Latest News
AirportWatch on 
@AirportWatch
Summaries of, and links to, the latest aviation news stories appear below. News is archived into topics
For a daily compilation of UK articles on national and regional transport issues, see Transportinfo.org.uk | For more stories about specific airports see Aviation Environment Federation Transport & Environment Anna Aero TravelMole Press releases from CAA IATA BA Ryanair easyJet Jet2.com For climate change ECEEE news and Guardian Climate and NoAA monthly analysisCheck Hansard for reports on Parliament |
 |
Latest news stories:
HACAN will fight tooth and nail against Heathrow’s plans for a 3rd runway
HACAN, representing residents under the Heathrow flight paths, has vowed to ‘fight tooth and nail’ against the proposals for a 3rd runway released by Heathrow Airport. HACAN welcomed the measures announced by Heathrow to cut noise but argued that these will be negated by the huge increase there will be in the number of planes using the airport if a 3rd runway is given the go-ahead. Heathrow has confirmed that flight numbers will rise by nearly 250,000 a year to a total of 740,000 (from the current 480,000) if a new runway is built. Heathrow's 3 options are for: (1). A south west option which requires demolition of the 850 properties in the Stanwell Moor area. (2). A north west option in the Harmondsworth Moor area involving demolition of 950 properties. (3). A northern option, very similar to the previous plans for a 3rd runway, involving demolition of Sipson and parts of Harlington. Heathrow has ruled out a 4th runway until at least 2040 as it is not convinced there will be the demand. But it has said that, if a 4th runway was required, one of the options for a 3rd runway would be used. A fourth runway would result in a total of around a million flights per year using the airport.
Click here to view full story...
Late holiday bookings collapse due to heatwave – and kids happy to stay home with high speed internet or electronic gadgets
Seems that the hot weather all across the UK, which is expected to last for some time, has caused last-minute bookings for summer holidays to drop more than 20% causing some to speculate that the weather will have almost the same devastating effect on the industry as the ash cloud crisis of 2010. Major travel agents are reporting a severe decline in bookings, which are unlikely to pick up while the weather remains so good. When the ash cloud grounded flights across Europe in April 2010, sales dropped by 25%. This has been compounded by the recession and the electronic evolution. While kids are happy hooked to their computers, PlayStations and TVs, parents are saving money by staying at home and sunbathing in the garden. With the advent of high speed internet, X-Box, play station, video on demand and Sky TV, kids have never been happier sitting at home enjoying the electronic world. The travel industry needs to ensure there is free high speed Internet in all holiday hotels for high speed connectivity. Otherwise kids will refuse to go on holiday with their parents to destinations that only offer a beach and a pool.
Click here to view full story...
Boris Johnson ditches idea of “Boris Island” airport in favour of Lord Foster Isle of Grain plan
There are reports that Boris has ditched his idea of an island airport in the Thames Estuary ("Boris Island") in favour of a huge hub airport on the Isle of Grain. In an interview with The Sunday Times, Boris said the Grain scheme proposed by Lord Foster would “knock the spots off” rival airports on the continent and make Britain the “global capital of aviation”. He is likely to submit 3 schemes to the Airports Commission by 19th July, for Boris Island, for the Isle of Grain and for Stansted. The Isle of Grain is his preference, with some of the new airport built on reclaimed land. There would be a new rail link to London, transferring passengers from Waterloo in under half an hour. The airport would open in 2029 handling 90 million passengers per year and expanding to 180 million passengers per year by 2050. Access to the new hub airport would be by widening most of the M25, an Airport Express rail link to Waterloo, and Crossrail linking it to Heathrow. The entire project would cost about £65 billion - or more.
Click here to view full story...
Fire breaks out on an empty, parked Ethiopian Airlines Dreamliner, at Heathrow
A fire occurred in an Ethiopian Airlines Dreamliner, parked at a remote parking stand. There were no passengers on board and the plane was not due to fly for several more hours. Pictures showed the aircraft on the runway, surrounded by fire engines and covered in flame-retardant foam; TV footage showed an area on the fuselage in front of the tail that appeared to be scorched. It is not known if the battery system was associated with the fire, and the batteries are not in that part of the plane. A statement released by Ethiopian Airlines said the jet had been "parked at the airport for more than eight hours" before the fire. The lithium batteries were the cause of the previous incidents that led to the grounding of the Dreamliner in January.Flights at Heathrow were suspended for an hour and a half. Heathrow said suspension is a standard procedure if fire crews are occupied with an incident. BA now has two Dreamliners and a BA spokesman said it was too early to say whether its two would now be grounded. On April 27, Ethiopian Airlines was the first carrier to resume flights with Dreamliners.
Click here to view full story...
EasyJet board approves purchase of 135 Airbus A320s between now and 2022
Easyjet shareholders have voted in favour of the airline’s order of 135 new Airbus A320 aircraft despite opposition from founder Sir Stelios. He says the aircraft order was “a good deal for Airbus and a bad deal for Easyjet shareholders”. Easyjet chairman John Barton said: “The vote in favour of our new fleet arrangements will allow Easyjet to continue its successful strategy of modest, profitable growth and sustainable returns for our shareholders.” EasyJet has ordered 35 current A320 aircraft for delivery between 2015 and 2017, and 100 new generation A320 Neo aircraft for delivery between 2017 and 2022. The Neo planes (new generation engine) planes are meant to be a bit more fuel efficient. EasyJet's fleet currently consists of 191 planes, of which 138 are A319s (which can take 156 passengers) and 53 are A320s (which can seat 180 if all in one class). The new A320 Neo planes are the same size as the older A320s and can also take 180 passengers, in one class. Easyjet so far only has one class, so can get the maximum number of seats per plane.
