General News
Below are links to stories of general interest in relation to aviation and airports.
Greenhouse gases hit record level …. and threaten tourism … while tourism threatens climate
The Doha talks are taking place at present, on global carbon emissions. The UN has confirmed that the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere rose to record levels last year, reinforcing scientists' warnings that the world is on course for dangerous global warming. TravelMole reports that this will cause more pressure to minimize tourism-related carbon emissions - principally from air travel and accommodation. Global warming will also threaten tourism destinations - principally small islands, delta destinations and winter sports destinations. Global CO2 was at 391 ppm in October, compared to the pre-industrial era level of 280 ppm. About 375bn tonnes of carbon have been released into the atmosphere since the start of the industrial era in 1750, and much of it remains there for centuries. Temperatures have already risen 0.8 C and stopping an increase of over 2C is not likely. The carbon emissions from global aviation are around 5% of anthropogenic climate change, taking into account the non-CO2 impacts. World Tourism Organisation says tourism accounts for about half of all global air passengers
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Heathrow telling Davies Commission it only needs a 3rd, not a 4th, extra runway. But won’t pay noise compensation.
The Times reports that Heathrow will tell the Davies Commission that it can remain as the world’s premier international passenger hub by building a third, but does not need a fourth, runway. It is also saying that if it is allowed another runway, it will not pay for “noise compensation” for the extra numbers affected by aircraft noise. The Davies Commission has already raised this issue, as one that needs to be addressed if thousands more households are to be affected by noise. The Commission has said that it will look at noise compensation programmes at other airports. Heathrow says job creation and the boost for the neighbouring economy from expanded Heathrow is more important than direct noise compensation for Londoners. Heathrow continues to lobby to persuade opinion formers that Britain will lose tens of billions of pounds in trade if it does not have a massive hub, even larger than Heathrow now. With even more tens of millions of international passengers each year.
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Activists at Notre Dame des Landes use tractors to try to prevent demolitions – and set conditions for dialogue
Dozens of people attended Monday morning's call by ACIPA, the main association of opponents to the project of the future airport of Nantes, on the site of Notre-Dame-des-Landes, "to protect the reoccupied huts". On Sunday night 45 tractors were positioned and chained around the new cabins built by the project's opponents, during the fourth day of very high tensions and a forceful police presence. Since Friday, the police have re-intervened in larlge numbers to expel and destroy all the settlements that had been rebuilt since the first wave of destruction in October. There have been sharp clashes causing injuries to both sides. The protesters have said they will not enter into dialogue until the police presence is removed. They say they may be prepared to talk to government about stopping the airport but not just on slightly limiting its environmental impact.
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Boris Island airport (“London Jubilee Airport”) details – off Whitstable. 5 runways, maybe 6. With potentially 3 landings and 3 takeoffs every 90 seconds
The Sunday Times reports that Boris has met Sir Howard Davies, to push his opposition to Heathrow expansion (and probably his idea of a massive Thames Estuary airport). This would be built in the sea, just off the coast of Whitstable and Herne bay, and have five runways - with the potential for a sixth. This airport could handle 150m-160m passengers a year - more than double the current size of Heathrow. They claim this airport could be built in 7 - 8 years, and it "would be able to handle 3 flights landing and 3 taking off simultaneously, growing to 4 each way if it is expanded to 6 runways. This would enable it to accommodate about 240 flights an hour." (Has NATS been consulted??) The airport terminal would be at Ebbsfleet near Gravesend with tunnels for high speed rail links under the Thames (or perhaps overground) to the airport. The plans by Bridget Rosewell’s would cost an estimated £49bn, falling to £39.5bn if the railway goes partially overland. Appears to be just south of the 175+ wind turbine London Array.
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Malaysia Airports Holdings join £1bn contest to buy Stansted
The Sunday Telegraph reports that Malaysia Airports Holdings is now bidding for Stansted. The Malaysian group owns 39 airports in Malaysis including Kuala Lumpur Airport. Heathrow (aka. BAA) has sought out new bidders - in addition to the existing four - to try and boost the auction price. The original four are Manchester Airport Group (MAG) which is the favourite and is backed by Australia’s Industry Funds Management, plus financial investors TPG, Macquarie and HRL Morrison. The Telegraph says Macquarie and HRL Morrison are in the market trying to raise the necessary funds for their bids, and TPG believes it is being sidelined in the process. Malaysia Airports Holdings is 40.4% owned by Malaysia’s state investment company. It owns a 20% stake in Istanbul airport and a 10% holding in Indira Gandhi airport in Delhi. . A sale is expected in the first half of 2013.
