General News
Below are links to stories of general interest in relation to aviation and airports.
Austria to introduce flight departure eco-tax – €8 for short haul €40 long haul
Date added: 2 November, 2010
Austria looks likely to follow its neighbour Germany and introduce a departure tax in the near future. The exact date has yet to be announced but it could be as early next year. Passengers departing from an airport in Austria will have to pay €8 for short-haul and €40 for long-haul flights. A UK business person travelling return London/Vienna will pay an extra €8. As in Germany, it is expected that the new tax won't be payable by transit passengers.(ABTN)
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Flying Is One of the Worst Things You Can Do for the Environment – So Why Do So Many Well-Intentioned Folks Do It?
Date added: 2 November, 2010
Flying is one of the most ecologically costly acts of individual consumption, one that requires the exploitation of large amounts of environmental resources. For those of us from the planet’s more privileged portions, acknowledgment of the issues should give serious pause before embracing the air travel that has become standard operating procedure. Many trips would be avoided if the only option was slower, more time-intensive, surface-level travel. (Alternet)
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CAA launches Development of Future Airspace Strategy consultation
Date added: 2 November, 2010
The CAA is drawing up its plans for Future Airspace Strategy for the UK up to
2030. The draft plan is on the CAA website and is out to consultation until 7th February. The
consultation is primarily to get feedback from the industry, but all responses
are accepted. The plan is about airspace policy and principles; it is not about detailed routes
and flight paths. But routes and flight paths in due course will be affected by the final strategy.
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Air Passenger Duty rises on 1st November
Date added: 2 November, 2010
APD rose on 1st November. APD will now generate an estimated £2.3 billion for
the Treasury each year. The increase is only £1 per flight (from £11 to £12)
for short haul trips, such as domestic flights or to Europe. The increase is
£15 (from £45 to £60) for medium range flights of 2,000 to 4,000 miles. The rise
is £25 (from £50 to £75) for flights of 4,000 to 6,000 and an increase of £30
(from £55 to £85) for long haul flights of over 6,000 miles.
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Is climate science disinformation a crime against humanity?
Date added: 1 November, 2010
Deeply irresponsible corporate-sponsored - and well funded - programmes of disinformation
about climate change have potentially harsh effects upon tens of millions of people.
Though some scepticm is legitimate, even if the issue is not settled, evidence
suggests climate change is partly anthropogenic. Disinformation is extraordinarily
morally reprehensible if it leads to non-action in reducing climate change's threat.
Corporations have attempted to prevent measures that adversely affect their financial
interests
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UK emergency committee to discuss air cargo security
Date added: 1 November, 2010
The prime minister is due to chair a meeting of the government's emergency planning
committee Cobra, as calls grow for a full review of airport security. Ministers and officials are expected to discuss tougher checks on freight, after
a bomb was found on a US-bound cargo plane at East Midlands airport. Security
checks on air cargo are less exacting than those on passengers, and the PETN explosive was not picked up by initial tests. (BBC)
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CAA publishes 2009 air passenger survey – fewer poor people flew
Date added: 29 October, 2010
The CAA has published results from the 2009 Air Passenger Survey, which questioned
over 200,000 departing air passengers about their travel patterns at Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, Aberdeen,
Prestwick, Durham Tees Valley, Newcastle and Manchester airports. Data shows there
was a higher proportion of lower income passengers amongst those now not flying.
Heathrow only had 31.5% business passengers, and Gatwick 18.2%.
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BAA sees sharply reduced losses in first 9 months of 2010
Date added: 27 October, 2010
BAA has reported a significant reduction in losses up to September and passenger
numbers down - 2.1% compared to the first 9 months of 2009. Pre-tax losses were £192.6m, down from £784.7m in the same period in 2009. Revenue
was up 4.4% at £1.55bn. Passengers at Heathrow have recently been increasing
slightly. Net retail income per passenger totalled £5.11, which was up from £4.64
in 2009 and a 10.1% increase.
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IATA global September data: more passenger growth, freight growth slowed
Date added: 26 October, 2010
IATA released global figures for September. They show passenger numbers rose
by 10.5% compared to last September, (the increase was 6.5% in August). Passenger
numbers may have been affected by Ramadan. Consumer and business confidence remains
weak in many parts of the world. European carriers met an 8.4% increase in demand over the previous year with a 5.9% increase in
capacity - and an average load factor of 82.6%. The region is now 2% above pre-recession
levels.
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Philip Hammond speech talks of prosperous aviation without harming climate targets
Date added: 25 October, 2010
This was his first major speech on aviation, given to the AOA. He talks about
working to build a prosperous and sustainable aviation industry for the future
but addressing the challenges of climate change. He said "No government with a commitment to carbon reduction targets can adopt a crude
"predict and provide" approach to aviation capacity while aircraft CO2 remains
an unresolved issue." He plans to publish a draft policy document for consultation
early in 2012.
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