Click here to view full story...
BA flight emergency landing at Heathrow due to engine covers unlocked: 9 passengers sue
A group of 9 British and Norwegian passengers have begun legal action against Airbus and Aero Engines, after the BA plane made an emergency landing at Heathrow in May. The flight to Oslo had to make an emergency landing, soon after take off, as the engine covers few open and fell off during take-off. The cover on the right engine split a fuel pipe on the engine which subsequently caught fire. The plane flew back with an engine burning, right across London, but landed safely and though passengers had to use the emergency shutes, no-one was hurt. The covers had not been closed and locked properly following maintenance checks the night before. The 9 passengers have now filed a complaint in the US saying that they have suffered severe psychological trauma as a result of the emergency landing, which has affected their personal and professional lives. There have been more than 30 other cases when engine covers have not been closed properly. It is likely that there will be more passengers joining the claim, which could total $25m
Click here to view full story...
‘Quick death’ might be better for Stanwell Moor in Heathrow debate
A "quick death" for Stanwell Moor is the best-case result for residents - that was the feeling after a meeting on 1st July to discuss the blight of a potential third Heathrow runway through the village. The threat of long term blight and community death are some of the most serious concerns. Kathy Croft, chairman of Stanwell Moor Residents’ Association, said after the gathering: “I would rather a quick death for Stanwell Moor than endure the fate suffered by Sipson.” Heathrow has yet to confirm or deny the reports of plans for a third runway to be built over the Stanwell Moor area - it will publish its submission to the Airports Commission on 17th July. The Stanwell Moor Residents have another meeting with Heathrow scheduled for July 18. A spokesman for Heathrow said: “It is important that those who are most affected by the airport are given the opportunity to put their concerns to Heathrow first hand, and that we listen and respond to them. “We will continue to meet regularly with local communities, such as Stanwell Moor as we move forward through this process.” Mrs Croft said: “I would just like a decision, the last thing we want is to be like Sipson."
Click here to view full story...
Switzerland seeks ETS compensation for its airlines
ENDS reports that Switzerland has asked for compensation from the EU on the grounds that international flights to and from its airports are unfairly included in the ETS. Switzerland's position is that if the compensation is not provided in cash, it could take the form of free emission allowances. But a number of solutions to the dispute are on the table and nothing has been agreed yet. Switzerland is unhappy at being implicitly treated as an EU member state by being excluded from the ‘stop the clock’ derogation, and EFTA countries were not included. EFTA-member Switzerland considers this to be legally unjust, particularly as member states benefit from EU ETS inclusion through revenues from auctioning emission allowances, while Switzerland does not. Swiss airlines and industrial facilities will be included in the carbon market link with the EU, likely to begin in 2015. At present, aviation is not part of the Swiss ETS.
Click here to view full story...
Passionate, heartfelt letter to Sir Howard Davies in response to public evidence session on climate
On Tuesday 9th July, the Airports Commission held a public evidence session in Manchester, taking evidence on climate change and aviation.Tim Johnson and Cait Hewitt, from AEF, and Jean Leston from WWF took part. The Commission is due to publish transcripts of the session next week. One member of the audience, Kevin Lister who is a climate campaigner, has written a letter to Sir Howard, to set out the key issues on the link between aviation and climate, and the need for this to be clearly understood by the Commission. The letter reminds Sir Howard that his opening remark, “wanted the day to tease out the issues on aviation's impact on climate change,” but it is "just a bit difficult to know what there is to tease out that is not glaringly obvious - atmospheric CO2 will exceed 450 ppm towards the end of this decade"; also that climate change is probably already causing instability in the Middle East and is likely to cause more problems to societies; that biofuels may cause even worse problems to the natural world and the climate than fossil fuels; and that the robustness of demand models post 2030 is extremely questionable.
Click here to view full story...
Gatwick Airport appoints MI6 HQ architect Sir Terry Farrell to promote its 2nd runway plans
Gatwick Airport has appointed a leading architect, Sir Terry Farrell, to help in its plans to build a 2nd runway. Sir Terry will help Gatwick in its proposals for a "constellation of 3 London airports" with 2 runways each - 2+2+2. Gatwick hopes competition between it, Heathrow and Stansted was "the best solution for London". Sir Terry's previous projects include the MI6 building and Home Office headquarters in London and Incheon Airport in South Korea. Sir Terry's firm, Farrells, will look at the impact on London of having competing airports of equal size compared to a single "mega-hub" airport. He said: "The world city of London, with the largest aviation market in the world, is the hub and its airport infrastructure needs to evolve and grow around the city" and that "a single mega-hub airport is at significant odds with what London needs."
Click here to view full story...
Committee on Climate Change reminds Airports Commission of carbon restriction on aviation growth
Lord Deben (John Gummer), who is the Chairman of the Committee on Climate Change, has written to Sir Howard Davies and the Airports Commission on the issue of UK aviation and climate change. He reminds the Commission that UK aviation emissions are included in the UK's target to reduce economy wide CO2 emissions by 80% in 2050 on 1990 levels. This implies a trade off between emissions from aviation and from other sectors: the higher the level of aviation emissions, the deeper the emissions cuts required in other sectors to meet the economy-wide target. The CCC has illustrated how the 80% target could be achieved through reducing aviation emissions to 2005 levels in 2050 and reducing emissions in other sectors by 85% on 1990 levels. That would mean limiting demand growth to around 60% in 2050 compared to 2005. Unless the rest of the UK economy can cut emissions by over 85% (unlikely) then aviation demand cannot grow by more than 60%. Lord Deben recommends that this should be reflected in the Commission's economic analysis of alternative investments in airport infrastructure. Each should be assessed in terms of whether it would make sense if demand growth were to be limited to 60% by 2050.
