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Latest news stories:
Protesters against the expansion of Bristol Airport still “have eyes on” the airport and its impacts
Protesters against the expansion of Bristol airport made it clear they still "have eyes on" the airport, at a demonstration on 22nd June. Members of Bristol Airport Action Network (BAAN), Extinction Rebellion and the local community joined forces on a roundabout at the airport’s entrance to tell the world they are still watching – despite plans to expand the airport being approved. The network has been campaigning against expansion proposals for over four years, during which time the application was refused planning permission by North Somerset Council before the government stepped in to overturn the decision. A further appeal was rejected by the High Court in January this year, giving the airport the greenlight to expand from 10 to 12m passengers per year. Local people say they are already experiencing problems caused by increased flights, night flights, more traffic on rural roads and traffic congestion. Protesters are concerned about extra carbon emissions and the building of a multi-storey car park on local greenbelt land. Despite their pleas being ignored, protesters want the authorities to know they will continue to hold the airport to account.
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Doncaster Council gets £3.1 million to help it buy Doncaster Sheffield Airport
A £3.1 million financial package has been approved to help Doncaster Council prepare a Compulsory Purchase Order for Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA). The money is coming from the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) to help with the "complex" preparations. The SYMCA also agreed funding for Doncaster's Place Plan, which includes the potential purchase of the airport. Work will now continue on the potential purchase order as well as the negotiations on a potential lease. There will be costs to reinstate the airport for operations and these costs will form a part of the business plan the council is preparing. The council said it has potential buyers and operators who are aware of this and willing to work with the authority. The Mayor of Doncaster said: "Peel continues to be unwilling sellers; they have not gone to the open market or made any effort to sell the airport as an operational airport and working business."
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Airlines’ unrealistic hope that sustainable fuels will propel them to a guilt-free future
Airlines are desperate to believe, and get everyone else to believe, that flying can be made "low carbon", so everyone can continue to fly, with a clear conscience about their impact on irrevocably altering Earth's climate. But the only real option,(while the sector is trying to grow as much as possible) that might make a significant reduction in aviation carbon emissions, is using other novel fuels. So-called SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel). Currently if aviation used every drop of available SAF, it would be about 0.1% of total aviation demand. There are grandiose plans to aviation to use 10%, 20%, 30% or whatever within the next 2 or 3 decades. ie. unrealistic growth. But as Cait Hewitt, of the AEF said: "...there is increasing scepticism about the possibility of scaling up SAFs ... There’s no feedstock – everything is in demand elsewhere. They work really much more like an offset. ...The idea of using waste from processes such as intensive agriculture or animal fats, or plastic manufacture, that are fundamentally unsustainable … I don’t think you can claim that as a sustainable carbon reduction.”
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Ruth Cadbury, MP for Brentford & Isleworth, reaffirms her opposition to Heathrow expansion
Ruth Cadbury, MP for Brentford & Isleworth, used a speech in a Westminster Hall debate in Parliament to reaffirm her opposition to a third runway at Heathrow, while also raising a number of other constituency issues relating to Heathrow expansion. In her speech Ruth warned that even without a third runway at Heathrow there could still be a large increase in the number of flights arriving at Heathrow if runway alternation is ended. She also mentioned the need for adequate noise insulation schemes to ensure residents locally could get double glazing and other improvements to reduce noise pollution in their homes. She said: ‘‘Whether you live in Brentford, Isleworth, Osterley or North Chiswick the excessive noise from the existing two runways is already having a huge impact. A third runway or an expansion in the number of existing flights would only make noise pollution worse....‘‘I will continue to work with campaigners, local community groups and residents across west London to protect our local community from expansion."
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Noisy night flight ban proposed by East Midlands Airport
Noisy planes would be banned from taking off or landing at East Midlands Airport (EMA) during the night (23:00 and 07:00) under new plans. The airport's noise action plan for 2024 to 2028 is proposing bans on three categories of the noisiest planes (QC4, QC8 and QC16 ratings). The suggested changes also would see penalties to airlines flying louder planes at night increased. A consultation closes on 31 July. The airport said night flights account for 45% of its operations, and includes passenger services as well as freight. Under the airport's planning conditions, noise must not exceed 55 decibels for more than 16km around the site between those hours. EMA says it has a freight capacity of 450,000 tonnes a year, forecast to reach 700,000 by 2040. Since Covid, the number of the older and noisier QC4-rated aircraft flights has increased, which the airport says is due to a shortage of vehicles and the need to meet demand for increased online shopping. Fines for airlines not meeting new "Chapter 14" noise standards - certification standards for noise emissions from aircraft - would currently affect 79% of all night flights, with just 21% meeting the standard in 2022.
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Leeds Bradford Airport warned by Leeds City council that it breached rules on night-time flights in 2022
Leeds Bradford Airport has been warned it could face legal action after breaching the number of flights allowed at night. Leeds City Council served a breach of planning condition notice after finding that there were there were 3,667 night-time flights last summer – about 25% more than permitted under planning rules. Failure to comply with the limits is a criminal offence. If the airport continues to breach the rules it could be served with an enforcement notice to ensure compliance. The airport is bound to limit flights between 11pm and 7am to minimise noise pollution. An investigation was launched after the council received a complaint in October last year. Leeds Bradford Airport said the technology it used to record flight traffic data was not working correctly. Chris Foren, chair of Group for Action on Leeds Bradford Airport, said: "Last year, we told the council that we believed there had been over 600 more flights than allowed at night from LBA during the 2022 summer season." It is hoped that the airport will now stick to its limit this summer.
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Mayoral authority to vote on funding to support purchase of Doncaster Sheffield Airport
The South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) is to decide whether to grant £3.1m to support the purchase of Doncaster Sheffield Airport. The authority's board will meet later to discuss a request from Doncaster Council for funding for legal action to force owners Peel Group to sell the site. Peel closed the airport in November, saying it was not financially viable. The council is considering pursuing a compulsory purchase order (CPO.) In April, the local authority agreed to set aside £3.1m towards the costs of taking legal action. It said a CPO would only be needed if all other avenues, such as a negotiated sale or lease, were exhausted. The council has asked SYMCA for financial support for "the costs of building a case", a report to the SYMCA's annual general meeting said. The council believes its costs could reach up to £6.25m and has warned it may be unable pursue a CPO if funding is refused.
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‘Pigs do fly’: Growing use of animal fats in cars and planes increasingly unsustainable
Europe’s growing use of animal fats to power its cars and planes is becoming increasingly unsustainable, a new study on behalf of Transport & Environment (T&E) shows. They are asking for greater transparency on use of animal fats, so that consumers know what is going into their vehicle tanks and fuelling their flights. Use of animal fat biodiesel has doubled in the past decade and is 40 times higher than it was in 2006. European lawmakers have been promoting the by-product of industrial meat farming as a way of attempting to reduce the carbon impact of transport fuels.They are now setting their sights on planes – and to a lesser extent ships. However, there is not enough to go around. Nearly half of all European animal fats already go into biodiesel, despite being used extensively in the pet food, soaps and cosmetics industries. That can’t be sustained without depriving other sectors, which will in turn likely switch to damaging alternatives like palm oil. Only category 1 and 2 animal fats are too contaminated to even be used for animal food or soap etc, so can be used for fuel. The suffering of pigs and cattle in factory farming (and their slaughter) to provide these fats should be a concern to everyone.
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MPs warn against Heathrow Airport expansion: ‘Put the planet first’
Fleur Anderson, the Labour MP for Putney, led a parliamentary debate on 24th May, in which she said plans to expand Heathrow would subject Londoners to unacceptable levels of noise and air pollution. That would be “a serious health issue” for her constituents. She called for the Government to block the project. Fleur said to the incoming Heathrow CEO: “There is no version of an expanded Heathrow which is compatible with climate targets. There is no version of an expanded Heathrow that does not reduce the quality of the lives of 650,000 people in my constituency and beyond, who live under the flight path. And there is no version of an expanded Heathrow that does not make the air our children breathe even more polluted. I implore you, put the quality of life and the planet first, and the profits of your shareholders second.” A coalition of MPs came together for the debate, to protest against any expansion of Heathrow. They included former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, MP for Hayes and Harlington; Munira Wilson; Fleur Anderson; Ruth Cadbury; Andy Slaughter; Rupa Huq and John Randall.
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French ban on some domestic flights comes into effect, if short rail alternative exists
France has banned domestic short-haul flights where train alternatives taking under two and a half hours exist, in a bid to cut carbon emissions. Connecting flights are unaffected. Services, linking Paris Orly airport with Nantes, Bordeaux and Lyons, had already been stopped by Air France under a 2020 agreement. However, they are allowed to continue to use Charles de Gaulle airport. Unfortunately, this will only have a small effect on overall French aviation CO2 emissions, the bulk of which come from international flights. The French government had faced calls to introduce even stricter rules, with the 2019 Citizens' Convention on Climate asking for bans when the train alternative would be under 4 hours. But this was reduced to two-and-a-half hours after objections from some regions, as well as the airline Air France-KLM. A consumer group has called for "safeguards that [French national railway] SNCF will not seize the opportunity to artificially inflate its prices or degrade the quality of rail service". It is hoped the short flight ban, though having little impact, could set a precedent to be followed by other countries.
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100 climate activists block private jets at biggest business aviation sales event in Europe
In Geneva, 100 climate activists supporting Greenpeace, Stay Grounded, Extinction Rebellion, Scientist Rebellion and other climate movement groups from 17 countries have disrupted Europe’s biggest private jet sales fair, the annual European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE), demanding a ban on private jets. The action follows a series of protests against private jets, including at Amsterdam Schiphol airport and actions as part of the Make Them Pay campaign, in the past months. Activists chained themselves to aircraft gangways and the exhibition entrance in order to keep prospective buyers from entering. The protestors stuck giant tobacco-style health warning labels on the jets marking them as toxic objects and warning that ‘private jets burn our future’, ‘kill our planet’, and ‘fuel inequality’. Sales of private jets are expected to reach their highest ever level this year, and the global fleet of private jets has more than doubled in the last 20 years. Private flights produce about 10 times the CO2 of a commercial flight per passenger kilometre. This sort of CO2 emissions are inequitable, and unjustified environmental damage by the very rich.
