General News
Below are links to stories of general interest in relation to aviation and airports.
Lowfield Heath remembered – the ‘ghost village’ destroyed to build Gatwick airport
Memories of a village that was demolished as Gatwick Airport grew have resurfaced as campaigners fight plans for a 2nd Gatwick runway. Lowfield Heath disappeared in the 1970s after the then Gatwick aerodrome expanded into an international airport from the 1950s onwards. Today the only buildings that remain of the village are its windmill and Grade II* listed church. The windmill was moved but the church still stands - surrounded by industrial estates. In the church is a plaque commemorates a reunion in 1989 of "those who formed the village community at the outbreak of the second world war in 1939 and whose homes and village were subsequently displaced by Gatwick international airport". The sad fate of Lowfield Heath is a "salutary reminder" of what can happen to a village next to an airport determined to expand. It was once a nice little community with a cricket club, a school and a WI. After the present Gatwick runway was built in 1958, people remained in Lowfield Heath because of a lack of compensation, but life became intolerable by the 1970s because of the noise of airport jets. But then in 1973 the area became an industrial development zone, so residents could sell their homes at "a large price" for warehousing and hangars. So they moved away.
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George Osborne kicks off Northern Hub investment with start of 4th platform at Manchester Airport station
George Osborne has launched the start of work to build a 4th platform at Manchester airport's railway station. This marks the start of the £600n Northern Hub project. The airport says the 4th platform project – costing £20m - will be delivered 18 months earlier than hoped, with works carried out in parallel to the expansion of Metrolink lines to the airport. It is due to be completed by the end of 2015. The aim is to lay more track to improve the region's heavily-congested rail network, on which other work is also ongoing. The local MP talked about how this rail platform will help us to "compete in the global race" !? The hope is that better rail in the north of England will "ensure growth is not concentrated in any one place by keeping Britain connected and creating thousands of local jobs, delivering a brighter economic future for the whole country.” The airport said the new rail scheme would be "key to boosting passenger numbers, luring businesses to its £800m Airport City scheme". The Beijing Construction Engineering Group is teaming-up with Manchester Airports Group, the Greater Manchester Pension Fund and UK construction firm Carillion to invest in the project, "which aims to create up to 16,000 jobs."
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Manchester Airport City to boost its marketing efforts to attract global companies
Manchester airports "Airport City" says it will be a "£800 million landmark property development, creating a globally connected business destination" and a "vibrant economic hub with connectivity at its heart, the UK’s first Airport City will provide 5m sq ft of development, a mix of offices, hotels, advanced manufacturing, logistics and warehousing. Airport City is expected to be one of the largest regeneration schemes in the UK since the 2012 Olympics redevelopment". It executives are now trying to create thousands of jobs by luring global firms to the area. They have now appointed two Manchester marketing agencies,Start JudgeGill and theEword to "focus on a strong and impactful international strategy to take Airport City to key territories" such as China and the Middle East. Airport City sits at the heart of Greater Manchester’s Enterprise Zone, which means companies relocating there can get tax breaks and other incentives. Last year, a deal was done to secure investment in the scheme from the Beijing Construction and Engineering Group. Meanwhile work is starting on a 4th platform at the airport's rail station, which the airport say is key to boosting passenger numbers, and luring businesses to its Airport City scheme.
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WWF’s “One in Five Challenge” members are NOT increasing their flying – they’ve cut it by 38% over 3 years
A highly misleading article appeared in the Times on 3 February 2014 suggesting that WWF's "One in Five Challenge" members are increasing their flying and that they are leaving the Challenge because they need to fly more. The "1 in 5" challenge is a scheme to encourage businesses to cut their business flying by 20% over 5 years. The Times journalist based his misleading conclusions on data cherry-picked from the 3rd Annual Report from the "One in Five Challenge". WWF has set out the actual facts to counter the Times' errors. Flights have not increased during the Challenge; they have continued to decline. Over a three-year period, the number of flights taken by Challengers fell by 38%, far exceeding the target set by the Challenge. Even between Years 3 and 4, when the journalist claims Challengers have flown more, they have actually flown less taking 2% fewer flights. Challengers are not leaving the Challenge to fly more as the article alleges. The reason it may appear companies have dropped out of the scheme is because there is more data from Years 1 & 2 than Years 3 & 4 is that several Challengers who have recently joined the programme have not submitted as many years of data as Challengers who joined when the programme was launched in 2009.
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Tourism board drive to lure visitors away from London – half never venture outside the capital
In summer 2013 the UK nation’s tourism authority, "Visit Britain" launched a drive to get more overseas visitors to visit the rest of the country. Research for Visit Britain showed that of the 31 million who visited the UK in 2012 – a record number – half went to London only, never venturing outside the M25. The rest of England welcomed 13 million tourists, Scotland 2.2 million and Wales 0.9 million. The Visit Britain "GREAT Britain" initiative hoped to use the delights of country pubs, Stonehenge and cathedral cities such as Winchester and Lincoln promoted in campaigns abroad. Also that Britain is a comparatively small country and relatively easy to get around – and that they should not worry about driving on the left side of the road. It seems that many potential visitors just don't know what there is to see outside London, or how to get there. Visit Britain offices abroad are being given a “Beyond London” dossier of suggestions for destinations to promote. Visit Britain is to step up efforts to exploit opportunities presented by low-cost airlines which use regional airports for direct flights to Europe. Although most passengers are British tourists, the airports have already seen an increase in Europeans coming to UK destinations. An international survey showed 75% believed the UK has plenty of interesting places to visit outside of London (22% strongly).