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BA & Virgin say Birmingham Airport will never be international hub
British Airways and Virgin Atlantic Airways have hit out at Birmingham’s call for government intervention to encourage airlines to make better use of airports in the north and Midlands. They say Birmingham can never be a national hub airport, and that regional airports such as Birmingham could not provide an alternative to expanding capacity in the South East. BA and Virgin say Heathrow and Gatwick are full because people want to fly from them. Birmingham isn’t because people don’t. Also that Government should not intervene to force airlines and passengers to use airports they “do not want to fly from”. They also claim foreign governments are only interested in Heathrow in talks about opening new air routes and capacity. Birmingham Airport has launched a campaign to convince ministers that it can provide an alternative to expanding Heathrow without the need for a new runway - and it can double passenger numbers from 9 million today to 18 million without new infrastructure, and by extending its existing runway it will be able to serve 27 million people. The industry is fighting fiercely among itself on the capacity issue - and is likely to continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
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Ferrovial in new deal to cut its stake in Heathrow Airport Holdings to 20%
Spain's Ferrovial has signed a new shareholders' pact in Heathrow Airport Holdings that opens the door for the infrastructure firm to cut its stake to 20%. The new agreement follows the purchase of stakes in Heathrow, formerly known as BAA, by Qatari and Chinese funds, as Ferrovial has sold 16% of its stake over the past year to reduce its holding to 34%. It owned 55.9% of BAA in January 2011. According to Espirito Santo Investment Bank, Ferrovial must keep a stake of at least 25% for now and at least 20% from 2019, when a £600 million credit line matures.
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“The Aviation Foundation” of aviation industry lobbyists launches UK-wide pro-flights campaign asserting massive benefits to UK from flying
An aviation group, (BA, Virgin and MAG) called the Aviation Foundation has set up and launched a campaign to highlight to MPs the alleged economic benefits of the UK aviation business. Its "Great British Flying Test " aims to "promote the importance of aviation to local economies" - which is barely surprising, seeing which companies are its backers. The study - as usual - ignores inconvenient facts, such as the tourism deficit (the net outflow of money, and indirectly jobs) from the UK due to the spending by Brits on holidays abroad. It also includes the number of jobs in aerospace, along with jobs in air travel, and it makes out that aviation has a uniquely important role in supporting other jobs. Any other sector could, likewise, inflate the alleged amount of economic impact it has. The Aviation Foundation produces statements such as that the aviation industry "directly employs 220,000 people" (120,000 in reality) and aviation supports workers in Bed & Breakfasts across the UK etc etc.
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Cameron announces reform of judicial review to cut ‘time-wasting’ appeals on planning
David Cameron, speaking at the annual CBI conference, has said that there are too many judicial reviews that slow down planning applications. In reality, only a small number of the applications for judicial review are for planning, with the majority being for immigration and asylum. But Cameron makes the rather strange analogy that the UK is in a situation (?) akin to the second world war, and everything must be done to boost the economy. The Ministry of Justice did not have access to the number of reviews there have been related to building and planning. Downing Street refused to identify any infrastructure projects which had been delayed by judicial review, saying it was "not going into specific examples. FoE's Andy Atkins said the planning system played "an important role in protecting our green and pleasant land" and it must not become a scapegoat for the government's economic failings. Cameron has proposed changes to make it harder to apply for judicial review, altering the timing, cost and Halving the number of opportunities to challenge a refusal of permission for a judicial review from four to two.
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Virgin Atlantic to start domestic flights between Heathrow and Edinburgh & Aberdeen as well as Manchester
Virgin Atlantic will be operating domestic flights from Scotland to Heathrow from spring 2013 after being offered all the remaining slots that BA was forced to relinquish after its takeover of bmi. The flights to Edinburgh and Aberdeen are in addition to flights to Manchester, starting in April 2013, that were announced in August. They will use an A320 that carries around 150 passengers. European competition authorities compelled BA to give up 14 slot pairs at Heathrow as a condition of approving its merger with bmi - that was opposed by Virgin. These domestic flights could be considered as boosting passenger numbers on transfer flights to destinations such as the USA out of Heathrow. However, Virgin has also said it will be using some of its new slots for point to point flights to Nice. [This appears to be evidence that scarce slots at Heathrow are not urgently needed for flights to the emerging or new economies for businessmen. The slots are instead used for whichever route is most profitable]. Virgin is also to trying to get a pair of slots for flights to Moscow, which the CAA recently granted to easyJet.