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Head of Boeing not optimistic that SAF will be cheap enough any time soon
The head of Boeing has warned that biofuels will “never achieve the price of jet fuel”, expecting that this central pillar of the aviation sector’s strategy to slash emissions is not likely to be successful. Airlines say that so-called "sustainable aviation fuels" (SAF) — made from food wastes, agricultural and forestry waste, and domestic rubbish, could enable lower CO2 from the sector, by replacing the kerosene-type fuels, such as Jet A, used in aircraft today. But SAF currently accounts for less than 1% of global aviation consumption and its price is at least x2 or x3 that of kerosene fuel. If the fuel could be made in anything approaching the scale the aviation industry wants, and without other serious unintended agricultural and environmental impacts, it would still be expensive. The extra cost would have to mean more expensive flying, and thus fewer people flying - less future growth for the sector. “There are no cheap ways to do SAF — if there were, we would already be doing them.” Governments want to mandate use of SAF by airports, even though it is not available in large amounts.
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Appeal Court rejects application by BAAN to appeal against Bristol Airport expansion decision
In January the High Court ruled that the airport's major expansion plans could go ahead following a lengthy legal battle, but local group Bristol Airport Action Network appealed against the decision. Now that appeal has been "refused on all grounds". by the Court of Appeal. A ruling found that there was not "real prospect of success" of the challenge and no other compelling reason for to allow it. The airport plans to expand its maximum capacity from 10m to 12m passengers a year, had initially been refused planning permission by North Somerset Council in January 2020. The airport's owner Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan later appealed to the Government, and the decision was overturned by the Planning Inspectorate in February 2022. BAAN has been fighting ever since, and commented that “The airport can now expand by an extra 2 million passengers a year, build a multi-storey car park on Greenbelt land, massively increase the number of summer night flights and congest the local roads with an extra 10,000 cars a day." As well as hugely increase its carbon emissions. BAAN says "the planning system concerning airport expansion has been rigged by the government to ignore the climate crisis."
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EU Parliament votes to clamp down on carbon-neutral claims backed by offsetting
The European Parliament voted late last week to support new rules to improve product durability and combat greenwashing. The proposal for a new directive on empowering consumers for the green transition was voted in plenary by an overwhelming majority of 544 votes in favour, 18 against and 17 abstentions, opening the way for talks with EU member states to finalise the law. Tabled in March last year, the directive aims to help consumers make environmentally friendly choices and encourage companies to offer them more durable products. “This proposal aims to strengthen the fight against greenwashing by banning practices that mislead consumers on the actual sustainability of products,” EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders told MEPs. Lawmakers introduced a ban on environmental claims based on carbon offsetting schemes, such as ‘CO2 neutral’ or ‘carbon neutral’, which are criticised by environmental groups for misleading consumers. Campaigners hailed the Parliament’s move, which was not included in the European Commission’s draft proposal tabled last year.
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Liverpool Airport post-pandemic recovery helped by delaying repayment of £30 million council loan
Liverpool John Lennon Airport has increased turnover and reduced losses in the year to March 31, 2022, its latest accounts at Companies House reveal. Turnover in the year to March 31, 2022, rose to £15.126m, compared with £8.012m the previous year. A pre-tax loss of £4.874m was an improvement on the pre-tax loss of £12.060m a year ago, again, linked to the increase in passenger numbers as part of the ongoing recovery from the Coronavirus pandemic. The company has net assets of £5m, compared with £9.9m the previous year. In the the summer of 2020 the airport group was offered a £34m loan from the combined authority to help it through the pandemic. It said £30m was due to have been repaid on March 31 this year, but that deadline has now been extended for a further year. That is money from taxpayers, and the delay means the council is not getting its loan back soon. The figures reveal LJLA’s biggest source of revenue in the latest financial year was its car parking operation, which generated £5.251m. Aeronautical earned £4.489m, while concessions, or retail, provided £4.028m in turnover.
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Heathrow vs airlines – dispute continues as parties given permission to appeal price cap
Heathrow Airport and separately 3 major airlines (Virgin Atlantic, British Airways and Delta Air Lines) have been granted permission to appeal the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)’s decision on the Heathrow price cap. The airlines have been locked in a fierce dispute with Heathrow over the amount the airport can charge per passenger. Both sides launched rival appeals in April against the CAA’s decision to lower the cap; the appeal process was then passed to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The appeals followed the CAA’s confirmation in March that the levy would remain fixed at the same rate as set out earlier in the year - not allowing Heathrow to charge a higher rate. The CAA had announced in January that the 2023 cap would be raised to £31.57 per passenger, up from £30.19. It will then fall about 20% to £25.43 per passenger in 2024 and will remain there until 2026. The airlines argue that Heathrow has played down its recovery from Covid, and used “knowingly undercooked and self-serving passenger forecasts,” to attempt to keep the cap, which is set based on passenger numbers, higher. Heathrow argue that the rate should be greater, to boost investment in the airport.
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Government consultation about cutting AIRPORT CO2 emissions, but ignored AIRCRAFT emissions
The Government is currently consulting on proposals to introduce a target for airports to achieve zero emissions without offsetting by 2040. But the target doesn’t include the emissions from flights, despite these being responsible – according to the Government’s own consultants – for 95% of airports’ emissions. The government's target would actually require a massive reduction, or complete cessation, of flights if it included the CO2 emissions from planes too. While it is possible to decarbonise (largely by use of electricity) airport operations on the ground, there are no technologies that can do this, on a large scale, for aircraft. The only plan for flights, other than so-called "sustainable aviation fuels" would be speculative future CO2 removal from the atmosphere. The consultation document says that “The zero-emissions airport target is not intended to hamper economic growth at airports, but to provide a social licence for growth.” ie. making it look as if the aviation industry is working hard to cut its emissions. It would be necessary, for the airport CO2 targets, to include full reporting of the emissions from flights using the airport.
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Friends of the Earth threaten legal challenge to Government about inadequate net zero strategy
Ministers may have to rethink their plans for meeting net zero for a second time after green campaigners took the first step towards a legal challenge over inadequate action on climate change. Grant Shapps, the energy secretary, was forced last month to publish a revised version of the government’s net-zero strategy, after the High Court ruled the original was unlawful. The new plan included a mandate to ensure that 28% of car sales were electric by 2025, an extension of grants for heat pumps and a Great British Insulation Scheme. Shapps could now have to revisit the plan again. Friends of the Earth, which brought last year’s court case along with the Good Law Project and ClientEarth, has given him until Friday 28th April to respond to a pre-action letter. It is the first step towards applying for a judicial review. The group’s focus is the lack of detail on the risk of policies failing to deliver the emissions cuts needed for Britain’s legally binding “sixth carbon budget” by 2037. There is no realistic plan to cut the emissions from aviation, other than hopes of so-called "sustainable aviation fuels" (SAF) which is highly unlikely to be available in large amounts.
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UK Agency, UK Export Finance, has backed billions’ worth of aviation deals in recent years
UK Export Finance (UKEF), a UK government agency, has financially supported the aviation industry with billions of £s since the Paris climate agreement was adopted, despite it being a high carbon emitter. The effective subsidy for new airports abroad, aircraft and maintenance comes despite the agency believing the oil-dependent sector is unlikely to begin cutting emissions “materially” before the next decade. UKEF offers a range of loans, insurance and guarantees to help British companies secure business abroad. It said in 2021 that it would not support fossil fuel projects, but it continues to support Rolls-Royce, Airbus, Boeing and British Airways (BA). Almost none come with any climate-related conditions attached. The UKEF could play an important role in decarbonising UK exports and working towards "net zero," but its continued support for the expansion of the aviation industry today is instead locking in more carbon emissions for decades to come. UKEF says it is working to decarbonise the sector. Between 2016 and 2023, £18.5bn of UKEF’s nearly £36bn in listed financing went to the aerospace sector. Of this, 46% has gone to civil aviation; £3bn went to BA; Airbus £2bn, Boeing £1.7bn and Rolls-Royce £1.3bn.
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Climate change will mean aviation will have to change, even if very reluctantly
Though the Dutch government lost its legal battle recently, trying to limit the number of flights using Schiphol, this was not the triumph the airlines hoped for. Airlines are scared that governments, realising the high CO2 emissions from the sector and no realistic plan to reduce them for several decades, will bring in measures to limit flights or demand for air travel. UN secretary-general António Guterres has said that the latest report by the IPCC showed a “quantum leap” in climate action was now required - and that should include aviation. The Dutch government only lost its case, on a technicality - so it may press on. The aviation sector may try to bring in restrictions itself, in the hope of avoiding more draconian measures being imposed. It is increasingly apparent that the sector’s decarbonisation road maps, largely relying on huge amounts of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), operational efficiencies and technological breakthroughs, will not deliver the "net zero" emissions target by 2050 - especially while the sector tries to grow each year. The chief executive of French airport operator Aéroports de Paris has openly admitted that demand growth has to slow for a time — at least in developed countries
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Dutch court in Haarlem blocks flight cutback plan for Schiphol airport
The Dutch government cannot introduce a cap to lower flight numbers at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport later this year, a local court has ruled. This blocks one of the most high-profile attempts yet, anywhere, to reduce the aviation industry’s environmental impact. A Haarlem court ruled that the Dutch government could not cut flight numbers by 8% to 460,000 per year, as it had not gone through the correct procedures when it introduced the rules as temporary measures. The court ruled that “According to European rules, the state can only reduce the number of air transport movements at an airport after going through a careful process.” The airline industry had brought the case against the government, claiming (despite growth plans) that it was working hard to reduce aircraft noise levels and CO2 emissions. KLM, easyJet, Tui and Delta were also involved in bringing the case, which was based on the local impact of flying, including noise and NO2, and could have become a test case. Dutch public policy contrasts with the UK, where the government has said airport capacity growth is consistent with its so called "net zero" 2050 targets.
