Airport News
Below are news items relating to specific airports
Gatwick announces more profit, slightly more passengers and hopes of 2nd runway
Gatwick airport has announced increased profits, and increased numbers of passengers compared to last year. Comparing each month with the same month a year ago, passengers were up by 2.1% in October; up 2.4% in September; up 0.2% in August; down - 0.1% in July; up 4% in June and up 2% in May. Profits increased by 4.8% over the same April to September period in 2011. Stewart Wingate, Gatwick's chief executive, says the airport is opening up new long-haul routes to Russian, China, Vietnam and Korea. He says the growing numbers of passengers "is why we recently announced our plans to explore 2nd runway options as we believe growth at Gatwick is the best option for increasing connectivity for the next generation." He says there is an over-emphasis in the UK on the need for a single hub airport and London could follow a similar model to New York, which is served by 3 key airports. Rival Heathrow says the New York model wouldn’t work in the UK as there is only one major network airline in this country - British Airways - compared to three in the US.
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Birmingham Airport 400 metre runway extension work starts – to be ready spring 2014
Work has started to extend the runway at Birmingham Airport in a bid to compete for long-haul flights. It could be in use by spring 2014. Planning permission was granted in 2009 and in February final approval was given for the £40m project to extend the runway by 400 metres. Chief executive Paul Kehoe said the extension would allow Birmingham to compete with Manchester for flights to the US and the Far East and double capacity. Birmingham is currently England's 2nd largest regional airport after Manchester, serving 9.6m passengers a year. David Learmount, from Flight International Magazine, said that although Birmingham could "theoretically" now become a "hub" airport and fly to destinations like China, it was "very unlikely to".He said not enough passengers would fly into Birmingham wanting to go on to those sorts of destinations, unlike Heathrow - and it would benefit largely local "pleasure passengers" who would be able to choose from more holiday destinations. [So not increasing business, and increasing the tourism deficit].
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Boris now wants not only a Thames estuary airport but a massive aerotropolis = airport city
Boris Johnson - during his trip to India to promote London - set out his vision to build an “aerotropolis” around a new terminal for his fantasy project of a Thames Estuary airport. He said a town of about 20,000 people could spring up to the east of London based around a 4-runway hub airport (it was 5 runways last week...). It would have four or five “anchor” developments such as a hospital, university campus, a major business or exhibition centre to create thousands of jobs. A social infrastructure including homes, schools, shops, parks and a transport network would be a key part of the plan. Any such scheme would have truly dreadful environmental and biodiversity impacts. The Mayor said London had “much to learn” from India on the future of airports. He added that he was “inspired” by his visit to Hyderabad’s two runway airport — a leading example of an “aerotropolis” that is set to double in size over the next five years (that is because India is only starting to develop its aviation, while we did so decades ago, and it has a massively larger population).
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Infratil may consider investing in changing use of Manston and Prestwick – to no longer be airports
Radio New Zealand has said Infratil would consider investing in its two British airports to change their functions to help make them more attractive to sell. It cannot sell either Prestwick or Manston, after they have underperformed (made losses) for years. Infratil executive Tim Brown said the company now has to look at a range of complex proposals and if the use of an airport is going to change, it will have ramifications for local communities. And if airports are struggling, then they may then either need subsidies or be closed and put to alternative use. There have been some (informal) suggestions that it might become theme park... solar farm... race track... nature reserve...houses ?
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BBC finally reports on “Battle lines drawn over new airport for Nantes”
With the story finally getting front-page treatment in the press, Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault is under pressure to explain how - at a time of growing environmental concerns and dwindling financial resources - building a €550m (£445m) airport in a city that already has one is the right course of action. As a former mayor of Nantes, Mr Ayrault is one of the airport's most vociferous supporters. Protesters have dubbed it the "Ayraultport" in his honour. But he presides over a coalition government whose other main participant - the Green Party - opposes the scheme. To defuse the tension, Mr Ayrault announced over the weekend a moratorium on work at the site. A "dialogue commission" is to be created so that opponents can once again express their concerns. The figures given by the proponents of the airport are hotly disputed by opponents of Notre-Dame-des-Landes, who argue that with proper investment the existing airport at Nantes could be sufficiently enlarged.
