Airport News
Below are news items relating to specific airports
Night sleeper trains are being revived across Europe
Sleeper trains are continuing to make a comeback in mainland Europe, with a number of new services being launched since last summer, or due to start later this year, or in 2024. Last year a new 13 hour sleeper service was started, between Stockholm and Hamburg, by the Swedish railway company SJ. The carbon footprint of an electric-powered train is just a small fraction of that of a flight. Passengers can then transfer to other trains, from Hamburg, to locations in European countries. The company plans to extend the route to Berlin from April. It will compete with an existing provider of night trains between Stockholm and Hamburg and Berlin - Snälltåget. There is going to be a sleeper train service by the Belgian-Dutch firm, European Sleeper, between Brussels and Amsterdam to Berlin. The company intends to extend its route to Prague from 2024. French night train business Midnight Trains says it will launch its first luxurious (not cheap) services from Paris in 2024, to more than 10 destinations include Rome, Porto and Edinburgh. There is also Nightjet, owned by Austrian Railways, which will have services between Vienna and Paris and Brussels. And there are more to come...
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Likelihood of Heathrow’s 3rd runway even lower, after CAA charges decision
The CAA has refused Heathrow's demand for a big increase in the fees it charges airlines. It had wanted up to £43 per passenger. But its regulator, the CAA, allowed it £27.49 on average. The present charge is higher, which means that fees will have to come down over the next few years. Heathrow can appeal to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). It looks increasingly unlikely that Heathrow will be able to build a 3rd runway. There was little mention of it in the CAA’s recent analysis. The 242 page ruling on charges just says: “We [the CAA] have said we will deal with these matters separately and in a way consistent with our statutory duties if Heathrow were to reintroduce proposals for capacity expansion.” Heathrow will say only that the plan is under review. There is some evidence in the CAA’s prices ruling that the runway will be a long way off, if ever. The CAA said the charges they are allowing would give Heathrow sufficient financial headroom to pay investors £1.5 billion over the next few years, a rate of return in line with other utility investments. But Heathrow has a level of gearing - the ratio of borrowing to equity base — of over 82%, making even that rate of return unlikely. And the negative impact of the CO2 from an expanded Heathrow make the project ever more improbable.
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CAA rules that Heathrow average maximum price per passenger will fall from £31.57 in 2023 to £25.43 in 2024
The UK Civil Aviation Authority has published its Final Decision for the annual caps that will apply to the charges that Heathrow levies on airlines for using the airport, until the end of 2026. The CAA confirmed that charges for 2023 will remain fixed at the level set out in its interim decision issued earlier this year. The average maximum price per passenger will then fall by about 20% from £31.57* per passenger in 2023 to £25.43** per passenger in 2024 and will remain broadly flat at that level until the end of 2026. This means the average charge over the five years will be £27.49 compared to £28.39 for Final Proposals, a reduction of £0.90 (all in nominal prices). This lower level of charges from 2024 recognises that passenger volumes are expected to return to pre-pandemic levels, and should allow Heathrow to continue "investing in the airport for the benefit of consumers and supporting the airport’s ability to finance its operations." The CAA hopes passengers will benefit from slightly cheaper fares, and better systems when they travel. The current passenger forecasts are higher than in earlier assessments.
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Luton Airport expansion plans for 32 million passengers, up from 18 million, submitted
Luton Rising, the Luton Council company that owns London Luton Airport, has submitted its application for expansion. The Development Consent Order (DCO) application comprises 198 documents, with over 25,000 detailed pages of proposals and plans. It seeks consent to expand the airport from its current permitted cap of 18 million passengers per annum (mppa) to 32 mppa, including new terminal capacity; earthworks to create an extension to the current airfield platform; new airside and landside facilities; enhancement of the surface access network; extension of the Luton DART; landscaping and ecological improvements; and further infrastructure enhancements and initiatives to support the target of achieving zero-emission ground operations by 2040. Andrew Lambourne, speaking for anti-noise campaign group LADACAN, said the proposal "would create noise blight across north Hertfordshire, with flights increasingly starting at five in the morning and running on into the early hours, keeping thousands more people awake at night. The harms outweigh any possible benefits.”
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How are Heathrow’s plans for a 3rd runway coming along? (They are not)
There are still "a number of serious hurdles to overcome" before Heathrow could consider a 3rd runway. Heathrow director of communities and sustainability Becky Coffin confirmed that the project remains paused and under internal review. There are the inevitable impacts on the UK's net zero, noise, air quality and road congestion, which remain serious and although surface transport decarbonisation is advancing, so-called ‘jet zero’ is some way behind (or probably impossible). The Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS) approving the policy of Heathrow expansion (eventually cleared by the Supreme Court) is nearly 5 years old and calls to revisit it are growing. Meanwhile, other airports are getting on with their expansion plans which mean that any carbon allocation for airports is getting used up at Heathrow’s expense, so it will get left behind. ie. Bristol, Southampton, Stansted, Luton, Gatwick, Manston. Despite the ANP win, the £14bn expansion plans have remained frozen due to Covid, and Heathrow's lack of available funds. In March 2021 the airport put its £900M T5 rail link on “controlled pause”, citing lack of funds. But in May 2022, Heathrow resumed purchasing houses in proximity to the proposed site.
