General News
Below are links to stories of general interest in relation to aviation and airports.
Supreme Court calls time on BAA
Date added: 18 February, 2011
Stop Stansted Expansion has welcomed the decision by the Supreme Court to refuse
BAA permission to mount a further appeal against the Competition Commission’s
2009 ruling that it must sell Stansted Airport (and also either its Edinburgh
or Glasgow airport). This means that BAA has now exhausted the full legal process. But SSE is concerned
that BAA now argue circumstances have changed since 2009, and are trying for further
delay.
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BAA airport sell-off still on after new court ruling
Date added: 18 February, 2011
BAA has lost its latest challenge against a ruling that it must sell Stansted
and either Glasgow or Edinburgh. BAA has mounted a string of legal challenges in an attempt to keep them ever
since the Competition Commission ruled in 2009 that BAA must sell 3 of its 7 UK
airports. The Supreme Court has not allowed BAA to appeal against the earlier Court of
Appeal decision. The Competition Commission will report again next month.
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Families forced to pay 269% more for holidays (by the travel companies) in popular weeks
Date added: 18 February, 2011
Hard pressed, hard working British families are being charged up to 269% more
to go on holiday over half-term. On average, trips for the week of Feb 19 - 26,
when most British schoolchildren are off, are 53% more expensive than going 2
weeks later. Packages with flights from London face the biggest price increases – on average
67% more than 2 weeks later. Travel companies are trying to scoop money wherever
they can. So much for complaints about APD.
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Exxon struggles to find new oil – but still increasing gas finds
Date added: 17 February, 2011
Exxon Mobi Corp., the world's largest publicly traded oil company, is struggling to find
more oil. In its closely watched annual financial report just released, the company said
that for every 100 barrels it has pumped out of the earth over the past decade,
it has replaced only 95. Exxon now has more natural gas in reserve for future production than oil. It's a conundrum shared by most of the other large Western oil-producing companies.
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Obama Proposes Cuts in Airport Funding
Date added: 16 February, 2011
The Obama Administration’s Fiscal Year 2012 budget request includes a proposed
$1.1 billion reduction in AIP [Airport Improvement Program] funding to $2.4 billion
and the elimination of all AIP grants - entitlements and discretionary funding -
to large and medium hub airports.
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Easyjet aircraft coating bid to save 1 – 2% fuel by cutting drag
Date added: 16 February, 2011
EasyJet has sprayed 8 aircraft with a special coating paint, make by TripleO, including
nanoparticles, hoping to make savings which it may pass on to customers. The
technology has been used by the American military for 25 years, and reduces drag
on the plane's surface by preventing dust and debris build-up. It could reduce
drag by 1 - 2%. EasyJet will compare fuel consumption of the 8 planes with the
rest of the fleet over a 12-month trial period.
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Email campaign launched to ban night flights at Heathrow as major study finds sleep deprivation increases stroke and heart disease risk
Date added: 15 February, 2011
Just after a major new study linked chronic sleep shortage to increased risk of heart disease and strokes, HACAN has launched an email campaign to persuade MPs to back its call for a ban on night flights at Heathrow before 6am. Residents can email their MP and MEPs via HACAN's website: www.hacan.org.uk. The Warwick University Medical School study shows that getting inadequate sleep(under 6 hours), or having sleep disturbed, has highly negative health effects.
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Site battles: Remembering the fight against the 2nd runway at Manchester Airport
Date added: 15 February, 2011
On February 17th in Manchester there will be a photo exhibition and speaker event
at the University of Manchester Students Union, to look back at the fight against
the runway, over ten years ago. In the late 1990s, people from across Greater
Manchester united to oppose a 2nd runway. Whilst local villagers marched and
rallied, environmental protesters occupied treehouses and dug tunnels on the land
where the runway now lies.
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Airline APD lobbyists agree one voice is needed
Date added: 11 February, 2011
BA and rival carriers are finalising plans to offer a united front in their campaign
against the current structure of Air Passenger Duty. They will join with trade associations to lobby the government ahead of the Budget
on March 23 when the chancellor will address APD. The campaign will urge changes to the banding and rates of tax, eg the Caribbean
anomaly. They will also argue that passengers are transferring to European hubs
to avoid the APD.
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Data at 300 European airports reveals winners and losers in 2010 by airport and country; demand up 4.8%
Date added: 9 February, 2011
Anna aero figures show the airports across Europe that gained or lost passengers
during 2010 compared to 2009. While UK airports had 3.4% less passengers, France
had a gain of 1.2%; Germany a gain of 4.7% and Italy a gain of 7%; Netherlands
up 4.7%. Out in the lead with growth over 20% were Turkey, Lithuania and Russia.
Overall gain across Europe was up 4.8%. Passengers at Greek airports were down
5%, Ireland down 13%,
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