Airport News
Below are news items relating to specific airports
Consultation on Southend Airport Controlled Airspace application – till mid December
Now Southend has many more flights than a couple of years ago, the airport wants to have control of its immediate airspace(which it had years ago, when it was busier). There is a 12 week consultation at Southend on its plans to introduce controlled airspace around the airport. The consultation started on 20th September and ends on 19th December. Airspace users and local community groups including borough, local and parish councils, are being consulted, though individuals are discouraged from responding, unless they channel their responses through some of the consultee organisations. Currently aircraft are permitted to come within 2.5 miles and 2000 feet of the airport without having to talk to air traffic controllers, which can lead to unplanned alterations to an aircraft’s track and possible delays to scheduled aircraft. Controlled Airspace is a defined area of the airspace around an airport where any aircraft must communicate with Air Traffic Control. The final decision over whether to reinstate the Controlled Airspace rests with the CAA.
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Heathrow hits out at Gatwick in airport tussle claiming only Heathrow can attract long haul flights
As well as the airlines doing battle with the airports (eg. BA and Heathrow), the airports are at loggerheads with each other, in deadly rivalry. How Heathrow has publicised its dissing of Gatwick, in the hope of persuading the Airports Commission of the merits of its case. Today was the final day for any submissions to the Commission, before they publish their airport shortlist some time in December. Heathrow makes out that a single massive hub airport is vital (well, they would, wouldn't they?) and Gatwick makes out that it can do very nicely with long haul point-to-point flights (well, they would, wouldn't they?). Heathrow says some 20 long haul routes from Gatwick have failed over recent years, and Gatwick disputes the figure and gives reasons why some closed down. Gatwick says Heathrow can never expand as its flight path noise already affects too many people (the most of any airport in Europe). Heathrow says Gatwick could not attract airlines as they only want to come to Heathrow. And on it goes. Good luck, on ploughing through all the competing claims, Sir Howard !
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Boris objects to proposed cap by EU on state aid to airports – his estuary schemes would need minimum £20-30 billion from government
London Mayor Boris Johnson said EU proposals barring the use of state aid for the construction of airports serving more than 5 million people a year would undermine plans to grow the UK’s aviation capacity. Government subsidies for large airport projects, currently assessed on a case-by-case basis, would be outlawed starting in early 2014, whether for new infrastructure or upgrades of existing facilities, according to the draft EU guidance. In his letter to the Competition Commissioner, Joaquin Almunia, Boris wrote that there are "unintended and potentially catastrophic consequences" in "tying the hands” of member states, and he said the measures would limit London’s ability to expand vital links to emerging markets in Asia and South America [which, of course, is nonsense]. Boris said the new EU rules would limit London to expanding terminal capacity at existing airports with less ambitious, and more easily financed, plans than his over-ambitious Thames estuary schemes. TfL said in its submission that a new hub as envisaged by Boris requires an estimated £20 - 30 billion pounds of state investment. The EU consultation on state aid to airports and airlines has just ended, and the EU will now start to analyze feedback received.
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Scrap state support for flying, says Keith Taylor, MEP
Keith Taylor, the Green Party MEP for the South East of England, has called for an end to the ‘unfair and unhealthy’ subsidies given to the aviation industry. In a response to the European Commission’s “Consultation on the draft Guidelines on State aid to airports and airlines” Mr Taylor has said that he would like to see a move away from public money being spent on subsidising flying. It is estimated that the aviation industry in Europe would continue to receive around €3 billion a year in direct subsidies under new European Commission proposals. States would continue to disproportionately subsidise smaller airports, which are almost exclusively used by low-fares airlines. The direct subsidies are complemented by even larger tax exemptions, recently estimated by CE Delft at €30-42 billion every year. Mr Taylor believes EU state aid for the aviation industry should only be in the case of very isolated regions, where support can be provided under a Public Service Obligation.
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New short HACAN report giving a flavour of the stress caused to thousands of Londoners from Heathrow aircraft noise
HACAN (the Heathrow Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise) has just released a short report on reactions to noise by Londoners who are over-flown. "A Summer of Noise - a snap-shot of the impact of aircraft noise on Londoners... in their own words" (5 Pages) It is a collection of some of the despairing emails that Hacan has received, over the summer. There are always more complaints about aircraft noise in summer than in winter, as people spend more time outside. There is also more stress caused by night flight noise, as on warm nights, people want to sleep with the windows open. There are some sad and troubling examples in the report, a few of which are copied below. HACAN concludes that there is some pattern in the complaints it receives on aircraft noise. Night noise from aircraft remains a big concern for a lot of people. In addition to the difference between summer and winter, it seems that in very hot weather it is slightly more difficult for planes to take off (the air is a bit less dense, so the engine has to work harder) and this means that in areas like Hanwell, relatively close to the airport and under a take-off route, can experience a lot more noise. It is also clear that the cluster of complaints from particular areas may reflect the fact that flight paths seem to be becoming more concentrated. HACAN is discussing the apparent concentration of flights with Heathrow Airport and National Air Traffic Control.