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Defra publishes its noise action plan for agglomerations (section on aircraft), roads and railways
Defra has updated its Noise Action Plans for large urban areas, roads and railways following a consultation that closed in October 2013. There has been no update to the guidance for Airport Operators since July 2013 but the Noise Action Plan for agglomerations has some information about aviation noise. The Government‟s policy on noise is set out in the Noise Policy Statement for England (NPSE). Its vision is to: “Promote good health and a good quality of life through the effective management of noise within the context of Government policy on sustainable development.” It aims to avoid, mitigate and minimise significant adverse impacts on health and quality of life. Earlier Defra prepared guidance for airport operators on how to prepare their Noise Action Plans, including the management of aircraft noise affecting noise sensitive buildings, such as schools and hospitals. Unfortunately responsibility for preparing airport Action Plans rests with the relevant airport operators, which is akin to having the fox in control of the hen-house. Those troubled by aircraft noise have found airport Noise Action Plans to be high on words, and worthy statements of good intent, but low on any real actions or targets to genuinely reduce aircraft noise - with rising numbers of air transport movements
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Government plans to increase UK road traffic by 40% by 2040 could hit climate targets
As with anticipated growth in numbers of air passengers, the government also tries to predict future numbers of cars. As with air passengers, forecasts of road vehicle numbers made 10 - 15 years ago have proved to be wildly too high, with much less growth than had been expected. The government is now predicting that road traffic will grow by 40% by 2040 as the UK's population and economy expand over the next few decades. It is banning planners from taking climate change into account when deciding whether new roads should be built. The stance has been criticised by the Campaign for Better Transport. The government argues the traffic increase won't affect plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions from the sector, but it hasn't justified how. In June 2013 the government announced the "biggest-ever upgrade of our existing roads, worth up to £50 billion over the next generation." Road and rail travel currently account for about 20% of the UK's carbon emissions. Government advisor the CCC suggests CO2 emissions from cars, vans and trains need to reduce by 40% between 2010 and 2030, if the government is going to hit its targets under the Climate Change Act. Meanwhile aviation has - at best - a vague target to return its emissions to their 2005 level by 2050.
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IATA data show a 5.2% in passenger demand in 2013 compared to 2012 with 3.8% growth in Europe
IATA has produced its data for airlines globally for 2013, its air passenger market analysis. This shows there was a 5.2% increase in passenger demand in 2013 compared to 2012. ie in Revenue Passenger Kilometers. Its growth was 5.3% in 2012 and 5.9% in 2011. While RPK growth was 3.8% in Europe, it was 7.1% in Asia-Pacific; 11.4% in Middle East and 2.3 % North America. IATA's figures show globally only 80% of plane seats are filled - so 20% were empty. Total passenger traffic market shares by region of carriers in terms of RPK are: Asia-Pacific 31.9%, North America 26.4%, Europe 23.9%, Middle East 9.3%, Latin America 6.0%, and Africa 2.6%. IATA says of Europe: "European carriers saw traffic rise 3.8% in 2013 compared to 2012, a slowdown compared to annual growth of 5.3% in 2012. Capacity rose 2.8% and load factor was 81%, second highest among the regions. Modest economic improvements in the Eurozone since the second quarter and rising consumer and business confidence are providing a stronger demand base for international travel."
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Norwegian Airlines – with transatlantic Gatwick plans – under fire from unions for employing Thai staff at lower pay
Gatwick airport recently struck a deal with European low fares Norwegian Airlines, which hopes to start low-cost transatlantic flights to 3 US airports using 787 Dreamliners. It has given Gatwick airport a boost, with its excitement about its planned 3 flights per week to New York after July 2014, and 2 flights per week each to Los Angeles and Fort Lauderdale. These may cost as little as £150 one way. However, there is now a lot of opposition by unions in both the USA and in Europe about the way Norwegian employs Thai air crew, for salaries that are very much lower than those paid to US or European employees, so it can undercut its rivals. Employment costs in Norway are high. Airline unions and pilot groups have asked European and US authorities to deny Norwegian Air Shuttle's request for a new long-haul license, accusing the budget carrier of trying to avoid taxes and skirt employment laws. It now plans to register the operation in Ireland and keep using Thai crew along with some American staff. There are fears that air crew will lose their fundamental rights, including the freedom to assemble, and the freedom to collectively bargain. Attempts to fly cheap long-haul routes date back to the 1970s, when Laker Airways flew from London to New York. It went bankrupt in 1982.
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Climate policy without the greenery: Is this the new face of Conservative environmentalism?
The Conservatives entered the 2010 elections promising voters that if they wanted to 'go green' they needed to 'vote blue'. But the Conservative party's climate change agenda has suffered a number of setbacks since David Cameron set foot in number 10 four years ago. Now the "2020 Conservatives" group has made a bid to reboot the party's environmental agenda - but they're being very careful how they talk about the plans. Their new report called "Sweating our Assets" aims to get the party's environmental agenda back on track. The group includes Laura Sandys. The Guardian described the report as the "pro-Green Tory" manifesto, and claimed it is intended to push back against the influence of climate skeptic party members. It's not immediately obvious the report has much to do with climate or environmental policy, however. Notably, the word "green" doesn't appear once. Instead of promoting policies explicitly aimed at tackling climate change or preserving the UK's green and pleasant land, the report proposes ways to make the economy less wasteful and more efficient. It aims to promote environmental policy indirectly, beneath the language of financiers and boosting economic growth.