General News
Below are links to stories of general interest in relation to aviation and airports.
Labour Party plans “Infrastructure Commission” if it gets into power, to get things like runways agreed quickly
Ed Balls, the Shadow Chancellor for the Labour Party, has announced - if it gets into government - that legislation to set up an independent National Infrastructure Commission will be in Labour’s first Queen’s Speech after the election. He wants to stop long-term decisions, like building a runway, being "kicked into the long grass" with no action taken. A draft Bill has already been published by Labour, to ensure the plans could be fast-tracked through Parliament during the second half of 2015. There is also a consultation on a draft remit for the new Commission which sets out 10 National Infrastructure Goals for Britain. One of these goals is for the UK to be "The most connected and open trading nation in the world." Another goal is for "A transport network which spreads growth and prosperity to every part of the country." And it says the National Infrastructure Commission should consider (note, only consider) "environmental and climate change considerations." Ed Balls says of the Commission it will "ensure government comes up with credible plans" to meet the goals "and hold Ministers’ feet to the fire to deliver those plans." The review has been done by Sir John Armitt, who is on the Airports Commission. It is thought that the Infrastructure Commission would be instrumental in getting a new runway built.
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Advertising Standards Authority finds Heathrow advert about increased trade breaches their code and is ‘misleading’
In October 2014 about 13 people send in official complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority, on claims being made by Heathrow in its adverts. The ASA looked at 7 different complaints, and considered that 6 passed their standards. However, on the claim by Heathrow in its ads headed:"Expand Heathrow and its's the economy that takes off" the statement "Direct flights to long-haul destinations build twenty times more trade with them than indirect flights" was found to breach the ASA code. The ASA say the claim was not adequately substantiated and that the ad therefore breached the Code, both by being misleading and by not having proper substantiation. The ASA say the advert "must not appear again in its current form." They have told Heathrow "to ensure that they held robust substantiation for absolute claims made in their future advertising." The ASA ruling also says the claim was presented as objective facts rather than an educated assumption and that Heathrow's own report "One Hub or None"itself cautioned that direct flights would not automatically lead to more trade and that multiple factors could influence the amount of bilateral trade.
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Gaping holes in Airports Commission’s analysis of airport expansion conceal potential environmental disaster
The Aviation Environment Federation, in their response to the Airports Commission consultation, says there are gaping holes in the Airports Commission's analysis of airport expansion. These conceal a potential environmental disaster. AEF says the Commission ran out of time to complete key pieces of research on greenhouse gas emissions and on air quality. AEF is calling on political parties not to accept the Commission's recommendations until all relevant evidence has been gathered and made available for public scrutiny. The gaps in the Commission's analysis include not completing local air quality modelling in time for the consultation, despite the Commission's assessment objective being "to improve air quality in line with EU air quality laws". Also not following the Committee on Climate Change's recommendation that the economic impact assessment of expansion must include the costs associated with meeting UK aviation emissions targets (which a nrw runway would probably breach); and not providing any analysis of how noise impacts would vary if different assumptions were made about the location of flight paths.
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CAA says: “Facing up to aviation’s environmental challenges is the key to building new runway”
In its response to the Airports Commission consultation, the CAA says the aviation industry and decision-makers need to be much more ambitious in confronting aviation’s environmental challenges – including improving compensation for communities - or else face the prospect that additional runway capacity may never be built. The CAA says local communities must not be expected to simply suffer the consequences of airport expansion. It says those delivering "the" new runway must do more to ensure communities can be confident that disturbance is minimised, and are "fully engaged in the expansion process." The CAA says without improved action to tackle aviation’s environmental impacts and more support for the communities that are affected, it is unlikely that any of the shortlisted schemes will ever come to fruition "leading to passengers facing higher charges, lower service standards and fewer routes to choose from, greatly limiting consumer choice and opportunity." Andy Haines, the CAA Chief Executive, said unless these issues are "comprehensively tackled” there may not be a runway.
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MPs deliver letter to David Cameron to remind him to keep his “no ifs, no buts, there will be no 3rd runway” promise
On Tuesday 3rd February MPs and campaigners against Heathrow expansion staged a protest at Downing Street reminding the Prime Minister of his statement before the 2010 election, when he said “no ifs; no buts; there will be no third runway.” Conservative MPs Zac Goldsmith (Richmond Park & North Kingston) and Angie Bray MP (Ealing Central and Acton) will join the protest, with Kate Hoey MP (Vauxhall); Caroline Lucas MP (Green MP for Brighton Pavilion); Mary Macleod MP (Brentford and Isleworth); John McDonnell MP (Hayes and Harlington); John Randall MP (Uxbridge and South Ruislip); Andy Slaughter MP (Hammersmith); Adam Afriye (Windsor) and Baroness Jenny Tonge. John Stewart, chairman of HACAN, said: “We are deliberately targeting Downing Street because the decision about a new runway will be a political one. The politicians can override whatever recommendations the Airports Commission will come up with in the summer. This event once again demonstrates the cross-party nature of the opposition to a 3rd runway. It also shows the geographical spread of the current problems caused by Heathrow which can only get worse if a new runway is built. Representatives of groups from as far apart as Brockley and Teddington will be going into Downing Street.”