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Doncaster Council considers leasing closed Doncaster Sheffield Airport at considerable expense from Peel
Doncaster Council could lease Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA), which closed recently, from its owners, Peel L&P, under plans being considered. The airport was wound down by Peel in November 2022, citing the financial viability of the site. At a meeting later this month, the council is set to discuss ring-fencing more than £3m for a compulsory purchase order to buy the airport. The council said Peel had recently offered a lease of the airport. The council hopes to reopen the site, and provide jobs. The order to potentially buy DSA from Peel is expected to initially cost up to £3.1m in legal costs. A report looking at what can be done to reopen the airport is set to be discussed at a cabinet meeting on 12 April. The plan is for the area around the airport to contain a cluster of businesses to compliment the site. The Mayor of Doncaster said, rather over-optimistically, that the airport "has the potential to be the jewel in the crown of the Doncaster and South Yorkshire economy." In fact, it will generally just provide holiday flights, taking local residents to spend their money abroad.
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European airline sector fears competitors from outside the EU that don’t have CO2 reduction goals
European airlines fear losing out to rivals based outside the EU that can ignore the bloc's emissions-reduction rules to become carbon neutral by 2050. The EU's "Fit for 55" package sets out an initial goal of reducing CO2 emissions by 55% in 2030 compared with the 1990 level. This involves EU obligations to scale up the use of sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) to be blended with fossil fuels in all flights departing from European airports. SAFs come from sources such as municipal solid waste, leftovers from the agricultural and forestry industry, used cooking oil, crops and plants, and hydrogen. The makers of the fuels claim they have considerably lower CO2 emissions than conventional kerosene (though about the same when burned in a jet engine). SAF is still in its early stages, with very little produced - and it is much more expensive than kerosene, so flights using it would cost more. If people choose to fly first to Istanbul or Doha or Dubai for the next part of a long flight, it would cost less than flying from a European airport. Airports like Istanbul hope to grow massively in coming years.
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Claims that Air Alderney flights from Lydd to Le Touquet might start in summer
Commercial flights from Lydd airport, by Air Alderney, may start this summer. The small specialist airline will fly from the airfield on Romney Marsh to destinations including the French airport of Le Touquet, which is a 15 minute flight from Lydd. The runway at Lydd is one of the shortest on mainland UK at 1,505m - more than 2,000m less than the two runways at Heathrow. A 300m expansion of the runway was approved 10 years ago, along with a new terminal building, but work has yet to begin on either. The airport also likes to call itself London Ashford Airport, though it is miles - and a hard journey - from London. It is controlled by Saudi businessman Sheikh Fahad Al-Athel. In 2013 the airport was given the permission to extend the airport and runway, to take larger holiday destination aircraft. The plans faced legal challenges with campaigners opposed to the expansion at a site which is close to the Dungeness nuclear plant, an RSPB nature reserve and a military range. The Lydd Airport Action Group took the expansions plans to the high court, but their bid to block them was thrown out. It is unclear whether commercial flights will actually return, or be profitable.
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Luton Airport expansion plans to be examined by the Planning Inspectorate
The government has agreed that the Planning Inspectorate (PI) will examine proposals from "Luton Rising", the Luton Council company that owns the airport, to expand Luton Airport from 18 million to 32 million passengers per year. The council makes the usual claims about more employment and great economic benefits for the area. The PI has six months to examine the plans. The transport secretary [Mark Harper, since October 2022] will then decide whether to grant development consent. The expansion plans include new terminal capacity, some runway changes, and new airside and landside facilities. A council spokesperson said that, "for every additional passenger above the airport's current capacity, it will be able to invest an extra £1 into local communities, helping to tackle deprivation." Really? Andrew Lambourne, a spokesman for protest group Luton and District Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise (LADACAN), said: "It's tragic that the councillors who run Luton Rising have been so obsessed with growing the airport they appear to have lost sight of the need for prudence" Campaigners said the expansion plans would "create noise blight" across the area. Local MP for Hitchin, Bim Afolami, is strongly against the expansion, due to the additional noise burden it would bring.
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Climate groups taking government to High Court over greenwash “Jet Zero” aviation strategy
In July 2022, the UK government published a "Jet Zero" strategy (the best part of which is the catchy name). It aspires to allow the UK airline sector to continue to grow, with unrealistic hopes of being able to decarbonise with novel fuels. It was widely condemned at the time as being greenwashing, with no credible ways to achieve its goals, and its steadfast refusal to contemplate measures to reduce the demand for flights. Two organisations, GALBA and Possible, challenged the government. In October 2022, with lawyers at Leigh Day, Possible filed for a judicial review of the “Jet Zero” strategy. They now have permission to proceed to a joint hearing. This is a hugely important milestone in climate change litigation in the UK. Experts have judged the plans in Jet Zero to be inadequate, and lawyers will argue that the failure to consider this risk to the delivery of its plans renders its net zero aviation strategy unlawful. The key grounds on which the challenge will be heard in the High Court are: The government failed to lay a report before Parliament setting out how the strategy would enable carbon budgets to be met. And the government failed to consult in a lawful manner by having a “closed mind” before the consultation commenced on whether demand management measures were required.
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Scottish LibDems say support for Heathrow 3rd runway must be withdrawn by next First Minister
The LibDems in Scotland say the next first minister has been urged to finally end Scottish Government support for the expansion of Heathrow, if they’re serious about the climate emergency. They say the SNP’s support of third runway at Heathrow was “simply not compatible” with emissions-cutting targets. Party leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said the climate had been “shamefully neglected” during the leadership contest by Humza Yousaf, Kate Forbes and Ash Regan. And he told whoever succeeds Nicola Sturgeon to “rip up” a deal between Heathrow Airport and Scottish ministers. A Scottish Government memorandum of understanding with Heathrow backing the proposed expansion includes a pledge of up to 16,000 new jobs in Scotland and 75,000 additional flights between Scottish airports and London. The Scottish LibDems said this would generate nearly 600,000 tons of extra emissions by 2040 and hammer the country’s net zero ambitions. A report by the Climate Change Committee said Scotland was falling behind the rest of the UK in decarbonising transport and had been “unwilling to consider measures” like restricting aviation growth.
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Getting real: what would serious climate action look like? Not expanding aviation?
The world's governments want, in theory, to try to keep the average global temperature rise to not be more than 1.5C to 2C above pre-industrial. But so far, despite worthy intentions, instead of falling, global CO2 emissions continue to rise. Professor Kevin Anderson is an outspoken climate scientist, who prefers the reality of the climate science to the politically palatable version of it, that can be agreed by the IPCC. Climate science suggests that to have a 50:50 chance of not exceeding 1.5°C, humanity can emit about 400 billion tonnes of CO2. For a good chance of staying below 2°C, this value doubles to around 800 billion tonnes. 400bn tonnes is under 10 years of current emissions, and humanity is currently using up the carbon budget at a rate of almost 1% each month. We have had 30 years of failures, tweaks to business-as-usual, carbon markets, and the dodgy prospect of future technologies. We need rapid, huge cuts in CO2 emissions, Kevin says for example "an immediate moratorium on airport expansion and a plan to deliver a fair 80% cut in all air travel by 2030." Also, no more new internal combustion engine cars would be built from 2025. And many other ideas.
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Dutch to introduce limits on the carbon emissions of international flights from its airports
The Dutch cabinet has announced that flights from Dutch airports will have their CO2 emissions capped from 2025 depending on the airport. It has not yet specified the different thresholds for each. This follows the “Aviation Memorandum 2020-2050”, a 2020 memorandum which laid down the blueprint for measures to achieve increased "sustainability" in the Dutch aviation sector. The Minister responsible for aviation said there is not yet any "global, European or national instrument that legally anchors aviation CO2 emissions in absolute terms. The CO2 cap provides this anchorage ... and secures the climate goals for aviation by setting clear and enforceable limits on permitted CO2 emissions, thus creating a guarantee for meeting the climate targets ... The targets are currently unenforceable; without introducing a legal cap, there is a risk that CO2 emissions from aviation will in practice turn out higher than agreed, as a result of which the goals of the Aviation Memorandum will not be met.” The cap is planned to be implemented in 2025.
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UK’s biggest airports between them hope for 60% increase in passengers, compared to 2019 level
The UK’s 8 biggest airports have plans to fly almost 150 million more passengers per year, in a bet that climate targets will not hold back the industry. A Financial Times analysis of their expansion projects found that combined they would be able to handle 387 mn passengers annually, a more than 60% increase on the 240mn travellers who used the airports in 2019. If Heathrow ever managed to build a 3rd runway, it would like to increase the annual passenger number from 81 million in 2019, to 142 million. If Gatwick is allowed (DCO likely in a few months) to convert is emergency runway into near full use, it could get more than 30 million more passengers per year. Manchester plans expansion of one of its terminals to handle an extra 15mn passengers annually. Edinburgh completed the work to raise its capacity to 20mn passengers in 2019. Airport executives and investors said airports were looking to push through growth plans because many in the industry believed that it would only get more difficult in the future as environmental pressures grew. The UK has no proper aviation policy, other than wildly optimistic hopes for novel low carbon fuels, and approval of “making best use” of existing infrastructure.
