Airport News
Below are news items relating to specific airports
BAA positive about 328 yard runway extension – Aberdeen
BAA bosses insist they are still confident that the proposed runway extension at Aberdeen will go ahead, despite falling passenger numbers and the deepening recession. BAA is investing £10 million in an initial runway extension of 328 yards and an expanded international arrivals hall. The first phase of the programme, which is already under way, involves a bigger customs and immigration hall and baggage reclaim facilities. (Press & Journal)
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Luton airport shelves drop-off charges
The "kiss and drop" charges were due to come into force last month but have been put on hold until further notice. Luton would have been the first airport in the country to charge for dropping off passengers outside the terminal, although Birmingham forces everyone to use the nearby short-stay car park. (Telegraph)
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Manston records £4 million loss
Kent International Airport at Manston has filed losses of £4 million for the last financial year. And numbers flying from Thanet are not expected to increase this year, either. But people campaigning to stop the airport at Lydd being forced to expand have seized on the loss, suggesting that any air traffic expansion should be at Manston. CAA statistics show the Manston's operation handled 11,657 passengers in 2008, compared with Lydd’s 1,673 passengers.
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Southend – Is port link real reason for buying our airport?
Eddie Stobart may not have purchased Southend Airport as a passenger airport. A statement made by Andrew Tinkler in October 2008 said that the firm is evaluating the possibility of replicating its Widnes 3MG (Mersey Multi-Modal Gateway) distribution complex at the new London Gateway container port at Shellhaven. Once finished, the site would be one of the UK’s largest container ports. Stobart would like a share of the warehousing at Shellhaven. (Echo)
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Tories vow to ditch Stansted expansion plans
Theresa Villiers has renewed her pledge to scrap plans for a 2nd Stansted runway at a meeting with SSE. She discussed the implications of the Competition Commission’s ruling that BAA must sell Stansted and heard details of the reduction in the Government’s air passenger forecasts which now show that there would no demand for a 2nd Stansted runway before 2030. She was even more convinced that the runway could not be justified economically. (NCE)
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EasyJet won’t axe flights from Bristol despite profit losses
easyJet says it has no plans to axe further flights from Bristol despite posting losses of almost £130 million in 6 months. The firm, which operates 39 different routes from Bristol, has announced its losses had more than doubled to £129.8m in the 6 months to March 31, compared with £48.4m a year ago. In the first 3 months of 2009, In the first three months of this year, there was a 21% drop in passengers comparet to the same period in 2008. (This is Bristol)
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Government paves way for 400m runway extension at Birmingham Airport
Plans to extend the runway of Birmingham to accommodate long-haul flights have received a resounding approval from the Government. The Secretary of State has decided not to intervene in Solihull council’s decision to grant planning permission for the scheme. This means that subject to the signing of legal agreements with the airport the plans will have the full go ahead. Solihull granted planning permission for the extension last month. (B'ham Post)
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Coventry Airport put up for sale
Coventry Airport, which lost its only passenger airline last year and has seen plans for a new terminal rejected, has been put up for sale. Thomsonfly left in November. Plans for a new terminal were dropped in February. A public inquiry had found they would have an adverse impact on noise in the area. The airport director said they are concentrating on developing the airport as a 'Midland hub' for cargo, executive jets and ad hoc charter operations. (BBC)
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Responsible view on third runway – Jeff Gazzard letter to the Times
The view of some of the UK’s respected business names to say "no" to a 3rd runway at Heathrow is, for once, a meaningful statement of corporate and social responsibility. Too often businesses hide behind the "greenwash" shield of CSR as a diversionary tactic to deflect attention from massively polluting business-as-usual activities, which is why this stance is a welcome breakthrough... Opposing a predict and provide policy for aviation is simply pro-planet.
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RAF Lyneham (Wiltshire) to close in 2012
RAF Lyneham will close in less than four years' time, an MP has disclosed. Conservative MP James Gray was shown an internal letter confirming the RAF base, in Wiltshire, would shut down on December 31, 2012. Its closure was announced in 2003, but plans were drawn up under Project Belvedere to site helicopters at the base – where 750 civilians currently work – to keep it running. (Telegraph)