General News
Below are links to stories of general interest in relation to aviation and airports.
Transport & Environment: Airbus ruling on EU subsidies shows it’s high time to stop the aviation subsidies binge
The WTO has ruled against the EU, on its $10 billion per year subsidies to Airbus. Back in June 2011, the WTO found that the EU and 4 of its member countries provided billions of dollars in subsidised financing to Airbus. And it has not stopped doing so since. There could be another similar ruling if rival plane maker Boeing is found to also have received public subsidies, which it has. Transport & Environment says this adds another $20 billion or more to the already very long list of subsidies granted to the aviation sector. These subsidies include around €20 billion per year in Europe alone due to the sector's exemption from tax on aviation fuel - and up to $60 billion worldwide. Also airlines receive an effective subsidy worth another €7 billion in Europe because ticket prices are artificially suppressed by about 20% due to the VAT exemption on ticket sales. In addition airlines are bailed out on a regular basis, especially since the 2009 crisis. Already lenient state aid rules for airports have been regularly flouted - which is worth another estimated €3 billion per year, in Europe alone. Aviation in Europe also gets a €3 billion subsidy (one off) under the SESAR ‘joint undertaking’, to deliver the Single European Sky. T&E says one reason the aviation sector's CO2 emissions are out of control is that flying is artificially cheap because of such subsidies. The subsidies above fall outside of WTO rules and will only be removed with action by governments.
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Heathrow Hub says, to match Heathrow’s offer, it would cut price of its runway scheme by £2 billion
The backers of the Heathrow Hub scheme, to lengthen Heathrow's northern runway towards the west, have now said they could cut the price of their scheme by £2 million. This offer comes just days after Heathrow's Chairman, Lord Deighton, said their north west runway scheme could be cut by up to £3 billion. The Heathrow north-west runway scheme is expected to cost £17.5 billion (or £14.5 billion with the cheaper scheme) - and the Heathrow Hub scheme is expected to cost £12 billion according to their website (or £10 billion with the cheaper scheme). But Heathrow Hub are now telling the press that their scheme could cost £7.5 million. Their Factsheet of November 2014 said the cost of the runway itself would be £9.2 billion, with £2.8 billion for surface access improvements. In November 2013 they anticipated the cost of diverting the M25 for the runway would be £0.7 billion. Heathrow Hub also proudly say there would be no cost to the public. In reality, Transport for London said (February 2015) of a larger Heathrow, not differentiating between the two schemes: "Our assessment estimated that in order for a fully developed Heathrow (149 mppa) to achieve all of the above surface access objectives in the long term (2040-50), costs would be around £15-20 billion*. The Heathrow Hub scheme is privately funded, and hopes to license its scheme to Heathrow airport for up to £5m a year for 20 years, if successful.
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John Redwood, MP for Wokingham, says Theresa May should drop Heathrow plan
John Redwood, the Conservative MP for Wokingham about 25 km west of Heathrow and under some of its flight paths, has said that the government should drop the three very huge projects they inherited from Gordon Brown and David Cameron. ie. Hinkley, HS2 and Heathrow. Each is expensive, highly contentious, and has been much delayed by indecision, argument and opposition. John Redwood was Shadow Secretary of State for Deregulation, from May 2005 to December 2005, and Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, from June 1999 to February 2000. He believes all 3Hs should be scrapped, and there are many other good local projects that should be paid for instead. "I’m all for spending on better trains, power stations and airports, but I don’t want to throw too much money at projects that are so mired in rows and costs." On Heathrow noise he says: "Unfortunately Heathrow has recently with NATS changed the routes and noise corridors, annoying many more residential areas near it. There was no proper consultation. When you want to expand you need to do better at showing you are a good and considerate neighbour." ..."More capacity can be provided through Northolt, Gatwick and other London area airports. Smaller quicker schemes could alleviate the pressures."
