General News
Below are links to stories of general interest in relation to aviation and airports.
Andrew Simms: The only sober way to run Britain’s economy is to learn our limits – including aviation
Writing in the Observer, Andrew Simms (fellow at the NEF and author of the book, "Cancel the Apocalypse") says that the UK needs to learn to live within the biosphere's thresholds, its ability to absorb our waste and replenish its productivity. We are not doing this at present, and act as if there were infinite resources available and the planet has infinite capacity to deal with our wastes. He says Britain's economy is in the grip of an Icarus complex. " It touches everything from, appropriately, the debate on aviation expansion, to our increasing dependence on fossil fuels and more." By operating within the biosphere's thresholds, "this introduces an urgent and immediate decision tree. If something like a new airport runway, or expansion of fossil fuel extraction, is going to take you closer to, or further beyond, one of the biosphere's tolerance thresholds – such as potentially runaway climate change – you branch off and do something else .... that would mean no enlargement of Heathrow, or having to identify compensatory carbon savings elsewhere. The latter is not as easy as it sounds as some official projections for expansion lead to the aviation industry using up the UK's entire fair global share of safe carbon emissions before too long."
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Through WWF “1 in 5” Challenge, Scottish Government cut number of staff flights by about a quarter over 5 years
The Scottish Government has saved more than £500,000 and shrunk its carbon footprint through cutting back on business flights. Their figures show that in the past 5 years, the Scottish government has reeduced yearly flights from 11,169 to 8,036. That is reported to mean a cut of 650 tonnes of CO2. The cuts have means an annual saving of some 31%, from £1.85 million to £1.27m. The total distance flown dropped by 23%, from nearly 8 million kilometres to 6 million kilometres. The reductions are due to the government taking part in the WWF "One in Five Challenge" to cut one flight in every five, in 5 years. The Scotland government is the first administration in the UK to successfully fulfil the WWF's challenge. WWF Scotland said: “By successfully completing WWF’s One in Five Challenge, the Scottish Government has clearly demonstrated that many business flights are unnecessary and can easily be replaced with lower-carbon alternatives such as rail travel or video conferencing." Much time is saved by public servants if they can use video-conferencing instead of flying, and that saves money. Time spent travelling by train, not air, is generally useful time in which work can be done. Scotland is aiming to cut its CO2 emissions by 42% by 2020.
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Heathrow Airport plans to get residents’ views on preferred option for a 3rd runway attacked by campaign group
Heathrow Airport has intimated to the FT that it plans to consult residents on which of the two options, chosen by the Airports Commission, they prefer for a 3rd runway. This has been condemned by campaign group HACAN as like being asked ‘whether you prefer being murdered by Jack the Ripper or the Boston Strangler.’ Heathrow was probably surprised to find one option proposed by the Commission was by Heathrow Hub. They are not keen on this option. The aim of a consultation will be to get backing for their own scheme, for a northern runway. It will hinge on the noise issue. The extent of respite from aircraft noise will be a critical aspect of any runway proposals.. If there is a 3rd, northern, runway it could mean those living under the existing two runway flight paths would only get a shorter respite period per day, and a whole linear expanse of London would then start to be affected by aircraft noise. For a 3rd northern runway to be profitable, it will have to be used intensively. The reduction in respite periods, perhaps of only one third of a day, rather than half the day (from 3pm as at present) will be deeply unpopular. Even less popular would be the lack of respite at all with the Heathrow Hub northern runway. See Hacan's comment on the two options.
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Airports Commission interim report recommends setting up an Independent Aviation Noise Authority
The Airports Commission's Interim Statement on 17th December, advocating runways at Heathrow and Gatwick, also said it also recommended: "The creation of an Independent Aviation Noise Authority to provide expert and impartial advice about the noise impacts of aviation and facilitate the delivery of future improvements to airspace operations." The Commission says that decisions made by the DfT or the CAA at present, and they are often seen not to be fair, and to be driven by political considerations and that the CAA is beholden to the industry that provides its funding. An independent body might over come this. The Commission says: "An independent, national authority with a credible and authoritative voice on noise issues could be of significant value. ....It could also act as a statutory consultee on other noise related issues, including involvement in planning inquiries which would have implications for populations affected by aircraft noise.....The authority could also play a role in the delivery of longer-term plans for additional airport capacity. ....should include responsibilities for advising the Secretary of State for Transport and the CAA in respect of appropriate noise compensation schemes." The establishment of the Independent Aircraft Noise Authority would require primary legislation; setting it up will take time. Meanwhile there is work on noise to be done.
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FAA road map sees challenges in allowing drones over US airspace – but there are to be 6 test sites
The US aviation regulator, the FAA, has announced 6 US states that will host sites for testing commercial use of drones (unmanned aerial vehicles). The sites are part of a programme to develop safety and operational rules for drones by the end of 2015. While drones have till now largely been used by the military, their potential is now being explored by a range of users including estate agents, farmers, film makers and delivery services. They could be used for fugitive tracking, rail surveillance, traffic management, crop monitoring, land management, news reporting, conservation etc. There will be issue of airspace safety to be resolved. Drones will need to be able to sense and avoid each other and aircraft, and communicate with and respond to air traffic controllers. The FAA says safety is the priority, but there are also issues of privacy and security, before drones should be allowed in domestic skies. An act in 2012 requires the FAA to implement rules and procedures for licensing drone use by government agencies, commercial entities, hobbyists and others. There are fears that drones equipped with high-tech cameras and listening devices would be able to conduct unprecedented and persistent surveillance of civilians.
