General News
Below are links to stories of general interest in relation to aviation and airports.
Kent County Council KCC strongly opposes Gatwick’s northern runway proposals
Kent County Council (KCC) has responded to Gatwick Airport’s consultation strongly opposing plans to routinely use its northern runway for departing aircraft. The plans would see the airport grow - if things go Gatwick's way - from 46.6 million passengers per annum (MPPA) in 2019 to 75.6 mppa by 2038. The council's response is in line with their existing Policy on Gatwick Airport, which was adopted by Cabinet in 2014. KCC Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, David Brazier said: “KCC has long argued the impacts of Gatwick’s current single runway configuration are already unacceptable, and a potential increase of these impacts on local communities and the environment would be intolerable" with the extra flights and noise. They are also concerned about the increased carbon emissions, and the pressure on public transport to and from Kent. KCC says the project would have a significant material impact on the Government’s ability to meet carbon reduction targets. Also that the full extent to which communities and the environment will be impacted will not be properly assessed or appropriately mitigated.
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Climate Change Committee stresses need to reduce demand for air travel
The Climate Change Committee (CCC), in its report following up the outcome of the COP26 talks, says that rolling out the Net Zero Strategy must lead to emissions falling in all sectors (i.e. going beyond recent progress dominated by the power sector). They say there is a gap on behaviour change (e.g. shifting diets away from meat and dairy and limiting aviation demand growth). That needs to be changed, in order to get emissions reductions. Reductions in aviation are especially important for the UK, as we have very high per person aviation emissions. The Committee has repeatedly stressed that an element of demand reduction for air travel is needed. The Government has repeatedly ignored that, knowing that anything restricting or make flying more expensive, is a vote-loser. The COP26 Glasgow Pact said there should be no "inefficient" fossil fuel subsidies. The CCC has said that the absence of VAT or fuel duty on air travel are post-tax subsidies.
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Luton Council approves plans for Luton to increase from 18 to 19 mppa
In February, Luton airport submitted a planning application to Luton Borough Council (its owner) to increase the annual cap on passenger throughput from 18m to 19mppa. Also to expand the day and night noise contours by 11.3% and 15.3% respectively until 2028. Now Luton Borough Council has approved the plan to increase to 19 million - and the plans to change the noise contours, to the huge disappointment of many local groups already negatively affected by aircraft noise. The Council said this application did not affect the airport's long term proposals to increase capacity to 32 million per year, which would be determined by government, through a DCO, not the council. The airport is owned by a company that has changed its name to Luton Rising - and that is owned by Luton Council. How well the airport will do in future years is unknown, with the impact of Covid, targets for aviation to become "carbon neutral" and growing awareness of the climate impact of air travel. Luton's passenger numbers dropped almost 70% between 2019 and 2020 due to Covid.
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Climate Change Committee says there needs to be a reinvigorated UK effort on climate change
The Climate Change Committee says how far Glasgow can be considered a success can only be assessed by the actions that follow over the coming year and beyond. There is now a path to expected global warming of under 2°C, but only if all the ambition in new mid-century Net Zero targets is delivered, alongside national 2030 emissions targets. Current climate policies around the world do not come close to achieving these aims. For the UK it says "The Glasgow Climate Pact makes notable reference to ‘phase-out of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies’. The UK has a duty to act on this in common with other countries. The CCC recommends that the Treasury initiates a review of the role of the tax system in delivering Net Zero, including the role of tax in achieving a higher and more consistent carbon price across the economy. Low carbon prices are effectively a subsidy. No fossil fuel subsidies should be classed as ‘efficient’." The CCC did not mention it, but the absence of any fuel tax on jet fuel, and no VAT on air travel, and effectively a subsidy to air travel. The CCC has repeatedly said that air travel should not be expanded unless there is effective progress on cutting aviation carbon emissions. Demand for air travel must be reduced.
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Aviation’s climate pledges contradicted by huge growth forecasts
The aviation industry is aiming for "carbon neutrality by 2050" while continuing to expand. While it hopes to make small reductions in carbon per passenger kilometre travelled, by efficiency gains and novel energy sources, most of the "carbon neutrality" would have to be from offsets, or carbon storage. There are currently no viable means of propelling commercial airlines large distances, without causing the emission of a lot of carbon. That situation is unlikely to change for at least another 40 years. In the meantime, it is imperative that global carbon emissions reduce fast, year by year, from now onwards. Not from 2050. Transport & Environment says relying on ICAO and its CORSIA (ineffective) scheme to achieve net-zero in the long-term will be just another distraction from real measures to clean up flying in the near term. Relying on rapid deployment of yet-to-be-deployed Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) and zero-emissions technology is harmful, as large-scale deployment is many years away. Assuming solutions are just around the corner would unjustifiably, and damagingly, allow high levels of air travel to continue. Flying less is the most effective way to reduce aviation emissions.