Click here to view full story...
3rd runway would kill historic opportunity to improve noise climate for Heathrow residents
HACAN - (the Heathrow Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise) - has produced a short report that shows how, contrary to the claims made by Heathrow Airport on how quiet planes are getting, an increase in the number of aircraft using the airport will only result in more noise for those under flight paths. Any improvements that could be made by use of slightly less noisy planes will be negated by a 3rd runway due to the huge increase in the number of planes. A 3rd runway would allow over 700,000 flights each year, up from the current ceiling of 480,000. The way aircraft noise is measured, one Concorde followed by 3 hours and 58 minutes with no planes is said to be as disturbing as 4 hour’s worth of non-stop noise from Boeing 757s at a rate of one every 2 minutes. That is manifestly not the way people under flight paths experience the noise. It is expected that next week Heathrow will make its submission to the Airports Commission - and they are likely to say a 3rd runway would result in an overall reduction in noise for Londoners.
Click here to view full story...
Birmingham Airport launches ad campaign on its long haul network for manufacturers
Birmingham Airport has put together a series of political adverts on the importance of aviation to the UK manufacturing sector. This is to influence the Airports Commission. Paul Kehoe at Birmingham Airport has been very vocal in his opposition to the idea of a hub airport in London and these adverts - which will run until July 19th which is the deadline date for airport proposals to the Commission - reflect this. The campaign features a number of high-profile figures from across the manufacturing industry, including managing director of MG Motor who reiterates the point that some of Britain's most important companies are based in the Midlands, south-west and north of the country. Birmingham is submitting its plans for massive growth and a new runway to the Airports Commission. Birmingham Airport's Paul Kehoe said: "These adverts make a serious point - our aviation sector is currently failing to adequately serve the majority of UK businesses that are located outside of the south-east."
Click here to view full story...
Local Enterprise Partnerships and their lobbying for expansion of their airports
There are Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) in the areas of influence of Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports (and others). These LEPs were set up to lead economic growth and job creation within its local areas. So not surprisingly, they all back expansion of the airport within their area. In June a large number of people from the public and private sectors met at the Gatwick Diamond Economic Growth Forum on the subject of aviation growth. The Coast to Capital" LEP urged those attending to" find their voice and speak out in support of capacity expansion at Gatwick Airport, as they will benefit from the resulting economic growth." At Heathrow the Enterprise M3 LEP, including a number of local business leaders, has had a meeting to hear about Heathrow’s current position on aviation capacity in the UK. They concluded that maintaining and developing Heathrow’s position as an international airport hub was vital to the economic success of the Enterprise M3 area - and that any change in hub status would result in a loss of jobs from the area. Stansted's LEP is also very supportive of its expansion.
Click here to view full story...
Rigby Group (owns Coventry airport) having bought Exeter airport also buys a large aviation management company
Sir Peter Rigby’s Patriot Aerospace Group bought the controlling interest in Exeter Airport from Balfour Beatty very recently. They have now concluded another deal buy RCAM (Regional and City Airport Management Ltd) which is a specialist airport management company responsible for the overall operation of Blackpool and City of Derry Airports. RCAM deals with up to 3m passengers a year and also a range of cargo, freight, corporate and general aviation services. Sir Peter has owned Coventry Airport since 2010 and has always made it clear that he intends to resume passenger flights when he can. Patriot Aerospace says it will be possible now to “leverage synergies” between Exeter and Coventry, making a return of passenger flights from Coventry Airport more likely. Patriot Aerospace also owns British International Helicopters (BIH) which is the UK's largest British helicopter operating business. Sir Peter wants to capitalise on the opportunity to grow regional airports, due to the alleged airport capacity shortage in the south east. .
Click here to view full story...
Aviation Noise discussion paper launched by Airports Commission
The Airports Commission has published Aviation noise, the 5th and last of its series of discussion papers, for public comment. The Aviation noise paper explores current scientific understanding and existing policy on aviation and noise, and the issue of annoyance and how this develops over time. It contains chapters on: How does noise affect people? (including health, night noise, amenity, quality of life, productivity and learning effects); Measuring aircraft noise (including noise metrics); Quantifying noise effects (including monetising noise impacts); Mitigation (including operational restrictions, and compensation). Sir Howard Davies, the Chair of the Airports Commission, said understanding the impact of noise from aviation on communities around airports and under flight paths is central to the Airport Commission’s work - both for options to make best use of existing airport/runway capacity in the next 5 years, and any future recommendations to Government for new airport capacity. Deadline for comment is 6th September - it is not a technically difficult document, so possible for the public to respond to
Click here to view full story...
Only a 4-runway hub airport will do, says new study for Boris (done by York Aviation)
As their response to the Airports Commission discussion paper on airport operational models the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has had a report commissioned from York Aviation - a company that has produced many reports for the aviation industry over recent years. This report, (not yet publicly available) not surprisingly bearing in mind Boris's continuing support for a huge new hub airport for London, comes out saying London needs a new huge, 4 runway hub airport. The findings of the report were made public by City Hall two weeks before the Mayor submits his proposals to the Airports Commission. Boris is against Heathrow expansion, so unsurprisingly, the York Aviation report says Heathrow is not the right site for a 4 runway hub, as it lacks the space to configure the facilities and its expansion would be a blight on local residents (ignoring the blight that would be caused for others elsewhere?). York Aviation comes up with all the usual stuff about need for flights to emerging markets, need for the UK to retain its hub supremacy, and so on. Nothing new.
