General News
Below are links to stories of general interest in relation to aviation and airports.
Haiti peasant farmers fighting land grab for airport & “eco-tourism” on Ile a Vache
Haiti’s Prime Minister declared all of Haiti’s offshore islands to be Zones of Tourism Development and Public Utility. He has decided to get in foreign investors (Qatar, the Dominican Republic, China, the wider Caribbean, the UK and USA) to build an airport on Ile a Vache island, (a 20-square mile island off of Haiti’s southern coast) and tourist infrastructure. This would mean coastal settlements razed to build hotels and low density "eco-tourism" style accommodation with heliport, villas bungalows, pools, restaurants, and floating bars. "... it doesn’t present the challenges for land title that you might face on the mainland.” The island’s only forest has been razed, with assistance from the Venezuelan government, to build an airport with a 2.6-km runway. But the residents of the island, mostly small farmers who had cultivated food crops and fished sustainably for centuries and who occupied homes that had been in their families for many generations, were ignored. The islanders’ requests for meetings with government representatives went unanswered. They are now protesting strenuously. Farmers refuse to accept the presidential decree that appropriated as “state assets” all properties and lands in Haiti’s offshore islands and unilaterally annulled all legal property rights that had resulted from either sales, leases, or bequests from individuals retroactively for five years.
Click here to view full story...
Sustainable transport: to fly, or not to fly? “Blue & Green tomorrow” sets out some of the arguments
The website, "Blue & Green Tomorrow" asks the question about individual's air travel: "Sustainable transport: to fly, or not to fly?" The argument is between those who say air travel broadens the mind etc, and those who see the personal carbon emissions as a genuine issue of conscience. They point out that there will not be any innovations that reduce the carbon emissions of air transport significantly in the foreseeable future. They acknowledge that: "to fly is also to inflict the gravest damage upon the climate that a human being possibly can." They give examples showing how much more carbon is emitted per passenger kilomerer by aircraft than other forms of transport, and add: "it must be considered that an international flight can easily journey as far in a day as an average car will in a year." And carbon offsetting really does not reduce the emissions from flying. They conclude - with no conclusion - except that if aviation is permitted to expand as predicted, we are relying on there being unforeseen progress in alternative fuels or emission reduction - which is a big gamble. But for governments to restrict flights would require a significant shift in political will and an unprecedented international display of public opinion. Never before would a campaign have lobbied for a reduction of public freedoms on such a scale. Beyond that, the decision is an ethical one.
Click here to view full story...
APD rate for business jets to rise from x4 standard up to x6 by April 2015, while Treasury receipts from APD fall by £250 million by 2019
The changes to APD in the budget include 3 components; for the next 2 years the rates of APD for Band A (up to 2,000 miles) at £13 and Band B (2,000 to 4,000 miles from London) at £67 continue to rise at the rate of RPI; after April 2015 APD for distances further than 4,000 miles will be at the Band B rate of just £71; and private jets will after April 2015 pay APD at 6 times the rate for standard passengers, up from 4 times the rate in 2014 (and 2 times the rate in 2013). There were some 228 million UK air passengers in 2013, of whom some 120 million were to Europe, some 69 million were to longer haul destinations, and some 38 million were domestic. Of the long haul passengers, some 20 million were to Band C and D destinations (4,000 to 6,000 miles from London, and over 6,000 miles respectively). The Treasury estimates that the revenue generated by Air Passenger Duty will be some £3.0 billion in 2013-14,rising to £3.9 billion in 2018-19. Earlier estimates put the revenue as £4.3 billion in 2018-9. The removal of Bands C and D in 2015 is expected to reduce receipts by the Treasury by £0.2 billion a year on average from 2015-16. They anticipate £215 million less in 2015-6 rising to £250 million less in 2018-9. But they anticipate the losses will be this low due to growth in the number of air passengers
Click here to view full story...
