Airport News
Below are news items relating to specific airports
Labour MPs urge third runway vote – EDM 339
41 Labour MPs have backed calls to put plans for Heathrow's 3rd runway to a Commons vote. In total 97 MPs have signed Early Day Motion 339 from Labour MP Martin Salter asking the government not to proceed with the controversial plans. Ministers are due to decide on the new runway in January but the cabinet is split on the issue.
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Plan to cut airport jobs and shelve Dublin’s 2nd runway
Dublin airport's plan to build a 2nd runway, at a cost of more than €200 million, has been deferred due to the decline in passenger numbers. They feel the airport will not experience significant capacity constraints for several years. The airport told trade unions it will seek voluntary redundancies early next year at Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports due to an anticipated decline in passenger numbers and fall in profits in 2009 and 2010. (Irish Times)
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Gatwick sell-off will put pressure on Government to allow 2nd runway
Gatwick is Britain's 2nd-biggest airport, with flight paths over sparsely populated countryside and good road and rail links. It has not been considered for expansion as BAA has been content not to press for this while the Government supports new runways at Stansted and Heathrow. Passenger numbers fell by 13.5% last month and the only way BAA could get anywhere near the asking price is by talking up the development potential. (Times)
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Crawley weighs job hopes from Gatwick expansion against destruction of homes
Residents in Crawley, the town that is home to 7,000 airport staff are divided in their reaction to proposed 2nd runway. Crawley is the new town 2 miles south of the runway, whose fortunes rise and fall those of the airport. The town is home to 1 in 3 of the airport's 25,000 staff, with low unemployment. Some residents think the airport's expansion could boost employment. It would mean demolishing 300 homes in Crawley, and 18 listed buildings. (Times)
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Gatwick airport 2nd runway: Crawley residents ready to fight any expansion
Residents near Gatwick have promised to mount a ferocious campaign against any plans for a 2nd runway. The Gatwick Area Conservation Campaign (GACC) said there was too little land between Gatwick and Crawley to allow a new runway and terminal to operate efficiently. Brendon Sewill, GACC chairman, said every local MP and council is against it and the campaign against the runway will be every bit as strong as the campaigns at Heathrow and Stansted. (Times)
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Secret plans revealed for second Gatwick runway
A new runway could be built at Gatwick rather than Heathrow or Stansted under plans secretly being developed by companies bidding to buy Britain’s second largest airport. BAA has sent bidders a confidential memorandum with a section entitled "Gatwick builds a second runway". The Competition Commission effectively endorsed the idea yesterday. If Gatwick were to be expanded, up to 300 homes would have to be demolished, and many more affected by noise. (Times)
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BAA told to sell three airports
The Competition Commission has said it will require BAA to sell Gatwick, Stansted and Edinburgh airports. The watchdog says the decision is subject to a final consultation but is necessary to improve levels of service at UK airports. "Under separate ownership, the airport operators including BAA, will have a much greater incentive to be far more responsive to their customers, both airlines and passengers," the Competition Commission said. (BBC)
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Southend Airport to operate passenger flights across the UK and Europe
Southend Airport's new owners the Stobart Group have said the airport will soon start to operate passenger flights across the UK and Europe. After acquiring the airport for £21 million last week, Stobart said that passenger airline services could help "drive freight opportunities", with the firm having ambitions for the airport to become a niche air freight destination. (Skyscanner)
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Mandelson throws his weight behind third Heathrow runway
Mandelson waded into the Cabinet row over Heathrow by "strongly" backing the business case for a 3rd runway. Downing St also admitted that Heathrow expansion had been discussed "numerous" times by Cabinet, highlighting how controversial an issue it had become for them. Just 24 hours after Hilary Benn warned that EU pollution laws must not be breached by a 3rd runway, Business Secretary Mandelson is fighting the case for a bigger Heathrow. (Standard)
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Going nowhere at Heathrow – Caroline Lucas on Guardian Comment
Caroline Lucas says peaceful protests are the only way to highlight dissatisfaction with the government's airport policy and its climate impact. The government has no action plan on achieving targets under the EU Air Quality Directive. The Stansted protest demonstrated, more clearly than any strongly-worded letter, the level of frustration and anger at the proposals to expand aviation and the government's shirking of its environmental responsibilities.