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Latest news stories:
Boris Johnson’s opposition to Heathrow could derail his bid to be Uxbridge MP
Boris Johnson has announced plans to contest a seat in the summer 2015 election and is understood to be in talks to stand in Uxbridge and South Ruislip. He has been included on the official Conservative candidates list, allowing him to stand in Uxbridge. However, the constituency in west London contains thousands of voters who work at Heathrow who would fiercely oppose Mr Johnson’s candidacy. Boris has described a Heathrow 3rd runway as "bollocks", and also said he will continue to campaign against high-speed rail. Boris believes, along with his completely unworkable and impossibly environmentally damaging Thames estuary airport scheme, that Heathrow should be close down and turned into a “tech city” with housing areas, a university etc. The Labour candidate running in the Uxbridge constituency opposes closing Heathrow and will try and turn any contest with Boris into a debate about Heathrow. A body of opinion believes Boris will have difficulty in winning in Uxbridge unless he reverses his call for Heathrow to be closed. Boris has described Heathrow as “a dead duck” and said he will “fight to my dying breath” to halt a 3rd runway.
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Francis Maude says it is intolerable for some people to be very intensively overflown, “to the extreme detriment of their lives”
Francis Maude, MP for Horsham, wrote that the ADNID trial has been almost six months of intense misery for many of his constituents. He has been liaising with the airport, the CAA, NATS and the Secretary of State for Transport on the trial and its impacts. Gatwick is aiming to increase potential take-offs at peak times from 55 to 58 per hour from its single runway, and to do this it claims to need more focused flight paths, allowed by better aircraft on-board navigation systems. Gatwick says it needs to use new NPR routes, rather than the established ones. Government policy is that the decision about new routes, which rests with the Secretary of State, will be based on reducing the numbers of people overflown, in a simple headcount exercise. But there are local circumstances which allow for other considerations - background noise, altitude above sea level - to be taken into account, and Francis says "this is our best hope of seeing off this threat." Sharing of the noise misery burden may be tolerable but " What is intolerable is when fewer people are very intensively overflown, to the extreme detriment of their lives." He adds: "I have sought reassurance that the consultation being run by IpsosMori will be independently scrutinised by the CAA, using the raw data if necessary."
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Birmingham delighted to get daily flight to India, largely for tourism and VFR
Birmingham airport’s is encouraged by a decision by Air India to increase the number of flights between Birmingham, Delhi and Amritsa from 4 per week to 7 per week. This will start from November, when its 18th Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft is inducted into service. Birmingham has now had direct flights to India for one year, after having none for 5 years. Though some passengers are on business, the majority are tourists and people visiting friends and relatives in India. Having three more flights per week will mean an extra 1,500 seats a week, as the Air India Dreamliners have 256 seats (256 x 3 x 2 = 1,5360. Paul Kehoe, Birmingham Airport’s Chief Executive, said “The West Midlands receives more foreign direct investment from India than any other region outside of London and Birmingham’s VFR (visiting friends and family) market grew by 71% in 2013, now attracting more visitors from India than any English city other than London." The runway extension, that opened in April, is enabling more flights to longer haul destinations. The flight path trials, due to the runway extension, are causing real concern and distress to those south of the airport, now finding themselves seriously overflown.
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Thousands of Londoners would hear a plane “every 90 seconds for 13 hours/day” if Heathrow 3rd runway is built
Heathrow knows it cannot get a 3rd runway unless it can somehow persuade people that there will be less noise from 50% more aircraft than there is today. In order to try and achieve this miraculous result, some massaging of figures is needed, and some clever use of statistics. In reality, it is likely that with three runways, tens of thousands of people in west London would lose half of their daily “noise-free” period (from runway alternation - switching runway at 3pm). HACAN, the group campaigning against the noise impacts of Heathrow, and thus against Heathrow's expansion, say some areas would have planes passing overhead every 90 seconds for a “nightmarish” 13 hours a day. HACAN discovered the noise data “buried” in an appendix to one of Heathrow’s reports sent to the Airports Commission and “slipped out” before the holidays. It appears likely that residents under the southern flight path, including areas such as Richmond, would lose almost 4 hours of their 8 hour quiet period. People living under the current northern flight path would continue to get about 8 hours of respite but HACAN claim this would be spoiled for many because they would hear aircraft from one of the two other runways on either side of them.
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Gatwick CEO says planes over Reigate “could be from Heathrow” …? Just as likely to be Gatwick ….
Many residents living near Reigate have recently reported increased aircraft noise. This may have been due to planes arriving at, or departing from, Heathrow. That is the claim from Gatwick Airport's chief executive Stewart Wingate, who has assured residents the offending noise is not due to flight path changes at his airport. The Heathrow "WebTrak" website shows (approximately - not 100% accurate) the positions and tracks of aircraft arriving at, or departing from, Heathrow. The Gatwick "Casper" website also shows the tracks of planes arriving at, or departing from, Gatwick. Both these websites show aircraft in the vicinity of Reigate. The WebTrak record suggests planes stacking, waiting to land at Heathrow, at about 9,000 to 9,600 feet. Planes taking off from Heathrow, flying near Reigate, would be a bit higher than 6,000 feet. Planes taking off from Gatwick are also shown in the area close to Gatwick, at 5,500 to 6,000 feet. So it appears people in the area south of Reigate may be subjected to planes using both airports.
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Heathrow campaign, HACAN, will not be taking part in the consultation on noise compensation, for a 3rd runway
On 21st July Heathrow published a consultation on how it hopes to persuade thousands of people, who would be badly affected by increased aircraft noise from its operations, to accept money as compensation. It is offering £550 million, if it is allowed to build a 3rd runway, in various schemes. The £550 million is a one-off, not an annual sum. The aim is to buy off opposition. The existence of the consultation aims to convey the impression that a 3rd runway is inevitable, and that Heathrow is being stunningly generous. Neither is true. The community group dealing in particular with noise due to Heathrow, HACAN, has had numerous complaints from residents who are furious about the assumptions being made in the Heathrow consultation. They do not like being steamrollered into discussions about compensation for something they deeply oppose. HACAN will not be taking any part in the consultation, and not encouraging its members to do so. They feel the compensation discussion "puts the cart before the horse". Providing Heathrow with assistance in how best to win over residents, whose quality of life will be reduced by a new runway, is not in the interests of those overflown, now or in the future.
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Boris plans London infrastructure plan costing up to £1.3 trillion for London by 2050 – consultation
London mayor Boris Johnson has set out plans for more than £1 trillion investment in the capital’s infrastructure. Launching a consultation on his 2050 London Infrastructure Plan, Boris said the city could lose its global status without a major improvement programme. His plan includes at least one more Crossrail scheme, a hub airport in the Thames Estuary, an orbital road tunnel and 9,000ha of new green space. Bonkers as it sounds, without all this Boris says London "will falter.” The Mayor intends to establish a London Infrastructure Delivery Board consisting of representatives of London’s main infrastructure providers. Arup has estimated the total cost of the plan at up £1.3 trillion, although Johnson wants to find ways to reduce this. The consultation on the London Infrastructure Plan 2050 will run for three months, and closes on 31st October. The Mayor is expected to publish a final report in early 2015. The population of London is forecast to increase by 37% by 2050, to more than 11 million people. In the transport section, Boris is still plugging his Thames estuary airport, despite the highly negative reports produced recently for the Airports Commission.
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Court orders end to 2 flight paths over Brussels, which have been strongly opposed since February
In response to the heated opposition by thousands of Francophone residents of Brussels, and the successful "Pas Question" campaign, a court in Brussels has ordered that two of the new flight paths over the city should be stopped. These are a flight path called "Canal" and one called "turn left" from the airport. These flight paths came into operation on 6th February this year, under the "Plan Wathelet" and reflect the complicated politics of Belgium. The judgement, by the Brussels Court of First Instance, must be applied within 3 months or otherwise there is a penalty of a fine of €50,000 per day. The ordinance imposes in effect a return to the situation prior to February 6th. The association "Pas Question" describes the judgement as an "immense relief" that what they describe as a nightmare of living with the aircraft noise for 175 days has ended. They expect the Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Mobility to take "immediate" measures required to implement the court decision and change flight paths away from heavily populated routes. There need to be impact assessment studies, and consultation, before flight paths are changed - a broader solution for all residents affected by the airport.
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Russian airline, Aeroflot, to challenge fines for non-payment of EU ETS charges for 2012
The European Emissions Trading System charged airlines, during 2012, for their emissions while flying into or from European airports, in EU airspace. For non EU countries, a European country administered the payments. The payments from Russian airlines are administered by Germany. Three Russian airlines paid in full for their emissions. However, Aeroflot did not. Now Germany has confirmed that Aeroflot is being fined for its non-payment. Aeroflot has sent a “protest” letter to the European Parliament and is preparing to lodge an appeal at being asked to pay a €215,600 fine. Aeroflot says: “In response to the IATA recommendations and like other air companies, Aeroflot has prepared a protest letter to the European Parliament" ...and they are "preparing to file an appeal on the unacceptability of issuing fines against the air company." The payments are only for 2012, before "stop the clock" brought an end to payments. The compromise deal agreed by the European Parliament in early April 2014 means that, until 2017, only flights between EU airports will be regulated, not flights to or from the EU.
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SSE welcome Stansted’s Development Plan consultation as an opportunity for an open debate on its one-runway future
Stop Stansted Expansion (SSE) is calling for an open debate about Stansted Airport's long term plan, due to be published later this week. Manchester Airport Group ('MAG'), which bought Stansted from BAA 18 months ago, will publish its 'Sustainable Development Plan' (SDP) for Stansted, setting out what it intends to do with the airport over the next 20-25 years. The SDP will initially be published as a draft for consultation, with a final version of the plan expected towards the end of the year. SSE welcomes this initiative by MAG and wants to encourage maximum public participation in the consultation process. It is understood that the SDP will be based on Stansted remaining as a single runway airport. This will be a great relief for the vast majority of local residents but it still leaves scope - within Stansted's existing planning permission - for the airport to handle almost twice as many passengers and twice as many flights as it does today. (Up to 35 million passengers and 264,000 flights). SSE wants to see a gradual phasing out of night flights at Stansted and the return of some 270 homes bought near the airport, for a 2nd runway, to private ownership.
