisions taken to date are robust." The Commission said its processes to date were "appropriate and robust". Mrs Justice Patterson said she will make a decision on the matter in writing at a later date.
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European Commission approves state aid for the construction of French airport at Notre-Dame-des-Landes
There are plans for a new airport for Nantes, in western France, to be built some 12 miles to the north of the town, at Notre Dame des Landes. The new airport has been fiercely opposed. The proponents of the new airport claim the existing one is now full, with over 3.5 million passengers, and planes over-fly Nantes. The European Commission has decided that it is suitable to give a public subsidy of €150 million to the company to develop the new airport, Société Aéroports du Grand Ouest. The EC says this is compatible with the EU rules on State aid, and they say it will help improve regional connectivity and links with the rest of the EU, without unduly distorting competition in the internal market. This appears to be a very bad decision on the use of public money. The Commission seems to have believed everything it has been told by the authorities who want to build the airport. There is, in reality, no congestion at the existing airport and the economic benefits were hotly challenged in a report by CE Delft, commissioned by the local campaign. It is also worrying that the Commission is agreeing to State Aid for an airport in what is generally quite a wealthy area.
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“Let Britain Fly” taken to task for exaggerating and wrongly claiming London’s economy is being damaged by any lack of runway capacity
In a blog, John Stewart pours some cold water on the infant "Let Britain Fly" campaign launched today. Its proud parent, London First, surrounded by a glittering array of big names from the business world, overdid the hyperbole. Baroness Jo Valentine, chief executive of London First, said that it was not acceptable for politicians “to dither” over new runways “and let our economy wither.” She even went on to ask somewhat over-dramatically, “Do we really want to become an also-ran in the global race?” Baroness Valentine must know this is exaggeration, even scaremongering. Whatever the pros and cons of expansion in the longer term, the facts are clear: there is no rush for a decision to be taken. The DfT has said that there is enough spare runway capacity in London and the South East until nearly 2030. And survey after survey shows that London remains the top city for business in Europe because of its unparalleled air connections to the rest of the world. Let Britain Fly – and London First – will lose credibility if they continue to exaggerate the urgency of the need for expansion. Giving the impression that London’s economy is in crisis because of a lack of runways is simply not true.
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Campaign – ‘Let Britain Fly’ – launched by London First, calls for urgent action to increase airport capacity
On 10th October, business lobby group London First announced it would be launching a new campaign called "Let Britain Fly". It has now had its blast of publicity, with a splurge of media coverage. The campaign will cost £250,000 and London First is seeking £25,000 each from businesses, trade unions and London boroughs to fund it. They have got a number of Britain’s large companies, including Aberdeen Asset Management, Land Securities, Lloyds Banking Group, Next, Associated British Foods, WPP and many others to sign up. They want a new runway built somewhere, complaing the UK has not built a new one in the south east for 70 years. They want politicians of all parties to agree on the principle that airport capacity must be expanded in the South East "to ensure Britain remains competitive". They want there to be no delays in getting a new runway built. The campaign stems from the questionable belief that airport capacity constraints threaten “to hamper the UK’s success as a global business centre and at the same time the ability to forge a lasting economic recovery”.
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Cameron pledges to tackle RAF’s ‘unacceptable’ noise at Brize Norton
David Cameron has pledged to tackle the “unacceptable level” of noise from RAF Brize Norton. The Prime Minister and Witney MP spoke over concerns about an increase in aircraft noise from the base. It is now a main RAF destination after the closure of Wiltshire’s RAF Lyneham in 2011. It has also seen the arrival of […]
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In response to the frequently asked question: “If not Heathrow, what….?” John Stewart sets out the arguments
Often asked, when campaigning against a third (or even fourth) runway at Heathrow, what are the alternatives, John has set some out. The options are not just to push the expansion to another site, like Gatwick or Stansted. The main points, replying to "If not Heathrow, what...?" are: 1. No new runways would be a viable solution if government chose to manage future air travel demand (through taxation on aviation) to meet existing capacity but at present there are no signs of that happening and it might need international or at least European agreement. 2. Even without demand management, there is enough capacity at airports in London and the South East for about the next 20 years. With capacity restricted, market forces would kick in: airlines would choose to concentrate their long-haul, intercontinental flights at Heathrow, with some of the short-haul currently using the airport being moved elsewhere to take up existing spare capacity at those airports. 3. If a new runway is required, it is not essential for the health of London’s economy that it is built at Heathrow - because of the power of the attractiveness of London as an international destination.