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Kannur airport deal in southern India: Land owners seek compensation
Yet another new airport is to be built in southern India. At Kannur, on the west coast south of Manglaore, an airport is planned. The state of Kerala boasts this will be the 4th international airport, and it is expected to be operational in 2015. The airport needs some 800 hectares of land, much of which has already been bought. However, the Times of India reported in June that there were problems that land owners who agreed to sell and had signed the agreements had still not received their compensation...."even after nine months, nothing has moved and there is no idea when the property would be registered and the money would be given," said V R Bhaskaran, the convenor of the action committee formed by the land owners, who would lose their land for the proposed airport. If the compensation was given in time, it would have benefitted the people but now many of them are in a quandary as they are unable to plan their future. "...the government has not announced any rebate on the stamp duty for the land registration or tax rebate on the compensation amount, which has further panicked the people." "When the people sacrifice their properties for a common good, the authorities should have the sensibility to understand it and make sure that their future is not affected."
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Surrey Chambers of Commerce delighted Airports Commission short-listed a new Gatwick runway
Gatwick Airport is a member of the Surrey Chambers of Commerce. It is therefore no great surprise to find the Chamber has expressed its pleasure that the Airports Commission has short -listed Gatwick as one of two sites for a new runway. They say businesses in the south east would benefit. They also believe businesses (ignoring affected residents?) would benefit even more by having a new runway at Heathrow too. They have in the past backed Gatwick's idea of a new runway at both Gatwick and Stansted - though that has been ruled out for the time being, by the Commission. In the view of the Chamber, a new runway would provide" significant economic benefit and sustainable employment in the South East." And they want it as soon as possible. They want "access to excellent overseas connections, not only for our local businesses but also for the multi-nationals that locate here rather than in other parts of Europe." The Chamber will hold a panel discussion at Epsom racecourse on 12th March on the Heathrow, Gatwick and Grain runway options. "Whilst there are still decisions to be made we are confident that investment in the South East will bring an excellent rate of return," says the Chamber.
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Action group critical of ‘expensive charade’ of Luton council meeting approving airport expansion
The controversial decision by Luton Borough Council to approve the expansion of Luton Airport has been widely criticised by community groups. Michael Nidd, secretary of the London Luton Airport Town and Village Community Committee (LLATVCC),has described the delayed, 8-hour meeting on 20th December, in which the decision was made as a “very, very expensive charade.” Only 6 of the development control committee’s 11 members attended the meeting, which had already been postponed. This came after Herts County Council demanded a second, impartial, legal opinion on Luton Borough Council’s suitability to make the decision, given it owns all of the shares in the airport. Michael Nidd said: “Only six of [the councillors] bothered to turn up, and we had hours and hours of very highly-paid people in the morning saying what a splendid scheme it is, but when it came time to debate, discuss and vote they spent as long as 10 minutes on it." There is concern about the manner in which this decision, which has such colossal effects on all the surrounding communities, has been taken. Hemel Hempstead MP Mike Penning has written to Eric Pickles, to request that the decision be called in, due to the impacts on his constituency.
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Nick Clegg says the Airport Commission’s interim report findings “not set in stone”
Nick Clegg has said the Liberal Democrats may reject the Airports Commission’s final blueprint for a new runway in the South-East. He does not feel he is under any obligation to accept it, and said: “He’s producing an authoritative, independent report. He’s not producing a biblical tablet of stone which needs to be followed by everybody,” He refused to accept the conclusion of the Commission’s interim report that the South-East needs a new runway by 2030, and possibly another by 2050. He also said the Commission's interim report, to be published after the 2015 election, would not be a “biblical tablet of stone” that all politicians would have to support. The party's current policy is, and has been since before the 2010 election, that there should be no new runways in the South-East. The Standard says he has suggested he might back a new runway at Gatwick. On climate he said: "... the reason I’m against airport expansion, and certainly against the expansion at Heathrow, is that all the evidence I’ve seen until now has suggested that it’s impossible to do that without adding to current noise and air pollution levels and breaking the projections on carbon emissions under the Climate Change Act.”
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Better broadband is better for economy than bigger airports, says survey
Though it is only a survey (and AirportWatch is a bit sceptical of surveys, bearing in mind how they can be used to justify almost anything!) a survey has been carried out by MORI, asking over 2,000 adults in the UK, on behalf of the IET - the Institution of Engineering and Technology. The survey showed just 17% of respondents thought that building new airports would benefit the UK economy while only 12% said that building extra runways at existing airports would benefit the economy. But 43% of those asked thought extending superfast broadband to all UK households would deliver more economic benefit. “The public have told us that supporting the e-economy by rolling out universal superfast broadband will have more economic benefits for the UK than more traditional infrastructure projects like increasing airport capacity or high speed rail.” The survey, of 2,011 adults aged 16-75 in Great Britain, also showed that only 16% of respondents thought that building a high speed rail line would benefit the economy.