Airport News
Below are news items relating to specific airports
Luton Airport starting consultation process on possible future expansion
Luton airport is owned by Luton Borough Council. It owns the airport through the London Luton Airport Ltd. (LLAL), a wholly-owned holding company. This leases the operating rights to London Luton Airport Operations. In 2013, there can be a break point in the lease. This provides the opportunity to reconsider the lease. LLAL has decided that it needs to explore its future options, using the “break clause” to do this, though no decision has been made to invoke the break. If thy are going to make the change, then a plan, and the resulting planning application, need to be in place very soon. At a meeting of the Consultative Committee on 17th January LLAL announced a project, which they’ve named future LuToN, to push throughput to 18 million passengers a year on the existing runway and within the curtilage of the existing airport. There is a timetable for the project, with the first phase of Pre-consultation and public information starting 6th February to March 2012. followed by a 16-week statutory consultation on LLAL’s planning application from April to August.
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David Cameron faces Tory revolt over Thames Estuary airport on ‘Boris Island’
Already facing opposition from a swathe of Tory MPs to proposals to HS2, the PM is now facing the threat of a revolt over the estuary airport issue. Six backbenchers have written to Cameron urging him to kill the “Boris Island” scheme off, warning that it would cause huge environmental damage to the area. It is understood that several ministers and Tory whips, who are not signatories to the letter, are also unhappy at the prospect of a massive new hub airport either on the Isle of Grain or on reclaimed land in the Thames Estuary. The MPs signing the letter are Remhan Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham); Tracey Crouch (Chatham & Aylesford); Gordon Henderson (Sittingbourne & Sheppey); Adam Holloway (Gravesham); Gareth Johnson (Dartford) and Mark Reckless (Rochester & Strood).
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Thanet District Council Report Pans Manston Night Flights Proposal
A report by consultants Parsons Brinckerhoff for Thanet District Council has been long awaited. Some key findings from the Parsons Brinckerhoff report are that: Manston wants night flights for freight. If this was a planning application, it would be rejected. Having night flights will not generate passenger growth. The noise analysis supporting Manston's application is flawed. The economic analysis supporting Manston's application is flawed. The S106 agreement and the planning status of the airport is a shambles. They say Manston airport is in the wrong place and that given its geographic location," it is unlikely that carriers would show much interest for inbound traffic from key European city links – we would argue this would only be relevant if Manston was strategically placed near to a large city or a region with a large catchment area."
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RAF Northolt may be sold to raise defence funds
The MoD is considering selling off one of its oldest and most internationally renowned airfields, RAF Northolt in Hillingdon, as it seeks to raise money to help cope with swingeing budget cuts. All or parts of the site on the outskirts of north London could be sold for commercial development, and there have been high-level talks in Whitehall about whether the airfield could even become a satellite for Heathrow. This would enrage local residents but it has not been discounted by ministers, who are trying to reconcile the decision not to go ahead with a third runway at Heathrow with industry clamour for more capacity. DfT ministers are considering whether to include Northolt in the forthcoming aviation policy consultation.
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Gatwick: A sensible approach. GACC meeting with GAL
The community group representing residents near Gatwick Airport (GAL), the Gatwick Area Conservation Campaign (GACC), recently met senior staff at the airport to discuss issues of common concern. GACC welcomed the realistic approach taken by GAL to the new aviation policy, concentrating first on improving the passenger experience and keeping out of the overheated press speculation about new runways or a new Estuary airport. GACC welcomes the airport’s recognition that ‘Heathwick’ (Gatwick linked to Heathrow by high speed rail to make a virtual hub) makes no sense.” The airport says it operates generally at around 78% capacity.
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Janet Street Porter: “Lord Gherkin and the £50bn airport that we don’t need”
Janet writes that architects like Norman Foster (tax exile architect) have notoriously huge egos and want to leave a legacy of important monuments so they can be revered after their death. He’s already given us the Gherkin and Wembley Stadium, but this monstrous white elephant of an airport in the Thames Estuary must be consigned to the recycling bin. And that Lord Foster says the problem with Brits is that we endlessly argue about what to do. Stansted (which he designed) took 24 years to build, whereas the airport for Beijing in China took just four. The reason for that, Lord Foster, is that we live in a democracy — it’s not dithering, it’s called letting voters have their say. And Janet says that Lord Foster cares so much about the UK that he has based himself in Switzerland for many years.
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London City Airport expected to be sold by GIP later this year or 2013
The Chief Executive of London City Airport, Declan Collier, has been asked to review the options for selling the airport. About 60% of its passengers are on business trips, so the airport is seen as of value to the City. However, the local residents in the area, some living very close to the airport and under its flight paths, derive little benefit from the airport and suffer its adverse impacts. This comes at a time of unprecedented upheaval for the airport industry. Edinburgh is up for sale, Stansted could be soon, and the Government is proposing an airport in the Thames estuary.The airport opened in 1987. It was bought by Dermot Desmond for £23.5m in 1995 after it had struggled to build business in its early years. It was then sold by Mr Desmond in May 2006, for about £750m, to a consortium of the American insurer AIG and GIP. AIG then sold its 50% stake to GIP in 2008. The prospect of the 2012 Olympics raised its price. At present it is unlikely to sell for much more than the £750m, but in a buoyant market, its owners GIP and the current minority stake partner Highstar Capital could expect as much as £1.25bn.
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Frankfurt airport – protest continues
German article about the continuing protests most Mondays (first this year on 16th Jan) at Frankfurt airport, by hundreds or thousand, who are profoundly disturbed by - and opposed to - the new noise nuisance caused by flights from the runway that was opened in October 2011. The protesters include wealthy citizens, as well as students and environmental activists. Lufthansa is arguing that it should be allowed a large proportion of the night flights that are permitted. The matter goes to the Federal Administrative Court in March 2012 for decision.
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Southend Tory MPs line up to fight estuary airport proposals
Two MPs have publicly opposed plans for the estuary airport. Castle Point MP Rebecca Harris and James Duddridge MP for Rochford and Southend East, fear the plan would be detrimental to south Essex. Mrs Harris, who met with London mayor Boris Johnson before Christmas, said: “I will be opposing anything which would spoil the tranquillity of my constituency. Mr Duddridge added: “I do not think this airport is right, sensible, realistic or deliverable." [However, the worrying feature is that some in Southend want to press for expansion instead at Manston, which would be deeply unacceptable to people there. This sort of passing the buck is not sensible, and does nobody any favours] .
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Letter from key green groups in UK against Thames Estuary airport plan
The letter, in the Telegraph, from 16 environmental and development groups in the UK concludes that action on climate change is now needed more urgently than ever. Aviation is already responsible for more than a fifth of the UK transport sector’s greenhouse gas emissions, and an airport accommodating 180 million passengers each year, as proposed by Boris Johnson, would be much larger than any airport in operation in the world today. Such a scheme would effectively be the death-knell for the Government’s promise to be the greenest ever, and would undermine its ability to show international climate leadership. "That’s why we will be opposing it every step of the way."