General News
Below are links to stories of general interest in relation to aviation and airports.
Residents in Heathrow villages say airport failing to tackle nightmare of parking by private hire vehicles
People in the Heathrow villages have the continuing anxiety of having to move out of their homes, if the government decides to approve a Heathrow runway. Now, in addition to the many trials and tribulations they face, from their airport neighbour, there is an increasing problem of parking by Uber drivers, waiting to get lucrative trips from Heathrow. Stop Heathrow Expansion (SHE) report that for years they have had to endure the anti-social behaviour of private hire vehicles in their streets. SHE have found bottles of urine, excrement and litter left by the legions of private hire drivers who park in every available space. This nightmare takes place in Harlington, Colnbrook, Stanwell Moor and many other locations that enable these drivers to have speedy access to Heathrow. Clearly none of these drivers live close to Heathrow otherwise they could park in their own streets, so the taxi work is not going to local people. SHE says complaints have been made to Heathrow and TfL for years but residents have just been fobbed off with excuses. No action has been taken and residents have seen no improvement. Residents have experienced intimidation and threats from drivers if they photograph them and their cars. The number of Uber drivers licensed grows by several hundred every week. Better control seems to be needed.
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Defra and DfT set up JAQU (Joint Air Quality Unit) to deliver national plans to cut NO2 levels
A new joint unit between Defra and the DfT has been established, to deliver national plans to improve air quality and meet EU limits. The new body, the Joint Air Quality Unit (JAQU) has been set up to do this and will be hosted at Defra. It will be led by Defra’s deputy director of flood risk management, Susanna May. The JAQU will report to Defra air quality minister, Rory Stewart, and Under-Secretary of State for Transport, Andrew Jones. It will focus on delivering the UK’s national air quality plans to reduce levels of NO2. These plans were publicly consulted on by Defra last year and include proposals to establish Clean Air Zones in five UK cities by 2020. The Unit will develop more detailed proposals for the Clean Air Zone framework and legislation to mandate zones in certain cities, with a view to consulting on these later this year. A number of Defra and DfT staff who worked to develop these plans have transferred into the new Unit. Day-to-day responsibility for air quality matters will remain with Defra. Work on aviation matters will still be taken forward by the DfT. The new unit is timely, as ClientEarth have been given permission to take further legal action against the government on its slow progress to improve UK air pollution.
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Ryanair may try out transfer flights at Stansted, and even eventually feeders for long-haul airlines
Ryanair will trial offering some flight transfers this summer, as it moves another step closer to mainstream airline practices. For years, Ryanair has been a strictly point-to-point airline, even actively warning prospective passengers against trying to make connections between two of its flights at major hubs, such as Stansted. It was bothered by luggage problems or delays, costing the airline money. But it will soon be testing a transfer service at Stansted and Barcelona’s El Prat airports. The trial “will allow customers to connect onto Ryanair flights without having to go back through security." Ryanair said that if the trial is successful, it would “consider rolling it out elsewhere across its network.” Ryanair is also tentatively looking at plans to supply short-haul feeder passengers to other long-haul carriers. In September, it said it might consider providing connecting flights for long-haul airlines including Lufthansa and Air France-KLM within the next 5 - 10 years. This could boost Ryanair by expanding its network and growing (even more) passenger numbers. It may be that the flag carrier airlines will want low-cost airlines to feed in passengers from secondary bases across Europe.
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Debate in Westminster Hall on the effect of aircraft noise on local communities
Tom Tugendhat, the Conservative MP for Tonbridge & Malling, obtained a Westminster Hall debate on 20th April, on the effect of aircraft noise on local communities. Many MPs spoke, representing the interests and concerns of their constituents at a variety of airports. The Aviation Minister spoke at the end of the debate, though did not manage to answer some of the questions asked. Below are some extracts of the debate - there is also a full transcript. Some of the issues raised were: that the CAA should take account of noise impact many miles out from airports, not only close to them; the serious breakdown in trust of the industry by members of the public due to dishonesty and dissembling; the health problems caused by plane noise; the impact where there is only low ambient noise; changes that will be inevitable if the UK meets its aim of being part of the Single European Sky by 2030; how to find a balance between dispersing routes between a number of corridors or concentrating on a number of routes; fair compensation for those negatively affected; and when the DfT will put out its consultation on future airspace. Tom Tugendhat concluded: If I am honest, I am little disappointed that we have not yet had a better answer on what the words “significantly affected” mean, and that we have not had .... a promise that the CAA and NATS will take into account the communities on the ground."
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Advertising Standards Authority rules against misleading “Back Heathrow” ad claiming 60% support for runway
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned an advert from "Back Heathrow" claiming that most local people back Heathrow expansion. "Back Heathrow" is a lobby group, funded through Heathrow with the aim of pushing for the 3rd runway. Back Heathrow ran a regional press ad headlined “Rallying for the runway” with the line “Don’t believe the hype. Most people living in communities near Heathrow Airport support its expansion.” They claimed from polls there was 60% support. The ASA says the claim was misleading, and the 60% figure had only been massaged up from 50% to that level by omitting the 15% who did not express an opinion. The ASA considered most consumers were likely to understand it to mean that a clear majority of those surveyed in the poll (the original sample) were in support of expansion. They ruled that removing the 15% was "not a suitable methodology by which to draw such a conclusion, and was misleading. The ad must not appear again in its current form, and "Back Heathrow" must not repeat these claims " unless it held robust substantiation for them." This is a blow to "Back Heathrow," the strategy of which has been to try to convince decision-makers that a majority of local people back a 3rd runway. That claim looks flimsy.