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Night sleeper trains are being revived across Europe
Sleeper trains are continuing to make a comeback in mainland Europe, with a number of new services being launched since last summer, or due to start later this year, or in 2024. Last year a new 13 hour sleeper service was started, between Stockholm and Hamburg, by the Swedish railway company SJ. The carbon footprint of an electric-powered train is just a small fraction of that of a flight. Passengers can then transfer to other trains, from Hamburg, to locations in European countries. The company plans to extend the route to Berlin from April. It will compete with an existing provider of night trains between Stockholm and Hamburg and Berlin - Snälltåget. There is going to be a sleeper train service by the Belgian-Dutch firm, European Sleeper, between Brussels and Amsterdam to Berlin. The company intends to extend its route to Prague from 2024. French night train business Midnight Trains says it will launch its first luxurious (not cheap) services from Paris in 2024, to more than 10 destinations include Rome, Porto and Edinburgh. There is also Nightjet, owned by Austrian Railways, which will have services between Vienna and Paris and Brussels. And there are more to come...
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IEA, oil demand and aviation growth – sector not on track on lowering CO2 emissions
The International Energy Agency (IEA) says that global oil demand is rising slowly, since the end of Covid restrictions, but is set for a huge boost from resumed air travel and China's economic reopening after its Covid measures. It said "Rebounding jet fuel use and a resurgent China will see an overall 1Q-4Q ramp-up of 3.2 million barrels per day (bpd), the largest relative in-year increase since 2010." It said that Chinese air travel has increased, with its domestic flights now well above pre-pandemic levels. IEA said "New aircraft are up to 20% more efficient than the models they replace, but this has been insufficient to keep up with growing activity. Between 2000 and 2010 fuel efficiency improved by 2.4% per annum, and by 1.9% from 2010 to 2019, demonstrating that additional incremental improvements are becoming more difficult. Meanwhile passenger demand grew at over 5% per year from 2000 to 2019, meaning that annual improvements are far below what is needed to align with the Net Zero Scenarios."
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Likelihood of Heathrow’s 3rd runway even lower, after CAA charges decision
The CAA has refused Heathrow's demand for a big increase in the fees it charges airlines. It had wanted up to £43 per passenger. But its regulator, the CAA, allowed it £27.49 on average. The present charge is higher, which means that fees will have to come down over the next few years. Heathrow can appeal to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). It looks increasingly unlikely that Heathrow will be able to build a 3rd runway. There was little mention of it in the CAA’s recent analysis. The 242 page ruling on charges just says: “We [the CAA] have said we will deal with these matters separately and in a way consistent with our statutory duties if Heathrow were to reintroduce proposals for capacity expansion.” Heathrow will say only that the plan is under review. There is some evidence in the CAA’s prices ruling that the runway will be a long way off, if ever. The CAA said the charges they are allowing would give Heathrow sufficient financial headroom to pay investors £1.5 billion over the next few years, a rate of return in line with other utility investments. But Heathrow has a level of gearing - the ratio of borrowing to equity base — of over 82%, making even that rate of return unlikely. And the negative impact of the CO2 from an expanded Heathrow make the project ever more improbable.
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Tourists and air passengers like the idea of being “green” but won’t pay for it
Tourists around the world and especially in Europe are - in theory - supportive of more eco-friendly leisure trips, but reluctant to carry the extra cost, according to studies and industry executives. In Germany, for example, 24% of travelers believe ecological sustainability is an important criterion when booking a holiday, according to a survey by motor vehicle association ADAC released this month. But only 5-10% would be willing to pay even a moderate sustainability surcharge, according to the poll of 5,000 people. People are not prepared to pay a bit more, for slight reductions in the environmental impact of their trip. No age group is willing to pay more. Few airline passengers buy carbon offsets, and these are anyway almost entirely ineffective in preventing more CO2 entering the atmosphere, in the short or longer term. Airlines will hope they can use new "sustainable aviation fuel (SAF)" to claim - often misleadingly - that flights emit less carbon. Perhaps they will offer more expensive fares if planes use a bit of SAF. That is likely to become largely greenwashing, in the same way as carbon offsets.
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CAA rules that Heathrow average maximum price per passenger will fall from £31.57 in 2023 to £25.43 in 2024
The UK Civil Aviation Authority has published its Final Decision for the annual caps that will apply to the charges that Heathrow levies on airlines for using the airport, until the end of 2026. The CAA confirmed that charges for 2023 will remain fixed at the level set out in its interim decision issued earlier this year. The average maximum price per passenger will then fall by about 20% from £31.57* per passenger in 2023 to £25.43** per passenger in 2024 and will remain broadly flat at that level until the end of 2026. This means the average charge over the five years will be £27.49 compared to £28.39 for Final Proposals, a reduction of £0.90 (all in nominal prices). This lower level of charges from 2024 recognises that passenger volumes are expected to return to pre-pandemic levels, and should allow Heathrow to continue "investing in the airport for the benefit of consumers and supporting the airport’s ability to finance its operations." The CAA hopes passengers will benefit from slightly cheaper fares, and better systems when they travel. The current passenger forecasts are higher than in earlier assessments.
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Imperial College briefing paper on low-carbon fuels for aviation
A paper has been published by Imperial College, on low-carbon fuels for aviation. The authors looked carefully at the various fuels that the sector is hoping to use in future, to enable it to continue with its expansion plans, flying ever more people each year. The Imperial scientists concluded that hydrogen is impractical and will not contribute significantly as jet fuel in the foreseeable future. They looked at fuels made from various wastes, and their real lifecycle costs, including manufacture and emissions when burned in a jet engine ("well to wake"),and concluded that the scope for production of such fuels, that genuinely offer a CO2 advantage, on a large enough scale, is unlikely. For fuels made from plant material, it is important to look at the timescale of carbon absorption by plants, and its emissions when burned. Ignoring the time lag makes these fuels look unrealistically positive. Looking at "power to liquid" fuels, ie. those made using surplus renewably-generated electricity, they conclude that there will not be enough of this electricity available to make jet fuels in sufficient quantity. They appreciate that it is important that novel fuels to not have other negative environmental impacts. All the novel fuels come with serious problems of scalability and dubious carbon savings.
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Luton Airport expansion plans for 32 million passengers, up from 18 million, submitted
Luton Rising, the Luton Council company that owns London Luton Airport, has submitted its application for expansion. The Development Consent Order (DCO) application comprises 198 documents, with over 25,000 detailed pages of proposals and plans. It seeks consent to expand the airport from its current permitted cap of 18 million passengers per annum (mppa) to 32 mppa, including new terminal capacity; earthworks to create an extension to the current airfield platform; new airside and landside facilities; enhancement of the surface access network; extension of the Luton DART; landscaping and ecological improvements; and further infrastructure enhancements and initiatives to support the target of achieving zero-emission ground operations by 2040. Andrew Lambourne, speaking for anti-noise campaign group LADACAN, said the proposal "would create noise blight across north Hertfordshire, with flights increasingly starting at five in the morning and running on into the early hours, keeping thousands more people awake at night. The harms outweigh any possible benefits.”
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Royal Society report on novel aviation fuels – no option other than cutting demand for flying
The UK government has been promoting the idea of "guilt-free flying" in a few years time. Now a report from the Royal Society says (as has been well known by anyone who properly investigated the issue!) that there is currently no single, clear alternative to traditional fuel. Switching to so-called "sustainable" fuel is key to the government's aim to reach "jet zero" flying by 2050. Realistically, there will be no significant impact on reducing aviation CO2 from electric planes, or hydrogen. Small economies and efficiencies by airlines can only make a small dent, while demand for flights is expected to increase. The Royal Society looked at options for "greener" fuels to replace the 12.3m tonnes of jet fuel used annually in the UK. They conclude that to produce biofuels for UK aviation would require half of Britain's farming land, putting severe pressure on food supplies and nature. There is not enough genuinely low carbon electricity to produce much "green" hydrogen. The Royal Society says research and development is required to understand and mitigate the non-CO2 climate impacts of all the alternative fuel options. But it stops short of the obvious solution to reducing aviation carbon emissions - reducing the demand for air travel, and not allowing it to grow.
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How are Heathrow’s plans for a 3rd runway coming along? (They are not)
There are still "a number of serious hurdles to overcome" before Heathrow could consider a 3rd runway. Heathrow director of communities and sustainability Becky Coffin confirmed that the project remains paused and under internal review. There are the inevitable impacts on the UK's net zero, noise, air quality and road congestion, which remain serious and although surface transport decarbonisation is advancing, so-called ‘jet zero’ is some way behind (or probably impossible). The Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS) approving the policy of Heathrow expansion (eventually cleared by the Supreme Court) is nearly 5 years old and calls to revisit it are growing. Meanwhile, other airports are getting on with their expansion plans which mean that any carbon allocation for airports is getting used up at Heathrow’s expense, so it will get left behind. ie. Bristol, Southampton, Stansted, Luton, Gatwick, Manston. Despite the ANP win, the £14bn expansion plans have remained frozen due to Covid, and Heathrow's lack of available funds. In March 2021 the airport put its £900M T5 rail link on “controlled pause”, citing lack of funds. But in May 2022, Heathrow resumed purchasing houses in proximity to the proposed site.
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London City Airport “consulting” on extra flights and extended operating hours at weekends
Newham Council, the planning authority for London City airport, formally started consulting on its expansion proposals on 15th February. It will last until 17th March. Newham’s Strategic Development Committee will then later this year decide whether or not to approve the proposals. The detailed application is on Newham’s website It is a very long consultation with many dozen documents, only available online and hard to plough through. Local campaign group, HACAN East summarise the key points as an extra 6 - 7 hours flying on Saturdays; an extra 2.5 million passengers a year using to the airport; and extra early morning flights. At present no flights are permitted between 12.30pm on Saturdays and 12.30pm on Sundays. London City proposes for flights on Saturday to end at 6.30pm (7.30pm in summer). It plans to increase passenger numbers from 6.5m to 9m a year. It plans 3 extra flights during the first hour of operation, from 6.30 – 7am. It is not proposing to introduce night flights, or lift the cap of 111,000 allowed to use the airport each year. HACAN East is arranging meetings for local people to find out more.
