General News
Below are links to stories of general interest in relation to aviation and airports.
Boris Johnson’s Heathrow warning after Justine Greening’s move
The Mayor of London says the reshuffle shows the government wants to "ditch its promises and send yet more planes over central London". He said, of the removal of Justine Greening, that "There can be only one reason to move her - and that is to expand Heathrow" and that the idea was "mad" and he would fight it all the way. Boris said "The third runway would mean more traffic, more noise, more pollution - and a serious reduction in the quality of life for hundreds of thousands of people. We will fight this all the way. Even if a third runway was built, it would not do the job of meeting Britain's needs." But he continued saying London needs a 4 runway airport, "preferably to the east of London" - ie. Thames Estuary. Boris said: "And it is time for the government to level with Londoners. Are they in favour of a third runway at Heathrow or not?"
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New independent commission to be set up to investigate airport growth
The Prime Minister has announced that there will be an independent airports review by a commission, on the issue of a third Heathrow runway, or a new south east airport. This is to have outside experts taking the controversial issue, rather than politicians. It is likely to have the effect of delaying any decision on Heathrow. The Chancellor has recently said: "We need more runway capacity in the southeast of England," and looking at where it should go: "let's examine all the options. Let's make sure we can try and create a political consensus." Other Conservatives want to avoid breaking a firm manifesto commitment for no 3rd runway, and do not believe it would actually help the UK's economy. The news of the commission comes as plans emerged for a £60 billion four-runway airport to the west of Heathrow - in Oxfordshire or Berkshire. A major feasibility study has been commissioned by a secret consortium of British businesses.
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Rise in private jet use for Olympics, but less increase than anticipated
It appears that the Olympics did not generate as much extra business air traffic and did not produce as much boost to the industry as it had expected. It may be that some "bizav" business aviation trips were not made, as people expected there would be inconvenience etc. This is hard to prove but significant numbers of corporate seats were empty during early Olympic events. Very few aircraft had to hold in the planned temporary holding patterns. Farnborough and Biggin Hill (12.5% more than last July ) were quite busy with more flights than usual. There were some 10,000 IFR GA and bizav movements, approximately 3,000 more than would be expected normally at that time of year. Oxford airport had more than usual, as did Luton. Stansted beat its own record for the largest number of private jets parked overnight with 165 aircraft, after a rush of VIPs etc for the opening ceremony..
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Janet Street-Porter: “Sorry, Boris, I don’t care about the size of your landing strip!”
Janet Street-Porter, writing with characteristic panache in the Mail, says airport expansion has become linked to masculinity with Tim Yeo and Boris Johnson telling Cameron to be a man on the matter of new runways/airports. Janet says asphalting over a big area on the edge of our precious Green Belt is not a good way to demonstrate manhood. So, asks Janet, what is it about men and planes? The aviation industry, like tobacco and alcohol, tirelessly promotes the idea of growth as a Good Idea. And Janet says she never believed the "rubbish about creating jobs — do they mean toilet cleaners, fast food operatives and duty free sales assistants?" Why are we so keen to copy China in building new airports, when we don't copy their one child per family rule, their unpleasant working conditions in factories, or their denial of free speech. So why should we fancy an airport in the Thames modelled on one in Shanghai?
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Independent on Sunday: Secret plan for 4-runway airport west of Heathrow
The Independent on Sunday reports that a British business consortium (that won't declare publicly who it is) is proposing a scheme for a 4-runway to the "west and north-west "of London, and the plans are to be submitted to the Government as a solution to the alleged aviation crisis that is dividing the coalition. This new airport could - the firm claims - rival, or even replace, Heathrow to challenge other European hubs in providing air links with the Far East (links which Heathrow can and does provide). Sites in Oxfordshire and Berkshire could potentially be in the frame for the airport, estimated to cost £40bn to £60bn. The "call for evidence" on airport capacity is due shortly, and could start this week. This new idea of a new airport to the west with road and rail links to the capital would be seen as a "wild card" capable of challenging the Thames Estuary airport idea backed by Boris. The IoS says the documents state: "...delivery of any scheme must have cross-party backing and must be supported by business and the workforce." The consortium of businesses behind the plan are expected to reveal themselves within weeks and is understood to have started talks with Chinese sovereign wealth funds.
