Airport News
Below are news items relating to specific airports
New flight path maps from 2M, for 3rd and 4th Heathrow runways, show huge areas and up to 3 million people affected by noise
The 2M group, which represents some 24 local councils and between them some 3 million people, have released likely flight path maps for 3rd and 4th Heathrow runways. 2M estimate that while some 1 million people are affected by Heathrow noise at present, with 2 more runways, that would rise to 3 million people. Their indicative flight paths for arrivals and departures show the large areas which would be affected by aircraft noise if a northern and a southern runway were to be built . The approach across London to a northern runway would cover Mayfair, Belgravia, Sloane Square, South Kensington, Earl’s Court, West Kensington, Hammersmith, Chiswick and Brent. That would include all these parks (which cannot be soundproofed): Hyde Park, Regent’s Park, St James’s Park and Kensington Gardens. The areas which would be affected by approaches to a southern runway would be Streatham, Balham, Tooting, Wandsworth Common, Earlsfield, Southfields, Putney Heath, Roehampton, Richmond Park, Richmond town centre, Isleworth, Hounslow Heath and Bedfont. The leader of Wandsworth Council commenting on blighting the lives of 3 million people and spoiling the quiet enjoyment of huge parts of London: "The price is far too high and the benefits far from certain.” This will definitely be a key political issue at the next election.
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Hale releases damning analysis of Luton Airport noise track record
Opponents of expansion at Luton (HALE) have released a damning analysis of the noise track record at Luton Airport over the past 5 years. The airport has just produced a 5 page Noise Fact Sheet, which claims that though it had a 23% increase in aircraft movements between 2011 and 2012 there was a huge reduction in the very noisiest planes. This is distorting reality, as the Fact Sheet does not properly deal with noise from other flights. HALE highlights that the Airport’s claims are entirely misleading because they are not based on a statistically representative sample of the data. It has found that in reality on average flights are getting noisier over time, not quieter, with 60% of daytime departures now registering at or above the 73dB annoyance level when they reach the noise monitors 4 miles from the airport, compared to 45% in 2007. Night flights are louder too. The airport is planning to add 60% more flights, taking the average daily total from 270 to 430; many of these would be clustered in the peak early morning and late evening periods, resulting in a doubling of flights between 10pm and midnight.
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Britain’s cheap travel boom left it with too many non-viable regional airports, says Birmingham’s Kehoe
Paul Kehoe, keen to boost the fortunes of Birmingham airport, has said that Britain has twice as many airports as it needs. He said that airports such as Norwich, Blackpool, Doncaster and Durham Tees Valley will struggle to justify their existence. There are too many small airports competing for the same passengers, and since the travel boom caused by artificially cheap air travel - which pays no fuel duty and no VAT - the demand is no longer great enough to justify so many airports. Airports always claim that they boost the local economy, though that can be disputed. They certainly suck Brits out of the country on cheap foreign trips, to spend their money abroad. Paul Kehoe said there are 20 airports between Leeds and Southampton providing commercial flights, and passenger numbers are still far below their 2007 peak. Talking about the purchase by the Welsh government, at a high price, of Cardiff airport, Paul Kehoe said we "have a choice about whether we should go on holiday. Why should the taxpayer subsidise it?” Too true.
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Notre-Dame-des-Landes: Court authorizes the expulsion of some opponents from Bellevue farm
At Notre-Dame-des-Landes, the site of the proposed new airport for Nantes, the opposition goes on. Each week more people from across France come to take turns in occupying the proposed airport site, living in mud and discomfort in shacks. Bellevue farm had been empty, but has been reoccupied and the protesters have worked hard to set up a farm there, with animals and real farm work. They are determined to stay. The court in Saint-Nazaire has ruled that the people on the farm must leave now. However, a report from a commission of dialogue is awaited next month, so it is not likely the farm occupants will actually be evicted before then. After the judgment, nearly 150 opponents gathered at Bellevue farm to show their determination. "We expected this decision. We've been here two months and we're staying." Work on the airport had been expected to start before now. The legal processes are causing long delays for the airport company.
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Heathrow noise ‘hinders pupils’ reading progress’
Children living under the Heathrow flight path are suffering two-month lags in their reading development as a result of aircraft noise. Hounslow council says pupils in the borough have to put up with “continual disruption”, and warned the problem will worsen if the airport expands to three or more runways. Around 40 schools are directly under the Heathrow flight paths with planes landing every 90 seconds or so much of the day. The council cites an international study by London University into aircraft noise which found it led to a “significant impairment” in reading development, as well as affecting long-term memory and motivation. As well as a 2-month delay in reading, the children's education is suffering from the continual disruption from low-flying jets. If schools don't have triple glazing the interruptions to lessons can be relentless. One school near the airport has had shelters installed in the playground so children can escape the noise. A 2010 ECRD study suggested that chronic aircraft noise has a deleterious effect on memory, sustained attention, reading comprehension and reading ability.