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Some of the many responses that have been sent in to the Airports Commission consultation
The Airports Commission consultation on its 3 short-listed runway options closed on 3rd February 2015. Responses have been sent in from a huge number of organisations, not to mention thousands of individuals. Heathrow and Gatwick have felt it necessary to blitz the south east (and further afield) with advertising, to get people to tell the Commission they want their runway. What the Commission actually wanted in responses - other than the airports' mass mailings - was considered comments on the 58 or so documents put out by the Commission, and comments on how they have carried out their appraisals, including things they have left out. They also ask how the runway schemes could be improved, or their negative impacts mitigated. The Commission will publish "all substantive, technical responses it has received" at the same time as it makes it recommendation on the runway some time in summer 2015. On this page, AirportWatch intends to put links to as many responses as possible - those which have been made public.
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Qatar Airways buys 10% stake in British Airways owner IAG
State owned Qatar Airways has bought a 9.99% stake in British Airways’ owner International Airlines Group, as part of its plan to become an ever larger part of global air travel. 'The fast-growing and well-financed Gulf airlines are a threat to US and European airlines. The Emirate now has a major role as a UK investor; it announced this week a deal to buy Canary Wharf. Qatar is also the largest shareholder in Barclays Bank and J Sainsbury, and the 2nd-largest investor in the London Stock Exchange. Doha-based Qatar Airways and IAG — which also owns Iberia — are now expected to forge closer working arrangements. BA and Qatar Airways already have a code-share agreement that enables their respective passengers to fly on some of the other airline’s flights, and these arrangements could be expanded. Qatar Airways (CEO is Akbar Al Baker - who says people in the UK should not be so touchy about aircraft noise ...) said it may increase its shareholding in IAG in future, although non-EU airlines are banned from owning majority stakes in EU carriers. The price of the recent Qatar purchase in IAG was not published, but is thought to be around £1.15bn. The Qatar Investment Authority has a 20% stake in Heathrow (HAL) creating possible conflicts of interest on landing charges.
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Gatwick’s biggest airline, easyJet, backs new runway at Heathrow – not at Gatwick – in response to Airports Commission
In its submission to the Airports Commission consultation (closes 3rd February) easyJet, which is the major airline using Gatwick, has backed a new runway at Heathrow - rather than at Gatwick. EasyJet says a Heathrow runway would be in the best interests of passengers, as fares would be lower. Landing charges would have to rise substantially for a Gatwick runway, which does not suit easyJet or its low cost passengers. It makes on average £8 profit per passenger. Gatwick tetchily responded that easyJet's response was just based on its own "narrow commercial interests" and that easyJet feared the extra competition a 2nd Gatwick runway would bring. (One might have thought they could dream up a slightly better retort). easyJet said: “Heathrow is in the best interests of passengers as it has the greatest demand. It is clear that long-haul airlines want to expand at Heathrow and if they can’t, they will do so not at Gatwick but at other airports such as Paris, Amsterdam and Frankfurt.” Easyjet also said: "We will respect the judgement of the Commission on [environmental] issues and our support for a runway at Heathrow is conditional on it meeting the relevant environmental conditions." EasyJet said it wanted to launch operations from Heathrow — although it would continue to use Gatwick - and a 3rd Heathrow runway would enable easyJet to base 30 aircraft there.
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KPMG analysis of global runway building, hoping to show UK being left behind, leaves out a runway…..
As a last minute bit of hype, to mark the close of the Airports Commission consultation, the pro-runway lobby "Let Britain Fly" commissioned a study by KPMG to look at plans in a range of countries to build runways. They produced an super-dooper graphic to persuade us all we are LOSING THE GLOBAL RACE (a term Heathrow especially likes to pepper its utterances with). Let Britain Fly is keen, as is Heathrow, to lead us to believe that the UK is to be "left behind" and that - using some highly distorted logic - unless the UK has a new runway (or two) all the UK's history, economic power etc will be cast aside, and we will become a backwater ..... Unfortunately the KPMG graphic is wrong in showing London having 6 runways. It actually has 7, including Southend (which has been celebrated by the industry as a London airport, and is officially recognised as such by the CAA). With 7 runways, the case being made by KPMG and "Let Britain Fly" falls apart. It shows London continuing to have more runways - even by 2036 - than any other city they compare, other than Beijing. Unfortunate that the KPMG analysis felt the need to distort the facts, in order to make its case - and in doing so, showed their assessment to be incorrect.
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Detailed critique by Hillingdon Council of the Airports Commission’s failure to cover health issues adequately
In its response to the Airports Commission consultation, Hillingdon Borough Council has been highly critical of the Commission's failure to deal properly with health impacts of a new runway. They say a specific Health Impact Assessment (HIA) would have been the best way of addressing weaknesses on health matters. There is no proper baseline for the health and wellbeing status of local communities. They say it is inequitable that existing airport-related impacts are not considered as a key part of the overall assessment of the three schemes. "There seems to be an implicit weighting for economic development and against health evidence." Hillingdon say "it is unclear how local stakeholder feedback would be incorporated" on health issues. And "The Department of Health and Public Health England do not seem to have been consulted" during the Commission's work. "Aggregating positive and negative impacts is flawed and inequitable. The negative impact of noise cannot be ‘bundled’ together with the positive impact of employment, because most often the negative and positive impacts are experienced by different groups of people." "Impacts on children are not considered as part of this assessment either qualitatively or quantitatively. This is a significant omission." And so on. A long catalogue of failures and omissions.