Click here to view full story...
Carlisle airport resurfacing and freight centre still held up by High Court ruling
Stobart Group still plan a 394,000sq ft freight-distribution centre, and resurfacing of the runway for scheduled passenger flights to London and Dublin. But the airport development cannot start until the High Court rules on a legal challenge, brought by Irthington farmer Gordon Brown. He is seeking a judicial review of the Carlisle City Council’s decision to grant planning permission for the airport scheme, which he says does not comply with the council’s development plan and that planning officers gave councillors “erroneous and seriously misleading advice”. There are also questions on EU state aid rules and a planning condition. Work has begun on upgrading the sewers around Irthington, and this will remove another obstacle to the airport redevelopment plan - as this was one of the conditions in the planning approval, granted in February. The sewer upgrade, which will triple the capacity of the network, should be finished by October. The new sewer will mean treated effluent will no longer be discharged into a tributary of the River Irthing.
Click here to view full story...
IATA bemoans its poor returns to investors – and calls for more airline consolidation
In a recent IATA study, they say that returns on capital invested in airlines are still far below what investors would normally expect to earn. Investors can make much more money investing elsewhere. IATA's director general, Tony Tyler, said: "Unless we find ways to improve returns for our investors it may prove difficult to attract the $4-5 trillion of capital we need to serve the expansion in connectivity over the next two decades, the vast majority of which will support the growth of developing economies.” IATA says during 2004-2011 period, returns on capital invested in the airline industry worldwide averaged 4.1% but that is nowhere near the average cost of capital of 7.5% which represents the return on capital that investors would expect. "On average industry returns were just sufficient for the industry to service its debt, with nothing left to reward equity investors for risking their capital." Tony Tyler said: “Airlines . . . face a hyper fragmented industry structure owing to government policies that discourage cross-border consolidation. There is plenty of room for some fresh thinking.” Tony Tyler also said that net profits per airline passenger worldwide were just $2.56 in 2012. So little profit - for so much environmental damage and so much CO2.
Click here to view full story...
WWF & CAN: European Parliament compromises on ETS reform but it’s not enough to save the climate
The European Parliament has approved plans (by 344 to 311 votes) designed to boost the EU's ETS and drive green investment by tackling the glut of carbon allowances that have caused a huge fall in the price of CO2 this year. MEPs have voted in favour of "backloading" proposals so the EC can temporarily postpone the auction of 900 million allowances. In April stricter backloading plans were narrowly rejected. Bloomberg reported that the price of carbon allowances for delivery in December rose 7.2% to €4.60 per tonne. The deal gives assurances that the backloading won't be repeated and it won't lead to the permanent withdrawal of the delayed carbon allowances. WWF said that with carbon prices already at all-time lows, EU Member States now need to put the right price on pollution by strengthening today’s result and say: “Member states should back further measures to eliminate these toxic tonnes permanently from the EU’s carbon market.” CAN Europe and WWF call on EU policy makers to come up with robust proposals to increase EU climate action.
Click here to view full story...
European Commission defends €3bn annual subsidies for airports and low-cost airlines
The European Commission published new draft guidelines that will allow regional airports and EU airlines using them to keep receiving subsidies worth as much as €3bn a year. The consultation lasts till 25th September. In several cases the EC subsidies prop up unprofitable regional airports and low-cost carriers, so they can continue to operate in an unsustainable way which distorts competition between budget and national carriers. Commercial airlines can receive subsidies to establish and run new routes from financially non-viable airports. Transport & Environment (T&E) have expressed their disappointment about this, and that the draft guidelines to not go far enough to prevent the continued construction of f trophy" airports by regional administrations, which end up under-used or even permanently closed and invariably add unsupportable financial burdens on regional coffers. T&E say scarce taxpayer money should be put to better use.
Click here to view full story...
GACC warns of widespread blight being caused by runway proposals submitted to Airports Commission
Gatwick Airport are due to publish their plans for a new runway by the Airports Commission deadline of 19th July. GACC, the main environmental community group concerned with the airport, warn that the runway proposal will result in widespread blight in the area. Thousands of people will find tens of thousands of pounds is knocked off the value of their houses, which will be hard to sell except at a substantial loss. "Working men and women will find themselves unable to move to take up a new job; retired couples will find their hopes dashed of moving to a smaller house in another area. Anxiety will be caused to thousands of people and some may be driven to desperation." In the days of BAA there was a Property Market Support Bond, so the airport would buy houses at the pre-blight price. The airport now says that scheme is under review and nothing will be decided until the Airports Commission reports in 2015. GACC says this demonstrates a callous disregard for the local community. GACC has asked the Commission to insist that all airports which are due to put forward plans for new runways should introduce a scheme for dealing with blight.
Click here to view full story...
EADS and Rolls Royce considering the concept of a hybrid electric-biofuel plane ??
EADS (European aerospace, defence etc) and Rolls Royce say they are developing the concept of the first “hybrid” airliner propelled by a combination of electricity, and algae- derived biofuel. They claim it would produce 75% less CO2 than a conventional airliner, and work in a similar way to hybrid cars, such as the Prius. While all electric planes would not be able, at best, to carry a couple of passengers, there might be the potential for hybrid planes to carry more. EADS' “E-Thrust” project would give the plane propulsion by 6 electric fans along the back of its wings. Its engine (using liquid fuel, perhaps biofuel) would generate electrical power, which would be stored in a large lithium battery [the sort that caused the Dreamliner such problems with overheating] in the aircraft’s fuselage. The aim is for the plane to use liquid fuel plus battery power to take off and climb, and then for the battery to get some charge back while cruising. The plane would then glide in to land, generating more electrical energy to top up the battery for the extra power it will need for the landing. Many decades ahead, if it works at all? .
