Airport News
Below are news items relating to specific airports
Heathrow third runway not right for UK, says Greening
Justine Greening has said the government remains opposed to a third runway at Heathrow, despite calls from Conservative MPs for a change of heart. She said it was "not right" for the UK and other options needed to be considered - including building a new hub airport. Ms Greening, whose Putney constituency is on the Heathrow flight path and who personally campaigned against a third runway before becoming a minister, said the coalition agreement was "very clear" in its opposition to a new runway at Heathrow. "I don't think any of the facts have changed around a third runway," she told Radio 4's Today programme. "The facts remain as they were at the time of the election." She said concerns over increased noise, pollution and disruption to the surrounding area had not been addressed and suggested that a new runway would not be long enough to accommodate new, larger planes and would be full "within a few years".
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David Cameron will not drop opposition to Heathrow third runway until at least 2015
The Telegraph reports that David Cameron will not drop his opposition to a 3rd runway at Heathrow until at least 2015, despite lobbying from business leaders who say the delay is damaging the UK economy. The Telegraph says the PM is, however, prepared to consider the case for a new airport to the east of London. Meanwhile Nick Clegg said the Liberal Democrats would block any move by their Coalition partners to build a third runway. Justine Greening said a change in policy on Heathrow would make her position “difficult”. The Prime Minister has previously stated that this was an absolute commitment with “no ifs, no buts”, giving him little room for manoeuvre - the commitment was in the Tory manifesto. Justine says “I don’t think any of the facts have changed around the third runway.” However, now after the next election, there is likely to be increased pressure for airport expansion, if the Tories can retain power.
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Aircraft noise protest picnic with drums, bagpipes, cans etc outside main police station in Frankfurt
In their continuing protests against aircraft noise from Frankfurt airport, a group of protesters set up a noisy protest, picnic and barbeque outside the main Frankfurt police station for two hours at the weekend. They had not only African drums, but a variety of other noisy instruments, including bagpipes, and tambourines - petrol cans etc, with which to make a racket. The sound-scape they produced aimed to fight noise with noise - creating a cacophony rather than a melody, as a change from the roaring of jets overhead that they now have to endure at home In addition, on Monday they held their usual Monday evening protest (there is one every Monday night) with a new protest anthem.
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Tim Yeo demands PM backs Heathrow 3rd runway and claims it’s a leadership issue
It is August. And the end of the Silly Season, with little hard news. So the media have given a disproportionate amount of coverage and hype to repeating this old one, with a few additions. Writing in the Daily Telegraph, (where else?) Tim Yeo, who now backs Heathrow expansion, urged David Cameron to act or risk "presiding over a dignified slide towards insignificance". The Telegraph etc suggest top ministers are reconsidering their opposition to a Heathrow 3rd runway. However Justine Greening has repeated, yet again, that there was a "political consensus" against a new runway, that the coalition ruled out any expansion before the next election, and that a short runway at Heathrow is not a "solution" to any alleged south east runway capacity shortage in the south east, and that there has been no change in the facts since 2010. Labour also currently opposes the idea of a third runway. Tim Yeo also says, for unaccountable reasons, that the "environmental objections" to the expansion of Heathrow were "disappearing". On the day when the Arctic ice has reached an all time low.
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Birmingham airport promoters boosted by Lib Dem enthusiasm for regional hub airports
Those lobbying for Birmingham Airport to expand to become a regional hub are expecting their campaign will get a major boost when Liberal Democrats urge the Government to block new runways at Heathrow - and expand regional hubs instead at their autumn party conference in September. A motion by Julian Huppert calls for UK aviation to be based on accessibility from north and south; moving non-hub flights away from Heathrow, and making best use of existing airport capacity with improved transport links to Gatwick, Stansted, Luton,Manchester, Birmingham and Edinburgh.
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London Luton owner extends contract with airport operator, LLAOL, until 2031
The owners of Luton Airport (Luton Borough Council) have signed a deal with the airport’s operators (London Luton Airport Operations Ltd. - LLAOL), extending their contract until 2031. In June it was announced that LLAOL's concession to run the airport was being extended to 2031. That has taken some of the urgency out of the need to produce planning applications as the 2014 break-point in the concession is no longer a factor. The signing of the contract between the owner and operator is to be followed by a planning application later in the autumn, which will be lodged by LLAOL.
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Plymouth Airport supporters hand in petition organised by the Viable Group to city council
Plymouth airport closed in December 2011, as it was no longer viable. Now a petition - organised by the Viable Group - calling for the airport to be saved has been handed in to the city council. The Viable Group, which hopes to get the airport back in business, said it had 37,000 signatures supporting the airport, which it says, is vital for transport and business links. Sutton Harbour Holdings took over operation of the airport in 2000 with a 150-year lease from the city council, which owns the site. The new Labour council announced at the start of August that it was seeking a commercial partner to take over the site and run an airport. But the council cannot provide any subsidy, and though the site is protected under planning policy as an airport., if the private sector could not reopen it, another use for the site could be explored.
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MAG submits planning application for ‘World Logistics Hub’ at Manchester Airport City Enterprise Zone
Manchester Airports Group (MAG) has submitted an outline planning application for the development of a World Logistics Hub in the southern part of Greater Manchester’s Enterprise Zone at Manchester Airport. It is for between 1.2- to 1.4-million sq ft of new logistics space over a 36.9 hectare site. It will combine with the Airport’s existing cargo facilities at the adjacent World Freight Terminal to make a logistics district next to Junction 6 of the M56 motorway. This is part of the Airport City project, which aims to transform Manchester Airport from a regional transport hub into an international business destination in its own right. The £650m Airport City scheme – the first of its kind in the UK – was unveiled by Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, in January 2012. Local residents, deeply opposed to the plans, met recently to express their opposition to the plans, for "growth for growth's sake". They do not believe the increased jobs claims, as most of the jobs will be displaced from elsewhere.
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Monarch takes over leisure destinations from East Midlands, after demise of bmibaby
When IAG pulled the plug on BMIbaby in June, Monarch Airlines stepped in to the fill the breach at East Midlands Airport within the hour. Next week it begins flights from East Midlands initially to Malaga, Alicante, Faro, Tenerife and Lanzarote. Managing director Kevin George said that Monarch will prove particularly attractive to those with holiday homes in the sunshine. Flights from East Midlands begin on August 31 when two Airbus A321 aircraft will be based at the airport. Between November and April there will be reduced frequencies to the same destinations. Next summer, Ibiza is added to the destinations. Monarch regards itself as in middle territory between low-cost airlines at the bottom and the full service carriers at the top. Monarch says most of its customers originate in the UK, so are leisure visitors taking money out of the UK, but it does say it may be able to get some inbound tourists too ......
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BAA agrees to sell off Stansted airport – no further appeals
BAA has finally agreed it will not mount a final appeal to the Supreme Court to avoid having to sell Stansted. The Court of Appeal last month upheld a competition ruling dating back to 2009, dictating that Stansted must be sold. BAA has been told it does not have the legal grounds for a further appeal. BAA still asserts that the Competition Commission is wrong, as Heathrow and Stansted serve different markets. BAA has been trying every delaying tactic to delay the sale for as long as possible, due to the current depressed market. The airport is valued at around £1 billion. Stansted, which deals mainly with leisure travellers, has been hit hard by the double dip recession and has been losing passengers consistently since 2007. There is no timetable yet for the sale. MAG and South Korea’s state-owned Incheon airport group are possible buyers.