Airport News
Below are news items relating to specific airports
New report shows the UK nuclear regulator was wrong in not opposing Lydd Airport’s planning application
A decision on whether to allow expansion of Lydd airport was due in March 2012 from Eric Pickles, but this has been delayed for an unknown length of time. Meanwhile, the Lydd Airport Action Group has commissioned a new report from a doctor at Imperial College that shows the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) was wrong to conclude that the probability of an accident at Dungeness resulting from the introduction of heavy aircraft taking off and landing from Lydd Airport would be so low that it could be ignored. The Imperial College study showed that Dungeness A, which ceased power generation in 2006, would still be a risk if hit by a plane. Dungeness B, which is still working, would be a safety risk, being only 3 miles from the airport, and built before any consideration was given to the risk of a hit by a heavy aircraft.
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Edinburgh Airport sold to Global Infrastructure Partnership for £807m
A deal has been struck to sell Edinburgh Airport to the owner of Gatwick and London City airports for £807m. GIP has beaten a consortium led by another infrastructure investor, JP Morgan Asset Management. The sale price, slightly more than expected, is payable in full at closing of the deal, expected in May. It is thought that GIP intends to improve the speed at which passengers move through the airport at check-in, security and baggage handling, and to link the airport with new routes. Its investment pattern is to sell the asset on after about 7 years. GIP is said to have improved the passenger experience at Gatwick. Edinburgh airport handled 9.5m passengers last year, caters for about 40 airlines, serves more than 100 destinations and currently generates around £50m EBITDA annually.
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Noise from planes approaching Gatwick flying over Edenbridge at ‘damaging levels’
TNoise from planes flying over Edenbridge is at potentially damaging levels, according to a Courier investigation. Edenbridge is about 8 miles from Gatwick, directly under the approach path. Our study of sound levels over the town showed residents are being forced to put up with conditions that some experts believe could have long-term health implications, such as hypertension, hearing impairment and increased risk of heart disease. Recently monitoring of the noise there showed spikes of up to 91 decibels under the flight path, around 9am, checking 29 planes flying overhead. They had an average volume of 72.7 decibels and a peak of 91. Local residents find it is the constant repetition and long duration of the noise that makes it so annoying.
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London Southend Airport terminal extension approved
Southend airport has been granted approval for the extension of its terminal building by Rochford Council. There will also be five more aircraft stands. Despite strong opposition, only one member of the public was permitted to speak against the application. Only two councillors voted against. Work on the extension will start later this year. The new terminal was opened in March, but the extension will add another 90 metes to it, more than doubling its size, with more check-in desks and baggage drop off points. more security screening channels, larger arrivals and departures lounges, more retail etc. It has emerged that Anglian Water were not informed of the application. SAEN understands that the water company is less than happy, as the new terminal as it stands was only just approved as it took the sewage system up to 100% capacity. The extension will exceed capacity. he airport is looking at 6 million passengers per year by 2020, rather than the 2 million previously anticipated.
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Kehoe says BAA claims are a con, and Chinese companies are happy to fly to Birmingham, bypassing Heathrow
We have heard many aviation lobbyists claiming that if business people cannot get direct flights from Heathrow to a multitude of destinations, Britain's economy is doomed. Now Paul Kehoe, CEO of Birmingham airport, publicly disagrees, wanting to persuade those in power that flights to or from Birmingham will be quite acceptable to commerce, and can bypass Heathrow. And Birmingham gets the profit. He says BAA is "trying to conflate the wider British economic interest with the interests of Heathrow". Kehoe says the claims that Britain's economy requires new runways in the south-east are a "con" that an industry dominated by BAA will not question. He says he was in Chengdu recently, talking to Chinese airlines that were considering any entry point into the UK. Kehoe says the Chinese he had spoken to would be happy to come to Birmingham: "they see the UK as an important market and don't care how they get there." So lots of in-fighting within the industry, like dogs over a bone ... They all want the money ...
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Noise ban provides nightmares for German airports and airlines but better sleep for campaigning residents
GreenAir online has a long and comprehensive article about what has been going on in Germany recently, with the huge protests at Frankfurt against the 4th runway, and against night flights - which have now been stopped over a 6 hour period. Also the protests at Cologne Bonn Airport where there is now a night flight ban. And protests in Munich against plans for a new 3rd runway. There will also be a 6 hour night flight ban at Berlin’s new Brandenburg International Airport when it opens in June. Airlines like Lufthansa are complaining, and claiming they cannot run an efficient and profitable freight operation without night flights being permitted. The German Aviation Assoc claims there are no such bans at Amsterdam, Paris, London or Dubai. But the German opposition has been very effecive and got results.
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London Mayoral candidate, Siobhan Benita, candidate pressing for 3rd Heathrow runway (with Michael Portillo’s backing)
Siobhan Benita is the only mayoral candidate to be pressing for a 3rd Heathrow runway. She says "We will scrap the £60bn Boris Island vanity project and instead support the expansion of Heathrow airport, while maintaining strict limits on sound and emissions" and "I absolutely understand that people are worried about noise levels and I would call on the aviation industry to produce a 10-year roadmap for aircraft noise reduction. With quieter and cleaner aircraft becoming more commonplace, the industry can do much more to reduce noise and emission levels in the coming years" Michael Portillo gives her his backing. He thinks a third runway for Heathrow airport is fundamentally important for the capital and "I can't understand any candidate presenting himself or herself without making such a commitment".
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London Gateway port development – to open in 2013 – a few miles west of Southend
Opening in the fourth quarter of 2013, London Gateway is set to become the premier UK logistics centre. When fully developed London Gateway port will handle 3.5 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent container units) annually and the adjacent logistics park will be the largest in Europe. It is about 4 miles south of Basildon and about 7 miles west of Southend on Sea. DP World is a company based in Dubai. There is likely to be a connection between Stobart buying Southend airport, and the new mega-port close by.
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Jenny Jones, the Green Party London mayoral candidate, says close London City Airport
The Green Party's candidate for London mayor has said City Airport should be shut down. Speaking to the BBC's Daily Politics, Jenny Jones said the airport should be closed and replaced with "something useful" such as housing or allotments. Britain should follow Europe by "expanding" rail travel, not aviation: "We should start to understand that short haul flights have got to be overtaken by rail travel... We are very greedy and we take up more than our fair share of the earth's resources. We have to learn to adapt and survive." A spokesman for London City Airport said it "directly contributes over £0.5bn a year to the UK economy" (evidence for that??) and connects London with 30 destinations in the UK, Europe and America. The other candidates have not mentioned London City Airport.
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Manston tries to use Theresa Villiers speech to press for its expansion
In her speech to an aviation conference in London on 18th April, Theresa Viliers made a brief mention of Manston, saying "some would also like to see Manston to play a role in meeting our aviation capacity needs". The "some" who would like to see Manston play a part are North Thanet MP Sir Roger Gale and the airport owners. By comparison, airlines and passengers are conspicuous by their absence, and there is huge public opposition to expansion of the airport - the approach path of which is directly over Ramsgate, with the runway just a mile from houses. Roger Gale said that, "given the right rail links and good road links, there is no reason why Manston shouldn't play a major role in aviation in the south east." But it does not have those road and rail links. Manston is just not in a suitable location to be a useful London airport. Location, location, location.