General News
Below are links to stories of general interest in relation to aviation and airports.
AEF comments on DfT airspace “modernisation” consultation: it provides little future noise reduction
The DfT has a consultation on managment and modernisation of UK airspace. It ends on 25th May. The Aviation Environment Federation (AEF) has now had the chance to read it in detail. AEF comments that though proposed new powers - in a very limited way - for the Secretary of State to "call in" plans for some planned flight are welcome, there is little ele to give real benefits to people overflown. On proposals for more consultation and engagement etc, the AEF says: "Improvements to the process in terms of transparency and communication won’t tackle the underlying need to reduce noise." They comment: "...the introduction of quieter aircraft and a reduction in stacking ... will only have a marginal impact given the likely increase in the number of aircraft." And the SoNA study (2014) now published shows people are more annoyed by aircraft noise than they were in the past, despite technological improvements. That means noise must be taken seriously. On the plans to set up an Independent Commission on Civil Aviation Noise (ICCAN) AEF says while this will provide advice, verify noise data etc, with "no requirement to deliver a noise reduction strategy, and without enforcement powers, or the teeth to make binding recommendations, the Commission’s effectiveness may be limited." Anyone affected by aircraft noise should read the whole AEF comment.
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CAA publishes SoNA study, showing high levels of annoyance from aircraft noise well below 57dB
On 2nd February the CAA published a report on a survey about attitudes to aircraft noise, done in 2014. It is called SoNA (Survey of Noise Attitudes). This follows the ANASE study done several years earlier, that was shelved by government, as its methodology was questioned, and it showed high levels of annoyance in response to plane noise. The SoNA study findings are that some adverse effects of plane noise annoyance can be seen to occur down to 51dB LAeq 16hr. The conventional level of averaged noise considered a problem is 57 dB LAeq, and noise is measured on a logarithmic scale. The SoNA report also found sensitivity to aircraft noise has increased, with the same percentage of people being highly annoyed at 54dB LAeq 16hr in SoNA as there was at 57dB LAeq 16hr in the ANIS study that was done in 1985. This gives further evidence to the demand that the government no longer uses the 57dB LAeq metric as its main noise measure. The debate continues about the merits of averaged noise over 16 hours in summer, with metrics measuring the number of plane noise events in a given time. The study says "there is insufficient evidence to link chronic health outcomes with event-based noise metrics, and SoNA 2014 found these performed less well than LAeq 16hr as a predictor of annoyance." But the findings may show "it may be appropriate to use N65 as supplementary measure for daytime noise..."
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Are GPS jamming incidents a growing problem for aviation?
In recent years, the number of reports filed by pilots to NASA’s aviation safety reporting system regarding incidents of GPS signal loss or disruption for private and commercial aircraft have increased. It is not yet clear how big a problem this is, or might be. Over the last decade, aircraft have been increasingly using Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) technology, as more operators use PBN (Performance Based Navigation). The problem is if the signal used by GPS satellites gets jammed either deliberately by a military exercise or maliciously by a person with ill-intent or even inadvertently by something like a lorry driver trying to scramble the signals of his employer’s GPS-based vehicle-tracking technology. There have been a number of incidents, including commercial airliners, and these involve either a total loss of signal or — more alarmingly — misreporting the aircraft’s position, for no apparent reason. Small jammers can easily be bought online. In the UK it is illegal to use one, but legal to buy one. Much of the jamming is harmless, but with a lot accidental low-level jamming, it "could interfere with GPS systems.” In the US, the FAA is very aware of the vulnerabilities of GPS, and "actions are being taken to address them proactively."
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Heathrow villages set for destruction get no consultation event from DfT
Residents, community representatives and local MP John McDonnell are outraged that the public consultation on the DfT's draft National Policy Statement on expanding Heathrow does not have a public exhibition event in any of the Heathrow Villages. The villages face the prospect of being demolished to make way for the runway. Though 20 local events are planned by the DfT, in areas not far from Heathrow and affected by it, the nearest one to the Heathrow villages is in West Drayton, not easy to reach by public transport from many of the villages. Previous public consultations on Heathrow expansion have always included exhibition events for those who would lose their homes. Local MP John McDonnell commented: “Quite frankly the Government are having a laugh by not holding a consultation event in the Heathrow villages. My constituents face losing their homes, schools, community centre and village life if this runway goes ahead." ...“I will be organising a further series of public meetings across the constituency over the coming weeks to ensure that local people and community organisations are fully informed and are able to fully participate in the Governments consultation process. I am confident that yet again we will defeat these disastrous proposals.”
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Irish Finance Minister raises prospect of reintroducing air travel tax, as industry is under-taxed
Minister for Finance Michael Noonan has said the air travel industry may be considered to be under-taxed and the ability to apply the tax should remain in order to raise revenue. He has said the some form of air travel tax should be reintroduced, as air travel pays no VAT and no fuel duty. There is currently in Ireland a report by the National Civil Aviation Development Forum, that is recommending that Air Passenger Duty (APD) is formally abolished. APD was reduced in Ireland from €3 per passenger to zero in 2014. It had been €2 for short haul trips and €10 for long haul trips until 2010, and then a flat rate €3 for all trips from 2010 to 2014. Mr Noonan strongly rejected the proposal to remove APD, insisting the levy - at just €3 has no impact on the aviation industry, or passenger demand. He said the tax was a “useful tool for raising revenue and paying for externalities associated with air tax such as emissions, noise pollution, etc”. APD was only cut due to very heavy lobbying by the aviation industry. There is now aviation development forum in Ireland, set up since the Brexit vote. It comprises senior representatives in Irish aviation, is chaired by the Department of Transport, and aims to help the aviation industry to grow.