Click here to view full story...
The strange, legally uncertain, limbo area of the airport transit zone – Edward Snowden
Amid the thousands of people passing through Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport, Edward Snowden is apparently staying put there. He is not the first person to be stranded in the legally ambiguous zone between the arrivals gate and the immigration desks of an international airport. Russian authorities says Snowden is in the airport’s transit area, has not passed through Russian immigration, so he is not technically in Russia and is free to leave. Snowden could end up joining the roster of unwilling airport residents whose ordeals, suspended between states, have stretched on for months or even years. Saying the transit area is not officially in the country is more a diplomatic convention than a legal reality, according to an immigration expert. “Many nations pretend that airport transit lounges are not part of their territory, indeed not under their jurisdiction. As a matter of international law, this is completely false. Sheremetyevo has seen crowds of refugees from countries including Afghanistan and Somalia living in corridors awaiting refugee status - a strange existence, without purpose.
Click here to view full story...
Hogg Robinson reports more business trips being made by rail including Eurostar
Hogg Robinson, the travel management company, has produced a report for the first 3 months of 2013 that indicates there is increasing trend for business travellers to travel to France using high-speed rail services including Eurostar. Also that many companies have changed their travel policy, requiring travellers to travel by rail for this particular route as it allows for work to be completed en route. Though business travel to India increased, both China and Brazil saw a fall in transactions as their strong economic growth showed signs of slowing. Overall business class sales fell 14.8% year-on-year while economy transactions rose by 0.5% and Hogg Robinson said the shift from business class to economy was “particularly acute in Europe”. There is a focus on cost and more use of economy fares, particularly to short-haul destinations. "We’re also seeing rail re-emerge as a genuine alternative to air travel." They say the BRIC countries are now well established business travel destinations and, with the exception of India, the huge growth in air travel to these destinations is slowing." .
Click here to view full story...
Heathrow Airport board approve submitting 3rd runway plan (with option for 4th) to Airports Commission
The board of Heathrow Airport Holdings is reported to have authorised its management to present its case to build a 3rd runway to the Airports Commission, in July. Heathrow is considering several options for the runway's location. It wants the runway as soon as possible. Heathrow will also tell the Commission that they should have the option to build a 4th runway at some later date, if there is sufficient demand for it. Heathrow believes funders will be willing to stump up the £10 billion or so, with sufficient certainty of the returns on their investment. But some Heathrow shareholders are privately warning they could reassess their willingness to pay for a 3rd runway if the CAA enforces an effective cut in the airport's charges to airlines over the next 5 years. Heathrow repeatedly emphasises that a huge hub airport is best for the airlines, as that enables them to be the most profitable. The Airports Commission has the task of ensuring that the UK retains its status as a key hub for global aviation, not merely catering for UK demand for air travel. The phrase "a world class airport for a world class city" is popular with the Heathrow lobby.
Click here to view full story...
Belfast City Airport: Reality dawns earlier now for unhappy airport neighbours
Over 8,000 people in North Down, south and east Belfast suffer from levels of aircraft noise that are considered to cause "significant community annoyance" - over 57 decibels - according to a new report by the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology. Belfast City Airport has published a draft action plan which includes a proposal to begin operating a noise compensation scheme for local residents affected by loud noise – but only those affected by noise levels of over 63 decibels. Residents say aircraft noise has become worse since Aer Lingus launched 3 routes from the City Airport at the end of March. There is a 6.30am take off to Faro, 7 days a week and on weekdays, there are then 5 BA departures beginning at 6.35am, and all before 7am. The planes have been getting bigger over the last ten years. A resident asked: "Surely they should stick the big jets at the International Airport and keep the regional flights at the GBCA." Belfast City Airport Watch does not believe that an airport situated in a densely populated urban area is the right location for international flights due to the noise and health impact on local people.
Click here to view full story...
Noise respite trials on areas of Heathrow flight paths – results due in the autumn
Between November 2012 and March 2013, NATS conducted a trial (in association with BA and HACAN) of providing defined periods of noise respite to people living directly under the Heathrow flight paths. NATS says this is an example of using air traffic control to help reduce the burden of aircraft. The Heathrow noise respite trial explored routeing the 16 - 17 flights that arrive at Heathrow each morning between 4.30am and 6.00am. There were defined zones in the approach area above London and over Berkshire that were ‘active’ sequentially week by week. Pilots were directed by air traffic controllers to avoid flying through the zone that was active for that particular week. There were inner and outer quiet zones were established for each of the two runways which resulted in eight zones in total. Diagram below shows how the zones worked. The results, including community responses, will be available in the autumn and will indicate whether such noise respite would be beneficial in future.
Click here to view full story...
Gatwick Airport paid no Corporation Tax in three years
Gatwick Airport has a £1.2 billion capital investment programme to improve its infrastructure and facilities. But it paid no corporation tax for three consecutive years despite making £638m in profit before tax. Gatwick tried to defend this position, saying: "Whilst year on year we have lessened our financial losses we have yet to make a profit after tax. As a result the airport has not paid corporation tax ...Our current £1.2bn capital investment programme and existing asset base, together with the associated debt structure, result in depreciation and interest costs which reduce our operating profits to a loss before tax." In the 2012/13 year, Gatwick Airport made £227.1m profit before tax, a 2.5% increase, as it benefited from flights to new destinations in China, Russia, Indonesia, and Turkey. Despite this, it reported a net financial loss of £29.1m, citing asset depreciation and £226.7m of capital investment in the year. Corporation tax is only levied on a company's net profit. In the UK the corporation tax rate is 23%. Under UK tax law, corporations can claim tax allowances on certain purchases or investments made on business assets.Campaign group UK Uncut estimates that clever accounting rules and complex tax avoidance schemes cost Britain £12bn annually.
