Airport News

Below are news items relating to specific airports

 

St Albans MP, Daisy Cooper: Luton Airport expansion inquiry should be paused

Luton airport has applied to increase its capacity from 18 million to 32 million passengers per year.  This expansion would bring both a big increase in flights and road traffic congestion. Local MP, Daisy Cooper, is strongly opposed to it.  She says people living underneath the flight paths in St Albans and neighbouring areas already experience a negative impact on their health and wellbeing from noise, which would only get worse. The airport has repeatedly breached their legal noise and passenger limits since 2019 with impunity and the promised introduction of newer, quieter aircraft has been broken with no discernible improvements. She says claims about economic impact and job creation are also pretty spurious. Luton airport has not delivered the jobs it promised years ago. Luton's expansion would make it much harder for the UK to meet climate targets.  The 2019 Advice from the government’s own Climate Change Committee is crystal clear: to meet the legally binding 2050 “net zero target” there should be no net expansion of capacity. The UK needs a proper policy on airport capacity, future flight numbers and future aviation carbon emissions. Until then, airport expansion plans should be halted.

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Public inquiry into London City Airport proposals – to resume 15th January

The first session of a public inquiry into an appeal to expand London City Airport took place on 5th December.  The airport had plans to raise the annual cap on passengers from 6.5 million to 9 million, that were rejected unanimously by Newham Council in July 2023, and subsequently appealed the decision.  On 12th December the London City Airport Public Inquiry ws postponed until January because Newham Council's barrister is ill.  It will now run for 2 weeks beginning 15th January.  This inquiry, which began at Stratford Town Hall, will also consider plans  to extend weekend flight hours to 18:30 on a Saturday, with an extra hour during the summer.  Currently planes are not permitted to fly between 12:30 on Saturday and 12:30 on Sunday, a curfew that has been in place for 25 years. John Stewart, chair of HACAN East, the residents’ organisation challenging the proposals, said, “These proposals are highly unpopular. People greatly value their weekend break from the noise." There are also fears the plans would make Mayor Sadiq Khan’s target for a net-zero London by 2030 less achievable.

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Ferrovial to sell its 25% stake in Heathrow for $3 billion to Ardian (15%) and Saudi Arabia’s PIF (10%)

Infrastructure giant Ferrovial has reached an agreement with two different buyers to sell its entire 25% stake in Britain's busiest airport, Heathrow, for £2.37 billion ($3.01 billion) the company said in a statement on Tuesday.  Ferrovial said the buyers for the stake in FGP Topco - the parent company of Heathrow Airport Holdings Ltd - were private equity fund Ardian and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF). Ardian would acquire a 15% stake and PIF a 10% stake.  The transaction is subject to regulatory conditions and must comply with the right of first offer and full tag-along rights, which may be exercised by the other FGP Topco shareholders, Ferrovial added.  Ferrovial expects to complete the sale by mid-2024. Ferrovial also has a 50% stake in three other British hubs: Aberdeen, Glasgow and Southampton. It also has a 49% stake in the new Terminal One at New York City's JFK airport.

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Horsham MP, Jeremy Quinn, opposed to Gatwick expansion, partly due to road congestion and hospital access

In his response to the Planning Inspectorate’s (PI's) call for submissions on Gatwick’s Development Consent Order (DCO) application, Jeremy Quin, MP for Horsham, has said he cannot support the application in its current form.  He remains deeply concerned with Gatwick’s failure to engage adequately with local councils and about the impact of potential expansion on local housing and services.  He previously spearheaded a letter from local MPs asking Gatwick to delay their submission until they provided local councils with detailed analysis of the impact on the local environment, residents and infrastructure.  There would be many more flights, a need for more housing, and millions more car journeys by staff and passengers.  “Journey times to A&E are already at the absolute limit of acceptability. I do not want many Horsham residents to have to navigate vastly increased congestion and 14 years of construction-related delays simply to reach their local hospital. ... were Gatwick’s plans to proceed this would inevitably lead to slower journey times and increased demand, in that context the arguments in favour of local hospital provision need to be revisited.”

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Dutch government scraps plan to cap flights at Schiphol next year

Facing pressure from the US government and the EU, the Dutch government has given up on a plan to cap the maximum number of flights at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport next summer, calling the decision "a bitter pill".  This a win for the airlines, that had opposed the cap - and a loss for environmental and resident groups living near Schiphol that had supported the cap. There is a national election on November 22nd, so the attitude of the next government might differ.  The plan to cap the number of flights at Schiphol at around 450,000 flights, or 10% below 2019 levels, had been primarily driven by the desire to cut noise pollution. It had also been cheered by environmentalists as needed to reduce carbon dioxide and NOx emissions. The cuts were starting to hit airlines, having to reduce the number of Schiphol flights, so losing money. So the US government threatened retaliation if the Dutch went ahead with the plan, which the US said violated the US-EU Air Transport Agreement.  The cap will now await a Supreme Court ruling and further European Commission feedback expected next year. Airlines said they wanted to "fly more quietly and sustainably" without cutting numbers ....

