General News
Below are links to stories of general interest in relation to aviation and airports.
BA to cut flights between Heathrow and Leeds Bradford from 20 to 10 per week – they are not profitable
British Airways says its flights from Leeds Bradford Airport to Heathrow are being cut by 50% “to match demand”. The changes are due to start in summer 2018. BA has not been making money on these flights. A spokesman for Leeds Bradford Airport said the cut in BA flights from 20 to 10 per week was a blow to their hopes that Heathrow’s ongoing runway expansion plans would have attracted more people to Yorkshire. “As the international gateway for Yorkshire and given our continued support for a 3rd runway at Heathrow, this news is disappointing for the largest region in the UK. .... “We hope the people of Yorkshire will still fully support the route, enabling us to prove to British Airways that the largest region in the UK can support a viable and profitable service going forward.” The Chair of the No 3rd Runway Coalition, Paul McGuinness commented that the pledges Heathrow had made to increase its number of domestic links are not credible. It is not in the gift of an airport to determine which air links exist - that is up to airlines, which will only fly routes that are profitable, unless they receive continuing subsidies to run routes at a loss. "It also reminds us of the short-sightedness of those who have been lulled into supporting Heathrow's campaign to concentrate (yet again) all the best tax payer funded infrastructure in the already, disproportionately well endowed South East of the country."
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Luton airport now hoping not only for 18 million annual passengers, but up to 38 million
Luton airport is planning to increase its annual number of passengers to 18 million, from around 15 million at present. Work is under way to achieve this, with new buildings, new taxiways etc. However, the airport is now saying it plans to take advantage of an apparent shortage of runway capacity in the south east, in the coming decade, to try to grow to 36 - 38 million annual passengers. This has come as a surprise to many. Only two weeks earlier an airport senior manager was asked what happens when Luton reaches 18mppa, and he said they would flat-line as the terminal could not cope with any more people. The Chairman of LLACC (the Consultative Committee) did not about it either. Also, LLAL (the arm of Luton BC that owns the airport) recently purchased a huge tract of land nearby (Wigmore Park) and said it would not be used to expand the airport but to diversify business-land investment. However it appears that the airport may be planning a new terminal on the land, as the only way to achieve new growth aspirations. Hertfordshire County Council are doubtful about the expansion, raising many possible negative impacts for the area, including surface access traffic.
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London City airport has no air passenger growth in 2017, compared to 5% in 2016 and 18% in 2015
London City Airport has announced flat passenger numbers for 2017 with no growth. Compared to that, passenger numbers rose by 5% in 2016 (with 2% rise in ATM s) and rose by 18% in 2015 (compared to 2014) with ATMs up 13%. So a very definite slow down now. There were some 4,511,100 passengers in 2017 , down from about 4,536,050 in 2016. A spokesperson for the airport said the dip was due to "a variety of factors", including some airlines choosing to move flights to other airports, "reflecting the more challenging economic environment". CityJet trimmed the size of its operation, while other airlines cut some routes. The busiest route from London City was Amsterdam in 2017, followed by Edinburgh, Dublin, Zurich and Milan. London City Airport plans to expand, with 7 new aircraft stands, a parallel taxiway to maximise runway capacity, and a terminal extension to make room for more passengers, with completion in 2021. The project was originally expected to cost £400m, but that has now risen to £480m. The airport hopes for greatly increased passenger numbers, as it adds "much needed" capacity at peak times.
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Heathrow spin on cutting (by a tiny further amount) its charges for domestic air passengers
Heathrow has put out a rather coy press release, crowing about how it is cutting charges for domestic air passengers. The aim is to encourage more to fly on domestic routes to and from Heathrow. They say they are cutting the charge by £15 per passenger, but carefully avoid giving the current or future figure. The charge per passenger is probably around £31 now, on domestic or European flights, and will be around £15. But no details are given. Earlier publications by Heathrow indicate they gave a £10 discount last year, so the £15 is only a small increase - but being used to generate positive publicity. Heathrow knows the Airports Commission believed the number of domestic links to Heathrow would actually fall over time, with a new runway. Heathrow is desperate to get regional politicians to believe the 3rd runway would give them better flights to Heathrow, to get support for the vote in Parliament on the 3rd runway, some time in the first half of 2018. The only way Heathrow can support more domestic flights is by subsidising them, with a route development fund. How long the airport would be prepared, once it has its runway, to continue the expensive subsidy is anyone's guess. The subsidy could be seen as anti-competitive, especially with (far lower carbon) rail travel.
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Speculation grows that GIP and the consortium of Gatwick owners will sell the airport soon
Gatwick’s private equity owners have had a £175 million dividend as speculation mounts over a sale of the airport. The dividend, paid in October 2017, was up from £125m a year earlier and followed 6 months of rising passenger numbers and profits. Gatwick is owned by Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) and a consortium of investors, who bought it for £1.5 billion in 2009 from the former airports monopoly BAA. They have improved the airport, attracting more airlines, and now have 44 million annual air passengers. That has increased the value of the airport to an estimated £6 - £8 billion. GIP also owned London City airport, which they sold almost 2 years ago for over £2 billion, making a huge profit. City experts believe GIP is now looking to sell one or both of its 2 remaining UK airports, Gatwick and Edinburgh - or at least reduce its stake. A sale of Gatwick would be a vast profit. There is speculation that GIP would have sold Edinburgh earlier, but held back due to the German election and complications of Brexit. Gatwick is still keen to build a 2nd runway, but the government prefers a 3rd Heathrow runway. Consultations on that will continue in 2018, and Gatwick continues to press for its runway - as that would raise the selling price.