Click here to view full story...
Obama: US working at ICAO towards comprehensive global approach on limiting international aviation emissions
In a wide-ranging major speech on climate change President Obama launched an action plan that made reference to the role the United States is playing at the ICAO. Obama's Climate Action Plan states that: ..."at the International Civil Aviation Organization, we have ambitious aspirational emissions and energy efficiency targets and are working towards agreement to develop a comprehensive global approach." GreenAir online reports that with important negotiations taking place at the UNFCCC on agreeing a global climate treaty by 2015 to be enforced from 2020 to replace the Kyoto Protocol, the outcome at ICAO is being viewed by many as a barometer of how close nations are to finding common ground, with US leadership playing a vital role. Progress on aviation is important not only because of the carbon emissions from the industry, but as it represents an area where the international community could make headway in the near term. An agreement in ICAO at its meeting in September would give a valuable boost to international efforts more broadly, by showing that agreement in multilateral forums is possible.
Click here to view full story...
Exeter Airport sold to Rigby Group while its resident airline, Flybe, reported a huge loss
Exeter's airport has been sold by Balfour Beatty for an undisclosed sum to Patriot Aerospace, the aviation division of Rigby Group PLC. Balfour Beatty bought the airport in January 2007 from Devon County Council for £60m. It employs 305 staff. There are currently flights to about 40 destinations. Rigby Group said the future of the airport's staff was secure and it hoped to add more routes. Rigby Group owns Coventry Airport, British International Helicopters, based at Newquay, and a string of hotels. Sir Peter Rigby, Chairman of Rigby Group, said he wanted to work with Exeter's main carrier Flybe and also wanted to encourage other airlines to fly from the airport. Flybe sad it "welcomed" the purchase. A few days earlier, Flybe (based at Exeter) reported a a pre-tax loss of £40.7m for the year to 31 March, against a loss of £6.2m the year before (a 7-fold rise). It has had falling numbers of passengers, blaming the cost of jet fuel and the price of APD for domestic flights. With Flybe in trouble, the airport's future might become dependent on other developments.
Click here to view full story...
ABTA publicises report, to be submitted to Airports Commission, on value of leisure aviation to UK economy
ABTA has publicised the key findings of a new report it has commissioned from CEBR on the value of leisure aviation to the UK economy. This report is not yet publicly available, but will be presented to the Airports Commission at its evidence session on Tuesday 9th July in Manchester. ABTA's report says that - (predictably) - the travel industry - which largely takes Brits to holiday abroad, or visit relatives abroad, makes a huge contribution to the UK economy. It says this makes up 1.1% of UK GDP and is a direct value to the UK economy of £14.1 billion per year. It says "when taking account of the economic impact of leisure aviation in the wider economy, this value rises to £36.1 billion, or 2.8% of GDP." They also claim that leisure aviation supports about 1.2% of total UK employment and equates to 289,000 full-time jobs across the whole of the UK. Much the same analysis could actually be done for many other sectors of the economy. [In reality, the DfT confirmed in 2012 that the aviation industry supports about 120,000 jobs in the UK and supports many more indirectly.] ABTA and the CEBR produced a report in May 2012 claiming that UK outbound holiday makers spend about £31.2 billion per year in the UK before their trip, including the cost of travel].
Click here to view full story...
The 50,000 mile journey of Wimbledon’s tennis balls for their production
Research done by Mark Johnson, an operations management expert at Warwick Business School, has found that the components that make up a Slazenger champion grade tennis ball for use at Wimbledon travel over 50,000 miles and across four continents during the ball's production. Much of it by air. The balls are produced in the Philippines. Wool travels by air from New Zealand to Stroud (UK) to make the felt; that is then shipped by air to the Philippines; clay is shipped from South Carolina in the USA, silica from Greece, magnesium carbonate from Japan, zinc oxide from Thailand, sulphur from South Korea and rubber from Malaysia to Bataan (Philippines) where the rubber is vulcanized. Slazenger shut down its factory in Barnsley in the early 2000s and moved the equipment to Bataan in the Philippines. They still get the felt from Stroud, as it requires a bit more technical expertise but that adds a lot of air miles. Dr Johnson said: “It is one of the longest journeys I have seen for a product." Presumably because air transport is cheap.
Click here to view full story...
Munich conference – airport residents’ campaigns across Europe connect their fight against the aviation lobby
Over 250 people from across Europe attended the European Aviation Campaigners Conference in Munich at the weekend, where they heard accounts of campaigners against expansion in many different countries. The conference produced a manifesto which included a call for an end to night flights and an end to tax-breaks for the aviation industry. The conference also had sessions on effective campaigning, including direct action. Those who attended the conference came away inspired. They were in no doubt that the conference will stimulate collective across Europe to campaign for change. The united call is to ‘tame the aviation industry’. There is an English version of the Manifesto.
Click here to view full story...