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Caroline Spelman MP calls for end to Birmingham flight path trials
Meriden MP Caroline Spelman has demanded the Transport Secretary, Patrick McLoughlin, calls a halt to Birmingham Airport's flight path trials across her borough, since 1st May, after being handed a petition with over 1,500 signatures. The petition, which has been signed by a number of local action groups, calls on Transport Secretary to intervene in the trial following complaints over noise. The airport has been trialling two options for new flight paths for the past 6 months as part of the new runway extension. But residents claim the aircraft are not sticking to the routes accurately, causing planes to fly closer to their homes. Caroline Spelman says the fact the planes are not flying the accurate routes has invalidated the trial, and a review is needed of what has gone wrong. ". If the airport plumps for a compromise route which is different from the original two options there would need to be a further consultation." The airport claims its new runway extension, as well as creating distressing noise and disruption for several thousand people, will " deliver global connectivity and thousands of new jobs in the future for local people." The CAA will finally decide on the flight paths.
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Gatwick’s consultation shows some 85% of respondents oppose a 2nd Gatwick runway
Gatwick Airport held a consultation over April and May 2014, to try to get backing for its plans for a 2nd runway, and the option the airport wants - the wide spaced option with the runway used for both arrivals and departures. This has always been what the airport wanted, and the proposal the Airports Commission short listed. The consultation gave two options, that the airport did not want and has no interest in. The consultation also initially had no means for any respondent to express their opposition to any new Gatwick runway, but eventually a "none of these options" box was added - difficult to locate, far into the document. The survey results are now out. They are deeply irritating to the airport, as they show huge opposition to any runway. Of about 7,700 respondents, well over 80% said NO. Of the 7,700 or so, only 733 backed Option 3 ( the runway option Gatwick wants) and 2,165 did not want a runway at all. 4,003 responses came through the Woodland Trust and these are being discounted, unjustifiably, as though part of an e-campaign, many contained specific comments made by the respondents. Taking all the responses for no runway, they amount to some 85% of the total. Even discounting the Woodland Trust responses, 66% opposed a new runway.
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Germany’s DFS air traffic service beats NATS to control Gatwick flights below 4,000 feet
Gatwick Airport's air traffic control services are to be provided by a German state-owned company from next year. A 10-year contract for services below 4,000ft around the airport has been given to Deutsche Flugsicherung (DFS). The service has been provided for more than 30 years by Hampshire-based NATS, which will continue to navigate air traffic above 4,000ft. NATS said it was disappointed, but it was too early to say if jobs would go. DFS is wholly owned by the German government and operates 16 airports in Germany as well as providing air traffic control across the country. Gatwick management said it was planned that, after a period of transition, DFS would start work in October 2015. The successful bid by DFS comes a year after a UK pension fund, the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) beat DFS for a 20% stake in NATS. The Airline Group, which had owned 42% of NATS before the sale, chose USS rather than DFS to buy the 20%, which meant that a partial de-facto merger between two of the largest European Air Navigation Service Providers did not happen.
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CCC confirm UK air passenger rise of 60% by 2050 only possible if carbon intensify of flying improves by one third
The Committee on Climate Change has reported to Parliament on progress on the UK's carbon budgets. They say: "Under the current rate of progress future budgets will not all be met." Carbon budgets do not currently include emissions from international aviation and shipping, but these are included in the 2050 carbon target. The government will review aviation's inclusion in carbon budgets in 2016. In 2012 the UK's international aviation emitted 32 MtCO2, and domestic aviation 1.6 MtCO2. The CCC and the Airports Commission say a new runway can fit within climate targets, but their own figures show aviation growth exceeding the target for decades. Growth in passengers of "around" 60% above 2005 levels could only fit within the carbon target if there is an improvement in the carbon intensity of aviation of around one-third by 2050. The Airports Commission's own interim report says there can only be 36% growth in flights by 2050, to stay within targets. They say any more growth than that should not happen, "unless and until" there are the necessary technology improvements, cutting aviation emissions. But neither the government, nor the CCC, nor the Airports Commission can pin down what these will be, or when they will happen. UK aviation emissions remain the highest in Europe.
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MP wants to meet with airport over flood of runway noise complaints (Not UK – but Calgary, Canada)
In late June this year a new runway at Calgary Airport, in Ontario Canada, opened. It had been in the planning for years. Calgary airport is not far from the city. Now people are finding themselves seriously overflown, and are very upset by the extent of the noise and disruption -which is greater than they had anticipated. The noise is always worst in summer, when people want to be outside, or have windows open. A Calgary MP has now met airport officials after receiving over 100 complaints from his constituents about noise, due to planes using the new runway. The MP wants there to be “dialogue” between the airport authority and nearby residents, in the hope that some solution can be found for their problems. The MP, and the affected residents, say they recognize the airport is an important economic driver for the city, but said that long-time residents deserve to be part of the conversation. The airport has to act as a "responsible corporate citizen". There are long established communities, in existence for decades, under the new flight paths, which have never had any aircraft noise problems before. People are stunned by what started over their heads - from 6am onwards. This is exactly the same as is happening around airports in so many countries. Truly a globalised issue.
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Norwegian suffers £9m loss from strike threats over its labour practices
The low cost airline, Norwegian Air Shuttle, has now started operating low-cost long-haul flights from Gatwick to the US, said the cost of strikes earlier in the year has been around £9 million. The threat of strike action, from one of Europe’s largest labour unions Parat, came after Norwegian announced it wanted to split the Danish and Norwegian cabin staff into 2 separate companies – Cabin Services Norway and Cabin Services Denmark. Unions feared the new agreement would weaken its members’ negotiating power and threaten accrued wages and benefits. Norwegian’s second quarter financial results for 2014 showed a pre-tax loss of £12.9 million, with revenues rising to around £472 million from around £377 million a year earlier. It claims an 80% load factor on its flights. There have been complaints about Norwegian trying to bypass Norway’s strict labour laws, avoiding high labour costs and enabling it to employ cheaper Thai workers. There had been uncertainty about whether the US would grant the airline a permanent licence to operate there, for fears it would “dodge international labour rules”.
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Restrictions on UK ‘night flights’ at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted extended until 2017
In the Government's response to the Airports Commission's December 2013 interim report, Patrick McLoughlin announced that plans to more than double the number of ‘night flights’ at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports have been postponed until 2017. Under proposals outlined in the Commission’s interim report the number of planes allowed to land at the airport before 6am each day would have increased from 16 to 35 from 2015. The government now says it wants to ensure “regulatory stability” at south east airports while the Commission makes its final recommendations on which airport should be recommended to be allowed to build a new runway. The government is also extending the ban on "rare movements made by older noisier types of aircraft.” McLoughlin said: “This decision will help give certainty around the night noise environment for those living near the airports, as well as ensuring operational capacity at these airports is not affected pending decisions on any new airport capacity in light of the commission’s final report.” The government has also postponed the Commission’s recommendation for an Independent Aviation Noise Authority.
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8 sites shortlisted for UK’s first commercial spaceport – Newquay, Llanbedr + 6 in Scotland
At the Farnborough Air Show, plans to build a dedicated launch facility were unveiled. The UK government has expressed its enthusiasm for this unlikely project. Of the sites revealed by he CAA, one site is in England, at Newquay. One site is in Wales at Llanbedr airport in Snowdonia national park. The other six are in Scotland: Campbeltown airport; Prestwick airport; Kinloss barracks; RAF Lossiemouth; RAF Leuchars and Stornoway airport on the Isle of Lewis. Publication of the shortlist has led to a scramble among the sites to win government backing. The Scottish government in keen on the idea, for the kudos of being seen to be a space nation. Operators now enter three months of consultation before the decision is made.The airports considered have to have long runways and have airspace that can be easily segregated to allow spaceplane flights to operate alongside normal aviation. Sites have to be remote from population, on the coast to minimise the risks from "down-range abnormal occurrences" – meaning spaceplanes crashing or bits falling off. Space travel is the highest carbon activity known to man; worse even than Formula One racing or using private jets.
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Government progress update on the Airports Commission’s interim report – key decisions delayed till after summer 2015
The long awaited response from the government, from Patrick McLoughlin, to the Airports Commission's "Interim Statement" in December 2013, had finally been made. It contains no surprises, with all the major decisions postponed: early morning smoothing of arrivals and the issue of an independent noise authority will be considered next year alongside the report from the Airports Commission in summer 2015. The night-time regime at London airports is extended without change for a further 3 years. The response says that as recommended by the Commission, a Senior Delivery Group (SDG) has already been set up, chaired by the Chief Executive of the CAA, Andrew Haines, "to develop and where appropriate lead delivery of the Airports Commission's Optimisation strategy" (how to get as much aviation expansion as possible without excessive noise burden on those overflown). McLouglin's statement says: "Some of the measures considered by the SDG form part of the national future airspace strategy (FAS) which is expected to deliver annual benefits of over £150 million to the aviation industry and environment [quite how the environment benefits is not specified] by 2020 and more than £2 billion worth of cumulative benefits by 2030."
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While global industry grows more concerned about water availability, airports remain huge water users
Airports are large users of water, not only for the passengers in the terminals but also for aeronautical uses. Deicing planes in the winter uses an enormous volume of water, including the deicing fluid contamination. Airports have the problems of safely removing and disposing of contaminated water, without damage to local water courses - but of the sheer volume they use. This is particularly acute in areas of water shortage, and in periods of drought. Articles in the Financial Times highlight the concerns of some large industries about the cost and availability of water, for their future profitability. They also make the point that water is not valued highly enough, and as it tends to be so cheap, it is wasted and over-used. Airports know, for their sustainability strategies, that they have to cut water consumption. But the amounts they use are vast. Heathrow used some 2,170 million litres of water in 2013. That is about the same as the usage of 31,000 families of four, with medium usage. In 2009 Gatwick used some 1,059 million litres. In 2011 Stansted used some 410 million litres.