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Four important councils say DfT’s Heathrow 3rd runway inquiry “illegal because ministers are biased”
Four Conservative-run councils (Windsor & Maidenhead, Hillingdon, Richmond & Wandsworth) say pro-Heathrow statements made by Conservative ministers including Chris Grayling (Transport Secretary) could mean that the current DfT consultation on adding a 3rd Heathrow runway is unlawful. They say that “A consultation, to be lawful, must be approached with an open mind”. The intervention by the councils will increase and prolong uncertainty over the expansion of Heathrow - or any other new runway. The second consultation by the DfT (itself highly biased in favour of adding a 3rd Heathrow runway) on the expansion of Heathrow (the Airports National Policy Statement consultation) ended before Christmas. The four boroughs questioned the legality of the inquiry in their responses. Their submissions cite pro-Heathrow comments from Mr Grayling and Lord Callanan, the former aviation minister. The transport secretary said in October that the government was “aiming to give [the third runway] the formal go-ahead in the first half of next year” and that the expansion would “make a difference right across this country”. The boroughs are members of the No 3rd Runway Coalition, which has long argued that expansion should be stopped.
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Heathrow says it will cut costs of 3rd runway by £2.5 bn – not adding a new terminal
Heathrow has said it has identified options which could reduce overall cost of its 3rd runway expansion plans by £2.5 billion, so the overall cost would be £14 billion. The reduced cost options, developed with input from airlines which want a lower overall cost, will be consulted on in January 2018. Savings would be by three things: (1). Repositioning new buildings over existing public transport and baggage infrastructure. This includes building additional capacity at both Terminals 2 and 5 rather than a dedicated terminal or satellite building between today’s northern runway and the new northwest runway. (2). Technological advancements which reduce the amount of terminal space required to process passengers "without compromising" the passenger experience. (3). More efficient phasing of capacity construction – incrementally increasing terminal capacity in blocks to better match growing demand. That means more planes would have to cross the northern runway, to get to the new runway. Heathrow will be launching a 10-week public planning consultation which will run from 17th January to 28th March 2018. The consultation will be in 2 parts - the first on infrastructure design options, and the second on the future design principles for airspace around Heathrow.
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Heathrow seeks Chair for new “independent Community Engagement Board” – applications till 14th January
Heathrow and the Heathrow Airport Consultative Committee (HACC), have launched a campaign to recruit a high-profile Chair to head a new "independent Community Engagement Board (CEB)." Heathrow says the "CEB will take on the role of the current consultative committee and was a recommendation by the Airports Commission, drawing on best practice from European hub airports. ... The influential Chair will lead the CEB which will play an important role in building trust between the airport and its communities making sure that Heathrow delivers its commitments today and in the future. It will also play a crucial role during the planning process for the proposed expansion of Heathrow to check that communities are meaningfully engaged in Heathrow’s public consultations over the coming months and years." The CEB is not only for local communities - it is to "play a key role in ensuring airport stakeholders, local authorities, communities, passengers and interest groups." Applications for the role are through Gatenby Sanderson, with the deadline for applications the 14th January 2018. "The Chair will be appointed by a panel representative of the existing HACC, government, Heathrow and a nominated community representative" ... The job of Chair will be two days per week, working for and paid by Heathrow, salary to be agreed. The Chair will lead the "CEB through its formative stages, setting strategic direction and overseeing the delivery of a work programme as well as creating a diverse board."
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Guidance from the No 3rd Runway Coalition on how to respond to the DfT 2nd NPS consultation. Ends Tues 19th Dec.
The DfT is consulting on its revised draft Airports National Policy Statement (NPS). This second consultation comes after an earlier one in February. The deadline for the revised draft NPS consultation is Tuesday 19th December. The No 3rd Runway Coalition (NoR3Coalition) has put together some simple guidance for people trying to respond. There are dozens of documents in the consultation, most hard to locate, making responses very hard indeed for non-expert laypeople. The consultation only in fact asks one question: "Do you have any comments on the revised draft Airports NPS or any of the documents set out in the table on pages 7 and 8?" In reality, there is a great deal more that people should respond to. The NoR3Coalition has set out some key points on the issues of air quality, noise, economics, surface access, regional connectivity, health and climate change. People are encouraged to submit a response, in their own words. This need not be long or complicated, but just express key concerns. Responses can be by the online form at https://runwayconsultation.dialoguebydesign.com/ or by email to RunwayConsultation@dft.gsi.gov.uk
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Mediators on the proposed new airport at Notre-Dame-des-Landes submit report to government – a decision in January perhaps?
On 13th December the French government got the report from the three mediators, who are looking into the proposed project to build an airport in Notre-Dame-des-Landes (NDDL), north of Nantes. President Emmanuel Macron had announced that he would take a decision in January on this complex issue. The mediators had heard evidence both for and against the construction of a new airport on a site currently occupied by the project's opponents or the extension of the runways at the existing Nantes-Atlantiques airport. The mediators point out that both have disadvantages and there is no "perfect solution". Building a new airport would mean more urban sprawl and damage and destruction of an environmentally sensitive site, as the protesters and farmers who have occupied the site since 2009 have continued to point out. The main argument in favour of the new NDDL airport is increased noise for those under flight paths of the existing airport. The new airport would probably cost the French taxpayer up to €920 million, and extending runways at the existing airport might cost €545 million. At the NDDL site there are 650 hectares of farms, whose owners refuse to give up their land. In addition, the place is a wetland, home to a large number of protected species. Some of the facts and arguments are set out in these articles.