General News
Below are links to stories of general interest in relation to aviation and airports.
Cargo plane breaks in two after crashing during take-off in Brussels
An American-owned Boeing 747 cargo plane crashed as it took off from Brussels airport yesterday but no injuries were reported. The jumbo jet broke in two in the crash as it came to rest at the end of the runway 500m from housing in the Brussels suburb of Zaventem. Some local residents have been campaigning to have this particular runway closed. (Irish Examiner)
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Cambridgeshire Council slams NATS air stack plans
The consultation on plans to stack thousands of aircraft over towns and villages in Cambridgeshire has been slammed as ‘flawed’. Cambridgeshire County Council said NATS has failed to carry out ‘any proper consultation whatsoever’ on proposals to replace the existing two stacks serving Luton and Stansted Airport. It has also underestimated how many people could be affected by increased aircraft noise. (UK Airport News)
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Sustainable Development Commission / IPPR Report: Breaking the Holding Pattern
The Sustainable Develoment Commission and the Institute for Public Policy Research have published recommendations for a new approach to aviation policymaking in the UK based on a finding that there is widespread controversy over the basic economic, environmental and technological data on air travel. AEF Director, Tim Johnson, said: "Today’s recommendations from IPPR/SDC highlight the need for Government to put its aviation expansion plans on hold".
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Put UK airport expansion on hold, demands green group, the Sustainable Development Commission
The government should completely rethink its aviation policy and shelve plans to expand Heathrow and Stansted airports, according to an influential advisory body, the Sustainable Development Commission. It warned that the government faced a wave of legal challenges if it did not hold an independent review of its 2003 aviation white paper, which sanctioned new runways at Heathrow, Stansted and other airports. (Guardian)
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WWF-UK launches Travelling Light on how British business can reduce flying
WWF today launched "Travelling Light", a report into the appetite of British business to reduce its flying, with a focus on the possibilities of 'virtual meetings' through videoconferencing. The report also serves to launch WWF-UK's campaign "One in Five" for companies to cut one in five business flights, over five years. (WWF)
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Businesses cut flights by staff
Many businesses are seeking to reduce the number of flights taken by staff as a way of reducing carbon emissions, according to a report by WWF-UK. A survey of 100 companies in the FTSE 350 index shows that 89% are expecting to cut flights during the next 10 years and 85% regard video conferencing as a way to reduce travel. (Financial Times)
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European Union and Unites States begin new ‘Open Skies’ aviation talks
The EU and the US aunched talks on Thursday on liberalizing transatlantic aviation, with Britain pushing for greater freedoms but US politicians likely to oppose further movement. The second round of "Open Skies" discussions builds on an agreement that allows airlines to access any US city from any point in the EU and vice versa and which entered force in March. (AirWise)
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Policing costs threaten airports’ viability
Plans to make all UK airports pay for additional policing risk increasing costs for passengers and threaten the financial viability of the industry, operators warned. A transport security bill will mean that current regulations, under which only 9 major airports pay for policing, will be extended throughout the sector to cover a total of more than 60 regional airports, following recommendations of a review of policing. (Financial Times)
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Heathrow transit passengers cost taxman £500m a year in lost revenue
More than a quarter of passengers at Heathrow are overseas travellers who are stopping only briefly to change planes. The number of international transfer passengers at Heathrow has trebled since 1991 to 18 million a year, and is expected to be double that by 2030. This costs the Treasury millions in lost potential revenue because transfer passengers do not pay air passenger duty. (Times)
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Heathrow crash plane had low fuel pressure
The plane that crash-landed at Heathrow last winter had low fuel pressure at the inlet to the fuel pumps, an interim accident report claimed yesterday. The British Airways Boeing 777 came down before the runway because the engines lacked power. The onboard computers detected the reduced fuel flow between the tanks and the high-pressure pumps and instructed the metering valve to open fully. (Metro)