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Plans to fit a new south east runway within UK climate targets are based on a ‘wing and a prayer’ – rather than reality
Two new reports have been produced, which seriously challenge the Airports Commission's claim that it is possible to build a new runway and still meet the UK Government's climate change targets. The reports also argue that building a new runway in the south east would worsen the north/south divide, as growth at the regional airports would need to be constrained in order to ensure CO2 emissions from aviation fall to their 2005 levels by 2050. The RSPB report, "Aviation, climate change and sharing the load" and the WWF report, by the AEF "The implications of a new South East runway on regional airport expansion" demonstrate that if a new runway is built, commitments under the Climate Change Act cannot be met unless significant constraints are imposed on the level of activity at regional airports. Both reports illustrate that if aviation emissions were allowed to soar, that would impose costs on the rest of the economy rising to perhaps between £1 billion and £8.4 billion per year by 2050 as non-aviation sectors would need to make even deeper emissions cuts. The regulatory regime for aviation carbon emissions is still just aspirational. Contrary to the impression given by the government and the Airports Commission, the issue of climate in relation to airport expansion has not been resolved.
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New EU rules on airports seen as too timid to reduce extent of aircraft noise
There is serious concern, in the UK and other European countries, that new rules on aviation noise, that are due to take come into force across the EU in 2016, will fall short of what is needed to protect people living near airports. The EU’s new regulation calls for creating a “balanced approach” (ie balancing the protection of citizens living near airports with the freedom to travel, and economic development). The industry is meant to be using less noisy planes, and making various other minor changes - while allowing a growing number of flights. Heathrow already has the largest number, of any European airport, of people affected by aircraft noise. The community group HACAN believes the new regulations offer little relief as the law lacks binding noise reduction rules. "Until there is a definite target to be met, and a date by which that target has to be met, and legal limits, there really is very little incentive for airports or national governments to significantly reduce noise.” It has been noted that Heathrow is more inclined to engage with those suffering from aircraft noise, and make efforts to deal with their problem, in their bid for another runway.
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Residents in Chicago, fed up with O’Hare airport jet noise, take to the streets to fight it
O'Hare airport in Chicago has been upsetting residents to the northwest of the city, by changing flight paths, so some people are being over flown a great deal than before. This is the result of the O'Hare Modernization Project that took effect in October 2013. The changes mean that 85% of O'Hare arrivals and departures between 11 pm and 6am will fly over homes in certain suburbs. Those living under these flight paths face not only the noise, the annoyance, the potential impacts on their health and the loss of sleep, but also a decrease in their property prices. The local community campaign, FAiR (Fair Allocation in Runways) has been touring affected neighbourhoods giving out door hanger signs encouraging people to get active and fight the flight paths, or else "kiss your property values goodbye." They plan to hand out door hangers to 50,000 homes. They also have "yard signs" (placards to stick in the front garden) for the campaign, selling these to raise campaign funds. Just as in London and near other UK airports, people are devastated by the new noise pollution. One commented that even with noise insulation, it was impossible to avoid the noise in the neighbourhood, even by going shopping, going swimming, going to the park. It cannot be avoided.
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Gatwick admits to sacrificing the lives of those in countryside to satisfy its expansion plans
The Gatwick flight path trial, and other intensified flight paths associated with Gatwick, continue to cause not only annoyance but real distress to perhaps thousands in the area. In an article reported in part of the aviation media, some of the anger and frustration comes across, as well as the callous manner in which Gatwick airport appears to view people who live in the countryside, and whose quality of life has been attacked by plane noise. Stewart Wingate is reported as saying "Why would you choose to fly a quarter of a million more planes every year over one of the world's most densely populated cities (London) when instead you can fly them mostly over fields." His ignorant comment about the area over-flown by Gatwick planes as just fields has enraged people. The article says Mr Wingate "appears to suggest sacrificing the lifestyle, peace and quiet of those who have chosen to live outside cities for the profit of a few - the foreign owners of Gatwick Airport." The airport has already started the process of 'Air Grab' over a number of Sussex towns and villages. That is a frightening prospect when Mr Wingate has said his ambition is to make Gatwick larger than Heathrow is today.
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Newham Council warns London City Airport over night time disruption, for 3 years, for its building works
Campaigners against London City Airport expansion fear years of night time disruption if a planning application is approved. The group "Stop City Airport" say long-suffering residents in the area are already facing increased noise issues due to Crossrail works and from the proposed Chinese business park by ABP (Associated British Ports). Stop City Airport raised its latest concerns after a letter from Newham Council was made public, expressing fears over night-time construction work. Campaigner Alan Haughton said: "There will be no relief for residents. Aircraft noise all day long and as soon as that finishes, non-stop piling for three years at least." The council's senior development manager Chris Gascoigne said the airport was proposing a construction programme lasting up to 7 years, with 3 of those being 24 hours a day. He commented: "In our view the proposed night time construction noise impacts are not acceptable and represent a potential reason for refusal of planning permission." The airport has been asked if it can reduce operation hours, to do construction during the day, but council officers have yet to get a reply. The airport's plans include 7 new aircraft parking stands, a 3-storey passenger pier, noise barriers and a 260-bedroom hotel.
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Reports on Thames Estuary airport plan show it is costly, risky for the taxpayer and a potential failure
Serious doubt has been cast on the prospect of a Thames estuary airport plan going ahead. Four reports have been produced for the Airports Commission, to aid their consideration of whether an estuary airport should be one of the short listed options to be taken forward, in September. One of three reports prepared for the commission published on Friday has said of the estuary plan: "Overall, the challenges to transition are considerable and amount to a significant cost and risk to the taxpayer in terms of commercial negotiations, infrastructure development and potential failure." Another report says Heathrow would have to close if the estuary scheme went ahead and that Heathrow's owners would have to be paid compensation of between £13.5 billion and £21.5 billion. The third report cited possible transport improvement costs associated with the new airport of between £10.1bn and £17.2bn for road, and up to £27 billion for rail. The report on environmental impacts which estimated that moving affected wildlife away from the new airport could cost as much as £2bn could cost as much as £2bn.
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Four Inner Thames estuary airport studies for Airports Commission finally kill off “Boris Island”
The Airports Commission has now published all four of the studies it has commissioned on an Inner Thames Estuary (ITE) airport. These reports are on environmental impacts, operational feasibility and attitudes to moving to an estuary airport, socio-economic impacts, and surface access. The first report, on environmental impacts was utterly damning, confirming the massive extent of the harm done to highly conserved habitats and their wildlife, and the near impossibility of successfully moving the wildlife elsewhere. Now the report on the feasibility of moving the airport shows the problems of flood risk, fog, wind direction, bird strike, explosives on the SS Montgomery and the Isle of Grain gas terminal - with many practically insurmountable. The report on socio-economic impacts demonstrates that aeronautical charges would have to be very high to pay for the airport, and be too high to compete with Dubai etc. Heathrow would have to close, at immense cost. The surface access report shows the cost of even minimal rail services to get most passengers to the airport would be £10 billion and more like £27 billion for a good service. The cost of road improvements would be £10 to £17 billion. The reports' conclusions now make it nearly inconceivable that a Thames Estuary Airport will ever be constructed.
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MP for Arundel & South Downs, Nick Herbert, raises Gatwick flight path trial concerns
Arundel & South Downs MP Nick Herbert has raised concerns about aircraft noise over Downland villages resulting from the ADNID flight path trial from Gatwick. This is the one that flies over Warnham and nearby villages, and has caused uproar and extensive protest to the west and south west of Gatwick. Mr Herbert has receiving numerous complaints from constituents in Kirdford, Wisborough Green, Pulborough and West Grinstead, who are getting lower flying aircraft and noise over their villages. Mr Herbert has now written to Mr Wingate seeking clarification as to whether the trial route may be adopted in the future, reiterating that this would cause unacceptable disruption to the affected villages. People need reassurance that this flightpath will not become permanent. Mr Herbert said: "I think this foreshadows a longer-term concern, which is that further expansion at Gatwick could result in greater noise from flights over this part of West Sussex, as well as increasing development pressures on the County which are already a real problem." Earlier a group of 5 MPs (Crispin Blunt, Paul Beresford, Nicholas Soames, Sir John Stanley, and Charles Hendry) formed a group to represent the serious local concern at the plan for a 2nd runway.
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Report for Airports Commission on environmental impact sinks Boris’s estuary airport plans
Boris Johnson's dreams of a massive airport in the Thames Estuary have had a major setback, from the new report produced for the Airports Commission, looking at the environmental impacts. The study shows it would cause huge environmental, financial and safety risks and would cause "large scale direct habitat loss" to hundreds of thousands of migrating birds. The cost of creating replacement habitats could exceed £2 billion and may not even be possible. Even if replacement habitat could be found, planes using the airport would still be at a "high risk" of lethal bird strike. In order to counter this risk, even larger areas of habitat would need to be destroyed to secure the airport. The report also found huge regulatory hurdles to any potential estuary airport going ahead. Under environmental regulations,the airport's backers would have to prove there were "imperative reasons of overriding public interest (IROPI)" for placing the airport in such an environmentally sensitive area. Even if that could be proven, they would also need to demonstrate that all of the habitat displaced by the airport could be placed elsewhere. The report found that while this was "technically possible," it was highly uncertain, as such a large scale displacement had never been attempted before.