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Aviation sector pushes EU for green investment status, even for fossil fuelled planes
The aviation industry is pushing to have new aircraft powered by jet fuel classified as a green investment under EU rules for sustainable finance, in what climate campaigners have described as a “huge act of greenwashing”. Environmental groups say the criteria for the sector being considered by the European Commission risk allowing conventionally powered planes to be considered as “best in class” sustainable investments despite their CO2 emissions. Transport & Environment (T&E) say over 90% of the order book of Airbus could be considered green under criteria drafted by the EU’s advisory body on sustainable finance. The aviation industry argues investments in new planes should be considered sustainable even if they burn jet fuel because they produce fewer emissions per passenger than older models. The newest designs are up to 20% per passenger kilometer. But they still emit a lot of carbon. The industry wants aircraft to be classed as green, in order to get financial help to develop "green technologies" and that they need this money, in order to develop lower carbon air travel. Even if that cannot logically be justified.
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Extinction Rebellion blockades Luton Airport private jet terminals in Valentine’s Day protest
Extinction Rebellion and affiliated groups blockaded the entrances to Luton Airport’s Harrods Aviation and Signature private jet terminals. The protest is part of the “Make Them Pay” campaign, by Scientist Rebellion, Extinction Rebellion (XR), and Stay Grounded, which has 3 demands: ban private jets, tax frequent flyers and make polluters pay - due to their high carbon emissions. The protest was a component of a global co-ordinated action launched last week by climate activists across 11 countries, which is targeting multiple sites in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and the US. About 30,000 private jets land or take off from Luton airport each year, with celebrities, actors and the very rich using them. It is only a tiny % of the population that uses private jets, which are a very, very high carbon way to travel. A passenger in a private jet might cause the emission of x10 as much CO2 as a passenger in a commercial plane, for the same distance. Though passengers private jets pay a bit more Air Passenger Duty than on commercial planes, the rate of tax on private jets is, relatively far too low.
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OEP seeks permission to intervene in Supreme Court appeal to highlight importance of clarity in environmental law
Time after time, with planning applications for developments or infrastructure, the carbon emissions of the building or activity itself are considered, but NOT the carbon emissions that result from it. For example, companies drilling for oil have to account for the carbon emissions from their drilling operations, but can ignore the carbon from burning the fuel. Airports have to measure the emissions from their operations and buildings on the ground, but can ignore the emissions from the planes, the flights of which are facilitated by the airport. Now the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) has filed an application with the Supreme Court for permission to intervene in the appeal of R (Finch) v Surrey County Council highlighting the importance of clarity in the law to promote good environmental decision-making. This is whether account should be taken, by Surrey County Council, in granting planning permission, of the oil drilled from wells in Surrey. The OEP is now waiting to hear whether the Supreme Court grants permission for it to intervene. This case could set a precedent for refusal for other high carbon developments, including airports.
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Airline passengers in Europe may have slightly higher ticket prices before long
And end to the era of ‘absurdly cheap’ flights could be coming to an end, in the EU, as Brussels makes industry pay more for carbon emissions. Airline passengers may have to pay slightly higher air fares under newly strengthened EU rules designed to tackle aviation emissions, in a sign that the era of super low-cost air travel may be about to end. The EU wants to require carbon-intensive industries to pay more for their pollution with ticket prices likely to rise by up to €10 per return flight. This would be part of the ETS (Emissions Trading System) which only covers flights within Europe, not outside it. The rules phase out the current practice of allowing airlines to obtain a significant proportion of the permits they need for free by 2026. The total number of allowances in the system will also fall over time, which analysts expect to drive up the cost of aviation carbon emissions. Airlines for Europe, the industry lobby group, said the slight increase could lead to "up to 17% fewer passengers travelling through EU airports by 2035". How terrible. The EU is considering taxes on aviation kerosene.
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London City airport – there may be a consultation about allowing flights on Saturday afternoons
There is speculation about London City airport consulting about changing the times on Saturday afternoons, when the airport is open. However, local group Hacan East says that, as far as they know, Newham Council has made no official announcement about the start of the public consultation into London City's expansion plans, but they will be contacting the Council (10th February) to find out the position. The expectation is that instead of flights ending at 1pm on Saturdays, they would continue until 8.30pm. This would be deeply opposed by residents in the area, who suffer from considerable plane noise. It is thought that the airport applied for this, to Newham Council, in December. City Airport previously tried to extend Saturday flight times to 22:00, but backtracked after a public consultation in late 2022. 70% of responses to that consultation opposed any expansion. The airport also wants 12 extra Saturday flights between 18:30 and 19:30 in the summer months, and 3 more planes taking off each morning. And it hopes to increase the yearly cap on passengers from 6.5 million to 9 million.
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John Holland-Kaye to step down from his role as Heathrow CEO
Heathrow’s chief executive, John Holland-Kaye, has announced his resignation and will leave his £1.5m role at some point in 2023 after 9 years in charge. He has been trying to get a 3rd runway for years, so far without success - and with a new range of problems that make it unlikely. Holland-Kaye took over in 2014, being promoted from development director when he oversaw the building of Terminal 2. Speaking at an aviation conference earlier this week, Holland-Kaye said that more details of renewed plans for a possible 3rd runway would be unveiled later this year. He has overseen several years of rows with the Heathrow regulator, the CAA, about landing charges - with opposition from airlines to any increases. There is speculation about who might be the next CEO. One possibility is Emma Gilthorpe, the chief operations officer, who was previously a director overseeing strategy and planning, including the expansion plans. Chief financial officer Javier Echafe is also a possible contender. Holland-Kaye will remain in post to ensure a smooth handover later in 2023
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High Court has ruled that expansion of Bristol Airport will be allowed to go ahead
Campaigners against the expansion of Bristol airport legally challenged the decision of the Planning Inspectorate (PI), a year ago. The High Court has now ruled that the expansion can go ahead. North Somerset Council rejected the expansion in 2020 on environmental grounds but that decision was later overruled by the PI. Expansion would see the airport increase its capacity from 10 million to 12 million passengers per year. Opponents of the growth, through the Bristol Airport Action Network (BAAN), are very disappointed, but are already planning on challenging the ruling. BAAN has been arguing planning inspectors were wrong to ignore the impact a bigger airport would have on climate change. In his decision Lord Justice Lane said expanding the airport would impact the environment but that the decision is for central government not local. There is no proper law on UK aviation, or any legal means to control cumulative CO2 emissions from many airport expansion. The Climate Change Committee say there are big risks in the airline industry hoping for low carbon fuels in future, and recommend that "there should be no net expansion of airport capacity".
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Manston – application for another legal challenge
A High Court judge announced that the legal challenge by local people, against the decision by the government to approve the DCO - to enable the airport to reopen, for air freight - was rejected. Mr Justice Lane refused the application for a judicial review of government approval of Riveroak Strategic Partners’ (RSP) plans to redevelop the former airport into a cargo terminal, rejecting claims of procedural unfairness, climate considerations and need for a freight hub. Campaigners struck back swiftly. Ramsgate resident Jenny Dawes lodged a fresh legal bid that again hinges on the economic arguments used to justify the development and the climate cost of a new airport. Ms Dawes, who has been crowdfunding her legal efforts, and is liable for the costs of the first request, has called for a planning judge to review the decision. Ms Dawes’ action has received support from the Aviation Environment Federation (AEF), which is highly critical of the DfT approval.
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AEF questions the CAA’s effectiveness on environmental issues
The Department for Transport recently called for evidence as part of a review of “the effectiveness and efficiency of the CAA. The consultation, which opened on the 28th of November 2022, closed on 29th January 2023. The main duties of the CAA are on safety and the well-being of its consumers, the air passengers. Its effectiveness on environmental issues is a subsidiary concern. Aviation Environment Federation submitted comments. Their opinion is that "the CAA’s strategy is inadequate in relation to all environmental issues. Many, perhaps most, of the deficiencies in the CAA’s strategy arise because it has no meaningful environmental duty and few powers to require the industry to achieve positive environmental outcomes. We believe this can only be remedied if the Government provides the CAA with an environmental duty, regulatory functions and clear guidance.” The AEF says the CAA is required to “have regard to the growth of the aviation sector”, but not to prioritise it over environmental sustainability. It does not act to regulate appropriately the climate or noise impacts of the aviation industry. See the full AEF response.
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Most avoided deforestation forest carbon offsets are worthless
The avoided deforestation carbon offsets approved by the world’s leading provider and used by Disney, Shell, Gucci and other big corporations including airlines are largely worthless and could make global heating worse, according to a new investigation. The research into Verra, the world’s leading carbon standard for the rapidly growing £1.6bn voluntary offsets market, has found that, based on analysis of a significant % of the projects, more than 90% of their rainforest offset credits – among the most commonly used by companies – are likely to be “phantom credits” and do not represent genuine carbon reductions. Companies often tell their customers that buying carbon credits means their purchase is "carbon neutral" and not increasing atmospheric CO2. That is usually nonsense. The forest credit is to ensure an area of forest is not cut down, but the study found that often there was only a small threat of deforestation there. If the threat is exaggerated, more carbon credits can be sold. Also there are rarely rigorous scientific methods to measure avoided deforestation. With climate change, the future health of forests - or the risk of severe forest fires - is unknown, and probably unknowable.
