Airport News
Below are news items relating to specific airports
Edinburgh Airport needs 1500 new hotel rooms by 2013, say planners
More than 1500 new hotel rooms are needed at Edinburgh Airport by 2013 to cope with the number of visitors coming to the Capital, planners have warned. The number of people passing through Edinburgh Airport is expected to rise from around 8.9 million a year now to around 13 million in 2013, and 23 million by 2030. (Edinburgh Evening News)
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Report attacks Heathrow expansion
The effect of the delays and inefficiency of Heathrow on the economy, and on the City in particular, is cited by the government as the chief reason why the airport should expand, with the construction of a third runway to the north of the existing pair. However, a new report commissioned by opponents of the expansion plans questions the economic justification for the airport's growth. (Times)
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Birmingham Airport shelves plans for second runway
News there will be no second runway at Birmingham International Airport has been welcomed by the MP, Caroline Spelman, representing hundreds of families whose homes were blighted by the plans. The airport confirmed that plans for a second runway will be suspended until at least 2030, when it published the final draft of its master plan. (Birmingham Post)
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Leeds Bradford – BMI ready to cut flights to London
BMI, the airline which operates Yorkshire's only flights to Heathrow, is threatening to cut the service unless it gets a subsidy from both ends. BMI took over Leeds Bradford's Heathrow route from British Airways but is having doubts whether it can continue if BAA makes short-haul airlines pay higher charges at Heathrow. (Yorkshire Post)
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Shoreham airport banking on rescue plan
The owner of Shoreham airport said it hopes to agree a recovery strategy with its bankers before Christmas. This may involve the sale of its assets. Erinaceous looked to have got a bargain when it bought the airport for £8.6 million from Brighton and Hove City Council and Worthing Borough Council last year. But now the property group may have to sell the airport to avoid going through some form of insolvency procedure. (Argus)
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Heathrow – Noise and pollution fears grow as planned runway gets even longer
The new runway planned for Heathrow will be 500 metres (1,640ft) longer than the Government had originally proposed in order to allow much noisier and more polluting long-haul aircraft to use it. Ruth Kelly has quietly abandoned a commitment to allow only short-haul aircraft to use the runway. The consultation document proposes a new 2,500-metre runway and an increase in the maximum number of flights permitted from 480,000 to 702,000 a year. (Times)
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Legal action threatened over ‘sham’ Heathrow consultation
The Liberal Democrat leader of Richmond council, which is under the Heathrow flightpath, said that his authority would be seeking legal advice on a possible judicial review against Ms Kelly for announcing consultation on a plan to allow the third runway after already having said that it was vital for the economy. (Independent)
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HEATHROW EXPANSION PLANS MUST BE SCRAPPED
The Government must abandon airport expansion plans - including a 3rd runway at Heathrow airport - if it is serious about tackling climate change, Friends of the Earth said. A public consultation into Government proposals to expand Heathrow is expected to begin later today (22 November). Earlier this week Gordon Brown pledged to make the UK a world leader in developing a low carbon economy. (Friends of the Earth press release)
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Third runway at Heathrow is vital to UK’s economic future, says BA chief
Willie Walsh, the chief executive of British Airways, has warned that Britain faces a low-growth future if the Government fails to allow a third runway to be built at Heathrow. In a speech to the Guild of International Bankers Mr Walsh said building the runway would benefit the UK economy to the tune of £9bn a year without increasing carbon emissions (sic). (Independent)
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Heathrow: Airport’s expansion could cost £9bn
The project to construct a highly controversial 3rd runway and a 6th passenger terminal at Heathrow, the most congested airport in Europe, could cost about £9bn, the Civil Aviation Authority said. It would be the largest single investment made by BAA, a subsidiary of Spain’s Ferrovial, since the UK airports group was privatised in 1987 and would be double the £4.5bn being spent on Terminal 5, which is due to open in late March. (Financial Times)