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Battle of Balsall Common’ over plane noise, from Birmingham flight path trial, goes to Parliament
The Battle of Balsall Common – which has triggered waves of complaints of noise nuisance from planes taking off at Birmingham Airport – is to go to Parliament. Angry residents are raising a protest petition to be sent to Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin, to ask him to look at this trial, and call it in. People affected say their lives are being made a misery by trials launched in May in advance of new flight paths being made permanent. This has happened because of the runway extension. People are deeply angry and anxious, because these flight paths are away from the NPR routes (Noise Preferential Routes), which everyone has known about for years. People have checked, in the past, to ensure they have not chosen to live near an NPR. Now, areas which nobody could have guessed would be overflow have planes overhead every few minutes. Campaigners took to the streets of Balsall Common last weekend to get signatures, in a bid to force a Government rethink of the new flight path. David Ellis, of the Balsall Common Action Group, said: ““We are told they are over 3,000 feet but that is not the point – the noise is the problem." There will be a public meeting on July 16th on the problem.
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Airports Commission publishes new discussion document – a call for evidence on “Delivering new runway capacity”
The Airports Commission has published its 7th Discussion Paper, "Delivering new runway capacity: call for evidence." The deadline for comment is 15th August. The paper explores: - legal and planning issues surrounding runway capacity; engagement with local communities including compensation and mitigation; and the role of the state. The Commission welcomes feedback on these issues, to help in its deliberations. The paper sets out the two main routes through planning that a runway proposal could take, either through the NSIP (Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project) route, or through a Hybrid Bill in Parliament. The paper also raises issues such as how decisions on associated housing should be dealt with; it considers how consultation can best be carried out to be effective; it asks to what extent - if at all - the State should subsidise an airport, without falling foul of European regulations on state aid; and likewise on spending tax payers' money on surface transport, that mainly benefits an airport and its users. The Commission recognises the importance of noise, and will use multiple contours for LAeq and Lden as well as N70 daytime and N60 night ‘number above’ contours.
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Up to 20,000 attended a damp but determined weekend at Notre Dame des Landes, against planned Nantes airport
Up to 20,000 or so people (estimates vary) gathered at Notre Dame des Landes over the weekend of 5th and 6th July, from across France, to support the campaign against the planned airport, and show their solidarity. Though dampened by almost continuous rain on the first day, spirits were not dimmed, and some 50 talks and debates went on - under canvas. There were also concerts by popular French singers, as well as stalls and activities for all ages. Some of those taking part in the weekend are opposing other Large Unnecessary Imposed Projects (Les Grands Projets Inutiles Imposés) across France, with a sincere desire to stop mega-projects that do great environmental harm, for dubious economic benefit. Work on the airport project has been frozen since 2012, largely due to legal obstructions. The last large protest by the Nantes opponents, organised by ACIPA, was on 22 February 2014, attended by between 20 000 and 50 000 people in streets of Nantes, which was severely policed, and from which there were injuries and some public damage.This weekend's event was peaceful, and once the sun came out, the sky was filled with protest kites.
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Improving its passenger service would undercut Heathrow’s case for a 3rd runway
In much the same way as landowners, especially in the Green Belt, tend to try to let their land get into such bad condition that planners allow planning permission on it, so it is with Heathrow. A comment piece by Philip Stephens, an associate editor of the Financial Times, reflects how Heathrow has a vested interest in managing to make the service they provide inadequate. The more passengers are inconvenienced - and told it is because the airport is so full - the stronger Heathrow hopes its case becomes to be allowed to expand. Philip says: "Absolute genius.......[Heathrow wants passengers to believe that] ... If the government gave the go-ahead for expansion – specifically a 3rd runway – all would be well. Try that again: the only way to improve the dismal lot of passengers is guarantee Heathrow still higher profits. As I said, brilliant!" And "Heathrow dominates London's air traffic and the two companies [Heathrow and BA] have a quasi-monopoly. They are extracting large rents. This is how monopolists behave, the more so when overseen by a weak regulator. Most importantly, a half-decent level of passenger service would be counter-productive because it would undercut the case for that 3rd runway."
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Flight path changes could create nationwide protests due to the scale of the areas affected
Writing in a blog, in response to the huge anger and upset there has been around Gatwick in response to the flight path trial over Warnham and nearby villages (called the ADNID trial, in the jargon), John Stewart anticipates that flightpath trials are going to be a real headache for the industry for years to come. He says "flightpath" will be the ‘F’ word that will be on everybody’s lips over the next few years. The big changes to flightpaths which are expected over the next 5 - 6 years could trigger protests on a scale that could exceed the opposition to any proposed new runway. In their scope, they could be more like the ‘anti-roads’ protests of the 1990s. The aviation industry is currently undertaking the most far-reaching changes to airspace across the UK for 60 years, due to the EU scheme, SESAR. It is changes to the Heathrow flight paths that are making the industry particularly nervous. That's the reason why flightpaths at Gatwick and London City are being looked at first - and why Heathrow is very tentatively experimenting with new take-off techniques. "What will worry Heathrow in particular is that the consultation on its flight path changes, expected around 2016/17, could coincide with the decision of the next Government as to whether or not to back a 3rd runway."
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Huge gathering at Notre Dame des Landes – 20,000 + expected – this weekend against new Nantes airport
A huge gathering is taking place this weekend, at Notre Dame des Landes, in western France, against the planned airport at Nantes. This airport has been proposed for years, to replace the existing Nantes airport. It has been bitterly and fiercely opposed, not only by those whose land and farms will be expropriated by the plans, and other local people who do not want their area and their countryside destroyed. It is also opposed by thousands of people from across France. This weekend is now becoming a regular annual protest, each summer. Between 20,000 and 30,000 people are expected for a huge festival, with music, poetry, speeches, fun and food sharing. Caravans of supporters have been making their way to Notre Dame des Landes, on foot and bike (as well as by car) for several weeks, some walking huge distances. The airport planning is bogged down in legal challenges and legal details. Though work was expected to start this spring, nothing has happened. This airport project is one of a number of Grands Projets Inutiles Imposés which are being fought not only in France, but in other European countries.
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Airports Commission publishes “Environmental Impacts” report on Thames Estuary airport, for comment
The Airports Commission has undertaken to commission studies to assess whether a Thames Estuary airport should be short-listed, with the 3 schemes (Heathrow airport, Heathrow Hub, and Gatwick airport) to Phase 2 - for detailed consideration. These studies would be published in July, and accordingly, now the first study has been produced. It is on Environmental Impacts, and it was carried out by Jacobs Consultancy. The report is and is over 200 pages long, and appears to be thorough. It is clear that the extent of the environmental damage done by an airport would be huge, and the mitigation measures needed would be on a scale not seen before in Europe, if such mitigation was possible. It also stresses that, to allow this degree of environmental harm, "the Secretary of State for Transport would need to be certain that no alternative solutions existed, had considered the best scientific knowledge and taken into account the representations of Natural England and Environment Agency. If this test is passed it would need to be demonstrated that the proposals were needed for Imperative Reasons of Overriding Public interest (IROPI)." The Commission invites comment on whether the report contains errors, or if anything has been omitted, by 8th August.
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Heathrow 3rd runway would mean demolishing Colnbrook incinerator and relocating it – maybe to Stanwell?
The Heathrow airport plan for a 3rd runway to the north-west of the airport, demolishing most of Harmondsworth and making Sipson impossible to live in, also demolishes the current incinerator at Colnbrook, run by Grundon. In Heathrow's expansion plans they propose that a new incinerator should be built just south of the airport, in Stanwell -between Long Lane and Stanwell Farm. This is, at best, controversial. Residents are concerned about the prospect of an incinerator so close to their homes and with the spectre of the eco-park in Shepperton also looming, questions of just how much Spelthorne can take are being asked. The hope it, by advocates of locating a new incinerator there, that the prevailaing wind from the west would blow any pollution away from Stanwell, and towards the east or north east. Incinerators are unpopular in most areas, as people fear not only dioxins in air pollution, but also the associated heavy traffic from lorries. People in Spelthorne are not convinced they want to host two large incinerators.
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Ryanair to move 7 routes from Preswick to Glasgow airport, only leaving 7
Glasgow will be Ryanair's 3rd Scottish base, alongside Prestwick and Edinburgh. Ryanair has confirmed it is to start flying from Glasgow in October, with the launch of 7 routes. It would operate 55 flights a week out of Glasgow from October as part of what it said was a £260m investment in Scotland, and hoped to bring an additional 850,000 passengers through Glasgow airport each year. Ryanair will continue operating from the publicly-owned Prestwick and has stressed its commitment to it, but some Ryanair destinations, including Dublin, would move from Prestwick to Glasgow. Ryanair is also to launch a new Stansted service from Edinburgh. The airline is the sole remaining scheduled passenger carrier at Prestwick, which was bought by the Scottish government for £1 last year. Ryanair will continue to fly on 7 routes from the Prestwick over the winter months. Only about half of Prestwick's revenue is dependent on passenger traffic. Ryanair keeps its maintenance facility at Prestwick.
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Balsall Common and nearby villages to petition Sec of State to get unpopular Birmingham flight path trial reviewed
After the opening of the Birmingham airport runway extension on 1st May, the airport has been doing a "trial" of a new flight path. This will last for 6 months, till the end of October. The effect of this trial is to create a lot of aircraft noise over villages, Balsall Common in particular. Now the local group, the "Balsall Common Airport Action group" has organised a petition to the Secretary of State, asking that the proposed flight path changes should be reviewed, in view of the sharp increase in noise nuisance to the communities living at the southerly end of the extended runway and the failure of the trial to ensure aircraft follow the new flight path options accurately. They are organising a protest on 5th July, and they will be going door to door, in the affected villages, gathering support and getting signatures for their petition. Local MP Caroline Spelman is backing the petition, as well as local politicians. People feel their complaints and constructive suggestions have been ignored, and that Paul Kehoe is wholly dismissive of residents' views. "It's all about the money and business profits," residents claim.