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“Don’t fly to the UK to visit the Cotswolds” District Council chiefs say
Civic leaders in the Cotswolds don’t want tourists to travel by plane to the UK to visit the area. The Cotswolds attract tens of millions of visitors each year. But Cotswold District Council cabinet members say they want to see fewer tourists from markets such as Asia and the Americas who would have to fly to the UK to visit the region. They would rather promote the Cotswolds to visitors who can get to the UK by more sustainable means. British families have taken the opportunity to holiday overseas in 2022 and the Cotswolds has seen a loss of domestic tourism as a result. But there has been a small rise in the relatively low number of overseas visitors. Some cabinet members would rather see visitors come to the Cotswolds via ferry or rail. Climate change and forward planning cabinet member Rachel Coxcoon (LD, Moreton East) told a recent meeting that she is “a bit disturbed about the idea of promoting flights to the UK”. Economic development lead officer Paul James said they have seen an upsurge in domestic tourism since the pandemic.
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High Court judge rejects application to legally challenge August 2022 approval of Manston expansion plans
A DCO (Development Consent Order) for the re-opening of Manston airport, and its use mainly for air cargo was approved by the government in August 2022. Then local residents, through Jenny Dawes, made an application for permission to get a Judicial Review of the decision, on 29th September 2022. A High Court judge has now announced that this legal challenge has been rejected. In her 1,200-page appeal, Jenny said the reopening "Manston Airport will cause irreparable harm to the people, environment and the economy of east Kent". The airport owners, RiverOak Strategic Partners’ (RSP), have applied for permission to upgrade and reopen the airport primarily as a freight airport, with some passenger services, with a capacity of at least 12,000 air cargo movements per year. The plans were given the go ahead in August despite planners recommending that the development consent order application (DCO) be refused. An earlier DCO for development of Manston as a freight airport was rejected by the High Court in February 2021.This was after Secretary of State for Transport, Grant Shapps, in July 2020 had decided to ignore the advice of the Planning Inspectorate in October 2019, that the DCO should be rejected.
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Holland-Kaye says the rich should pay more for using SAF, to subsidise tickets for poorer countries
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos (which is attended by a lot of high carbon emission companies) the CEO of Heathrow, John Holland-Kaye, has said that in order for the industry to meet targets for the use of so called "sustainable aviation fuel" (SAF) someone is going to have to pay more for air tickets, in order to pay for it. He said rich travelers will have to pay more to fly if the aviation industry is to transition to SAF, as they are hugely more expensive than conventional kerosene. If the rich, including most in rich countries, and businesses pay more, then tickets could cost less for people in poor countries. Of course, the best way to cut aviation CO2 is for people to fly less, but that idea is anathema to Holland-Kaye and his industry. SAF is expensive to develop, and the industry already has a lot of government subsidy, to develop its production. But it is unjust for the population, many of whom never or rarely fly, to have to pay for this fuel, for the minority who fly frequently. SAF is the only tool the industry has, to try to cut CO2 emissions, while increasing flights and passengers. However, in 2019 it accounted for just 0.1% of jet fuel used in commercial aviation, and the sector hopes it will make up 0% of global jet fuel by 2030.
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Swansea airport has had no passengers since 2004 – now plans a link to Exeter
Swansea Airport has announced it is launching flights to and from Exeter this year. There have been no scheduled passenger flights operating from Swansea Airport since 2004. Passengers who fly to Exeter from Swansea will be able to use the airport as an interchange, getting connecting flights to Spain, Ireland and the Channel Islands. The airport looks likely to be leased once more to its current operator, despite complaints about the way it has been run over the years. The airport is owned by Swansea Council and managed by Swansea Airport Ltd, which has served a notice requesting a new tenancy. The council has to respond by February 3, and cabinet will meet next week to decide. The council doesn't want to operate the airport itself because of the cost and also the "significant" carbon emissions involved. The authority is aiming to be "net zero" in carbon emissions by 2030.
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EU considering plans law to force companies to prove green claims are real – not greenwash
The European Union has drafted plans to make companies back up green claims about their products with science-based evidence, in an attempt to fight greenwashing and misleading advertisements. The draft legal proposal by the European Commission aims to clamp down on companies promoting their products as "climate neutral" or other "green" claims unless these can be substantiated. There would have to be proper methodology that tracks environmental impacts of all sorts, including air pollution and CO2 emissions. Currently most green claims are woolly, vague and misleading, and customers are buying products based on unreliable information. Under the proposal, companies that claim their product has a positive environmental impact must also disclose if this causes an negative impact in another area. Claims based on promises of future environmental performance must be backed up by milestones the company will achieve by specific dates, including if carbon offsets are to be used. There is currently no law against greenwashing in the UK, but the Financial Conduct Authority consulted in October 2022 about greenwash claims made for financial products, as it said the financial services sector was a major culprit. As is the air travel industry.
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Heathrow local opponents ready to fight the airport’s expansion plans – again!
Writing in the Uxbridge Gazette, the Stop Heathrow Expansion group comment on the anticipated statement from Heathrow about its finances and outlook, and intentions on a 3rd runway. Stop Heathrow Expansion group says Heathrow has a lot of hurdles, if it wants to build a 3rd runway. "Stricter climate change and environmental laws have been in force since the last proposal was put forward; they will be a major stumbling block for another doomed attempt at R3". They also say spending so much money on what would probably end up as a bit of a "white elephant" would not be great for the airport's foreign shareholders, who want high dividends in the coming decade. And the local borough council, Hillingdon, remains totally opposed to the expansion plans, which would have overwhelmingly negative impacts on the area and its residents. Heathrow's full financial results will be released on 23rd February.
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Independent review of the government’s Net Zero target and what progress is being made
In 2019, the UK Government and the devolved administrations committed to the Net Zero target as recommended by the Climate Change Committee. Now Chris Skidmore MP has undertaken a review of the government's Net Zero plans. It looks at all sectors what progress has been achieved, and what is needed. There are many mentions of aviation, including how the sector will be responsible for an ever larger % of total UK carbon emissions, unless strong measures are taken. The review wants much more investment in so-called "sustainable aviation fuels" (SAF). It says Government should publish the Low Carbon Fuels Strategy in 2023 and the necessary legislation for the sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) mandate to apply from 2025. "Recognising that an adequate price stability mechanism is vital for investments in SAF, government should set out evidence for barriers to SAF investments and options to address this." And "In particular in the aviation industry, there are currently several projects looking at so-called recycled carbon fuels. To ensure these fuels deliver carbon savings, it will be important to ensure that these adhere to waste hierarchy principles and potential reduction in waste streams is considered." It also calls for an Office for Net Zero delivery for joined-up, cross departmental work and action.
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Cancer charities call for general aviation small planes to stop using leaded fuel
While the kerosene used in the engines of commercial planes, or most private jets, does not contain lead, the AvGas (aviation gasoline) fuel used by the light planes used in "general aviation" - ie. largely hobby flying - does contain tetraethyl lead. There are 134 recreational, general aviation, airfields in the UK. There is the fear that the little piston-engine aircraft using these airfields are emitting lead, which is causing air pollution in the area. Ministers have been urged by cancer charities to follow the US and EU with plans to ban the lead-based fuel, by 2030 and 2025 respectively. The charities (Breast Cancer UK and the Cancer Prevention and Education Society, as well as Green Alliance) say the UK is in danger of “falling behind international standards” because it has left the EU’s system for regulating potentially harmful chemicals, UK REACH. Lead accumulates in the body, and there is no safe level of exposure. It has been banned from use in car fuel since 2000. There may be over 370,000 homes within 4km of general aviation airports, which may have unacceptable levels of lead pollution.
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Campaign for Better Transport says it is time to properly tax private jets
Private planes emit some 50 times more CO2 than trains. The Campaign for Better Transport (CBT) thinks that private passengers who use private jets should start paying for the climate damage they cause. In 2021, there were 135,505 private aircraft movements (arrivals and departures) in the UK. European private jet carbon emissions have increased by 31% since 2005, far faster than commercial aviation emissions. The UK is responsible for more than any other European country. Few of these private jet trips are necessary, and the passengers could generally use commercial flights. Depending on the trip and the plane, a passenger in a private jet might be causing the emission of between 5 and 14 times as much CO2 per as a standard class air passenger. A few flights in a private jet could emit as much as an average EU citizen in a whole year, or ordinary living. CBT is calling for private jets to pay more. Currently they pay the same rate of APD as business or first-class passengers, with a higher rate applied to aircraft of 20 tonnes or more with fewer than 19 passengers onboard. This rate should be increased tenfold; this new ‘super’ APD tax could raise around £1.4 billion each year. VAT should also be charged.
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A different business model is needed for aviation – not high-volume, low-profit per passenger
A new research paper, in the Journal of Air Transport Management (by Stefan Grossling and Andreas Humpe) looks at the likely increase in CO2 emissions from global aviation, with and without managing to use genuinely low carbon fuels. It concludes that the air travel sector is set to expand significantly, with ever more demand for air travel. But the only method the sector has to cut its CO2 emissions and climate impact is to local new, low carbon fuels. These will inevitably be more expensive than the fossil kerosene used now. The supply of the fuels will also be limiting, and even if electricity for electrofuels can be obtained from nuclear-generated electricity, if will be costly. This increase in cost will be the mechanism to reduce overall demand for air travel, though it is not the stated intention of governments. The current business model of the airline sector is high-volume, low-profit-margin. That is not a sustainable model for a sector with such high carbon emissions. Historically airlines have usually made losses, unless there are enough passengers. Unless this changes, the CO2 from aviation will continue to increase.
