General News
Below are links to stories of general interest in relation to aviation and airports.
BA boss Willie Walsh backs Scottish independence if its government will then cut APD by 50%
Willie Walsh, CEO of IAG - owner of British Airways - has stirred up some publicity by declaring that Scottish independence could be a "positive development" for British Airways, if it cuts Air Passenger Duty (APD). He said the Scottish government "recognised the huge impact" air passenger duty" had on the economy and had in the past pledged to reduce, then possibly abolish, APD if there is a "Yes" vote for Scottish independence in the referendum in September. Willie Walsh has repeatedly lobbied against APD (which is charged as aviation pays no VAT and no fuel duty), and all airlines would prefer air travel to remain significantly under-taxed, to boost their revenues. In its White Paper on independence, the Scottish government said APD would cost Scotland "more than £200m a year" in lost tourism expenditure, and after a 50% cut they wanted complete abolition of APD "when public finances allow", in a bid to make Scottish airports more competitive. That would have the effect of drawing potential air passengers from northern English airports to Edinburgh and Glasgow airports instead. A north-east MP said of Walsh: "For a man who leads a company that trades on its British identity, he has a very casual approach to the break-up of Britain.”
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Prototype “Hybrid Air Vehicle” (HAV) – the “Airlander” – may have its first flight this year
The world's longest aircraft has been unveiled. It is an experimental hybrid, which looks like a giant (helium filled) airship - which has a pod slung underneath, two small engine rotors and small wings. It is the shape of two rugby-ball shapes linked in the middle with a joining section. It uses little fuel and its advocates say it is "70% greener than a cargo plane." If the giant models can be made to work, they may be able to carry up to 50 tonnes payload. It can land on a small space, or on water, and so is being promoted as possibly helpful to land aid and equipment to remote disaster areas with no long runways. The machines could also be used for long term surveillance as they can stay aloft for days or weeks, and be remotely operated. The length of the prototype is 302ft (92m) which is some 60ft longer than the Airbus A380 or the massive cargo-carrying Antonov An-225. The company developing it has now received £2.5m of UK government funding for development "of quieter, more energy efficient and environmentally friendly planes." Business Secretary Vince Cable hopes this will be an "innovative low carbon aircraft which can keep us at the cutting edge of new technology ...... to lead the world in its field." They may be able to "fly over the Amazon at 20ft, over some of the world's greatest cities and stream the whole thing on the internet."
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5% fewer flights used Munich airport in 2013 than 2012 – but airport planning 3rd runway
In Munich, campaigners against the building of a 3rd runway remain defiant in spite of a court ruling that the building of a 3rd runway would be legal. There were extraordinary scenes in the court room when the judge gave his ruling. Campaigners, who had packed the building, all stood up and sang the Bavarian national anthem. The judge had to clear the court. The campaigners are confident that the 3rd runway may never be built because the number of aircraft using the existing runways at Munich is falling. The figures for 2013 show that though there were 0.8% more passengers using Munich airport in 2013 than in 2012, but that the number of air transport movements (flights) fell by 5%. That is a substantial reduction. The campaign against the new runway has repeatedly questioned the economic case for building a runway for which there is not sufficient demand. For all 3 airports in Bavaria (Munich, Nuremburg and Memmingen) the number of air passengers did not grow in 2013, and the number of flights fell by 5.2%. The volume of air freight and mail using Munich airport fell by 1% in 2013. So no growing demand there.
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MoD open to RAF Leuchars, near Dundee, becoming passenger airport while remaining a military base
RAF Leuchars is a military airport in eastern Scotland, some 4 km south east of Dundee airport and about 50 km north east of Edinburgh. The RAF are currently in the process of moving their two Typhoon squadrons from Leuchars in Fife to Lossiemouth in Moray as part of a defence review. The MoD is now considering use of the airport for some civliian flights in addition to its use as a military base, which will continue. Although the army will be moving to Leuchars in 2015, the base’s runway will still be in use occasionally and the control tower will have to be preserved. Nearby Dundee airport is struggling to maintain business, partly due to its short 1,400-metre runway, compared to Leuchars’ 2,585 metres, which could cater for much bigger aircraft. A MoD spokesman said: “The MoD is happy in principle to speak to any organisation that wishes to look into the possible use of Leuchars as a commercial airfield." Ryanair commented: “We are currently in discussion with over 100 airports, so competition for Ryanair growth is fierce.” Dundee's City Council leader opposed the idea as they are trying to get flights from Dundee to London to be successful. Edinburgh airport is unhappy about these Dundee flights getting public subsidy.
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T&E on European aviation subsidies: “People flying Ryanair should pay for their own tickets”
Last week saw Europe extend its dirtiest subsidy - the one that makes ultra-cheap air tickets possible - by at least another decade. That’s the simplest way to sum up new EU rules for state aid to regional airports and airlines. Jos Dings, from T&E, attempts to explain simply what the impenetrable language of the EU ruling says and means. Aviation globally contributes about 5% to man-made climate change. The EC says in Europe the aviation sector adds €140 billion to GDP and 2.3 million jobs, both of which represent 1% of the EU total. ie. EU aviation is 5 times more climate intensive than the average economic activity in Europe. Aviation pays no VAT, no fuel tax - exemptions worth €40 billion a year. Aviation is also trying to get out of inclusion in the EU ETS. Ryanair and other low cost airlines have managed to manipulate the EU subsidies system adroitly, paying almost no landing charges at struggling regional airports, and this has made rock-bottom air fares possible. Purchase of these is the cheapest and fastest way for individuals to greatly increase their personal carbon emissions, and thus their contribution to rising global CO2. Traffic from Euope's small airports has risen rapidly: 130% growth over the past decade, versus ‘only’ 29% for the larger airports. This makes a mockery of fair competition in the aviation market.