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China buys 50 Airbus A329-family jets during Merkel visit despite ETS dispute
China signed an agreement with Germany for 50 Airbus planes worth up to $4 billion during Angela Merkel's visit to Beijing. This is the first significant order since a dispute over the ETS. The dispute between Beijing and the EU had allegedly interrupted earlier deals worth up to $14 billion. The Chinese news agency said China's ICBC Leasing and Airbus, whose parent company is Franco-German-led aerospace group EADS, signed the deal for 50 Airbus A320-family planes. China regularly orders aircraft in large batches timed to coincide with high-level contacts with US or EU leaders, but this deal apparently fell short of European expectations of a 100-plane order. Airbus and Chinese authorities also signed a $1.6 billion deal to extend an Airbus A320 assembly line at Tianjin. China continues to block the purchase of some 35 larger Airbus aircraft to protest against the ETS.
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George Osborne says Heathrow 3rd runway is an option – William Hague confirms no change of Heathrow policy
George Osborne - talking on the Andrew Marr Show - said he has not ruled out a third runway at Heathrow airport to help boost growth He said more airport capacity was needed in the South East of England and "all options" should be considered. He added that new measures to speed up the planning process and underwrite spending on big infrastructure projects would also be announced shortly. George Osborne wants the government to seek cross-party agreement on airport expansion plans. This week Downing Street confirmed that the coalition has no plans to reverse policy on Heathrow. Foreign Secretary William Hague, speaking to Sky News on Sunday, also ruled out a change of policy. "The circumstances have not changed... it's important to stick to that election promise. It's important to make the right decision about this and study all the options. "We said very specifically we would not be (building a third runway)."
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West London residents send videos to David Cameron in support of Justine Greening
West London residents have sent videos to the Prime Minister David Cameron in support of the Transport Secretary Justine Greening. This follows a fortnight long campaign where people have been plastering the Piccadilly Line with "I'm backing Justine" stickers. One of the people who sent a video said, “We were inspired by the stickers to make a video in support of Justine Greening. She is a woman who has stood by her principles over Heathrow expansion. The lady’s not for u-turning.” There has been pressure on David Cameron from the aviation industry to move Justine Greening from her transport post in the forthcoming reshuffle because of her implacable opposition to a third runway at Heathrow.
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Airport capacity myths must be busted – new hub would be obsolete before it is built
AirportWatch believes the myth of the “airport capacity crisis” being pushed by the aviation industry must be busted. While AirportWatch welcomes Justine Greening’s rejection of the Heathrow 3rd runway, it believes it is crucial to recognise that the UK has enough capacity until 2030 and there is therefore no need for a new hub airport. The intense recent PR and lobbying campaign from the aviation industry has been designed to obscure several inconvenient facts - including that better use of runway capacity at London’s existing airports will provide more than enough capacity to reach markets such as India and China for decades to come. Also that Heathrow is NOT losing out to other European airports, with more flights to key business destinations than its two closest rivals, Charles de Gaulle and Frankfurt combined.
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Midlands MPs and business people say a 2nd runway at Birmingham would boost regional growth
A letter in the Telegraph, signed by 35 MPs and 41 business people from the Midlands area, backs the expansion of Birmingham airport. The letter says the Midlands needs global air links to emerging markets, rather than just having the national hub airport in the south of England. They say airports in the great industrial cities in the Midlands, such as Birmingham, have huge spare capacity. They also talk of Birmingham having a second runway, and with that its capacity could rise from the current 8.6 million passengers annually (in 2011) up to 50 million. They are calling on the Government to support expansion of Birmingham’s airport to maximise regional growth. Back in September 2007 the airport abandonned plans for a 2nd runway, saying it was not needed and there would be enough capacity for up to 27 million passengers per year up to 2030.