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Will a Thames estuary airport ever get off the ground?
With the array of proposals for a Thames Estuary airport now being put to Sir Howard Davies and his Airports Commission, Kent residents worry about the huge environmental damage that any of them would do. Despite the problems with the concept of a massive new hub airport, dependent on tens of billions of pounds of public money, it seems that Boris remains intent on leaving the area with a vanity project – the legacy of which could devastate parts of Kent. Not only are there bird reserves of incomparable importance along the estuary, there are also marine ecology in the estuary. Each of the four current main contenders as an estuary airport would bring their separate problems and devastate different areas. The people of Kent need to pull together on opposing all of the plans, and avoid the temptation of passing the buck on to an unlucky neighbour. The people of Kent can only hope that common sense (and economic sense) will prevail and they will be spared.
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Cardiff Airport is bought by the Welsh government for £52m (over-priced?)
The current owner of Cardiff Airport, Abertis, which bought the airport from local councils in 2005, has now managed to sell it to the Welsh Government for £52 million. That price is well above market value when compared to recent transactions involving UK airports. The airport was valued at about £34 million in 2010. It has been making large losses and losing passengers for many years. The Government is desperate that it gets more passengers and gets back to making a profit. Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones said it would not be operated by the government and would be managed "at arm's length" and "on a commercial basis". Cardiff's passengers have declined from around 2 million in 2007 to just over 1 million in 2012, as many have chosen Bristol airport instead. Bristol airport is now concerned that Cardiff would now unfairly benefit from state support. Cardiff was hit by the loss of bmibaby in 2011. The airport's board will try and get in a commercial operator and hopes to attract long haul and transatlantic flights. Only recently there was news that Swiss airline Helvetic will pull out of Cardiff, 2 years after the Welsh government spent £500,000 marketing Wales in Switzerland.
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London Chamber of Commerce & Industry wants Heathrow to be allowed more night flights
The London Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI) has been lobbying, yet again, for a 3rd Heathrow runway. This time they are lobbying the Airports Commission, and saying that Heathrow should be allowed more night flights, because that makes the airport more efficient and there might be some economic gain for the UK. The Airports Commission is working, this year, on what can be done to improve the capacity and efficiency of UK airports in the short term. The LCCI is saying that for some not entirely clear reason, having more flights at night (and so damaging the quality of life, and the quality of sleep for several hundred thousand Londoners) will help the UK do business with BRIC countries. There is already concerted opposition to night flights, and aims to get them banned, not only in the UK but at other key European airports. The LCCI also want Heathrow to be allowed to end runway alternation, and introduce mixed mode - again hitting the quality of life of hundreds of thousands of Londoners who would lose their half day of respite from the noise.
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Pakistan International Airlines has still not switched to less noisy planes for Leeds Bradford night flights
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) have repeatedly broken noise limits at Leeds Bradford airport, and it is meant to have changed to less noisy planes. However, the introduction of these planes has been postponed. PIA is meant to have switched to Boeing 777s on its services to Islamabad from earlier in March. There have been 8 breaches of night time rules over the previous 12 months. Two years earlier the council had served a breach of condition notice on the airport. Improvements were made but after a further eight breaches councillors said they wanted a commitment on timescale. Earlier councillors had agreed to support the approach of continued dialogue rather than formal action.
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London City Airport starts consultation on infrastructure to accommodate yet more flights
London City Airport is starting a second round of public consultation on proposals to increase the number and size of planes using the airport. The airport already has permission for up to 120,000 flights per year using the airport. It now wants permission for 7 additional aircraft parking stands, with an extended terminal building and a new eastern passenger pier. These will be to accommodate more flights and more passengers. The airport, as usual, says this will create and secure jobs etc etc and says it is important in regenerating East London etc etc. There will be three 4-hour consultation sessions on the plans, for local residents. The plans do not appear to be visible online. The airport wants to be able to handle aircraft the size of the Bombardier C-Series, [110 to 130 seats] so it can have flights to medium haul destinations like the Middle East and the east coast of the US by 2016. It has ambitions of having 10 million passengers per year. The airport is very close to housing (Map ) and causes a great deal of local noise disturbance.