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Manchester Airport Enterprise Zone causing piecemeal environmental destruction of Green Belt countryside
The new Manchester Airport Enterprise Zone is causing the piecemeal environmental destruction of Green Belt countryside. There are local concerns that airport-centric urban sprawl is destroying green space and open countryside, and locking in reliance on fossil fuel intensive infrastructure. The development of an Enterprise Zone, link road and 9,000-space car park is proceeding apace in the face of resistance from local communities. Planning permission is being granted in a piecemeal fashion, so there is little publicity of, or opportunity to oppose, the overarching goal: increasing climate damaging transportation. Construction of a key component of the Zone, the World Logistics Hub, with 43 warehouses, office space and a 1,473 space car park has already begun. Earthworks, tree felling and installation of drainage are already under way, and wildlife and habitats are being destroyed. There are likely to be fewer new jobs than expected, as many will just move in from elsewhere for the tax breaks and subsidies. Government backing for the Enterprise Zone suggests a desperate shortage of business space in the area. In fact, there is a surfeit of empty offices, warehouses and paved areas. More detail from Rose Bridger.
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Berlin’s Schönefeld airport ‘to stay open’ as Brandenburg airport (at huge expense) not ready till 2015 at the earliest
Berlin’s old Schönefeld airport is likely to remain open as a destination for budget airlines despite a multi-billion airport being built next to it, at Berlin Brandenburg (BER), as the new international hub is too small. It is the latest in a long line of setbacks to hit the BER, which is over budget and behind time. It will have two runways. It is expected to open in 2015 at the earliest. Officially the cost of the airport is €4.3 billion, though initial cost estimates were €1.2 and it could cost up to €6 billion. Despite the huge cost, the airport will only have a capacity of 27 million passengers a year, so its ageing neighbour, Schönefeld, will need to stay open. The original plan had been for Schönefeld, which caters for budget airlines, to merge with BER. Keeping Schönefeld in operation would increase capacity by 7.5 million passengers a year and avoid further costs of building a new terminal. Earlier it had been expected that BER could be partly in use in 2014, with 10 planes per day, but that will not happen. The airport was initially intended to open in 2010 but the multiple delays have been due to difficulties concerning fire safety, the smoke exhaust systems and construction errors. Air Berlin is suing BER for damages due to the much delayed opening.
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Heathrow cutting 200 jobs (20% of total core staff) due to CAA restriction on landing charge rises
Heathrow Airport is planning to cut 20% of its core workforce despite turning its first profit since 2006 and said it is undergoing a “major” restructuring. Its full-year results statement showed it made a £426m pre-tax profit last year, up from a £33m loss previously, helped by the £1.5bn sale of Stansted in February 2013. Heathrow says it is making the staff cuts due to the CAA not allowing it to increase landing charges, though Heathrow can appeal till March 27th. These will be reduced in real terms by 1.5% below the rate of inflation every year until 2019. Colin Matthews said the cuts are likely to affect around 200 staff but no front-line roles, such as security, will be affected. Heathrow employs 7,000 people in total but 1,000 of those roles are part of its “central” head office structure, which is where the job losses are, partly due to having sold off its other airports. In 2013 Heathrow’s revenue rose 11.3%to £2.5bn, and it had 72.3 million passengers, though that is far below earlier forecasts for 2013 traffic. Excluding money from selling Stansted, Heathrow's EBITDA rose 23.1% in 2013 to £1.4bn. The number employed by Heathrow Airport Ltd in 2012 was 5,278 (compared to 5,265 in 2011 and 5,148 in 2010).
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‘Unclear whether government, Mayor or local authorities would pay EU air quality fines for London
Air quality experts and politicians have reacted to the EU’s decision to pursue legal action against the UK government for breaching limits for NO2 in 16 of 43 zones in the country and failing to reduce concentrations by the 2010 deadline. There are questions whether the UK government or local authorities would pay the £300 million fines that could be levied. If the government passes the fines on to local authorities, this will be harsh and counter-productive to good local air quality management, which is already struggling for resources at local level. With improvements to car engines, some reduction in NO2 is expected in coming years: "by around 2030 the Euro 6 [vehicle emissions standards] and subsequent standards will have brought compliance just about everywhere with NO2." An expert commentted: "...you are not going to improve NOx and NO2 unless you really target road transport in cities and towns. Nothing else is really going to deliver." London was singled out as having the highest levels of NO2 emissions of any city in Europe. Murad Qureshi thought at least a sizeable part of a possible EU fine would have to be paid by the Mayor of London. Air quality is poor around Heathrow.
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The Nantes protest and rioting against proposed airport – blog by John Stewart
In a blog about the huge demonstration, part of which turned in to rioting, at Nantes against the proposed new airport, John Stewart looks at how this protest came about - and its relevance to other large infrastructure projects in Europe. The Nantes protest organisers say as many as 50,000 people attended, from supportive protest committees from areas across France. The politics of this airport project have taken on national interest and significance, and also linked into opposition to "Les Grands Projets Inutiles Imposes" (useless, imposed mega-projects). The people passionately fighting plans for a new airport in unspoiled French farming countryside are linked to those opposing HS2 and other schemes like a high-speed rail in Northern Italy and cyanide-mined gold extraction project in Romania. All these projects have managed to get support from very disparate sections of society. They all have real doubts about the economics or the necessity of the project; also they have land, homes, countryside or communities to defend; there is significant local opposition; and they also attract in outside opposition, from people with a variety of perspective as well as environmental.