Airport News
Below are news items relating to specific airports
Transport Select Committee urges DfT to redraft planning policy statements to align with net zero objectives
The Transport Select Committee has criticised the DfT's planned revision of the National Networks National Policy Statement (NNNPS) for not giving sufficient weight to Net Zero. The Committee has published its analysis of the government’s proposals to revamp planning policies for nationally significant road and rail infrastructure projects (NSIPs). They urged ministers to redraft sections that would be used to determine whether major new projects are compatible with net zero legislation, based on the carbon emissions that would be produced during and after their construction. In its current form, the NNNPS would not cut emissions in live with decarbonisation targets. The Committee also made recommendations on the way the DfT looks at different options for projects, how to make its decision-making more transparent, and that calculations of future demand should be more transparent. It proposes that there should be an over-arching Transport NPS, including airports, which would consider new infrastructure, its carbon emissions and impact on sites of biodiversity or geological interest.
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Airlines oppose Dutch plan to phase out EU fossil fuel subsidies
Airline bosses are, unsurprisingly, opposed to a Dutch plan for an EU-wide phase-out of fossil fuel subsidies. They say it should not be introduced, while rail travel is so expensive, and the airline sector does not yet have low carbon fuels. The Dutch government announced last month that it spent up to €46.4bn in 2023 supporting the use of fossil fuels, either through direct subsidies or tax schemes that indirectly led to more polluting energies being used. More than €3.6bn went to airlines, as fuel supplied for use in aviation is currently fully exempt from taxation in the EU. The Dutch government is keen to reform the tax system and cutting subsidies was “crucial” to achieving a transition to lower carbon industries, and net zero by 2050. An EU proposal to update energy rules in 2019, which aimed to remove many fossil fuel subsidies, stalled as it requires unanimous approval from all 27 member states, which it is unlikely to get. The Dutch government introduced a cap on flights at Schiphol earlier in the year.
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Thomas Woldbye has taken over from Holland-Kaye as CEO of Heathrow
Thomas Woldbye has officially taken over as Heathrow CEO, from John Holland-Kaye. The airport hopes it will improve and grow under his leadership, and says he will "oversee the airport’s multi-billion £ plans to upgrade existing facilities over the next three years to provide an even better service for passengers, including the next generation security programme and new baggage system for Terminal 2." John Holland-Kaye was CEO for over 9 years, and pushed for a third runway, getting parliamentary approval for it, before Covid struck. Thomas Wooldbye was previously CEO of Copenhagen Airport from May 2011 – September 2023, and recently pushed through terminal expansion plans there. Previously, he worked for A.P. Møller-Maersk for 27 years.
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CMA supports CAA decision that Heathrow price cap must fall to £25.43 by 2024
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has issued a verdict largely supporting the Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA) pricing decision concerning Heathrow Airport. The CAA had previously mandated that Heathrow reduce average passenger charges from the current £31.57 per passenger to £25.43 by 2024, maintaining this sort of price until the end of 2026. Heathrow had sought to increase these charges to £40 per passenger, while British Airways, Delta Air Lines, and Virgin Atlantic Airways lobbied for charges below £20 per passenger. In its announcement last month, the CMA endorsed the CAA’s pricing strategy but highlighted the need for further consideration of minor pricing-related issues. The CMA’s final verdict was officially confirmed on October 17th. It was seen as a fair level, enabling Heathrow to encourage investors, but not over-charge passengers. Neither Heathrow nor the airlines are happy with the decision. There may be inadequacies in the regulatory framework, including the formula used to set fees at Heathrow.
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Leeds Bradford Airport to start £100m terminal expansion and refurbishment
Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA) has announced it will invest more than £100 million into what it says is a ‘vital’ regeneration of its terminal facilities which will dramatically improve the passenger experience etc. The work, which already has planning permission, will start in autumn this year and is expected to complete in 2026. Farrans Construction has been appointed as the contractor to deliver the first phase of the project, the construction of the terminal extension. The regeneration will see a three-storey extension – the equivalent of 9,500 square meters – to the existing terminal, alongside a significant refurbishment of the current terminal building. There will be more aircraft stands, more seating, faster security, new shops and eateries, and a larger baggage reclaim area and immigration hall, as well as improved access for passengers with restricted mobility. They talk of a lot more jobs, direct and indirect, and claim a huge input into the local economy. That, of course, ignores the amount of money lost to the economy, by far more people flying out of the UK on holiday, than flying in.