Six local airport campaigns issue unanimous message to Airports Commission – no new south east runways are needed
Sir Howard Davies and two fellow Commissioners (Vivienne Cox and Geoff Muirhead) have had a meeting with 6 representatives of local campaign groups from Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton, the Thames Estuary and Birmingham. The campaign groups are all opposed to new runways or radical expansion plans within their areas and issued a unanimous message to the Airports Commission explaining that there is sufficient capacity within the existing airports to meet UK demand to 2050, possibly longer; therefore there should be no new runways in the south east. They also say demand for air travel can and should be constrained by fairer taxation of aviation, and it is unrealistic to assume future demand will be disproportionately concentrated in the south east. Due to future use of larger aircraft, capacity requirements can be met, even with a larger number of passengers. The groups urged the Airports Commission to set out the case for ‘no new runway’ and to publish that option alongside the short-list of new runway plans that they are due to publish in December.
Click here to view full story...
Robert Peston on the CAA and airport charges: Heathrow warns of investment threat
Robert Peston explains the rows about Heathrow's charges. The CAA has calculated how much Heathrow should charge airlines, based on how much profit it should be allowed to make over the next 5 years. Heathrow wants high charges, and predictably, the airlines want low charges. Heathrow has invested £11bn in improving its airport terminals and facilities over the past decade and is telling the CAA that not allowing an increase in its fees would make its future plans to invest £3bn "economically irrational". Heathrow says its shareholders won't put up the money for future necessary investment if the charges are too low - their owners would have no interest in financing new runways on the proposed level of allowable return. Robert Peston says the dispute is not likely to be settled quickly and there may be an appeal to the competition authorities. At the heart of the dispute between Heathrow and the CAA is the extent to which Heathrow is subject to risk and competition. In recent years, Heathrow's owners, led by Ferrovial, have made no money at all, largely because of regulatory intervention.
Click here to view full story...
Gatwick proposes revised offer to the CAA with lower fee increase on airline charges
Gatwick has proposed cutting the increases in the charges that airlines pay to use the airport, in the hope that the CAA (the regulator) will not cap the charges. The airport says this is the best deal for passengers and airlines. The CAA has proposed capping charges to just 1% above inflation. In April Gatwick initially proposed an increase of 4% above the rate of inflation for its charges. Now they are proposing an increase of 1.5% above inflation, for 4 years from 2014 to 2021. Gatwick airport earns some £274 million per year from these landing charges, and as they make so much money from them, the airport wants there to be no cap on what they can charge. They say then could then compete more effectively with Heathrow. EasyJet has said it does not support Gatwick's proposal for a 1.5% increase, as it wants even lower charges and says the capital spending the airport is planning is not on things that their customers value.
Click here to view full story...
MPs spend £500,000 on business class flights – largely between London and their constituencies
The Telegraph has investigated the number of premium flights taken by MPs at taxpayers' expense. They found the number of business class flights taken by MPs has nearly doubled in one year. Also that 10 MPs have claimed for more than 100 premium air fares each, with some of the flights worth as much as £850. Over the past three years MPs have spent nearly £500,000 of public money on such tickets. New rules introduced after the 2009 expenses scandal usually oblige MPs to buy economy class tickets. But 55 MPs have used a loophole to purchase business class fares that can be twice as expensive as standard class. Eric Joyce seems to have had the most business class flights (208) and Jim Murphy, the shadow defence secretary (188). An aide said it was difficult to work discreetly on secret documents relating to his shadow defence role while travelling in economy class. Most of the MPs' air fares were purchased for travel between Westminster and their constituency. However, politicians occasionally buy business class flights to attend conferences and other events overseas.
Click here to view full story...
British Airways and other airlines attacks 40% Heathrow price rises to airlines
Willie Walsh, chief executive of International Airlines Group, the owners of British Airways, has attacked Heathrow for applying to the CAA to be allowed to charge airlines 40% more to use the airport over the next 5 years. The CAA is expected soon to announce the new regulated costs of using the UK’s airports for the next 5 years. Heathrow has said it needs the large increases to pay for more capital investment and improving the facilities for passengers. Willie Walsh is complaining about this and making out that BA cares about lower fares for its passengers: “In the interests of air travellers, we believe it is high time these charges started to come down." British Airways has its hub at Heathrow and has the largest number of flights and passengers there. Mr Walsh said the airport had failed to get to grips with costs and that as the only hub airport in the UK it was acting as a monopoly provider. Virgin and IATA have also complained about the increase in charges. How will Heathrow manage to build another runway, or even two, when its airlines don't want to pay for it?
Click here to view full story...
Total and Amyris working on jet fuel from GM yeasts using sugarcane – demo flight at Paris Air Show
In France, Amyris and Total announced a demonstration flight (from Toulouse to Paris) of an A321 at the Paris Air Show using its renewable jet fuel made from Amyris Biofene from plant sugars. This is a French Initiative for Future Aviation Fuels, which seeks to produce and commercialize alternative, allegedly renewable and sustainable aviation fuels in France. There was an earlier flight using this fuel in June 2012, in Brazil. Amyris is using genetically-modified yeasts which metabolise sugars from sugarcane or sweet sorghum for the process, which produces a broad range of molecules via Biofene. Cellulosic sugars are what they want to use in future, but for now, Amyris is focused on cane sugar. (ie. competing with human food). There is evidence that the cost of oil-based jet fuel is rising faster than the cost of sugar. If there is margin of around 24 US cents per gallon between the cost of the sugar feedstock and the fuel it might be profitable to use sugar. They are hoping this will continue in future. In December 2012, Amyris began commercial production of Biofene at its industrial-scale production facility in southeastern Brazil. Amyris and Total expect the fuel might be commercially available by 2014.
Click here to view full story...