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Gatwick expansion consultation ends 1st December – its plans would have ‘few benefits’
The Gatwick consultation on its plans to use its northern, standby, runway as a full runway, ends on 1st December. It is important that anyone who has strong views on the issue submits a response, even if a very brief one. The impact of the expansion would be to hugely increase noise, carbon emissions, local road and rail congestion, air pollution, light pollution and more. The airport is trying to talk up its plans, with extravagant and improbable claims of the number of jobs that might be created locally, and the positive economic impact. Local campaign group, GACC, has prepared extensive comments to the consultation, to help people respond. Also a short, quick version that people can use - or ideally adapt into their own words - to express their concerns. GACC says Gatwick's plans "would have few benefits but serious climate change consequences and devastating impacts on local communities and people under flight paths.” Any increase in jobs would be by displacement from other regions and would be inconsistent with the government’s ‘levelling up’ plans. And its case for growth simply doesn’t stack up and the consequences are unthinkable.
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Luton airport continuing to be a financial drain (maybe £550 million+) to owners Luton Council
In the last few days, the company (owned by Luton Borough Council) that owns Luton Airport, has changed its name from London Luton Airport Ltd, to Luton Rising. That will be its trading name. The company that operates the airport is London Luton Airport Operations. London Luton Airport Operations has obtained agreement from Luton Rising that it can retain £45 million over three years. This will support the airport's recovery from the pandemic. The money would have been paid by the operator to Luton Rising (ie. the council) if it had not been for the impact of Covid reducing passengers and flights. Luton council usually, pre-Covid, made a good profit from the airport, but that has now been reversed. The Council in 2019 receiving a £19.1m, and £15.8m servicing debt. In September 2020 there was a £60m loan by Luton Borough Council to its airport company and it was expected that another £23 million would be paid. Then in June 2021 Luton Council loaned a further £119m to the airport. Now this is another £45 million, over three years. The airport is not looking like a great investment for the council ...
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Government subsidising flights between London and Newquay, and London and Dundee, by £4.3m over 2 years
The DfT has announced that £4.3 million of public funds will be given for two regional air routes, through PSO (Public Service Obligation) agreements. Flights between Newquay and London, by Eastern Airways, will be subsidised by Cornwall Council receiving up to £1.8 million over 2 years, which the government claims will help tourism and business travel. The flights have been subsidised for many years. The other route is London to Dundee, by Loganair, for which the government has confirmed that it will provide up to £2.5 million to fund direct flights for a further 2 years. Again, tourism and business travel are cited as benefits. PSOs are for routes where there is not enough demand to even half fill a small regional aircraft and that to attract a commercial operator to fly the route, the government has to provide a financial incentive. So it is mildly curious that Robert Courts Aviation Minister talked of "the hugely popular London to Dundee" route. Over the years, there has been a lot of churn in which airline can be persuaded to fly these routes.
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Airlines will not be able to avoid higher costs if they use novel (lower carbon) fuels
The CEO of Delta, which is probably the world second biggest airline, has said that tackling climate change will make flying more expensive. [And so it should]. Ed Bastian claims that after spending $30m (£22.4m) a year on carbon-offsetting the airline has been "carbon neutral" since March 2020. It has also pledged to spend $1bn over the next decade to cancel out all the emissions it creates. It gives no details of how it is doing this, and it is well known that most carbon offsets do not work, and the carbon is NOT "cancelled out." The most effective way to cut the greenhouse gases produced by aviation is to have fewer flights and fewer passengers. But the airlines all intend to grow, perhaps by 3% per year if they can. Their only hope of reducing their emissions a little, while they expand, is novel aviation fuels (referred to as sustainable aviation fuel) - SAF. These will be difficult to produce, and probably impossible to produce in the amounts the aviation industry want. The cost of these fuels is high, which will mean more expensive flying. Delta wants to use 10% sustainable aviation fuel by the end of 2030. Ryanair wants 12.5% SAF by 2030; IAG wants 10% by 2030. The EU says SAF currently accounts for just 0.05% of jet fuel use in the EU.
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Virgin says it might return to Gatwick, especially for US routes
When the Covid pandemic began to hit air travel, the slot rules - which require an airline to use 80% of its slots at an airport - were suspended. That suspension has continued ever since, to avoid planes flying empty, just to keep a (valuable) slot. Gatwick is keen to have the slot rules suspension ended, so it can bring in more flights by Wizz, instead of slots being blocked by British Airways and IAG. Virgin decided to leave Gatwick in May 2020, as it could not make any money, but it kept its slots. Norwegian is all but defunct as an international airline, but held 10% of Gatwick’s slots before Covid. Those have been sold or leased back to easyjet. British Airways pre-pandemic was the second largest operator at Gatwick, with 17% of slots. It might, or might not, come back to Gatwick, after saying spring 2020 that it would leave. IAG could sub-let slots to its low cost airline, Vueling. Now Virgin is saying it might come back to Gatwick, as it is excited about the prospect of flights to the US returning, now Covid restrictions are eased. Things will change, if the slot waiver is ended, and both Virgin and British Airways would generally prefer to be at Heathrow, where they can make more money.