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Stansted Airport Watch winding down – to become a Trust, the SAW Foundation

Stansted Airport Watch (‘SAW’) has announced its intention to convert into a Trust Fund to be known as the Stansted Airport Watch Foundation (‘the SAW Foundation’).  The proposal will be put to a Special General Meeting (’SGM’) of its members later in November and, in accordance with the SAW Constitution, will require a two-thirds majority of the members present to be approved. SAW Chairman Brian Ross explained the reasoning behind the proposal: “Some of the most experienced members of SAW Executive Committee have recently retired and others, including myself, have signalled their intention to retire in the near future, after having given more than 20 years’ voluntary service to the campaign.  As they say, none of us are getting any younger!”  The Foundation will not be a member organisation.  All of SAW’s assets would be transferred to the SAW Foundation.  The intention would be to replace the initial trustees, continuing from SAW, with representatives from local district, town and parish councils - to ensure that there is awareness of local environmental impacts of the airport.

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Heathrow owner Ferrovial (25%) probably keen to sell its stake

The Heathrow owner with the largest share (25%), Ferrovial, has opened the door to selling its stake, as it is unclear if it will ever be able to build a 3rd runway.  A top executive at Spanish infrastructure giant Ferrovial said it would look at the merits of bidders if there are offers. It is likely that buyers are being informally sounded out about buying the 25% stake.  Recently the regulator, the CAA, ruled that Heathrow will have to cut its passenger charge from £31.57 to £25.43 next year, so the airport will be less profitable.  One exit option could be for Ferrovial to sell up to one of its fellow shareholders. Heathrow has proved a lucrative investment for its shareholders, giving them £4 billion in dividends between 2012 and 2020.  Though in 2020 the Supreme Court gave permission a 3rd runway, Heathrow got rid of its expansion team, and would have to do a lot of work to reinstate the now outdated plans - against fierce opposition. 

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Luton Airport car park to be demolished after fire destroys more than 1,500 cars

A car park at Luton Airport which almost collapsed in a huge blaze on October 10th is set to be demolished.  The fire in the multistorey Terminal Car Park 2 was declared a major incident, and ended up destroying around 1,500 cars.  Over than 100 firefighters were deployed to bring it under control, while flames spread across multiple floors of the car park and caused a partial collapse of the structure.  It's believed the fire started due to an electrical fault or leaking fuel line in a diesel car, possibly a Range Rover.  The car park will now be "fully demolished" along with any cars parked on the ground to third levels.  As many as 1,500 cars were inside when the blaze broke out - and it is unlikely any would be salvageable.  Most of the insurance claims for the cars have been settled.  There are (before the fire) 4 official car parks at Luton airport.

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Motion passed by London Assembly to protect Richmond Park from increased Heathrow flight paths

A motion has been passed by the London Assembly to protect Richmond Park from increased Heathrow flight paths. The airport submitted proposals for "airspace modernisation" with the aim of making journeys quicker, saving a bit of time.  The Friends of Richmond Park has said these proposals could see up to 60,000 arrival flights passing over the park per year.  Currently there are no arrival flights, just departures. The Liberal Democrats who put the motion forward have also urged Heathrow to "go back to the drawing board". A Heathrow spokesperson said: "No decisions have been made on which flight path options could be adopted from the recently published shortlist."  The Liberal Democrat's transport spokesperson and London Assembly member, Caroline Pidgeon pointed out that thousands of Londoners make their decisions about where to live, based on knowing where flight paths are - and have been for decades  - so they can avoid them. "We also know that noise pollution from aircraft can contribute to a range of mental and physical health problems, most often linked to disturbances in our sleep cycles."

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Gatwick Northern Runway consultation sees opposition

Crawley Borough Council and 9 other local authorities have submitted a string of concerns to the Planning Inspectorate (PI) about Gatwick’s plans to bring its northern runway into regular use for departing flights.  The proposals were accepted for examination in August and are expected to be looked at by an Examining Authority panel (ExA) of the PI in early 2024.  Crawley's planning committee agreed to submit a holding objection to the plans – one which could be changed should the airport address the concerns raised.  A spokesman said the council has a wide range of concerns with the airport’s expansion project, "including the uncertainty regarding future economic benefits for residents, the airport’s ability to operate within acceptable and enforceable limits without causing environmental harm, the impacts of construction, air quality, traffic and a lack of active travel solutions.”   The other nine authorities, who issued a joint statement with Crawley were East Sussex County Council, Horsham District Council, Kent County Council, Mid Sussex District Council, Mole Valley District Council, Reigate and Banstead Borough Council, Surrey County Council, Tandridge District Council and West Sussex County Council.

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