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Price of car travel and domestic flights fell in past decade – cost of bus, coach and rail travel rose
Caroline Lucas, the Green Party MP for Brighton, Pavilion, asked Robert Goodwill, the Secretary of State for Transport , about the costs of different modes of transport within the UK. She asked about the % change in real terms of the cost to the traveller of travelling by (a) private car, (b) bus, (c) train and (d) domestic aeroplane since (i) 1980, (ii) 1997 and (iii) 2010. Mr Goodwill's response was that between 1980 and 2013 the real cost of motoring, including the purchase of a vehicle, fell by 12%. In that time, the price of bus and coach fares rose by 59%. Between 1980 and 2013 the price of rail fares rose by 62% in real terms. Between 1997 and 2013 the cost of motoring fell by 9%. The cost of bus and coach travel rose by 28%. The cost or rail travel rose by 22% in real terms between 1997 and 2013. But by contrast, though not all the figures were available, the cost of domestic flights fell by 43% between 2000 and 2013. It has to be asked how the "greenest government ever" has done little to promote or encourage lower carbon forms of travel against higher carbon options.
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Holland-Kaye wants raised Heathrow landing charge, and public subsidy by cutting APD, to pay for runway
John Holland-Kaye has now taken over as CEO of Heathrow, from Colin Matthews. He has already angered airlines by saying he wants to give an adequate return to foreign investors in a 3rd runway, by raising the landing charges at Heathrow. Mr Holland-Kaye wants the landing charge to rise - in real terms - from £20 now, per passenger, to £24 within a few years, and it might rise to £27 by around 2040 (though predictions that far ahead are futile). Heathrow has been battling with its regulator, the CAA, for years on the level of its aeronautical charges. The CAA recently cut its cost of capital to 5.35% in the 5 years to 2019, though Heathrow says its weighted average cost of capital needs to be 6% in the period between 2019 and 2048, to repay its investors. Mr Holland-Kaye also let slip that he wants a cut in Air Passenger Duty (APD) on long haul flights, which would effectively be a loss to the Treasury, and thus be the equivalent of a public subsidy, for a 3rd Heathrow runway. The level of APD on the longest flights was cut this year in the budget, combining the two top distance bands, effectively giving them a government subsidy. He also said he "could not rule out the case for a 4th one in the future."
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New branch of CAGNE – CAGNE East – formed in Kent, joining the original in West Sussex
The threat of a 2nd Gatwick runway, and the "trials" of new flight paths by Gatwick airport, has caused considerable upset in areas across southern Surrey, West Sussex, East Sussex and Kent. The flight path routed over the Warnham area (Warnham, Rusper, Kingsfold, Winterfold, Rowhook, Slinfold and North Horsham) set in motion the formation of CAGNE – Communities Against Gatwick Noise and Emissions – to fight against the unwelcome noise intrusion into the lives of thousands. CAGNE has now grown, as more and more people upset by the flight paths - and the threat of more - join forces. There are now two other CAGNE groups, working in East Sussex and in Kent, as well as the original CAGNE in Warnham, West Sussex. A group of residents, formerly the Bidborough Environmental Action Group, are becoming CAGNE East opposing planes, flying day and night - an aircraft "superhighway" - over historic areas of the High Weald ANOB, most of Tunbridge Wells and Southborough, Bidborough, Rusthall, Penshurst, Chiddingstone and Hever. CAGNE East strongly supports the High Weald Parish Councils HWPCAAG initiative, opposing Gatwick’s bid for a 2nd runway.
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Air pollution may affect babies even before birth and reduce lung size for life
The Sunday Times (Jonathan Leake) reports that a study has indicated that air pollution in Britain’s cities is stunting the growth of children’s lungs, and could reduce their lung capacity by 5% or more. It appears that toxic particles and gases emitted mainly by diesel vehicles disrupt lung growth, with damage starting to be inflicted in the womb. There is also separate research that indicates that babies gestated in areas with high air pollution levels are born with smaller heads, with the reduction in circumference directly related to air pollution levels. Dr Ian Mudway, of King’s College London, who has been involved in a 6-year study into how air pollution affects children in east London in Tower Hamlets and Hackney, said the evidence indicates the effect of air pollution start in the earliest years of life. Children's lungs by the age nine are already smaller than they ought to be and their lung impairment continues throughout life. Air pollution gases and particles damage the linings of the lung, which is not good at mending itself, and retains the deficit for life. "Children are vulnerable because their lungs are developing so fast and their defences are not evolved. They also spend more time outside.
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Gatwick’s retail income still about 22% of total – around net £3.72 on retail sales + £1.35 on parking per passenger
The Moodie Report has published figures for the retail income of Gatwick airport in the year to 31st March 2014. Gatwick's retail income rose 9.7% on the level in 2013, from £123.2 million to £135.1 million. By contrast their aeronautical income (aircraft landing charges etc) rose by 11.1% from £285.8 million to £317.4 million. There was a 4.8% increase in passengers, to about 36 million. Gatwick's car parking income rose by 12.9%, from £58.1 million to £65.6 million. In the year to March 2014, Gatwick made on average £1.35 per passenger on parking. It made, on average, £3.72 per passenger from retail sales. This was up by 4.2% from the level in 2013, but only up 2.7% on 2011. There is now even more retail space, with even more food and beverage facilities. In the year to March 2011 their retail income was £115.6 million and the net retail income was £3.62 per passenger. ie. barely changed over 3 years, (up 2.7%). And that's a new World Duty Free store opened, and 33 other new stores opened in the past year. Net retail income per passenger at Heathrow was £5.98 in 2011, and about £6.21 in 2012. For both Heathrow and Gatwick, retail income was about 22% or so of income.
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Heathrow’s noise claims do not stack up, according to new reports
Heathrow’s claims that a third runway will improve the overall noise climate for residents do not stack up, according to analysis done by HACAN. Their new briefing, "Do Heathrow's noise claims stack up?" has compared Heathrow’s arguments with the findings of 2 recently-published reports (by the CAA and by the Mayor of London) and concludes that “Heathrow’s claims are unravelling in the face of the independent evidence.” The most damning indictment of Heathrow is in the Atkins report showing their claim that a 3rd runway will mean “at least 30% noise reduction” by 2030 is based on the assumption that the new runway will be only operating at one-third capacity. Both reports challenge Heathrow’s prediction that 90% of the planes using the airport in 2026, when any new runway is expected to open, will be the quieter ‘new generation’ aircraft. They are dubious of steeper landings, and believe people under the current flight paths will get shorter respite periods in order to give people under the new flight paths some respite too. HACAN chair John Stewart said the 2 new independent reports illustrate the near-impossibility of sorting out noise at Heathrow.
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TUI Travel and German parent company TUI AG unveil merger proposals – with tax benefits
TUI Travel and its German parent company, TUI AG look set to unite in a £5.6 billion merger that will create the world’s largest tourism business. Analysts have been speculating about a marriage of the two groups since 2007, when TUI Travel was created through the merger of Britain’s First Choice holidays and the tourism business of TUI AG. TUI AG, which owns 230 hotels, a cruise business and a stake in the Hapag-Lloyd shipping group, retained a 55% holding in the UK company following the 2007 tie-up. They have now reached agreement in principle on the merger. The expanded company will be headquartered in Germany but listed on the London Stock Exchange. The proposed deal will generate recurring cost savings of at least £36m per year through initiatives such as scrapping the UK headquarters (and losing jobs). There would be “certain cash tax benefits” from a long-awaited tie-up. Had the merger been in place in the 2012/13 tax year, it is estimated they would have saved £28m. TUI admitted in December 2013 that it had paid no UK corporation tax in recent years, despite vast profits.
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Air fares could rise by £5 per passenger – if airlines have to compensate people for flight delays
Air fares are set to rise as airlines look to recover costs on payouts to passengers for delays in the wake of the Thomson court ruling. The Mail reports that a senior industry figure suggested fares could rise by as much as £5, with charter prices likely to increase by more than scheduled services. This comes after a passenger appealed to the Court of Appeal to get the compensation he was due for a flight delay 6 years earlier, for £975. Airlines hoped that a delay caused by a "technical fault" would not require compensation, and also that claims can only be brought for 2 years. Now the airlines fear huge compensation payments, and they will pass the costs - naturally - to the passengers. Delays of more than 3 hours affect almost 1% of UK flights which falls within Regulation 261.There are more of these delays on charter flights than scheduled flights. If every eligible passenger claimed, an extra £5 per passenger would cover the costs. Thomson say this will affect the whole airline industry, and that they intend to take this to the Supreme Court.
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BMI starts a few flights from Karlstad in Sweden using small amounts of biofuel from waste wood products
In Sweden, biofuels-powered flights have begun, operated by BMI between Karlstad and Frankfurt and by Nextjet between Karlstad and Stockholm. Karlstad Airport has just become the first airport in Europe to install a fixed storage tank facility for aviation biofuel. There are only tiny amounts of the biofuel available, and it costs 3 - 4 times as much as conventional jet fuel. British Midland Regional is keen to do more flights, using a proportion of biofuel. SkyNRG (Dutch) has teamed up with Statoil Fuel & Retail to establish a climate compensation fund. The fund will initially cover the difference between the cost of normal aviation fuel and biofuel. In the longer term the fund will also support research. "Businesses, the public sector and private individuals can make contributions." [!?] The fuel would come from wood or wood waste products. The Karlstad region in Sweden has a large pulp and paper industry, with many companies collaborating to form the "Paper Province."
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Thousands of responses against Farnborough’s airspace change proposals – especially from gliding clubs
12 MPs, South Downs National Park Authority, Goodwood Airfield and more than 3,000 people have responded to Farnborough airport’s proposal to control a vast amount of airspace across the South Downs. The airspace consultation period is coming to an end, and there has been a high level of opposition. The proposal plans to lower and narrow the airspace spanning West Sussex, South Downs National Park and Hampshire, would allow private aircraft to make uninterrupted journeys across the designated area. Gliding clubs are very unhappy about the plans as the areas of sky available for them would change. They say the changes could ‘kill’ the activities of the club. They also claimed that this move will force other aircraft to fly lower increasing aircraft noise for residents living in the South Downs. Also that the proposals could significantly increase the risks of mid-air collisions by forcing general aviation aircraft to fly in much smaller ‘corridors’ of free airspace. “These proposals are just like a limousine company buying up two lanes of the M25 exclusively for the benefit of the wealthy and famous."