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EU to continue with only intra-EU flights in the ETS, and all long haul excluded – at least for several years
The European Commission has published its proposal for aviation in the EU ETS, covering both the remainder of the 3rd trading period and the 4th trading period (that was left out of last year's proposal). This says that flights to and from Europe will remain excluded from ETS, this time indefinitely. But flights within Europe remain in the ETS, and from 2021 onwards they'll be subject to a declining cap (until now this cap was static). That is welcome, as it is the means by which emissions are reduced. However, this hugely diminished version of aviation inclusion in the ETS has meant, since 2013, excluding flights to and from Europe, which represent about 75% of the sector’s CO2. The Commission will review things in a few years to see how ICAO's global market based measure [offsetting] is getting on. The review might even decide to apply ETS to all flights, or it could abolish aviation ETS entirely. Commenting on the EC proposal, Bill Hemmings from Transport & Environment (T&E) said: “The Commission has chosen to again suspend the only effective measure to regulate aviation emissions, all for a voluntary deal which is years from coming into operation and which may never actually reduce the climate impact of flying. By letting aviation off the hook again, other sectors will now have to do more on cutting their climate emissions even while air travel demand soars.”
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Heathrow NPS – summary of the main (probably) insuperable obstacles the runway faces
The government hopes to get a 3rd Heathrow runway approved, but it realises there are a large number of massive obstacles. The purpose of the NPS (National Policy Statement) consultation is to attempt to persuade the country, and particularly the MPs who must ultimately vote on it, that these obstacles can be successfully overcome. At present, there are no apparent solutions to many of the problems. Below are some very brief outlines of what some of the insuperable hurdles are - and why the government is a very long way from resolving the difficulties. The issues listed here are the three main environmental issues - noise, carbon emissions, and air pollution. The economics is complicated, but there is a note on that too. When Chris Grayling makes bland PR statements about the runway, or the papers regurgitate undigested blurb from the DfT, it may be useful to remember how very thin some of these statement are, and how far the government would have to go, in order to find even partial solutions.
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Government publishes draft Airports National Policy Statement consultation, to pave the way for Heathrow runway
The government has announced the start of the DfT's consultation on the draft “Airports National Policy Statement: new runway capacity and infrastructure at airports in the South East of England”. It is the necessary first stage in the process of getting consent for a Heathrow 3rd runway. The consultation will last for 16 weeks, and end on 25th May. The text associated with the draft NPS says little new, that we had not heard before. It is rich in statements like: "..proposals show this Government is not only making the big decisions but getting on with delivering them" and "...will ensure Britain seizes the opportunity to forge a new role in the world after Brexit ...." No real practical, enforceable constraints appear to be placed upon Heathrow, other than it will have to put in place "measures to mitigate the impacts of noise including legally binding noise targets, periods of predictable respite and a ban of six and a half hours on scheduled [note, scheduled only] night flights" ... and "implementing measures to deliver on its commitments of no increase in airport related road traffic..." And that: "Planning consent will only be granted if the new runway can be delivered within existing air quality limits and climate change obligations." The only noise body offered is the "Independent Commission on Civil Aviation Noise" - ie. a Commission, with no powers, not an Authority with powers.
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Some local air pollution so bad that new homes may have to be airtight, to keep dirty air out
There is speculation that a new government white paper on housing, due to be published soon, is considering making it compulsory for new homes in areas of poor air quality to be fitted with whole-house ventilation systems. That would mean airtight doors and sealed windows to protect families from smog and pollution in the air outside. (The government refuted the claim adding that it could not disclose what was in the White Paper.) Local authorities would be required to make airtight homes a condition when granting planning permission to a development in an air quality management area. There are about 700 such zones - including near Heathrow. Local authorities already have powers to order a developer to incorporate a whole-house ventilation system in a housing development in such an area but this is not compulsory at present. Simon Birkett, of Clean Air in London, said: "...we either build houses in polluted areas and dump people in them and wait 15 or so years, or we put in measures to help. That’s the choice.” Much air pollution actually comes from within the home, from activities such as burning candles, use of aerosols and cleaning products. The impact on mental well-being of living in a sealed home, unable to open windows, is not known.
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Noise groups consider night flights consultation inadequate, as it fails to balance society costs against economic benefits
Campaigners against unacceptable levels of aircraft noise believe the current night flights consultation is unacceptable, because it prioritises the economic benefits of night flights over the costs to society of noise at night. The groups say people responding to the consultation should point out that the government’s role as regulator is to assess carefully the benefits and costs of night flights and strike an appropriate balance. Setting an objective of “maintaining the existing benefits of night flights” precludes such an assessment: the Government cannot start its options appraisal process by assuming what the answer should be, they say. The groups acknowledge that some of the Government’s proposals are helpful, such as the inclusion of currently exempt aircraft in the limits, and the potential reduction in the total amount of noise that can be generated at night. They believe the Government should implement its proposals for a two-year period only, and commit to carrying out a full assessment of the costs and benefits of night flights in that period. In the longer term the groups believe night flights should be eliminated entirely, as they may be at Heathrow, recognising the increasing evidence that they can have serious health consequences for people overflown. Some advice on how to respond to the consultation – more to follow soon.