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London City Airport “consulting” on extra flights and extended operating hours at weekends
Newham Council, the planning authority for London City airport, formally started consulting on its expansion proposals on 15th February. It will last until 17th March. Newham’s Strategic Development Committee will then later this year decide whether or not to approve the proposals. The detailed application is on Newham’s website It is a very long consultation with many dozen documents, only available online and hard to plough through. Local campaign group, HACAN East summarise the key points as an extra 6 - 7 hours flying on Saturdays; an extra 2.5 million passengers a year using to the airport; and extra early morning flights. At present no flights are permitted between 12.30pm on Saturdays and 12.30pm on Sundays. London City proposes for flights on Saturday to end at 6.30pm (7.30pm in summer). It plans to increase passenger numbers from 6.5m to 9m a year. It plans 3 extra flights during the first hour of operation, from 6.30 – 7am. It is not proposing to introduce night flights, or lift the cap of 111,000 allowed to use the airport each year. HACAN East is arranging meetings for local people to find out more.
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Extinction Rebellion blockades Luton Airport private jet terminals in Valentine’s Day protest
Extinction Rebellion and affiliated groups blockaded the entrances to Luton Airport’s Harrods Aviation and Signature private jet terminals. The protest is part of the “Make Them Pay” campaign, by Scientist Rebellion, Extinction Rebellion (XR), and Stay Grounded, which has 3 demands: ban private jets, tax frequent flyers and make polluters pay - due to their high carbon emissions. The protest was a component of a global co-ordinated action launched last week by climate activists across 11 countries, which is targeting multiple sites in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and the US. About 30,000 private jets land or take off from Luton airport each year, with celebrities, actors and the very rich using them. It is only a tiny % of the population that uses private jets, which are a very, very high carbon way to travel. A passenger in a private jet might cause the emission of x10 as much CO2 as a passenger in a commercial plane, for the same distance. Though passengers private jets pay a bit more Air Passenger Duty than on commercial planes, the rate of tax on private jets is, relatively far too low.
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London City airport – there may be a consultation about allowing flights on Saturday afternoons
There is speculation about London City airport consulting about changing the times on Saturday afternoons, when the airport is open. However, local group Hacan East says that, as far as they know, Newham Council has made no official announcement about the start of the public consultation into London City's expansion plans, but they will be contacting the Council (10th February) to find out the position. The expectation is that instead of flights ending at 1pm on Saturdays, they would continue until 8.30pm. This would be deeply opposed by residents in the area, who suffer from considerable plane noise. It is thought that the airport applied for this, to Newham Council, in December. City Airport previously tried to extend Saturday flight times to 22:00, but backtracked after a public consultation in late 2022. 70% of responses to that consultation opposed any expansion. The airport also wants 12 extra Saturday flights between 18:30 and 19:30 in the summer months, and 3 more planes taking off each morning. And it hopes to increase the yearly cap on passengers from 6.5 million to 9 million.
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John Holland-Kaye to step down from his role as Heathrow CEO
Heathrow’s chief executive, John Holland-Kaye, has announced his resignation and will leave his £1.5m role at some point in 2023 after 9 years in charge. He has been trying to get a 3rd runway for years, so far without success - and with a new range of problems that make it unlikely. Holland-Kaye took over in 2014, being promoted from development director when he oversaw the building of Terminal 2. Speaking at an aviation conference earlier this week, Holland-Kaye said that more details of renewed plans for a possible 3rd runway would be unveiled later this year. He has overseen several years of rows with the Heathrow regulator, the CAA, about landing charges - with opposition from airlines to any increases. There is speculation about who might be the next CEO. One possibility is Emma Gilthorpe, the chief operations officer, who was previously a director overseeing strategy and planning, including the expansion plans. Chief financial officer Javier Echafe is also a possible contender. Holland-Kaye will remain in post to ensure a smooth handover later in 2023
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High Court has ruled that expansion of Bristol Airport will be allowed to go ahead
Campaigners against the expansion of Bristol airport legally challenged the decision of the Planning Inspectorate (PI), a year ago. The High Court has now ruled that the expansion can go ahead. North Somerset Council rejected the expansion in 2020 on environmental grounds but that decision was later overruled by the PI. Expansion would see the airport increase its capacity from 10 million to 12 million passengers per year. Opponents of the growth, through the Bristol Airport Action Network (BAAN), are very disappointed, but are already planning on challenging the ruling. BAAN has been arguing planning inspectors were wrong to ignore the impact a bigger airport would have on climate change. In his decision Lord Justice Lane said expanding the airport would impact the environment but that the decision is for central government not local. There is no proper law on UK aviation, or any legal means to control cumulative CO2 emissions from many airport expansion. The Climate Change Committee say there are big risks in the airline industry hoping for low carbon fuels in future, and recommend that "there should be no net expansion of airport capacity".