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Report questions using renewably generated electricity to make e-fuels for aviation
The aviation sector is desperate to find some form of jet fuel that it can claim is low carbon, so it can justify continuing to fly ever more planes, transporting ever more passengers, against all logic of the carbon emissions generated. Hydrogen-fuelled and electric planes are not going to contribute in any meaningful way, for decades, if ever. That leaves SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel), one section of which might be "electrofuels" - ie. those generated by using surplus renewably generated electricity. But there are huge problems, due to the immense global demand for this electricity, which needs to be used for domestic heating and lighting, for all commercial buildings, all vehicles, trains etc etc. There just is not going to be much spare electricity, to (rather inefficiently) produce jet fuel. Now a new paper from a climate venture capital firm says this is not an efficient use of the electricity. "The figures show that a lot of renewable electricity is spent for scaling the production of synfuels which means it would be more efficient to use that electricity for other things like displacing coal generation or powering an electric vehicle."
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Virgin gets £1 million government funding for demonstration SAF flight
Virgin Atlantic has secured £1 million of UK Government funding (ie. from taxpayers) to fly a Boeing 787 jet from London Heathrow to New York JFK next year using so called "sustainable aviation fuel" (SAF) instead of kerosene. Virgin Atlantic and its partners are putting in similar funding. The SAF is expected to be produced primarily from waste oil and fats, such as used cooking oil. (There aren't enough waste oils and fats in the world to power many planes ...). SAF can, in some circumstances, reduces carbon emissions by around 70% compared with kerosene. The claim is that the other 30% will magically be offset by buying carbon credits (which usually do not actually do anything to remove CO2 from the atmosphere). But SAF is expensive, and in short supply. Up till now, planes have only been allowed to fly with 50% SAF in an engine, but the UK DfT's Baroness Vere said this plane with fly with 100%. Using SAF is the only realistic tool the aviation industry has, to cut its carbon emissions, other than flying efficiencies. Hydrogen and electric planes are unlikely to make much impact for many decades, if ever.
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Belgium to tax private jets and short haul flights using Brussels airport
The Belgian federal government is reviewing the taxation of planes landing or taking off in Belgium. New criteria are taken into account, such as greenhouse gas emissions, or the destination of the flight. Private jets, but also night flights will pay more. Currently any aircraft that lands or takes off from Brussels airport pays a fee based on the noise it generates on takeoff or landing. From April 2023, the tax will depend on noise, but also CO2 emissions, air pollution caused by the flight, the time of day or night at which the flight is made, and finally, the destination. The Federal Minister for Mobility Georges Gilkinet said “What I want to avoid is that Brussels airport becomes Europe’s noise dustbin and that it remains, on the contrary, among the best European airports. There is no reason why noisy planes which are refused elsewhere can continue to come to Brussels, and disturb the sleep of millions of Belgians“. Airlines are not happy about it. The other big change concerns private jets. They represent 3,000 flights per year or 12% of all Belgian air traffic.These measures represent a first step for the Minister, who is already planning more in the months to come.
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CAA new 2-week consultation about keeping Heathrow charge at £31.57
The CAA sets the maximum level of passenger charges that Heathrow can charge, generally for a 5 year period. Heathrow had few passenger for two years, due to Covid and the CAA allowed them to raise their passenger charges, while passenger numbers remained low. However, the numbers are now rising, and may be high next year. Back in June, the CAA said the cap would fall from £30.19 then to £26.31 in 2026. When the effects of inflation are removed, that is a 6% reduction every year. Now the CAA has published an interim cap consultation (8th December - for 2 weeks), which raises the cap from £30.19 this year to £31.57. By contrast, the charge was £19.36 pre-pandemic. Airlines believe the higher level of cap is unjustifiable, as based on 2023 traffic forecasts that are too low. Heathrow wants the high charges, in order to recoup its vast debts, pay its shareholders their dividends, and also perhaps for future expansion.
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Frequent flier schemes, like Air Miles, seem to encourage flying, and thus aviation CO2 emissions
Ashley Nunes, a research fellow at Harvard Law School, has looked at the impact of air miles on increasing air travel, and thus aviation carbon emissions. It is possible that trips taken using air miles account for around 10% of overall bookings. Might abolishing these schemes have a significant impact on CO2 emissions? Aviation loyalty programmes are around 40 years old. They have evolved a bit since then, so it is not merely a complementary trip that can be obtained. Today, banking air miles also no longer requires getting in the air. In fact, it is estimated that over half of them are earned through non-flying related activities, as airlines have formed lucrative partnerships with third parties such as credit card companies, car rental agencies and hotel chains. It can sometimes be hard for someone to use the air miles for the flight they want, and many are never claimed. This is called "breakage" in industry parlance, and that might be as much as 30%. Sometimes people use them to upgrade from coach class to a premium seat, and that may not have much carbon impact, if those seats would otherwise have been empty.
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EU approves France’s short-haul flight ban — but only so far for 3 routes from Paris
The European Commission has approved France’s plan to ban short-haul flights when there’s a decent rail alternative — but it will only affect 3 routes. French lawmakers in 2021 voted to prohibit short-haul domestic flights when there’s an alternative rail connection of two and a half hours or less. The original proposal, which required the green light from Brussels, was initially to affect 8 routes. Now the Commission has said the ban can only take place if there are genuine rail alternatives available for the same route — meaning several direct connections each way, every day. So it will just apply to journeys between Paris-Orly and Bordeaux, Nantes and Lyon. It includes linking flights from those airports. Three more routes might be added — between Paris Charles de Gaulle and Lyon and Rennes, and between Lyon and Marseille — if rail services improve. The EU executive said France was justified to introduce the measure provided it is "non-discriminatory, does not distort competition between air carriers,[and] is not more restrictive than necessary". It is not really going to make much of a dent in overall French aviation CO2 emissions.
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Airlines want £billions taxpayer handouts to cover cost of developing “sustainable” jet fuel
Virgin Atlantic, BA and EasyJet have been criticised for making ‘outrageous’ requests for taxpayers to subsidise the attempts to use more lower carbon fuels, and indirectly, subsidise air passengers. Airlines are lobbying the government for £ billions in handouts to help them cover the cost of developing new fuels, called "sustainable aviation fuel" (SAF). Freedom of Information requests by OpenDemocracy found Virgin Atlantic, British Airways and easyJet are among the companies demanding public money to help them meet a requirement to use SAF in future. In any year, about 50% of the UK population do not fly, and the richest fly much more than poorer people. So subsidy for SAF from taxpayer money in inequitable. The airlines claim they pay money to the government, through the ETS and CORSIA. But that small amount of money helps to fund public services. The airlines are trying to claim that boosting SAF production would increase jobs etc ... There are not enough genuine sources of waste, that are not doing environmental harm, to produce much SAF - certainly not on the scale they want. The sector also wants "contracts for difference" to pay SAF producers agreed prices, even if the market price fell. Money for that has to be found from somewhere (taxing fossil jet fuel perhaps?)
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KLM encourages passengers to take the train for some short flights, to slightly reduce aviation CO2
KLM’s chief executive, Marjan Rintel, has encouraged passengers to take the train rather than fly on some short-haul journeys to help cut carbon emissions, saying the airline sector should stop viewing rail as a competitor. National governments in Europe have been taking action to get people on to high-speed trains instead of short-haul flights, to reduce aviation CO2 emissions. Air France, which comes under the same holding company as KLM, stopped flying domestic routes where there are rail or coach alternatives taking under two and a half hours in 2020, as part of measures it agreed to with the French government in exchange for aid during the Covid-19 pandemic. This was changed last week, when the EU only approved this for 3 routes, Paris-Orly and Bordeaux, Nantes and Lyon - and their connecting flights exempted. In June, the Dutch government announced plans to cut flights from Schiphol by over 10% to 440,000 a year. The move is likely to lead to a sharp reduction in short-haul flights from Schiphol, meaning the KLM boss can advocate rail trips. Rintel said KLM had already block-booked seats on the train service linking Amsterdam to Brussels and Paris .
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EU agrees to “watershed” inclusion into the carbon market for shipping; eyes now on aviation
EU negotiators have agreed to bring shipping into the EU's carbon market, the ETS, showing that pricing international emissions is possible. Shipping, (as well as aviation) is one of Europe's largest CO2 emitters, but so far it has not been fully included in the Emissions Trading System. It means that shipping polluters will have to pay and shows that the EU can regulate emissions beyond its borders. There had been claims in the past that shipping and aviation could not be included, as much of their emissions take place outside the EU's borders. T&E wants the same equally ambitious scheme for aviation, so it is fully in the ETS. Currently only flights within Europe are included, not those outside it, which make up about 60% of total European aviation CO2 emissions. EU negotiators will be discussing aviation emissions next week, and there is no reason for aviation to not be treated in the same manner as shipping.
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Reduction in flying only way to achieve net zero, warns sustainability expert
The only way the aviation sector will reach net zero by 2050 is if there is a reduction in the number of people flying. Cait Hewitt, policy director at Aviation Environment Federation, warned Travel Weekly’s Sustainability Summit that the aviation sector does “not yet have the technologies” required to achieve the target. The industry wants a lot more government financial assistance to produce more SAF, and also perhaps "green" hydrogen. But realistically, there is not going to be a lot of these fuels for many years to come, if ever. There will certainly not be enough for the sector not only to continue at its present size, but also to expand. The industry is desperate to make out that the problem is the need to decarbonise flights, not reduce their number. The sector has to keep growing - that is the universal business model. Cait said “I’ve heard all kinds of promises from the aviation sector about cutting emissions, and while it’s true that emissions are reducing on a per-passenger basis, overall emissions are not.” Every sector, including aviation, must cut its climate impact.