EU Parliament ENVI committee narrowly votes against compromise of extending ETS “Stop the Clock” to 2016
The European Parliament's Environment Committee (ENVI) has very narrowly voted to reject a deal to exempt long-haul flights (those into and out of Europe) from paying for their carbon emissions until the end of 2016 - the so-called "stop the clock" measure. This is intended to prevent the EU from bowing to international pressure from the USA, China, India etc. Currently only intra-EU flights are included, (no long haul) so the only aviation carbon that is being paid for is from these flights. The aviation ETS is the only international climate measure in place today that tackles aviation’s soaring CO2 emissions. The compromise of an extension to 2016 would effectively have dismantled the ETS, and was not the best way forward. The vote was a clear signal to political leaders in member states, industry and foreign countries that the EU’s sovereignty is not to be undermined by external bullying, and threats of trade sanctions. The next stage is for a vote in the full Parliament on 3rd April. If the Parliament agrees to reject the compromise, then the existing law would automatically apply, requiring all flights using EU airports to pay for all their emissions.
Click here to view full story...
Chancellor cuts rate of Air Passenger Duty for long haul (over 4,000 miles) flights from 1st April 2015
In the Budget 2014 the Chancellor has announced that rates of Air Passenger Duty (APD) are to be reduced for flights of over 4000 miles from London, from April 2015. Rates of APD will rise by the rate of inflation (RPI) during 2014. After 1st April 2015, distance bands for all journeys longer than 2,000 miles will all be lumped together. While the rate of APD during 2014 (from 1st April 2014) is £13 for a return trip below 2,000 miles (anywhere in Europe), and the rate for journeys of 2,000 to 4,000 miles in length is £69 - the rates from April 2015 will be £13 for the short flights, and £71 for all other distances. The rates of APD in 2015 for premium classes will be £26 and £142. Commenting on this retrograde move by the Chancellor, the Aviation Environment Foundation said it is a backward step environmentally and economically. Aviation is already massively under-taxed compared with the £10 billion that would be raised per annum if aviation wasn’t exempted from fuel taxes and VAT. APD was a means of redressing this problem but any cut means that taxes will have to be raised elsewhere to balance government spending. Long-haul flights contribute more greenhouse gases in absolute terms than shorter flights. It is therefore right that the duty is proportional to the distance flown and the associated emissions. Eliminating bands C and D breaks the link between environmental impacts and tax and breaches the principle of fairness.
Click here to view full story...
Gatwick airport to consult for 6 weeks on 3 “options” for its 2nd runway
Gatwick airport is starting a public consultation, on 4th April (lasting 6 weeks - ending 16th May) on its runway submission to the Airports Commission. The consultation has 3 options (not the same 3 as the 3 options in the July submission). The first is the close runway (which is little use to the airport) 585 metres to the south; the second is a wide spaced runway, 1,045 metres to the south, for segregated mode (ie. take-offs on one runway, landings on the other); or the wide spaced runway, 1,045 metres to the south, for mixed mode (both take-offs and landing) - the profitable option. Gatwick airport very definitely wants the 3rd option. The airport says they want to "refine and improve" their plans. However, they have to submit their plan to the Commission on 9th May, so the timing of the consultation is odd as it will end after the plans are submitted. When Gatwick submitted their schemes to the Commission in July 2013, there were 3 options; a close runway about 600 metres south of the current runway, for "dependent segregated mode"; or a medium spaced runway about 750 metres south for "independent segregated mode"; or a wide spaced runway about 1,035 metres to the south of the current runway, for "independent mixed mode." Only the last option was short-listed by the Commission. There will be 16 exhibitions in towns and villages in Kent, Sussex and Surrey.
Click here to view full story...
