General News
Below are links to stories of general interest in relation to aviation and airports.
RunwaysUK conference shows up the Gatwick/Heathrow battle and the hub+spoke/point-to-point future of air travel
A new alliance, called RunwaysUK, intends to hold a large conference once a year, to bring together everyone involved in trying to get more UK runways built. Their first conference took place in London on 16th January, and was attended by several hundred people, largely from business and the aviation industry. Not surprisingly their focus was on how desirable building at least one new runway would be. More than one ideally. Over a long day, with a tight schedule of speakers and question sessions (ably held together by Kirsty Wark), a lot of arguments took place, and a lot of points were made. The first item was a speech by Sir Howard Davies, Chairman of the Airports Commission, and the launch of the appraisal framework consultation, which will determine the criteria on which runway proposals will be considered. During the day the battle between Heathrow and Gatwick was repeatedly demonstrated, as were the issues of whether UK aviation is more likely to be based more on low cost, point to point flights, or on the hub and spoke model. There was debate on the Thames estuary, and the Airports Commission confirmed that this option will be given further consideration, perhaps to be added by late summer. Below is some of the press coverage of the conference.
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Airports Commission launches 6 week consultation on appraisal framework for short-listed runway schemes
The Chairman of the Airports Commission, Sir Howard Davies, launched the most recent consultation by the Commission, at the RunwaysUK conference on 16th January. This consultation is on its appraisal framework, and ends on 28th February. The aim is to set out how the runway schemes it short-listed (2 at Heathrow, one at Gatwick and the possibility one for the Isle of Grain will be added by late summer 2014) will be assessed in terms of social, economic and environmental criteria. A summary of responses will be published within 3 months of the consultation closing. The document is 127 pages long, requiring detailed and carefully considered responses. On environmental matters, the Commission lists their objectives, for appraisal of schemes, to include: minimising noise impacts; protecting local air quality; minimising CO2 emissions in airport construction and operation (not from flights); protecting quality of ground and surface water, using water efficiently and reducing flood risk; and minimising impacts on existing landscape character and heritage assets. Under the heading "People" their objectives are to maintain and where possible improve the quality of life for local residents; manage and reduce the effects of housing loss on local communities; and reduce or avoid disproportionate impacts on any social group. They also ask: Are there any other objectives that the Commission should consider, and if so what are they?
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Local Surrey Guardian newspaper asks: “Was Leatherhead sacrificed in the floods to save Gatwick?”
After exceptionally heavy rain and wind on 23rd December, Gatwick airport had serious problems with unexpected flooding, with many flights cancelled or delayed. It is still unclear to what extent actions taken at the airport to divert water from its holding ponds and prevent the airport from flooding meant more water surged down the River Mole, making flooding worse downstream in areas such as Dorking and Cobham. It is understood that investigations are under way, and councillors for Leatherhead are seeking clarifications from the airport. The local press reported that an Environment Agency spokesman had said that Gatwick airport are constructing a further water storage reservoir directly on the Gatwick stream. The Gatwick Stream, where river levels rose rapidly, meets the River Mole south of Horley. Flooded residents feared that the contents of Gatwick airport’s balancing ponds may have been dumped into the River Mole and sluice gates further down were not opened in time.
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London Assembly Votes Against Heathrow Airport Expansion
The London Assembly has voted against the expansion of Heathrow and proposed greater use of existing airports in the south-east. They passed a motion -by 13 votes to 7 in response to the Airports Commission's Interim Report recommendation (17th December) that two options for a new Heathrow 3rd runway would be short-listed. Caroline Pidgeon, the leader of the Liberal Democrats on the Assembly, who proposed the motion, said: “Airport capacity in London is currently underused; in fact some London airports have more than half of their runway slots free. Rather than inflict further misery on the residents of west London, the Airports Commission should rule out expansion of Heathrow and focus on better use of capacity at other south-east airports.” The motion backed the Commission's proposals for improving ground transport links to existing airports. Tony Arbour, Conservative London Assembly Member for Richmond and Hounslow, proposed an amendment which said there should be a categorical opposition to any additional flights at Heathrow. He said the Lib Dem motion, which recognised the need for more airport capacity in the south-east, “opens the door for dual use of runways at Heathrow which will increase noise for millions of Londoners." All those voting against the motion were Tories.
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Kent villagers oppose Gatwick flight path proposals
Residents in parts of west Kent are opposing proposals to change the flight paths at Gatwick Airport. NATS is consulting over changes to flight paths using Gatwick, which they say will reduce delays and improve efficiency. The proposals could mean up to 28 flights an hour over places like Hever, Chiddingstone, and Sevenoaks Weald. NATS claims changes to flight paths are needed, and they want to create a network with planes flying on specific routes, similar to a motorway. That may mean less noise for some people, but it will mean a lot more for those who find themselves directly under one of the routes chosen for intensive use and much more air traffic. Government guidance is for aircraft noise to affect as few people as possible (there are therefore fewer complaints) but that means an unfair amount of noise for an unlucky minority, who happen to live in the wrong place.People living in Weald village, not far from Sevenoaks, fear that there could be up to 20 flights an hour going over the village, at a height of under 4,000ft (1,200m). The noise of each could be up to 70 decibels, "which is the same as being next to a vacuum cleaner." The changes are to allow the airport to grow.
