General News
Below are links to stories of general interest in relation to aviation and airports.
Robert Peston asks, of the airports ‘crisis’: “What’s the big fuss?”
Robert Peston has written about the economics of building a new runway, on his blog. He says a striking conclusion of the Airports Commission is that the economic cost of the capacity constraints at UK airports, and at Heathrow in particular, will be between 0.03% and 0.05% of GDP by 2030 and up to 0.09% of national income by 2050. "This is not huge. A loss of income of this size looks like a rounding error in comparison with the peak-to-trough fall in national income of more than 7% caused by the 2008 banking crisis or the 20% gap between today's GDP and where it would have been if the pre-Crash growth trends had been sustained." Peston says it is also interesting that the Commission's report "pours cold water on the notion that top rank economies must have a so-called hub - an airport flying almost everywhere and servicing gazillions of transit passengers - of unlimited capacity, which is what both Heathrow and Boris Johnson rather imply." Peston says the report paints a picture of a constrained Heathrow still performing extremely well. And it believes existing capacity can be used more efficiently through improved transport links between airports and better sharing of information by them.
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GACC says they have fought off runway plans in 1970, 1993 and 2003 – and they’ll fight this one too
Responding to the news that a second, southern, runway is on the Airports Commission shortlist for further detailed consideration next year, the local community group GACC (Gatwick Area Conservation Campaign) said the news was no surprise. For the past year GACC has assumed that Gatwick would be included. Now it is clear the so-called ‘wide-spaced’ runway option will be examined – the one that would cause most environmental damage. Brendon Sewill, chairman of GACC, said: ‘Now the battle is for real. The battle lines are drawn. Now the spotlight is on Gatwick the next step will be to examine the runway plans in detail, and it will be found that Gatwick is an unsuitable site. GACC agrees with Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, RSPB, WWF and other national environmental organisations that any new runway cannot be reconciled with the UK’s obligations under the Climate Change Act. A new runway used to full capacity would cause substantial environmental damage to all the towns and villages for many miles around Gatwick. In addition to the usual issues of noise, pollution and climate change, one of the emerging concerns is that making Gatwick larger than Heathrow would lead to the urbanisation of much of Surrey and Sussex. That will be fiercely opposed. GACC has fought off plans for new runways about every 10 years, in 1970, 1993, and 2003. And GACC say they will do it again this time.
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Airports Commission publishes interim report with 2 options for a runway at Heathrow and 1 at Gatwick. Estuary still being considered
The Airports Commission’s interim report has put forward 3 options for a new runway, and have kept their options open on an estuary airport. There would only be one runway, not two and they consider this should be in operation before 2030. At Heathrow the choices are a north west runway, 3,500 metres long, destroying Harmondsworth; and an extension westwards of at least 3,000 metres, of the existing northern runway. They also consider a wide spaced Gatwick runway to the south. The Commission also says "there is likely to be a demand case for a 2nd additional runway to be operational by 2050." They claim this is "consistent with the Committee of Climate Change’s advice to government on meeting its legislated climate change targets." Stansted is ruled out, and on the Thames Estuary they say: "The Commission has not shortlisted any of the Thames Estuary options because there are too many uncertainties and challenges surrounding them at this stage. It will undertake further study of the Isle of Grain option in the first half of 2014 and will reach a view later next year on whether that option offers a credible proposal for consideration alongside the other short-listed options." The report also contains recommendations to the government for immediate action to improve the use of existing runway capacity. Among others, these include better airspace organisation and surface transport improvements such as enhancement of Gatwick station, a rail link from the south to Heathrow, and a rail link between Heathrow and Stansted.
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Responding to the Airports Commission’s interim announcement, campaigners vow to fight any expansion at Heathrow and at Gatwick
The long-awaited interim report from the Airports Commission has now been released. After leaks that Heathrow had been the main choice for another runway, this was confirmed. The shortlist sets out 3 main options: the north west runway at Heathrow, (not demolishing Sipson, but putting it right under the flight path); the northern runway option of the Heathrow Hub concept, which had suggested two runways, built west of the existing ones; and a second runway at Gatwick. Stansted is ruled out. Most Thames estuary options are ruled out, but the Isle of Grain proposal will be given further consideration and is not yet "ruled in or ruled out". The Commission will be deciding over the next 18 months on whether the runway should be at Gatwick or at Heathrow. There is already fury over much of west London, that people face not only uncertainty for the next year and a half, till the Commission's final report in summer 2015, but also the nightmare of a massive increase in the number of flights. The announcement will act as the trigger to 18 months of intense campaigning against Heathrow expansion, and against Gatwick expansion. John Stewart, chair of HACAN, said that at Heathrow “The scale of the opposition will be so great that we believe that they are politically undeliverable and should have been dropped at this stage.”
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Free-market think-tank suggests airports should buy the right to expand and emit more noise by paying local residents
A far right, free-market think-tank called the Institute for Economic Affairs (IEA) has produced a report, which they call a discussion paper "DEPOLITICISING AIRPORT EXPANSION: Market-Oriented Responses to the Global and Local Externalities of Aviation". It puts forward some predictably climate sceptic ideas, and the suggestion that airports should be able to expand as much as they want to, and they should be able to buy the right to expand and emit more noise by paying compensation to local residents. They suggest that rather than getting involved in decisions about where to expand capacity, politicians should give airports a means to reach agreements with residents affected by their decisions. The IEA says we should not stigmatise "pleasure as ‘excess’, enjoyment as ‘hedonism’, progress as ‘hubris’, voluntary adopted consumption habits as ‘addictions’..." We should "welcome mass air travel not despite, but precisely because of the fact that it is not, strictly speaking, ‘necessary’ – for what is the point of economic progress, if not the ability to consume things for the sake of enjoyment rather than necessity?" "Supporters of airport expansion should stop hiding behind an instrumental defence of aviation, and openly make the case for air travel as a leisure industry."