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Gatwick airport announces first profits for years and returns for its investors … UK tax?
Gatwick airport has announced its results for the year to 31st March 2014. It has made a profit, for the first time in 4 years. Gatwick says its passenger numbers reached 35.9 million in 2013/14 (4.8% up on 2012/13). Their turnover is up 10.2% to £593.7 million and EBITDA is up 14.2% to £259.4 million, with a resulting profit of £57.5 million. This compared to a loss in the financial year ending 31 March 2013 of £29.1 million. The airport has spent a great deal improving the airport, and so made losses - and paid no tax to the UK government for years. Gatwick says their investments and more marketing is being effective in attracting more passengers. It now has more aircraft movements at peak times (a cause of the noise nuisance being caused from new flight paths). Gatwick now claims 20% are travelling on business, largely on EasyJet. The figure was 17.5% in 2012. Gatwick says it will now be paying dividends to its investors, though it has not in recent years. It expects to pay £125m to investors in the current financial year, £65m return in the 2015/16 financial year and £60m in 2016/17. [Maybe also pay some UK tax?]
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Horley Town Council announces open public meeting to be held on Gatwick 2nd runway proposals
Horley Town Council has announced it is to hold what promises to be a packed open public meeting on 18th July on the proposals for a 2nd runway at Gatwick. The town council has set the public meeting, entitled “Do You Want a Second Runway at Gatwick?” - the first such meeting to be organised by the council for some 6 years and its first on the 2nd runway proposals. For many, the runway proposals are the major single issue facing the town and the area today. The 3 speakers will be Alastair McDermid, the Airports Commission director for Gatwick; Peter Barclay of the Gatwick Area Conservation Campaign (GACC); and a representative of the Gatwick Diamond Business forum. Following the presentations, the meeting will split into smaller groups, headed by facilitators, to look at more specific areas and focus on residents' concerns - followed by questions. There will not be a resolution put, or a vote, at the meeting. The chairman of the council's 2nd runway sub-committee said if enough people want to attend, a 2nd meeting may be necessary.The council may send out a questionnaire to all households.
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Stobart has pledged a subsidy of £250,000 per year to Aer Arran, to try to make Carlisle airport viable
Transport giant Stobart has ploughed an extra £250,000 a year into its plans to redevelop Carlisle airport. They have lodged new documents with the city council, pledging the money to be paid as a subsidy to airline operators - to ensure that the airport is financially sound. Aer Arann – now known as Stobart Air, which Stobart has a 45% stake in – has confirmed it is interested in running a service (to Dublin and Southend). This comes after the High Court quashed planning permission granted by the city council in March, due to a lack of detail about the venture’s commercial viability, which the cash injection aims to address. Stobart intends to "to grow Stobart Air significantly, following the completion of development at London Southend Airport” [LSA]. "Once planning approval is obtained for the developments at Carlisle Lake District Airport, Stobart Air would invest in new airport infrastructure and facilities..." Stobart plans to plough £20.36m into a new distribution centre at Carlisle airport. Carlisle council believed in 2011 there was no evidence that passenger flights predicted by Stobart Group would ever materialise.
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New study on noise, including aircraft noise, says health of residents of Montreal under threat
A study in Montreal, Quebec, by the public health department, shows that Montrealers near highways, rail yards and Trudeau airport are most likely to be exposed to excessive noise. Over a two-week period in August 2010, noise levels were measured every 2 minutes at a range of locations. During the day, two-thirds of the spots were above the WHO’s suggested maximum. The negative effects include annoyance (inability to concentrate, occasionally being awoken, difficulty carrying on conversations); sleep disturbance (frequent waking, which can affect health); and, most seriously, cardiovascular disease, especially high blood pressure, which increases as people are exposed to noise. The data will be assessed by a new noise-management committee looking into noise sources, including the airport. Several measures will be looked at, including re-zoning, and new soundproofing standards. Data needs to be gathered on whether the increase in planes outweighs the tiny improvements in the noise per plane. Campaigners Les Pollués de Montréal-Trudeau say flight altitudes over Montreal should be raised and there should be a “genuine night-time (flight) curfew,” not just noise insulation.
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Convoluted Brussels coalition and flightpath politics cause public furore
Thousands of people in Brussels are up in arms about a new overflight plan that started on 6th February, causing parts of the city subject to the thundering noise of planes using Brussels airport. The Belgian government has only a couple of weeks left to find a solution for a problem that dates back many, many years. As the airport is close to densely populated parts of the city, its flight paths would always over-fly a lot of people. The political choices of who should have to suffer the noise are complicated. Should the burden of the noise be shared between various areas? The flight path change is reported to be because, with the May elections this year, Melchior Wathelet (Sec of State for Environment, Energy, Mobility etc) of the Francophone Christian Democtrats (cdH) decided to do a political favour for the party's vice prime minister, Joelle Milquet, by tweaking the flight paths over some municipalities, to help with votes. The Wathelet Plan decision can be blocked, under the constitution, for 60 days. That ends at the start of July. It is likely to be the out-going coalition that makes the decision. Lots of politics ..... parties will assess how the vote affects their political chances ....
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Boris gets another report produced, pushing potential benefits of more flights to regions from his estuary mega-airport
Boris' Transport for London has produced a report (done for them by York Aviation and Oxford Economics) which pushes his Thames Estuary airport plan. The report "Making Connections" is angled to get support from the regions by saying Heathrow cannot, even with a 3rd runway, cope with demand from all the regional airports. It says that only Boris' 4 runway new airport could give all the regions lots of connecting flights. The report anticipates 49 more regional flights per day than with a Heathrow 3rd runway. There are the usual figures of the amount of economic growth, and the number of jobs, that this monster airport in the estuary would produce. It says there would be "a £2.1 billion economic stimulus for the regional economies by 2050 in the form of increased Gross Value Added (GVA) and over 17,550 new jobs." A York Aviation spokesperson said a 3rd Heathrow runway "would not support any new [regional] routes due to commercial pressures on airlines”. Boris and his backers always conveniently ignore the inconvenient fact that the UK cannot fit two extra runways into our climate targets.
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Sydney Airport targets to limit flights over parts of the city not met, and have never been met
Sydney Airport has failed to meet its aircraft noise-sharing targets every year since they were set 17 years ago, with suburbs immediately to its north bearing up to double the number of planes set by the airport's operating plan as ''fair''. Under targets set in Sydney Airport's long-term operating plan, some suburbs are meant to have 17% of aircraft movements overhead. Instead, those areas have had more than 30% of flights every month for the past 3 years, and regularly have more than double the target. The number of aircraft movements is increasing, and the number of larger planes is also rising. Sydney Airport has 2 north-south runways, as well as an east-west runway. During busy times planes are routed over suburbs south and north of the airport, rather than east-west. Larger planes can only use the longer north-south runway. In 1996, in response to growing public pressure over aircraft noise, the government regulator set targets for 55% of movements to go south of the airport, 13% to the east, 15% to the west, and 17% to the north. Local group, No Aircraft Noise, said the noise-sharing targets were a political fix designed to calm public anger, and it was known the targets could never be met.
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Reading University research indicates the extent of non-CO2 aviation emissions on climate
Some research from the University of Reading, published in Environmental Research Letters, indicates just how much of the impact of aircraft is not only from the CO2 they emit, but also from the water vapour they emit. This will form contrails, in some weather conditions. These contrails can then expand and create a layer of high cloud, which has significant climate effects as it traps heat below it. The exact extent of the climate impact of the non-CO2 emissions from planes at high altitude is not established. It is likely to have around double the climate impact of the CO2. The research implies that it may be better for some planes to fly longer distances, burning more fuel and emitting yet more CO2, in order to avoid areas where contrails will form the most, and be the most long lasting. Contrails form where the air is very cold and moist, which is often in the ascending air around high-pressure systems. On average, 7% of the total distance flown by aircraft is in such areas. However, it is hard to compare the climate impacts of contrails and short term warming, and CO2 because the former can last just hours while the latter is irreversible and will last decades.
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Belgians are asking Canadian pension fund to put pressure on government to reverse Brussels flight path changes
Brussels airport is managed by the Brussels Airport Company, which is 39% owned of Canadian pension fund Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (OTPP) which is the 2nd largest manager of institutional funds in Canada. It invests the pension funds of 307,000 active and retired teachers working in public schools in Ontario. Now a group of Belgians are asking administrators of OTPP to put pressure on the Belgian authorities to reverse the decision, taken in February, to change flight paths over central Brussels. Opponents of the flight path changes say the new routes triple the number of people affected by aircraft noise. The campaign, "Pas Question!" say: "Imagine that the (Canadian) Federal Government directed 50% of the planes taking off from Toronto airport over the city center. And everything to relieve the periphery! " They believe it is a political decision, and must be reversed by politicians. The government has indicated it may be open to revision of the plans, but rejects the idea of returning to the old flight paths.
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Tunbridge Wells & Bidborough residents, and High Weald parishes unite against Gatwick runway plans
The threat of a 2nd Gatwick runway is a very real one for people living under existing flight paths, and in areas where new flight paths are likely. Now villages 20 miles out to the east from Gatwick have formed an action group to campaign against Gatwick's expansion plans. The Parish Councils of Chiddingstone, Hever, Leigh and Penshurst have formed the High Weald Parish Councils Aviation Action Group. There is also a new, and highly active, group at Bidborough, BEAG. At a meeting on 17th June in Tunbridge Wells the noise problem of existing an new flights paths was discussed. Local people fear a new Gatwick ‘Superhighway’ route across their area, with some 350 planes per day – all the aircraft arriving at Gatwick from the south – in a concentrated stream above West Kent most of the year from 06:30-11:30 hours without respite. There is real opposition to the noise nuisance, and reduction in the quality of life, of thousands from the flight paths. There is also real concern about the noise's negative impact on the tourism industries of West Kent - such as the unique and historically valuable Hever Castle and Penshurst Place.