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GACC says Gatwick site is too cramped and constrained for an efficient 2nd runway
GACC, the Gatwick Area Conservation Campaign, has submitted a document entitled "Gatwick Unzipped" to the Airports Commission, in response to their invitation to submit comments on the various plans for new runways. GACC believes, based on past evidence from British Airways and others, that the airport site is too cramped to efficiently accommodate an additional runway. The Chairman of GACC, Brendon Sewill, says those calling for a second runway at Gatwick ‘have never looked at a map’ and “When examined carefully the Gatwick runway plans are not nearly as good as they seem at first sight.” Some of the main points made in the GACC analysis include the suggestion ‘the so-called ‘wide-spaced runway’ is too close to the existing runway’; the plans for new runways at Heathrow, Stansted or in the Thames Estuary all show a wider separation between the runways; and the length of the new runway would be constrained by the main London-Brighton railway line to the east and by high ground to the west. Also that noise would be unacceptable in rural areas, as Gatwick is surrounded on 3 sides by Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
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Essex County Council warns against super-airport at Stansted
Essex County Council has warned the Airports Commission against proposals for an "unwanted and unviable" super-airport at Stansted. It has instead called for greater focus on realistic, affordable and practical options that will allow “sensible growth” in Essex. Earlier this summer, Stansted’s owner, MAG ageed with Boris Johnson that 4 runways at Stansted was one solution to the capacity issue – while stressing that making full use of the low-cost base’s 35 million passengers-a-year single-runway capacity is the priority. In a report published on 24th September ECC said that proposals like closing Heathrow and building 5-runway “super-hub airports”, either at Stansted or in the Thames Estuary, would be too costly and disruptive to deliver. Council leader Cllr David Finch said the UK does not have the time or the money to waste on impractical or undeliverable schemes that could suck up a sum of taxpayers’ money equivalent to twice the UK’s defence budget. Also that Stansted could double its passenger and freight numbers before anyone even thinks of the need for a 2nd runway.
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Essex County Council submission to Airports Commission warns against “super-airport” at Stansted
ESSEX County Council has warned the Airports Commission against proposals for an "unwanted and unviable" super-airport at Stansted. It has instead called for greater focus on realistic, affordable and practical options that will allow “sensible growth” in Essex. Earlier this summer, Stansted’s owner, MAG agreed with Boris Johnson that 4 runways at Stansted was one solution to the alleged airport capacity shortage. Essex CC have produced a new report showing that plans to close Heathrow to replace it with a massive airport at Stansted or in the Thames estuary would be too costly and disruptive to deliver. Council leader Cllr David Finch said the UK does not have the time or the money to waste on impractical or undeliverable schemes that "could suck up a sum of taxpayers’ money equivalent to twice the UK’s defence budget." Essex say any plan for a giant super-hub airport at Stansted is completely unacceptable to the council and Essex residents, and that "If ministers in London do impose further capacity on our airport, they need to know that a bill comes with that."
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Gatwick hopes to get one of the global airline alliances to shift from Heathrow
Stewart Wingate, the Chief Executive of Gatwick airport, said he thought Gatwick could lure one of the global airline alliances away from Heathrow, if they win permission to build a 2nd runway. There are 3 main alliances, SkyTeam, Star Alliance - and OneWorld, led by British Airways. Stewart Wingate conceded it was unlikely that OneWorld would ever leave its Heathrow base, but he hoped one of the others might. None of them wants to move from Heathrow, but Gatwick are hopeful that: “If an alliance were to move down at some future point into Gatwick not only would there be room for that alliance to grow, but that would create more space at Heathrow for the other remaining alliances to grow too.” Gatwick wants to build a new runway to enable the airport to deal with 87 million passengers each year by 2050 compared to 34 million now.
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Bureaucratic UK visa regime harming trade with China, says Willie Walsh
The issue of whether or not the UK has enough flights to China, and the other rapidly developing economies, is the argument most often used to call for a new runway for the south east of England, and at Heathrow in particular. Even at Heathrow, business passengers are only some 30% of the total. Willie Walsh has spoken out again against the UK visa system for Chinese visitors, which is much more costly and more onerous than obtaining a visa for the European Schengen agreement countries. A UK visa for a Chinese person for the UK costs £80 but only £56 for the Schengen area. Willie says trade with China has been harmed by the UK visa regime that makes foreign businessmen and visitors feel unwelcome. He was speaking on the inaugural flight of BA's direct service to Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, and said the UK needs to put a bit of effort into changing Chinese perceptions they are not welcome. UK APD adds £83 to the cost of an economy flight to China, and visa fees are a real deterrent - much more than a shortage of slots at Heathrow at popular times of day. Walsh said at other European hubs visas for transfer passengers are not required.