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Research paper done for GACC shows the techniques Gatwick uses to pay no UK corporation tax
It has been well known for several years that Gatwick airport uses a range of (legal) techniques and schemes to minimise its tax payments in the UK. Now a research paper - one of a series that local campaign GACC (the Gatwick Area Conservation Campaign) is producing - sets out much of the detail of how Gatwick does it. The paper shows how Gatwick earns revenues of over £630 million per year, and yet pays no corporation tax. While public attention - and anger - have concentrated on Google and Starbucks, Gatwick is playing the same game. It pays no tax by complicated arrangements that include a combination of tax allowances for capital investment and deductibility of interest on debt, aided by a tangled web of inter-related company ownership in tax havens such as Luxembourg, Guernsey and the Cayman Islands. This complexity is not available to small companies. GACC says its new study is not easy reading for the layman but will be of considerable interest to investors who may be asked to fund a new runway, and to the DfT, which is at present trying to work on the new SE runway issue. Currently EU Finance Ministers will meet in Amsterdam on Friday 22 April to toughen company tax rules. That could cast doubt on the financial viability of a 2nd runway if some of the tax deals are tightened by by the EU and the G20.
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MP calls for drones to be registered, especially those that can reach several thousand feet
David Burrowes, the MP for Enfield Southgate, has called for high-powered drone owners to be forced to sign a register after British Airways flight BA727 from Geneva was struck by a device as it came in to land at Heathrow on 17th, probably in the Richmond area. Mr Burrowes, who sits on the Home Affairs Select Committee, said the gadgets can no longer be treated as an “innocent leisure pursuit” because of the security risks and potential for mass casualties. He also suggested looking at introducing licences for some of the more sophisticated models in order to aid police and investigators. There have been numerous incidents of near misses in the past year or so, with Heathrow having the UK's largest number. Tens of thousands of drones, which can cost between £25 and £20,000 with the high-end ones being able to reach 6,000 feet, have been bought across Britain in the last few years and can be used without a licence or having to register with the CAA. Mr Burrowes said "at the very least there should be a register for the owner of drones." Owners of those that are capable of rising to several thousand feet should be "willing to accept a basic registration system." Currently the police do not have records of drone ownership. The CAA has a code for the use of drones.
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Luton plans light rail link to speed transport, making it a stronger competitor against Gatwick
Luton plans to replace its much-maligned bus transfer service, from the station to the airport, and instead build a light rail link, costing £200 million. The 1.3 mile rail link could cut the journey time from London St Pancras to the Luton airport terminal to less than 30 minutes, which is faster than the time to Gatwick. It would connect to the terminal from within the Luton Airport Parkway railway station, one level above the platforms. A normal rail link has not been possible due to the steepness of the climb uphill to the terminal. The automated light rail service will be funded by Luton Borough Council, which owns the airport freehold and owns the necessary land. The role of the council will be controversial and the scheme will need to be scrutinised for conflict of interest. The airport is spending a further £110 million on redeveloping its terminals and layout to expand capacity from 9 million to 18 million passengers per year by 2020. EasyJet, the biggest airline using Luton, said the redevelopment was a key factor in its pledge to double the size of its operations there over the next decade. A planning application would be made in autumn for work to begin in 2017. The DfT is also working to enable travel between London and Luton by Oyster card or contactless payment by 2018.
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John Stewart wins Sheila McKechnie Long-Term Achievement Award as a campaigner
"1% inspiration and 99% perspiration - the secret to great campaigning" - according to John Stewart, who has been awarded the Long-Term Achievement Award by the Sheila McKechnie Foundation. John has been an environmental campaigner for over 30 years. In the 1980s and the 1990s he was centrally involved n the campaign against road building. He chaired and organised an umbrella group of campaigners across the UK, fighting a huge expansion plan for motorways and trunk roads. Then in the 1990s John became involved in campaigning against the aviation industry. He became Chair of HACAN in 2000, and after 2003 chaired a diverse coalition of campaigners which successfully defeated plans for a 3rd Heathrow runway in 2010. John chaired the AirportWatch network until 2014. He has also been Chair of the Campaign for Better Transport, and the UK Noise Association, as well as being on the steering group of the Campaign Against Climate Change. He has written a number of publications, including "Why Noise Matters", in 2011. In 2008 John was voted Britain's most effective environmental campaigner, by the Independent on Sunday. He is leading campaigns against the current Heathrow 3rd runway threat, and against unacceptable levels of aircraft noise.
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London City Airport gets new PR manager – fresh from 10 months as press officer at the DfT
London City Airport has strengthened its comms team with the appointment of the Department for Transport’s Andrew Scott as PR Manager, "as the airport develops plans for expansion and prepares to mark its 30th anniversary in 2017." Andrew Scott joins City Airport’s four-strong comms team and will be responsible for campaigns "which promote the airport’s time saving and convenience proposition to customers." His role will also include oversight of the UK and 6 key European markets, which are supported by PR agency Grayling. Scott was a press officer at the DfT for 9 -10 months since July 2015, before that a media officer at the Museum of London, and before that at WPP (a huge advertising and PR company). Barclaycard’s Kimberley Hayden has also joined City Airport’s comms team as internal comms executive, and will be "responsible for employee engagement, including production of Airport Life magazine, 500 free copies of which are circulated internally each month." The head of comms has been Charlotte Beeching, since December 2014. The airport now has new owners - Canadian pension funds - and is hoping to be allowed expansion "which would enable up to 6.5 million passengers by 2025."