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Activists at Notre Dame des Landes use tractors to try to prevent demolitions – and set conditions for dialogue
Dozens of people attended Monday morning's call by ACIPA, the main association of opponents to the project of the future airport of Nantes, on the site of Notre-Dame-des-Landes, "to protect the reoccupied huts". On Sunday night 45 tractors were positioned and chained around the new cabins built by the project's opponents, during the fourth day of very high tensions and a forceful police presence. Since Friday, the police have re-intervened in larlge numbers to expel and destroy all the settlements that had been rebuilt since the first wave of destruction in October. There have been sharp clashes causing injuries to both sides. The protesters have said they will not enter into dialogue until the police presence is removed. They say they may be prepared to talk to government about stopping the airport but not just on slightly limiting its environmental impact.
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Qatar University working on aviation biofuels from single-celled salt tolerant photosynthetic organisms
In Doha, Qatar University has revealed the progress into research on developing biofuels for aviation (timed to coincide with the Doha climate talks - for PR reasons). The Qatar biofuels project is state-backed - the first in the region. The university’s project, in collaboration with Qatar Airways is now into its 3rd year and aims to find a way of producing affordable biofuels which do not rely on the use of valuable arable land and which can be produced efficiently in the harsh climate of Qatar. They have isolated multiple forms of single-celled photosynthetic organisms (cyanobacteria and microalgae) abundant in the waters of Qatar which grow well in its extreme heat, strong sunlight and highly saline water. They are trying to scale them up, from small test-tubes to water tanks - then extracting the lipids for fuel, while carbohydrate for bioethanol. So far they have made only 1,500 litres but want to expand to 25,000 litres. They hope to expand further.
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Boris Island airport (“London Jubilee Airport”) details – off Whitstable. 5 runways, maybe 6. With potentially 3 landings and 3 takeoffs every 90 seconds
The Sunday Times reports that Boris has met Sir Howard Davies, to push his opposition to Heathrow expansion (and probably his idea of a massive Thames Estuary airport). This would be built in the sea, just off the coast of Whitstable and Herne bay, and have five runways - with the potential for a sixth. This airport could handle 150m-160m passengers a year - more than double the current size of Heathrow. They claim this airport could be built in 7 - 8 years, and it "would be able to handle 3 flights landing and 3 taking off simultaneously, growing to 4 each way if it is expanded to 6 runways. This would enable it to accommodate about 240 flights an hour." (Has NATS been consulted??) The airport terminal would be at Ebbsfleet near Gravesend with tunnels for high speed rail links under the Thames (or perhaps overground) to the airport. The plans by Bridget Rosewell’s would cost an estimated £49bn, falling to £39.5bn if the railway goes partially overland. Appears to be just south of the 175+ wind turbine London Array.
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Malaysia Airports Holdings join £1bn contest to buy Stansted
The Sunday Telegraph reports that Malaysia Airports Holdings is now bidding for Stansted. The Malaysian group owns 39 airports in Malaysis including Kuala Lumpur Airport. Heathrow (aka. BAA) has sought out new bidders - in addition to the existing four - to try and boost the auction price. The original four are Manchester Airport Group (MAG) which is the favourite and is backed by Australia’s Industry Funds Management, plus financial investors TPG, Macquarie and HRL Morrison. The Telegraph says Macquarie and HRL Morrison are in the market trying to raise the necessary funds for their bids, and TPG believes it is being sidelined in the process. Malaysia Airports Holdings is 40.4% owned by Malaysia’s state investment company. It owns a 20% stake in Istanbul airport and a 10% holding in Indira Gandhi airport in Delhi. . A sale is expected in the first half of 2013.
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Approval granted for £100m Manchester Airport logistics hub covering 91 acres
TManchester Airport’s parent group MAG’s outline planning application has been approved for a 91.2 acres, £100 million world logistics hub in the southern part of Greater Manchester’s Airport City Enterprise Zone. The development will create 1.2 to 1.4 million sq ft of new logistics space. The airport hopes it will attract new international businesses and help existing airport businesses to expand, generating economic growth and - they claim" "over 1,800 new jobs" (in reality, many of those jobs are transferred from elsewhere). Some of the site will have new landscaping and natural habitats. Construction could begin by the end of the year. On 25th October, the local Wythenshawe Area Committee recommended the application for approval. Local opponents worry that it will result in serious loss of amenity, environmental damage for local people, and have serious consequences on local biodiversity and ecology.