General News
Below are links to stories of general interest in relation to aviation and airports.
Air France-KLM makes record annual loss of 1.55bn euros
Air France-KLM has announced a record annual net loss of 1.55bn euros ( £1.33bn). A fall in air traffic, particularly for cargo, rocketing fuel prices and the fatal Rio-Paris air crash of almost a year ago all took their toll. The loss is even greater than the 1.3 bn euros it lost in 1993. This year's figure is almost double the 811m-euro loss reported for the previous financial year. (BBC)
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Fast Train to Nowhere? – George Monbiot questions the case for high speed rail
Before the UK commissions a high speed rail network, we should ask ourselves some big questions. Does high speed rail provide a lower carbon form of transport than its alternatives? How many of its passengers switch from lower carbon forms of travel? How has the DfT calculated the figures? What assumptions has it made? Will high speed rail only increase the numbers travelling, and will the runway slots just be used for long haul instead?
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Flights grounded after volcanic ash returns
Flights have been suspended at airports across the North and Midlands, as volcanic ash drifts across the country. A CAA-imposed no fly zone is in place until 1900 BST. Birmingham, East Midlands, Manchester, Liverpool, Doncaster, Humberside, Leeds, Teesside and Carlisle airports are closed, and Prestwick About 7,000 passengers have been affected at Manchester Airport, where 80 flights have been cancelled. Also 30 at Liverpool and 18 at Leeds. (BBC)
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Warning of more disruption to flights from volcanic ash cloud
Parts of the UK's airspace are at risk of closure from Sunday because of volcanic activity by the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland. The DfT has warned that disruption could hit airports in south-east England until Tuesday. BA will discuss the likely impact with Nats. Ministers agreed on Saturday that 5-day ash prediction charts would be made available on the Met Office website. ash plume was currently about 25,000ft high, with winds blowing from the NW.
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What went wrong at the BP Gulf of Mexico oil rig? And can deep sea oil drilling be safe?
Bad wiring and a leak in what's supposed to be a "blowout preventer." Sealing problems that may have allowed a methane gas eruption which caused the leak. Even a dead battery, of all things. There was a complex cascade of deep-sea equipment failures and procedural problems in the oil rig explosion and massive spill originating nearly a mile under water. Over the past 21 days more than 4 million gallons of oil have been released. Can deep sea drilling be safe?
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Avation industry pessimist frets over the industry’s future …
A long article by David Bentley, an aviation analyst, expresses his fears for the future health of the UK aviation industry. His concerns stem from the Conservative - Lib Dem government decision to scrap plans for a third Heathrow runway, and also new runways at Gatwick and Stansted. Also fears about a generally more environmentally aware government, ash clouds over Europe, ever growing financial pressures amd competition from Europe.
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Cameron’s Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition cabinet: Philip Hammond at Transport
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Emirates posts strong profits – 400% up on a year earlier
For most airlines the recession has meant huge losses, reduced capacity and cost cutting but Emirates, the Dubai-based carrier, has bucked that trend and posted a huge increase in profits. It said its profits in the year to the end of March had increased by over 400% - compared to a year earlier - to $964 million. Emirates has reduced its costs by 2.7% and pressed on with expansion plans. Passenger numbers rose by 20.8% to 27.4 million. (Times)
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Full Text: Conservative-Lib Dem deal (environmental section)
The specific environmental/transport measures mentioned are these: The establishment of a high-speed rail network. The cancellation of the 3rd runway at Heathrow. The refusal of additional runways at Gatwick and Stansted. The replacement of the Air Passenger Duty with a per flight duty. The provision of a floor price for carbon, as well as efforts to persuade the EU to move towards full auctioning of ETS permits.
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Plane crash in Libya ‘kills more than 100 on board’
A passenger plane onwed by Afriquiyah Airways, (a low cost Libyan airline set up 9 years ago) has crashed in Libya, killing more than 100 people on board. The Airbus 330 crashed on landing at Tripoli airport after a flight from Johannesburg. Several dozen Dutch nationals were among the 93 passengers, and one Dutch boy is the sole survivor. The cause of the accident is not known, but the plane appears to have crashed close to the runway. (BBC)