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“Pas Question!” [“No Way!”] group in Brussels fights the hated Wathelet Plan flight path changes
On 6th February this year, Melchior Wathelet (Belgium's secretary of state in charge of Environment, Energy and Mobility) introduced a plan that reorganizes the departure routes from Brussels airport in Zaventem. As a result of this "Wathelet Plan", the majority of departing aircraft are routed over densely populated areas of central and southern Brussels. The changes are deeply controversial and deeply unpopular among the Brussels residents, who have not been intensively over-flown before. There is huge anger about the changes, and that the numbers over-flown are now far higher than before. On the plus side, some areas that were previously over-flown now have fewer flights. Now almost 18,000 residents have signed a petition to suspend the Wathelet Plan. Its opponents say it was introduced without any prior consultation with local residents, and that in other EU countries, such a consultation process is a regulatory requirement before any change to aircraft flight paths is made. An active group called "Pas Question!" - which means "No Way!" has formed, and they regard the new flight paths as nonsensical. They want the plan cancelled, and are convinced that an alternative policy is possible.
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EasyJet CEO still has no details of the practical economics of a Heathrow or Gatwick runway
In an interview, by Buying Business Travel, with Caroline McCall, the CEO of EasyJet she said Heathrow is an expensive airport, which is why they do not fly from there. On Gatwick’s and Heathrow’s bids for runway expansion she says: “We’ve seen none of the economics behind either of those visions. Inevitably it will be the airlines and therefore the passengers, that will fund this. Therefore, it’s a very, very big decision for Easyjet – because any increase in passenger fares is something that affects our low-fare proposition"...."We make £7 profit per seat – that’s it. We’ve raised that from £4.50 over the last four years. I think Heathrow are talking around £15 billion, Gatwick are talking around £7-8 billion. If you think about the price per passenger for that, you can see we have to be really, really careful about any capacity going into either airport, and before we take a view on it, we have to understand the economics.” And they want to focus on more business travellers: "because we know we get higher yields.”
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Court rules passengers can claim for flight delays for up to 6 years, not just 2 years
An airline passenger has won his case at at the Court of Appeal over flight delays, despite waiting 6 years to bring a case against the airline. The court rejected an appeal by Thomson Airways against an earlier county court decision to award James Dawson £1,488.73. He was delayed for 6 hours back in December 2006, going from Gatwick to the Dominican Republic. Thomson argued the claim fell outside a 2-year time limit. Legal experts said the ruling could lead to more than 11 million passenger claims and cost airlines up to £4 billion. The judgement means airline passengers now have 6 years to bring a flight delay claim in England and Wales. There are "hundreds of litigated cases which have been stayed pending the outcome of the Dawson case, and thousands more ready to issue proceedings". Mr Dawson sought to recover €600 euros per person from the airline, which is payable as compensation for a flight of that length under EU regulations. These do not stipulate a time limit for compensation to be claimed, leaving it up to national governments to set time limits. It is the 2nd court case in a week over flight delays, after the Court of Appeal found in favour of a passenger over a flight delay due to a technical fault.
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Standard reports that “Lib-Dems ready to drop Gatwick runway ban from election plans”
The Evening Standard reports that the LibDems are set to use their election manifesto to open the door to a 2nd runway at Gatwick while still opposing a 3rd runway at Heathrow. The Standard says the party is moving towards scrapping its blanket ban on airport expansion in the South-East. "It could be replaced with a series of tests on climate change and local pollution, as well as on levels of noise suffered by communities around airports." (Whatever that is meant to mean). The process of writing their election manifesto is being overseen by MP David Laws. It is still at the committee stage of drawing up key policies to be put to members for approval at the LibDem conference in the autumn. A "senior LibDem" is quoted as saying: “We will not endorse an expansion in airport capacity which would increase current noise pollution for the hundreds of thousands of residents living beneath the flight path, or which would break the Committee on Climate Change’s recommendations on aviation, which are needed to meet our carbon reduction targets.” (The CCC targets are rather weak and permit a new runway, with various provisos).
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Scottish government outlines nearly £10m of public funding for failing Prestwick airport
The Scottish government bought Prestwick from Infratil for £1 in November 2013. Now Prestwick is to receive nearly £10 million of investment from the Scottish government. It will go towards operating costs, a repairs and maintenance backlog and to make improvements to the terminal building. The airport has lost nearly £10 million in 2013. It was announced towards the end of May that a taxpayer-funded report on the future viability of Prestwick would not be published, to protect commercially confidential information. This has led to accusations that ministers are expecting “blind faith” from the public and "keeping taxpayers in the dark" on spending public money. Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said £5.5m had been provided already since acquisition and the Scottish government would be required "to provide a further £3m in operating support". There will be nearly £7m in capital investment - £4.5m for repairs and £2.4m to make improvements to the terminal building.. Future revenue could come from freight and retail development. Future revenue may come from freight and retail development
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Heathrow film competition presents 15 impressive anti-3rd-runway campaigning films
At a packed event held in Richmond Theatre, organised by MP Zac Goldsmith, with some 800 people present (free seats), Hugh Grant, Holly Willoughby and Rachel Johnson were the celebrities judging the competition for short films, of 2 minutes or less, opposing a 3rd Heathrow runway. The evening was ably and entertainingly compered by Giles Brandreth. The first prize was £10,000, the second prize £3,000 and the 3rd prize £2,000. Some 50 short films were entered into the competition. The 15 considered the best were shown at the gala event, for the judges to select the top three. The audience then voted on these three. All the 15 films shown were of a very high quality; any one of the 15 films could have been the winner. They all showed a high level of film expertise; there was a wide range of styles and approaches; all showed great originality and creativity, and put the message across powerfully. Anyone present at the gala event would be left in no doubt about just how determinedly people in the areas badly affected by Heathrow will do whatever it takes to ensure no new Heathrow runway gets built.
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Plane noise from Heathrow drowns out Hounslow school, as Sir Howard makes a visit
In a 2 minute video clip by the BBC, the head teacher, Dee Scott, of the Beavers Primary School in Hounslow, shows Sir Howard Davies - head of the Airports Commission, round the school. She explains to him and members of the Commission the impact another runway could have and the problems of trying to teach against the noise. The area is subjected to a plane overhead about every 90 seconds or so (noise lasting perhaps 30 seconds of that) for at least half of each school day (with westerly operations). And the problem of having to be either cool enough - with the windows open - but with noise that makes the proper function of the school impossible. OR keep the windows closed, and reduce the noise while everyone inside is uncomfortably hot. Sir Howard's exact words in the film were that the Airports Commission has to "balance the economic interests of the many and the environmental and nuisance costs to the few". The "few" means about 725,000 people currently affected by Heathrow noise, within the 55 decibel Lden contour and about 245,000 in the 57 decibel LAeq contour.
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Surrey and Sussex MPs oppose Gatwick runway ‘disaster’
Five MPs have begun a campaign against the building of a 2nd Gatwick runway. The Conservative MPs, who represent Sussex, Surrey and Kent constituencies, said the scheme for the airport near Crawley would be "a disaster" for communities and the environment - and there was "serious local concern" at the plan. Reigate MP Crispin Blunt, one of the members of the newly-formed Gatwick Coordination Group, said: "If Gatwick expands in the way that's planned, it will need many tens of thousands of new people working there, and they are all going to need somewhere to live. The airport at the moment are providing a preposterous suggestion that these people are largely going to come from existing communities in Croydon and Brighton. Well I'm afraid that's just simply not the case." Mr Blunt also said no new railway line had been proposed and the London to Brighton commuter line was already "the busiest commuter line in the country" and at capacity. The other 4 MPs behind the campaign are Sir Paul Beresford, Sir Nicholas Soames, Sir John Stanley, and Charles Hendry, MP for Wealden. Crawley Conservative MP Henry Smith said he declined to endorse the press release.
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Plan to redirect Stansted Airport departures to reduce Heathrow congestion
Air traffic control service NATS proposes to redirect the majority of Stansted departures from an established southerly route, to an existing route to the east of the airport. “At the moment, departures from Stansted heading towards the South East are kept lower for longer when compared to the route heading east because of Heathrow arrivals." The changes would only affect daytime departures. This is to reduce congestion above Heathrow. Arrivals are not affected. NATS has started a 12-week consultation on the proposals. Martin Peachey, noise advisor for Stop Stansted Expansion campaign group said: “We basically support the proposal because NATS say it should reduce the amount of people flown in the day and reduce CO2 emissions. It would remove day time departures for a large area to the south but it would double the amount of flights to the east so that would need to be carefully studied. .... There will be winners and losers.” The changes are part of the NATS’ London Airspace Management Programme (LAMP).
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MPs initiate “Gatwick Coordination Group” – saying 2nd runway is not in the local or national interest
MPs Crispin Blunt, Sir Paul Beresford, Rt Hon Sir Nicholas Soames, Rt Hon Sir John Stanley, and Charles Hendry have formed the Gatwick Coordination Group. The Group is established to represent the serious local concern at the plan for a 2nd runway. The MPs' group released a statement saying they believe a 2nd Gatwick runway would be a disaster for the surrounding communities and environment. They say the level of development, associated with an airport serving nearly three times as many passengers as it does now, would devastate the local environment and leave the UK with its major airport in the wrong place. Also that there is no adequate plan yet presented to provide the necessary infrastructure, of all types, to support this development. "The size of the Gatwick site only lends itself to a single runway airport, serving as a sensible, competitive alternate to London's main hub airport. While they pursue that objective, Gatwick Airport Limited will have our support, but this proposal is not in the local interest, nor is it in the national interest, and this group will work to prove that case."