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“Biodiversity offsetting” is not the silver bullet solution this government hopes will overcome destruction of valued natural habitats
The UK government hopes it has found a way to develop, over countryside and habitats, destroying them and yet claiming no wildlife or habitat has been lost. The neat trick is "biodiversity offsetting", which is claimed to be a market mechanism that will allow developments to flourish while protecting the environment. In simple terms, if you destroy ancient woodlands, wildlife and vital habitats in one place, you have to pay to create it in another. Green NGOs across the UK see this, in reality, as a license to trash national parks, farmland, ancient woods, village greens etc. Rather than replacing habitat with its exact equivalent, a generally lower quality area might be created. By loosening planning laws, biodiversity offsetting becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. As development projects increase, so biodiversity decreases – and becomes more important. The record of biodiversity offsetting from other countries is usually one of failure. It may be as little as one third of schemes that succeed. These schemes should not be done at the expense of destroying existing biodiversity, in the uncertain hope that will be recreated elsewhere, somewhere more convenient for the developers.
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Government takes ‘nuclear option’ with new planning laws to force councils to approve applications
The Coalition government is preparing to mount a fresh assault on planning laws by giving developers the power to push though applications without the need for council approval or environmental assessments. In a move described by planning experts as a "nuclear option", developers will be allowed to ignore local authorities if they delay decisions on conditions attached to planning applications. The Coalition is also planning to remove the need for developers to assess the impact of some large housing estates, shopping centres and industrial estates (maybe including runways?) on the countryside. Opponents fear the reforms could see local communities "held to ransom" by developers and force councils to "wave through" unpopular planning applications. There is real fear that irreversible harm is being done to the countryside, and habitats, and that the Coalition's planning reforms could become "the defining legacy of this government." The Coalition will unveil a package of measures in April which will give developers new powers to ignore councils and push ahead with new housing. The new legislation will mean that planning applications will be automatically approved if councils "fail to discharge a condition in time".
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Boeing 787 aircraft grounded after battery (overheating?) problem in Japan
A year after after JAL and ANA Holdings grounded their Dreamliner fleets after separate issues with batteries overheating, there has been another battery fire incident. In 2013 all of Boeing 787s were then taken out of service for over 3 months while the plane manufacturer sought a fix for the problem. Engineers doing maintenance on a parked 787, with no passengers on board,noticed smoke or gases venting from the battery compartment.There were also warning lights that flashed, signalling a battery fault. The smoke vented from the plane and a battery cell showed signs of melting. JAL said on checking the battery, encased in steel containment box, they found 1 of 8 cells had leaked a liquid. A relief valve designed to open when pressure rises inside a cell had opened,The plane remains grounded but the other 787s owned by ANA are continuing to operate normally. The issue of who will pay for any losses incurred by keeping the jet from flying will be determined after the plane is back in the air, said a spokesman for Japan Airlines, which operates 13 Dreamliners. Eight airlines have 787s. The battery problems and groundings were expensive for Boeing last year. The cause of the battery problems has not been determined, but changes were made to enclose the batteries better.
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Heathrow had 3.4% more passengers in 2013 than in 2012. Gatwick had 3.6% more.
Heathrow and Gatwick have both reported growth in passenger numbers for 2013. Traffic at Heathrow reached 72.3 million, an increase of 3.4% on 2012, Aircraft movements totalled 469,552 for the year at Heathrow, which was down 0.4% on 2012. Colin Matthews used the figures as another opportunity to put in a plug for another Heathrow runway, saying Heathrow is full [but it keeps adding passengers - its terminals are not full, though its runways are nearly full] and so Heathrow has to watch other European airports adding more flights. Heathrow said BRIC passengers were up 6.9% over the year, with China up 18.9%, and India up 8.7%. Meanwhile at Gatwick traffic reached 35.4 million passengers in 2013, an increase of 3.6% on 2012. Gatwick's aircraft movements totalled 244,552, which was a rise of 1.6% on 2012. Gatwick said its European routes were the main source of its growth, and they were increasing the number of long-haul routes, with more flights to Dubai. There will be a daily A380 service to Dubai from Gatwick from March.” Gatwick had fewer charter flights to European leisure destinations, reflecting the longer-term market move towards scheduled, low cost airlines.Heathrow load factor was 76.4% and Gatwick's 79.4%.
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The world does not end in 2100. Why do we ignore future generations, when it comes to climate change?
In a blog for Business Green, James Murray writes on the important - and generally ignored - topic of human myopia when it comes to considering future generations, and what the impact of our current actions will be on them. Most climate models indicate that by 2100 the global temperature may be 4-6C higher than now. "But the world will not end in 2100. Unless we get a handle on climate change in the next few decades we risk bequeathing the next century environmental challenges so great they will make our current problems look like the Garden of Eden. " "Projections for the 22nd Century based on business as normal emissions suggest that climate change and ocean acidification could leave generations just a few decades hence with a biosphere only science fiction directors would recognise. Does any of this matter? None of us will be around to see it and we all know that economists discount future generations." Yes, it does matter. Taking a relaxed approach to climate change and arguing "something will turn up to address the problem" is not enough. We cannot blindly take the view that the current generation must take primacy.