General News
Below are links to stories of general interest in relation to aviation and airports.
Vatican lists the ‘new sins’
Thou shalt not pollute the Earth. Thou shalt beware genetic manipulation. Modern times bring with them modern sins. So the Vatican has told the faithful that they should be aware of "new" sins such as causing environmental blight. According to Archbishop Gianfranco Girotti, the Vatican's number two man. (Independent)
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Evidence fix led to third runway being approved
In the effort to push through the third runway, the government and BAA have bent the facts to fit the case. The joint endeavours of the government and BAA claimed to prove that a new airport the size of Gatwick could be bolted on to Heathrow without any adverse environmental impact. The new disclosures will raise questions over the forthcoming decision on the third runway. (Times)
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Virgin’s green idea loses its pulling power
Virgin Atlantic has quietly abandoned a plan to tow Boeing 747 jumbo jets to special "starting grids" at the end of runways after the aircraft manufacturer found that pulling the landing gear would seriously weaken it. It was sold to airline passengers as a bold, green initiative that would save thousands of tonnes of CO2 from their flights. (Times)
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Revealed: the plot to expand Heathrow
BAA colluded with government officials to "fix" the evidence in favour of a new third runway at Heathrow, an investigation has found. Documents reveal that BAA executives prevented the use of data in the consultation document which showed that the expansion would cause unlawful levels of pollution and extra noise. (Sunday Times) Instead, they gave civil servants amended data that showed the anticipated 230,000 extra flights a year at Heathrow would have a minimal impact on noise and pollution levels.
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Ensuring limited organic air freight is fair and ethical – Soil Association
Following an extensive first round consultation on the issue of air freight – lasting 4 months, receiving nearly 400 responses – the Soil Association’s Standards Board recommended that the organisation’s standards should be changed so that organic produce can only be air-freighted if it also meets the Soil Association’s own Ethical Trade or the Fairtrade Foundation’s standard. (Soil Association)
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Trans-Atlantic flight arrives in London with just FIVE passengers on board
American Airlines sent a plane on a 4,000-mile journey (Chicago to Heathrow)with just 5 passengers on board. With enough room to fit 245 passengers, the flight made the 9-hour trip on 22,000 gallons of fuel - a total of 4,400 gallons per passenger. Each passenger on the plane had a massive carbon footprint of 43.2 tonnes of CO2. (Daily Mail)
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Did the Standard tell the truth about the Heathrow climate change camp?
Tomorrow the Press Complaints Commission, Britain's only arbiter of fairness and accuracy in our newspapers, is due to make a ruling on the reporting by the Evening Standard of the Climate Camp at Heathrow in August 2007. The PCC has only made a formal adjudication on 1.6% of cases put to it in the last 10 years. (George Monbiot - Guardian)
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Kelly rejects proposals to limit air travel
Ruth Kelly, the transport secretary, firmly rejected proposals to ration air travel "crudely" by halting airport expansion or imposing punitive taxes. In spite of a groundswell of opposition to a 3rd runway and 6th terminal at Heathrow, Ms Kelly underlined ministers’ support for "sustainable growth of aviation". (Financial Times)
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Beyond Crews Control – shortage of pilots for Chinese air freight
A shortage of pilots is tripping up freighter expansion plans in Asia, and many believe the airlines' new capacity is going to get worse. In Asia, where countries have seen an upheaval in trading patterns in recent years, finding pilots has emerged as one of they toughest issues for start-ups as well as incumbent airlines. (Air Cargo News)
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London is out of airspace – CAA and NATS comment 2007 on ATWP 2006 expansion plans
A new swathe of residential areas could be blighted by aircraft noise and pollution for the first time after regulators warned there is not enough airspace to cope with airport expansion in southeast England. The CAA and NATS say expansion in the southeast would not leave sufficient airspace capacity. (Sunday Times)