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Huge mobilisation planned at Notre Dame des Landes on 5/6 July with hope the airport project can be withdrawn
The campaign at Notre Dame des Landes, against the planned new Nantes airport, continues. On the weekend of 5th and 6th July, a huge mobilisation is planned, with people coming from areas across France to show their opposition and resistance to the plans. The campaign is adamant they want nothing less than the abandonment of the airport plan. The project is held up still, because of legal appeals and EU Directives on water and threatened species, but it has not yet been cancelled. More people are now living on the ZAD, and more of it is now being cultivated, with a farm saved. Some delay is due to an environmental assessment being needed on the whole project, rather than separate bits of it. The Socialist and Green Parties, and the new Minister for Environment, Ségolène Royal, agreed after the recent election that no work can start till all the legal processes are completed. Local campaigners want farmers and residents to be able to plan their futures, free of the airport threat. They hope this project, and other "Grands projets inutiles et imposés" that are land-hungry, biodiversity destructive, guzzling aquatic and fossil fuel resources as well as public subsidies, can be stopped.
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Are so many business trips really necessary for better productivity and growth?
Writing in "Buying Business Travel", Tom Newcombe asks whether there really is as much need for business travel as the proponents of aviation make out. He says that while air travel can indeed be vital for business, it should be used both sparingly and wisely. He asks whether Sir Howard Davies’ Airports Commission is actually asking the right questions. "What would show greater imagination and ambition would be for the commission to recognise that, in the 21st century, businesses will eventually decouple travel from growth." Travel is not an end in itself, but productivity and output. "Those who regularly travel on business know that the excitement of jet-setting can soon wear off and actually interfere with, rather than aid, productivity." A key factor in reducing flights is changing organisational culture. For example, air travel is often considered prestigious – the more important you are the more the company will spend on your travel. However, this "conventional truth" can be turned on its head - by understanding that the more valuable an employee's time, the less of it should spend on a plane or sitting in traffic.
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New Airports Commission paper questions future growth of regional airports
The Aviation Environment Federation gives an interesting commentary on the Airports Commission’s latest call for evidence, which considers possible means to promote more effective use of regional airports. AEF says that while the Commission maintains its firm support for a new runway to bolster the UK’s connectivity to emerging markets, the paper suggests it would not be opposed to some scaling back in airport capacity in the regions. The Commission’s vision appears to be of an increasingly centralised airports system focussed on London. The Commission appears to challenge claims from some regional airports that they significantly benefit the wider UK economy. It notes that regional airports predominantly – and increasingly – cater to tourist travellers, the Commission argues that “aviation connectivity… facilitates outbound tourism, as well as inbound, so the net impact is unclear.” If the Commission’s final recommendation is to be a significant scaling back in activity at regional airports in order to allow growth in London, it can expect to face major obstacles.
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Gatwick hopes its claim will be believed that area’s road network will ‘better than or the same’ with 2nd runway
Gatwick airport's publicity machine is saying the area’s road network would be left ‘better than or the same’ if a second runway was built at Gatwick. It is claiming its planned infrastructure improvements will make it ‘road and rail ready’ by 2021 for a new runway. And "with no additional cost to the taxpayer." They want to "create a regional transport hub to help drive economic growth across the entire area." Works on a new junction on the A24 are due to start now and could last 18 months, while roadworks have been ongoing on the A23 near Handcross since 2011. Gatwick's spokesman, Hugh Sumner, said of the local road network’s ability to cope with any additional strain: “Our commitment is we are going to leave the road systems working better than or the same in 2050." But the Gatwick Area Conservation Campaign (GACC), which opposes a 2nd runway, questioned the contents of the transport document. Brendon Sewill, chair of GACC, said: “The document published by [Gatwick Airport Limited] contains 10% inaccuracies, 20% inconsistencies, and 50% wishful thinking." TfL appreciate the huge strain a new Gatwick runway will place on surface transport networks, which Gatwick is attempting to gloss over.
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Ryanair to have one flight per week to Tenerife in winter from Cardiff airport
Ryanair has been seen as the holy grail for passenger numbers at Cardiff Airport. But Cardiff will now have just one Ryanair route, once a week to Tenerife during the winter. "However, there is a wave of optimism that this one route will develop into a network that will improve the airline offering at Cardiff." There is a history to the relationship between Ryanair and Cardiff Airport. Ryanair had a very successful route between Cardiff and Dublin from 2001 to 2006. The departure of Ryanair followed a reported disagreement with the airport over airport charges.improve the experience for all passengers. Ryanair is an opportunity if the passenger numbers on the new route convince Ryanair to develop even more new routes. However Ryanair would need to deliver substantial passenger numbers to compensate for the lower charges that Cardiff airport will be paid. It would also be necessary to maintain the existing carriers as competition so that Cardiff doesn’t become an airport totally reliant on a single carrier that is using market power to continuously drive down airport income.
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BALPA wants APD funds to be used to help aspiring pilots, rather than more socially useful purposes
The British Airline Pilots' Association wants the Government to divert funds raised via Air Passenger Duty to help pilots to train. Currently pilot training is expensive and lengthy, so BALPA says it is only for the wealthy. They say it can cost £100,000 to train, and pilots have to take out loans or turn to their families for help. (As with many other career choices). In reality, as BALPA and the Telegraph conveniently forget, Air Passenger Duty exists on air travel because it pays no VAT and no fuel duty. The Treasury therefore charges APD to go some way to make up for the unfair tax advantages that air travel has, (for various anomalous and historic reasons). Experienced pilots are high earners. The government has never charged APD as an environmental tax, and it has never been willing to hypothecate it to the aviation industry, for its own purposes. Giving money from APD, which is needed for general government expenditure, would be akin to using tax from the sale of champagne to help fund the training of wine tasters. And where would the government make up the tax short-fall from?
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House of Commons briefing note on aviation noise – recognises it as a source of “constant annoyance” for many
The House of Commons Library has put out a "Standard Note" on "Aviation: Noise pollution." This recognises that "aviation noise is a source of constant annoyance to those who live under airport flight paths and for those subject to lower levels of disturbance caused by low flying smaller aircraft and helicopters. This form of noise pollution is explicitly excluded from general noise nuisance legislation." It sets out the general scale of the problem and how this is measured and mapped. It goes on to say: "Arguably the easiest way to reduce noise impacts from aviation is to close or at least restrict the growth of airports." It recognises that there is a fundamental conflict between increasing aviation capacity and limiting or reducing noise impacts; greater numbers of flights outweighs slight improvements in noise per plane. While Sustainable Aviation (funded by the aviation industry) hopes aviation can grow with no increase in noise (!?) the note says: "the Aviation Environment Federation, an NGO supported by environmental groups, argued that expansion schemes should meet stringent noise criteria in order to be approved."
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Scottish Transport Minister warns Dundee Airport still faces major challenges even with £2.85 million PSO help
The Scottish Transport Minister has said that Dundee Airport still faces a challenge after the £2.85 million funding guaranteeing its future for 2 years was approved. Councillors agreed the public service obligation (PSO) between Westminster and Dundee City Council, which guarantees the money to keep the Dundee to London (Stansted) air route open. Scottish Transport Minister Keith Brown, while welcoming the deal, said it was only part of securing the long-term future of the airport. Dundee Airport can now start looking forward. The airport faces a challenge in the increasingly competitive aviation market and needs to continue looking at all the available options to encourage more passengers and businesses to use it. They might be able to drum up business from the offshore renewable energy sector. The PSO funding comes from the new Regional Air Connectivity fund and is the first funding of its kind.
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Gatwick’s head of corporate affairs and lobbying, James Colman, leaving – no successor yet
James Colman joined Gatwick in April 2012 as their chief lobbyist, to promote their second runway bid. He is now leaving. His title was Corporate Affairs and Sustainability Director. Previously he was at British Gas where he was Head of Communications. The airport website blurb says of him: "He has a wealth of corporate communications experience, including 14 years working with blue-chip companies (eg John Lewis Partnership and PepsiCo.) and organisations across the UK, Europe and globally, mainly in the FMCG, retail and energy sectors. The Telegraph's City Diary says he is "credited with playing a “key role” in getting the Gatwick bid off the ground" .... and he "has packed his bags for an – as yet unnamed – new destination." Mr Colman’s successor has not yet been found, but a Gatwick spokesman said the recruitment process is “under way”. In February 2013 Gatwick brought in Fishburn Hedges and the London Communications Agency (LCA) on an integrated PR and public affairs brief, as part of its second runway lobbying.
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AEF Policy briefing: Should the UK build a new runway?
The Aviation Environment Federation (AEF) is producing a series of five briefings to raise awareness among policy makers of the areas of uncertainty in the Airports Commission’s work. The 1st briefing is called "Should the UK build a new runway?" and looks at whether the Airports Commission’s new runway recommendation was a foregone conclusion, highlights important uncertainties about the Commission’s claims on both economics and environmental impacts, gives an overview of the Commission’s work so far and outlines their next steps. It questions the claim there will be sufficient demand in the South East to justify one new runway by 2030 and possibly a second by 2050. AEF says passenger demand forecasts have been successively revised downwards since 2007 and all major political parties now reject the idea that demand should be met whatever the environmental cost. AEF also challenges forecasts of business travel growth, and how aviation can meet noise and carbon challenges.
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Level playing field on transport costs vital to proper assessment of runway options – says TfL
The issue of surface access to airports was the subject of the RunwaysUK conference on 2nd June. Michèle Dix, planning director of Transport for London, said that the costs for surface access for each of the runway options must be assessed against a level playing field of criteria. Michèle said it was vital that estimates by runway promoters reflected that actual needs of transport in the capital. “You need to compare like with like. What are the true and full costs of accommodating this additional demand? If airports are placing a greater demand on the network then we need a greater transport provision.” The Thames estuary proposal had not compared the surface access needs, like for like. She estimated that comparable “optimal” investment level of investment needed – the total package of transport schemes required to deliver an optimal level of surface transport access – for Heathrow was £17.6bn, Gatwick £12.4bn and an Inner Thames Estuary airport £19.1bn.
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