EU compromise on inclusion of long haul flights in the ETS faces opposition – vote on 19th March
A number of EU politicians plan to vote against a deal to exempt long-haul flights, to and from Europe, from paying for carbon emissions until the end of 2016 in an attempt to prevent the EU from bowing to international pressure. The European Parliament's 71-member Environment Committee will vote on March 19 on a deal brokered by EU diplomats earlier in March to extend a so-called "stop the clock" measure exempting intercontinental flights from regulation under its ETS. The vote on the 19th will be a preliminary indication of whether the proposal can win enough support in the full 766-strong EU Parliament, a step required before it can become law. If there is no agreement by the end of April, this is likely to reignite tensions with Europe's major trading partners (US, China, India) and risk a trade war. Failure to reach agreement on continuing to allow flights into and out of the EU not to pay for their carbon emissions would be good news for environmentalists, as it would mean that an existing law that requires all aviation to pay for emissions would automatically apply. There is a lot of internal European politics involved.
Click here to view full story...
6 week consultation on Heathrow’s north west runway ends – criticised for not being transparent
Heathrow has been conducting a somewhat minimalistic 6-week consultation on its plan for a new runway to the north west. The questions in the consultation (only really 2 questions, with scope for further comments) are only on factors to take in to account, and whether more people should be affected by a slightly smaller amount of aircraft niose, if fewer people should be subjected to a larger amount (dispersal or concentration). The consultation is not whether those consulted want a new runway. The public consultation sessions are now ended. The consultation did not mention the Heathrow Hub proposal for an extension of the northern runway. A Heathrow spokesman said: “We will take your opinions into account as we look to refine our north-west runway proposal..." Those opposed to the plans have been critical of the consultation, saying it has been neither honest nor transparent. Heathrow has been disingenuous in making no effort to show where the landing flight paths would go, making informed comment impossible. Either way there will be more aircraft noise for many thousands of homes. Claims that the airport will have 20 - 30% more flights and be "quieter" (properly defined) are manifestly not logical.
Click here to view full story...
Vote on ETS in European Parliament on 19th March on whether “stop the clock” continues to 2016 or 2020
MEPs on the European Parliament's environment committee will next week (19th) be faced with a difficult choice on aviation and the ETS – accept a humiliating surrender to America, Russian and Chinese bullying, or risk a trade war with grave economic consequences. Last week negotiators reached a deal to exempt non-EU airlines from paying for their CO2 emissions, in deference to pressure from Washington, Moscow and Beijing. The EU "stopped the clock" on the scheme, except for intra EU flights, and a decision on the next stage has to be made on when, and if, the carbon emissions from flights to and from the EU can again be included. Sticking with "stop the clock" gives advantages to hub airports just outside EU airspace, such as Istanbul, at the expense of EU competitors. The Parliament is demanding that the exemption should end in 2016 rather than in 2020, and the text agreed with member states says only an ICAO agreement which reduces emissions – rather than just halting the rise in emissions – would meet the conditions to allow carbon from flights to and from the EU to continue to be excluded. The UK wants the 2020 date. If the agreement is passed in the March 19 ENVI meeting, it will be presented at the Parliament’s plenary session on April 3 for a full vote by MEPs. If passed, the regulation will come into immediate effect.
Click here to view full story...
London aircraft noise summit increases pressure for independent aircraft noise ombudsman
The group, "Let Britain Fly" organised an "aircraft noise seminar" in order to get together various speakers to discuss the issue, and the possible establishment of an independent aircraft noise ombudsman (ANO). The summit hoped to call all political parties to create the new role, in order to try to protect the welfare of people living near airports and under flight paths. During autumn, the business group London First, advocated the appointment of the watchdog body, and the Airports Commission recommended it, in their interim report in December. Campaigners at Heathrow - where there is the largest aircraft noise problem - are hopeful that there may now be a new initiative, that can help break the noise deadlock. Other campaigners at airports with different noise problems have serious concerns about the ombudsman proposal, and fear that the creation of an independent noise ombudsman might be used as a means of paving the way for airport expansion, by defusing opposition. They would back a watchdog, provided he has real powers to set and enforce standards. What people who are overflown - and troubled by plane noise - want is for less noise. Not just liaison, consultation, action plans and empty promises.