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Airbus boss warns of delay in decarbonising airline industry – “green” hydrogen and SAF not available in large amounts
Head of Airbus, Guillaume Faury, says there is a shortage of allegedly low carbon fuels, so-called "Sustainable Aviation Fuel" (SAF). He said this is slowing the uptake of SAF. He said he had concerns about the pace of investment in facilities to produce “green” hydrogen and SAF. "Green" hydrogen, produced from water using zero-carbon electricity, offers one possible solution, while SAF, made from plant or other wastes or using carbon from the air, can be used in existing gas turbine engines. The hope is that, although SAF burns to create CO2, there is less overall CO2 in the fuel lifecycle than using conventional jet kerosene. Airbus wants to fly zero-emissions hydrogen aircraft in commercial service by 2035 but Faury said this may be later, due to the lack of "green" hydrogen. With every other sector aiming to use genuinely low carbon, renewably generated electricity, is there enough to use on producing jet fuel, largely for discretionary leisure trips? Rolls Royce and EasyJet are also making efforts to test engines fuelled by hydrogen. So far it has been burned in a jet engine, on the ground, not on a plane in flight. SAF supplies are likely to remain relatively limited for years.
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British Airways to double operations at Gatwick Airport
British Airways is planning to double its operations at Gatwick, instead of more at Heathrow. It is keen to compete against Heathrow. BA is understood to be planning to increase the number of aircraft based at Gatwick from 14 to between 24 and 28 in the next few years. Airlines are annoyed at the high level of landing charges, per passenger, at Heathrow as well as the problems of not having enough staff this summer. BA wants to grow (like all airlines - they have no Plan B) and intends that to be at Gatwick, for the time being. BA was among a number of airlines to decrease its presence at Gatwick, Britain’s second-busiest airport, during the pandemic. Arch-rival Virgin Atlantic moved its operations to Heathrow. BA returned to Gatwick last year with the launch of Euroflyer, a cut-price short-haul subsidiary that would operate independently in a similar vein to Cityflyer, which runs BA flights from London City Airport.
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Virgin Atlantic withdraws support for Heathrow 3rd runway, due to its high landing costs
The CEO of Virgin Atlantic, Shai Weiss, has said he does not support the expansion of Heathrow if it continues with its very high landing charges for passengers. Heathrow will be allowed, by the regulator, the CAA, to raise charges by 56% next year, to £30.19 a passenger, but will have to reduce them to 26.31 in 2026. Heathrow claims this will not provide them enough money to invest in a 3rd runway. But the airlines using Heathrow consider the charges too high, and a disincentive to passengers. Weiss said Heathrow’s plan to raise charges was “great for the airport and its mostly foreign shareholders” - including Qatar and China’s sovereign wealth fund – but “a bad deal for consumers, airlines, and the UK economy”. He wants the CAA to reform a “broken” system and “pay closer attention to the abuse of power by a de facto monopolistic airport”. ..."Until that happens, it is difficult to see how expansion at Heathrow can be supported.” He ruled out a return to Gatwick, which Virgin left during Covid, saying there was “no connectivity”. Virgin Atlantic had become more efficient since focusing all its operations on one London airport.
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Luton councillors in disagreement on whether £500m loans to Luton airport airport company are “secured” or not
Disagreement between opposing political parties has resumed over whether loans by Luton Borough Council to its airport company, Lution Rising, are secured or unsecured. The latest exchange came during debate on the local authority’s treasury management annual report at a full council meeting on 15th November. The opposition group leader said: “... there’s more than £500m of unsecured loans, which have been given to the airport company. I know I’m about to be told those loans are in fact secured on the assets of the company. But that’s nonsense. You can’t take as security for a loan like this assets which the council already owns. They’re effectively unsecured.” It is unclear whether the loans are secured, as they are to a separate entity, London Luton Airport Limited, trading as Luton Rising, and the council may legally be separate from that. Councillors approved the annual report on treasury management and prudential indicators for the year ending March 31st 2022.
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Taxing kerosene on flights, at the level paid by motorists, could raise £6.7 billion a year for the UK Treasury
Revenues generated from a UK aviation kerosene tax could accelerate the reduction in aviation CO2 emissions, a new study by Transport & Environment (T&E) found. They calculated possible revenues that could be raised by the Treasury if the UK government were to impose a duty on the fuel (in a similar fashion to how road fuel is taxed) uplifted to planes in the UK. Airlines currently pay no fuel duty at all. To make matters worse, in further ignorance of the polluter pays principle – long-haul flights are not included in the UK ETS (the carbon market for aviation), long haul carrier airlines do not pay a penny for any of the emissions they cause. In contrast, jet fuel taken on for domestic aviation has been taxed for many years in countries such as the US, Japan, India and Brazil. In 2019 a kerosene tax at the same level as motorists pay, airlines would have collectively had to pay £6.7 billion for their fuel. Taxing domestic flights, which represent 19% of all UK departing flights, but only 4% of total jet fuel used, could generate £0.26 billion. For flights departing to the EU (65% of flights and 30% of jet fuel), revenues calculated were £1.93 billion. For flights to the US, the Treasury could generate £1.6 billion.
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Airlines and airports call on UK Gov to ramp up financial support for SAF production
Airports and airlines have written to Mark Harper, the new transport secretary, calling for more state intervention to support the "fledgling green fuel industry." The aviation sector is placing most of its hopes, of being able to continue at its current size and to grow further, on so called "sustainable aviation fuels." (SAF). These fuels will have to be produced from wastes of various sorts, in order to have credible claims to be lower carbon than conventional jet fuel. (Both sorts of fuel produce about the same CO2 emissions and non-CO2 impacts when burned in a jet engine). The aviation sector wants government funding, to help develop SAF. It says "Britain will struggle to create an industry producing sustainable aviation fuel unless the government provides regular subsidies to manufacturers." The government has promised £165mn as seed capital to encourage manufacturers to open at least 5 plants producing SAF and hopes they will be started by 2025. It has also set a target under which 10% of aviation fuel must be SAF by 2030.They want the government to create “contracts for difference” (CFDs) to agree a set price for SAF, to give confidence to investors.
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Bristol Airport court case is test for Sunak’s green credentials, and test case for other airport expansion plans
The decision on whether Bristol Airport should be allowed to expand has faced a court challenge. Carla Denyer, the co-leader of the Green Party, has commented that this case has huge significance for the future not just of Bristol and the South West, but for the whole of the UK. Despite the expansion application being rejected by North Somerset council, in February of this year, the Government’s Planning Inspectorate overruled the public mandate and the views of local councillors, all the surrounding councils, the West of England Combined Authority, the local MPs and the vast majority of the local residents. The expansion of Bristol Airport would be catastrophic. The carbon emissions from the expansion alone will equate to an extra 1 million tonnes of CO2 per year. That’s double the annual carbon currently emitted by all the rest of Bristol’s transport. It is a nationally important test case for whether carbon emissions and the UK’s legally binding environmental targets can carry weight in planning decisions. Up to 20 other regional airports have plans to expand, and are waiting and watching this Statutory Appeal closely.
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Climate activists target private jet airports, asking that private jet travel is reduced
Protests by groups such as Extinction Rebellion and Scientist Rebellion, in the UK, have staged protests and two of the main airports that serve private jets. There were other protests in the US and in Europe, with several people arrested. Protests took place at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey and also at airports in North Carolina, California and Washington State. In Europe there were protests at Schiphol in the Netherlands, Milan, Stockholm and Trondheim. The carbon emissions per passenger kilometre by users of private jets are perhaps 5-14 times as great as those in premium class seats on conventional jets, and much more than standard class passengers in a modern, full plane. With the severity of climate change becoming ever more apparent, the unnecessarily high carbon emissions by those who choose to fly in private jets are unacceptable. These flights are not only taken by politicians, eg. attending COP27 in Sharm-el-Sheikh, but often by the very rich, celebrities etc. Governments need to clamp down on this unjustifiable burning of jet fuel.
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Luton Airport owner (part of Luton Council) delays DCO plans for expansion to 32mppa
Earlier this year, Luton Rising – a Luton Council subsidiary that owns the airport – consulted on revised expansion proposals that would eventually increase the airport’s annual passenger capacity from 18 million to 32 million. Luton Rising has now delayed the submission of its £1.5bn expansion plans. The necessary Development Consent Order (DCO) application for a second airport terminal was due to be submitted by the end of 2022. But Construction News has learned that the application has been pushed back to 2023. The plans consist of two phases, with the first expanding the existing terminal to 21.5 million ann ual passengers, and the second building a new terminal. This second phase is itself split into two parts, with the new terminal boosting capacity to 27M per year and further expansion later increasing it to 32M. It is thought that, if approved, construction would not begin until at least 2025. Consultation documents state that delivering the project would take up to 20 years, “during which there will be periods of construction activity and others with no activity”. A previous statutory consultation was held in 2019, but the airport struggled financially due to Covid, and forced it to borrow several hundred £million from Luton council.
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Bristol airport expansion decision legal challenge – it would hinder UK climate goals
There has been a high court hearing in Bristol, about the possible expansion plans of the airport, from 10 to 12 million annual passengers. Campaigners are challenging the decision of the Planning Inspectorate to allow expansion, even though it had earlier been refused. Lawyers for Bristol Airport Action Network (BAAN) argued the decision did not properly take into account the full environmental impacts of the increase in flights and ignored local climate policies. Bristol Airport Ltd first announced plans to expand in 2018. North Somerset council refused it planning permission in February 2020, citing the inevitable rise in carbon emissions as well as the increase in road traffic, loss of green belt land for parking, and rise in noise and air pollution. Then the airport operator appealed to the Planning Inspectorate (PI), which overturned the local decision in February 2022 after a 10-week inquiry. The climate issue is made difficult, by the absence of proper policy on aviation carbon for all of the UK, ignoring the cumulative impact of numerous airport expansions. It does not take into account local carbon budgets, or the non-CO2 climate impacts of aviation. There are also legal challenges under way, of the government's inadequate "Jet Zero" strategy.
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