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BA to charge for food on short haul flights, to better compete with low cost airline rivals
British Airways is expected to become the first mid-market airline to charge for meals after striking a deal with M&S, to charge passengers for sandwiches onboard short-haul flights. This could be announced soon. BA had earlier said that providing free food and drink on board all its flights was an essential part of its product. However, BA is struggling to make its short-haul routes profitable following the rise of its budget rivals such as Ryanair and easyJet, which have always charged for meals. By charging for sandwiches, BA can offer lower headline fares than its rivals but experts have warned that loyal customers will perceive the change as the airline going downmarket in a bid to chase profits. Some BA staff are reportedly skeptical about the move which they fear would increase their workload, having to handle multiple choices and payments. One said: "On a busy Amsterdam we hardly have time to serve everyone, let alone take money.” BA's long haul, business and first class passengers will continue to get "free" meals. The BA website says for European flights "On all Euro Traveller flights we offer you a snack and a bar service, and on some longer flights you’ll be offered more substantial refreshments. Wherever you’re flying to in Euro Traveller, enjoy a soft drink or your choice from the bar with your food."
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Treasury Select Committee Chairman writes to Chris Grayling and Philip Hammond to question economic benefits of runway
Andrew Tyrie, Chairman of the Treasury Committee, wrote to Chris Grayling, Secretary of State for Transport, on 14th September, questioning the economic case for HS2 and airport expansion. Andrew Tyrie says in his letter: "The economic case to support the conclusions of the Davies report lacks crucial information." On 27th November 2015, he tabled 15 parliamentary questions on details of the economic justification [all copied below]. These have yet to be answered 10 months later (they just had a standard holding reply from Robert Goodwill). Andrew Tyrie says: "For the fifth time I am attaching these questions. Failure to answer them will lead people either to conclude that this work has not been done - in which case it would be unacceptable for a decision to be made without the evidence to support it - or that it has been done, and gives answers that do not necessarily support the conclusions of the Davies report. I do not suggest that either of these are the case. The best way to answer these concerns is to public the information immediately. As we discussed, I have written in similar terms to the Chancellor." "Without this information, the evidence in support of any decision that the Government takes on airport capacity will be incomplete." His Parliamentary Questions focus, in particular, on Table 7.1 in the Airport Commission's Final Report, of July 2015. (Table copied below). Mr Tyrie spoke to Chris Grayling on 15 August 2016.
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Theresa May’s local council, Windsor & Maidenhead, vows court fight if she backs Heathrow runway
The Tory leader of Theresa May’s own local council, Windsor and Maidenhead, has vowed to use “all necessary financial resources” for a High Court battle to block a third runway at Heathrow. Councillor Simon Dudley, Leader of the council, pledged the legal action to protect residents “irrespective of who the Prime Minister is”. He has joined forces with Wandsworth, Richmond upon Thames and Hillingdon councils for the looming court battle if the Government backs Heathrow expansion. “We have very significant financial resources,” he said. “We will put all the necessary financial resources behind a vigorous legal action.” The Council's lawyers, Harrison Grant, wrote to David Cameron this year warning him that his “no ifs, no buts” promise before the 2010 general election to oppose a third runway had created a “legitimate expectation” among residents that the project would not go ahead. So if it were given the green light, they argued, it would be an “abuse of power correctable by the courts”. Mr Dudley said Windsor and Maidenhead had allocated £30,000 for the legal battle and signalled that this could rise to hundreds of thousands. The council’s concerns include more pollution, noise and traffic as well as extra housing needs created by a larger Heathrow. A recent poll in the areas suggested around 38% opposed the runway, with 34% in favour of it.