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“Back to the Heathrow barricades as government gets ready for an airport U-turn”
Those who fought the plans for a 3rd Heathrow runway only 3 - 4 years ago have not gone away. The young environmental campaigners, who care passionately about the world's future climate and their future, are deeply concerned about the climate implications of another runway. They know that ensuring the UK meets its target of cutting CO2 emissions by 80% by 2050 will be virtually impossible if any of the new runway options proposed by Sir Howard Davies are taken up. There really is no airport capacity crisis. An activist summed it up as: "The truth is that Heathrow has long been Europe's biggest hub airport. Already more passengers fly in and out of London than any other city in the world, and the airport has more flights to the top business destinations than any other in Europe. A [recent] study ....showed that 9 of the 10 top destinations served by the airport are short-haul. Plenty of capacity could become available if we moved most of these journeys to alternative and less polluting methods of travel, such as rail on routes from London to Paris and Edinburgh, which are the fifth and sixth most popular Heathrow destinations." No new runway is needed - certainly not in the short term. He adds that they are "wiping the dust off our d-Locks. Thousands of climate change protesters are on alert. Here we go again."
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Heathrow residents to demand financial compensation for impact of Airports Commission report on their house prices
People with homes near Heathrow will press for financial compensation if the Airports Commission announces on 17th that they are backing a new Heathrow runway. As the Commission is not due to report till summer 2015, at the least they face blight and an impact on their house prices over the next 18 months, while they are held in limbo. Anti-Heathrow campaigners will appeal to Sir Howard Davies, chairman of the Airports Commission, to ensure homeowners receive financial support for the uncertainty and potential damage that the 17th December announcement may cause. The leak of the report suggests the Commission favours first one runway, and also a second runway at Heathrow. That would mean a large number of people across west London affected by one or other proposal. The issue of blight and house prices is key for thousands, let alone the threat of compulsory purchase and demolition. Boris Johnson has accused the Prime Minister of using the Commission just “to provide cover for a U-turn on Heathrow” and he continues to fiercely oppose Heathrow expanding.
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Speculation that Airports Commission interim report may say need for new runway not urgent – not before 2030
There are now suggestions that the Commission's interim report, to be announced by Sir Howard Davies on 17th, will downplay the urgency of the alleged airport capacity problems, and may look instead at the possibility of a new runway being in place as late as 2030. The Observer reports that Government sources said that they expected Davies to say that, while extra capacity will be needed in time, there is no "crisis" yet. The Tories would be relieved if Davies were to downplay the urgency of the problem, as they are worried about their electoral chances in west London, having clearly said at the 2010 election: "No ifs, no buts, no 3rd runway". Heathrow is not losing out on flights to key destinations, despite the propaganda that it is. Even the 2013 DfT forecasts of passenger demand show there is no shortage in capacity for years ahead, and no need for a runway before 2030. Lord Adonis, who is heading Labour's economic growth review, has said the final report by the Airports Commission should be published earlier than 2015. - as people affected by its proposals have a right to know. The Adonis Growth Review is meant to be setting out an agenda for change to revitalise the UK economy by innovation and growth.
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Stansted airport owners would question the integrity of Airports Commission if Stansted not on the shortlist
The Sunday Times says that the owners of Stansted airport, the Manchester Airports Group, are concerned by the leaks that have circulated in the past week, that a runway at Stansted is not on the short list. The Sunday Times says MAG will demand a full analysis of how the Airports Commission came to their decision, how independent the process has been, and they will want to see all the methodology of how the decision was reached. They would question the integrity of the process, if only Heathrow is selected as the runway location. MAG claim a new Stansted runway could be built for £4 billion, while a new Heathrow runway would cost £14 - 18 billion. Meanwhile, Stansted's owners are just working to build its passenger numbers back to where they were 7 years ago. With the airport currently operating at only half its permitted capacity a 2nd runway is not commercially viable, and it would be completely unacceptable to local communities on environmental grounds. This challenge by MAG is strangely ironic considering the legal challenge by Stop Stansted Expansion, against the Commission, due to potential bias because of the involvement of MAG's Geoff Muirhead in the process.
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Zac Goldsmith warns Cameron that going back on his promise on Heathrow would never be forgiven in west London
Zac Goldsmith. the Conservative MP for Richmond Park and North Kingston, has said the main party leaders should "come clean" about the expansion of Heathrow. He also questioned the independence of the Airports Commission's interim report, to be published on 17th. The Conservative Party insisted the Commission's report was independent - but Zac said: "It looks very much like George Osborne in particular has been knocking it about in the last few days so that what finally emerges on Tuesday will not just be about Heathrow expansion. We will have a few other synthetic options thrown in as well just to enable the government to maintain that ambiguity, cynically I believe, until after the next election." Zac also said that David Cameron himself has to think very carefully about what he says on Heathrow. "Politically a U-turn on this issue would be catastrophic for him. You have to remember it wasn't just a few party speeches, David Cameron went to every single constituency affected and stood up and said 'no ifs, no buts, there will be no Heathrow expansion'." If Cameron went back on this promise it "would be an off-the-scale betrayal and he will never be forgiven in west London".