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Stansted night flights – how the airport gets far more than its theoretical summer maximum
If you feel that there are more Stansted night flights than ever, you’d be right. Stansted Airport Watch (SAW) has finally been able to establish what’s been happening. Stansted is allowed a maximum of 13,700 flights a year during the 6½-hour core night period from 11.30pm to 6.00am [ the 8 hours from 11.00pm to 7.00am. However, the DfT only restricts the number of night flights during the 6½ hours from 11.30pm and 6.00am.]. That, incidentally, is more than twice the number allowed at Heathrow, so local residents in this part of the world are entitled to feel they have drawn the short straw. And that’s not the whole story. The annual limit of 13,700 night flights is divided into a summer limit of 8,100 and a winter limit of 5,600. The summer period coincides with British Summer Time, and normally lasts for 31 weeks. The local group, Stansted Airport Watch has found that these theoretical levels have been exceeded, partly as unused numbers from earlier periods can be included. Also because of "dispensations" for delayed flights. So Stansted handled over 10,500 night flights last summer without breaching the statutory limit of 8,100.
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Application to appeal against Manston airport court decision denied
An appeal, by Ms Jenny Dawes, against a court decision not to quash the development consent order (DCO) for Manston airport has been rejected. A bid for a Judicial Review into the decision to give the Manston airport project the go ahead was dismissed last month but claimant, Ramsgate resident Jenny Dawes, then appealed that judgement. Now Mr Justice Dove has refused the appeal application and notice of the refusal was sent by the Judge’s clerk on October 9th. The DCO was initially granted in July 2020 when the Department of Transport approved the application to create an air freight hub at the site. Ms Dawes may now apply to the Court of Appeal for permission to appeal. This would ask the court to overturn Mr Justice Dove’s decision and his refusal to allow an appeal of that decision. Ms Dawes has 21 days to apply to the Court of Appeal for permission to appeal.
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Could Heathrow ever afford to build a 3rd runway?
The possibility of more airport expansion, and growth in the number of flights and passengers, is a serious problem of increasing carbon emissions. Heathrow is to have a new chief executive, Thomas Woldbye, from Copenhagen airport in October - replacing John Holland-Kaye. He has to decide whether to try to get a 3rd runway. As well as the increased CO2, Heathrow has the problem of paying for its expansion. Could it ever afford it? Since it got final approval for expansion in February 2020 (Appeal Court), costing about £14 billion, the costs of construction and financing will have hugely increased. Heathrow has vast debts, which it has increased to raise the regulatory value of their assets. Heathrow now has £16bn of borrowings and posted a loss this year largely due to the rising cost of its inflation-linked loans. The team working on the expansion was disbanded a few years ago, and there are no current estimates of the cost. The forecast for the demand for flying, oblivious of the climate destabilisation now underway, is for over 50% more passengers by 2050. The airport’s shareholders and board are yet to decide whether to push forward with a 3rd runway, and over what timeframe.
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Ice block from plane crashes through house roof in Banbury
A Banbury woman was left with a £12,000 hole in her roof, thought to have been caused by a block of ice falling from a plane. She heard a massive bang, went upstairs and could see blue sky through a hole into her loft, and out of the roof. She found bits of grey ice on the landing floor. Nobody was hurt. Having called out the fire brigade, a firefighter told her it was likely caused by ice falling from an aircraft on its way into Heathrow. The repair will cost about £12,000, through insurance. Some previous incidents of ice blocks falling from planes have been water from the plane toilets. Others are water in the undercarriage bay when the aircraft took off which formed into ice and stays as a block of ice whilst cruising at 35,000ft. As the airplane cames in to land at 3,000 or 4,000ft, the undercarriage would be put down and the slightly melted ice would fall out. There is information about other incidents, in previous years, of objects - often ice blocks - falling from planes. See link.
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JR application to stop Manston airport Development Consent Order denied by judge
An application for Judicial Review of the Manston airport DCO has been rejected by a judge. The DCO was initially granted in July 2020 when the DfT approved the application by RiverOak Strategic Partners to make the airport an air freight hub. That was refused in the High Court in February 2021 following a legal challenge by Ramsgate resident Jenny Dawes and supporters which resulted in the DfT Secretary of State conceding the decision approval letter issued from the Minister of State did not contain enough detail. The DCO was granted for a second time in August 2022 by then Transport Minister Karl McCartney. In response Jenny launched a 2nd JR application, trying to stop the airport plans. The application was initially dismissed by Mr Justice Lane in January but then allowed on partial grounds in a review by Mrs Justice Lieven in March. The latest hearing was before Honourable Mr Justice Ian Dove in July. Jenny plans to appeal the judgement, and remains "firmly of the view that the government’s decision to proceed with Manston Airport, in the face of expert evidence to the contrary and in the context of the worsening climate crisis, is nonsensical."