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All Party Parliamentary group on Heathrow publish report setting out 16 main risks of the runway plan
The All Party Parliamentary Group on Heathrow and the Wider Economy (APPG) has published a detailed analysis that sets out in stark terms the key risks facing Heathrow expansion. The report looks at politics, economics, costs environment and security. The APPG believes that problems with all these issues would ultimately ensure the project never happens even if Government gives it the green light this autumn. The paper has been sent to the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Transport, Chris Grayling. The Chair of the APPG, Dr Tania Mathias, said: “The proposal to expand Heathrow is as undeliverable now as it always has been, and it’s time we stopped wasting time trying to make it work." ...."Ultimately, this is about deliverability. Heathrow’s costly proposal will get bogged down in legal disputes over air quality and noise and arguments over who has to pay for it." The report enumerates 16 serious risks that could stop or delay Heathrow expansion including legal challenges over breaches to EU and UK laws on air quality and excessive noise; complex land acquisition issues with doubts over who will pay for moving an energy waste centre, the Harmondsworth Detention Centre and a BT data network; planning consent challenges which would damage the government’s reputation for competence; serious construction challenges and risk of delay and cost overruns - and much more.
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Boris Johnson says Heathrow’s 3rd runway should be ‘consigned to the dustbin’
In his first comments on the issue of Heathrow since becoming Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson has said the 3rd runway is a “fantasy” and should be “consigned to the dustbin.” Commenting on a report by the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Heathrow, chaired by Tania Mathias, sets out 16 serious risks that could stop or delay Heathrow expansion, Boris Johnson said: “The study exposes in glaring detail the weaknesses and omissions in the Howard Davies Airports Commission report. As I’ve advocated for many years Heathrow expansion is the wrong choice, and if it is chosen it simply won’t get built.”... “The massive costs and enormous risks mean it’s undeliverable, and the taxpayer will be saddled with the bill for failure. While we are finding this out our international competitors will be further extending their competitive advantage over us. We need to consign this Heathrow fantasy to the dustbin. We need a better solution.” Justine Greening, the Education Secretary, and Boris are expected to campaign robustly against it. Neither Boris nor Zac believes Heathrow's plans will never actually get built. Zac said: “In the 21st century no developed economy is looking to fly more planes directly over its capital city. If Heathrow expansion is given the green light, it will never take off."
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West Midlands business & political leaders write to Theresa May urging support for regional airport expansion
Business and political leaders from across West Midlands have signed a letter to Theresa May, well before the government is due to make an announcement on building a new south east runway (or expanding airport capacity in some other way). West Midlands business and political leaders want the government to support the growth of a competitive network of airports in the UK, rather than expanding still more in the South East. They want local airports that "can act as drivers for local growth in their regions." They say: "Allowing a third runway at Heathrow would re-forge its monopoly, undermining the benefits brought by the break-up of the BAA, and restrict the growth of direct flights to and from our great regional cities." Among the signatories of the letter are the chief executives of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, Marketing Birmingham and Birmingham Airport as well as MPs and educational leaders. Earlier this week, it emerged the Prime Minister was considering the possibility of expanding Birmingham Airport as a way of increasing UK airport capacity. Birmingham people hope they will benefit from HS2, in 10 years' time, when the fast rail link would increase their catchment area and speed the link to London. The Midlands plan to boost their economy and need government to make decisions that rebalance the UK economy.
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Tania Mathias MP calls for Grayling to step in over proposed £3 billion cuts to Heathrow plan – re-consultation necessary?
Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has been asked by Dr Tania Mathias MP to intervene on Heathrow’s £3 billion cost-cutting proposals it announced last week. In order to cut costs, and perhaps get a runway built faster, Heathrow's Chairman Lord Deighton suggested that changes to plans would be made - though nothing has been put forward yet, but they might be in the next weeks. The cuts would mean scrapping plans to (expensively) tunnel the 14 lane M25 under the runway, and a transit rail system around the airport. Conservative MP Tania Mathias, whose Twickenham constituency is under Heathrow flight paths, said the new plan had caused local people “considerable anxiety." She has written to the Secretary of State for Transport, asking him to demand the plan goes back out to public consultation and scrutiny by the Airports Commission (though that has been disbanded). Dr Mathias also wants Chris Grayling to make public any official talks on the late changes, between the airport and government departments. Richmond Park MP Zac Goldsmith also wrote to Lord Deighton that the revised plan would cause Londoners “more environmental misery”. The changes to the roads are not clear, and cutting cost could lead to gridlock on the busiest stretch of the M25. The DfT just said the Government "will continue to consider the commission’s evidence."