Transport Secretary launches £80 million Stansted terminal redevelopment
The Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin has launched the start of an £80 million project to re-develop Stansted’s terminal building. Stansted says the way passengers travel by air has changed over the last decade, as now the overwhelming majority of passengers check-in online and over half travel without checked-in baggage. The airport aims to "improve the passenger journey." There will be new security facilities and an enlarged departure lounge. Stansted, now owned by MAG, says it has "used research by psychologists to understand the points when passengers feel confused, stressed and relaxed during their time at the airport." MAG is investing £40 million in the project with a further £40 million invested by commercial partners.
Click here to view full story...
Newcastle Airport in Court of Appeal over blame for earlier excessive bonus payments
Newcastle Airport has been at the Court of Appeal battling to convince top judges to overrule a previous decision not to punish a law firm (Eversheds) which the airport said was to blame for under-the-radar awards to its former chief executive and finance director. The airport says contracts which handed airport bosses a controversial multi-million pound pay package were “dramatically inconsistent with the principle of fair and responsible remuneration”, a judge has heard. The airport’s leadership group NIAL suffered a stinging defeat last year when a High Court judge ruled that responsibility for the debacle lay not with Eversheds LLP but with non-executive directors sitting on the company’s remuneration committee. They had inadvertently permitted the executives to “dictate” the terms of their contracts and had not read them properly before signing them." Newcastle airport is majority-owned by 7 North East councils, who did not know about contract negotiations & bonus deals in 2005 & 2006.
Click here to view full story...
Single European Sky – EU’s ambitions to harmonise air traffic control continue to have problems
Across Europe, air traffic is expected to grow by up to 3% annually and the number of flights may rise by 50% over the next 10-20 years. There are some 9 million flights cross Europe's skies each year. The industry fears unless there are efficiencies, this growth will not happen and Europe would also be vulnerable to delays and flight cancellations on an unprecedented scale. There are already costs to airlines (and passengers) due to delays etc. The Single European Sky is intended to harmonise air traffic control better, as they are fragmented and inefficient. EU airspace is in 27 national air traffic control systems, providing services from some 60 air traffic centres while the airspace is divided into more than 650 sectors. That means airspace is currently structured around national boundaries and so flights are often unable to take direct routes. Nine Functional Airspace blocks (FABs) are intended to replace the current patchwork of 27 national air traffic blocks. European Transport Workers’ Federation accused the Commission of trying to put “the economic stability of the sector at risk by introducing competition, liberalisation and more and more market principles."
Click here to view full story...
Airports Commission will hold public evidence sessions on 9th & 10th July on climate, connectivity and operational models
The Airports Commission will hold public evidence sessions on 9th July 2013 (on climate change and on connectivity) in Manchester and 10th July 2013 (on operational models of airports) in London. The sessions will be chaired by Sir Howard Davies and attended by the other Commissioners. The sessions are focused on the Commission’s work assessing the nature, scale and timing of the UK’s aviation needs. They will develop the evidence base on the subjects of discussion papers already published by the Commission. They will not discuss any specific potential locations for new aviation capacity. The Commission's website says it "intends to hold further public evidence sessions on this issue in 2014, should it conclude in its interim report that additional aviation capacity is needed." People can attend the sessions, though it is necessary to give prior notification to the Commission by email, and they anticipate organisations, not individuals, attending. The Commission has now published a list of meetings it has had (up to 9th May) showing the date and who the meeting was with. .
Click here to view full story...
Siemens & LanzaTech to develop fuel from CO2 & CO from steel industry gases
The iron and steel industry worldwide produces huge volumes of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide - around 6.7% of global CO2 emissions. Siemens has announced that it will work to develop biofuels from these waste industrial gases after signing a 10-year cooperation deal with New Zealand technology company LanzaTech. They say they will commercialise and market the system for the steel industry. The process captures the CO and CO2 and uses these through a patented biological fermentation to produce chemicals including bioethanol and fuels. The companies hope their technique makes good use of the waste gases, as well as helping steel mills to meet environmental regulations. They claim fuels made from the waste gases will have CO2 emissions 50 - 70% lower than fossil based fuels. LanzaTech says the process does not compete with food production - (but could the waste CO2 not be used in greenhouses etc in order to promote growing of food crops?). Virgin wants to fly a demonstration flight on this during 2013 and then more in 2014.
Click here to view full story...
Ryanair buys 175 jets – with speculation it will get into cheap (€10?) transatlantic flights
Ryanair has signed a deal - first publicised in March - to buy 175 Boeing 737-800 jets.. It may also buy another 200 Boeing 737 Max planes by the end of the year. Michael O'Leary is reported, at the Paris Air Show, as saying Ryanair had a unique opportunity to crack the transatlantic market and offer passengers fares of €10 or $10 to fly to the US. It would need 30- 50 suitable planes for that. O'Leary said: “There is an opportunity with the EU-US open skies to, on a fairly big scale, connect 15-20 European cities with 15 of the big US cities, almost from day one.” But back in March 2013 O’Leary’s right hand man Michael Cawley, said Ryanair’s business model (with high load factors and rapid turn-arounds) is not suited to the long-haul market and he did not "think it is ever envisaged that Ryanair would get into the long-haul market." Boeing claims the 737 Max has 19% greater fuel efficiency over its rivals, and so 8% lower costs per seat. Long-haul budget flights have become popular in Asia in recent years with (AirAsia X, Jetstar, Jetstar Asia, Scoot) but it has been hard for airlines to make money with long-haul budget flights.
Click here to view full story...
GACC submits response to Airports Commission discussion on airport operational models
The Gatwick Area Conservation Campaign (GACC) has submitted a response to the Airports Commission's discussion document on Airport Operational models - on the rival merits of hub airports vs. point-to-point airports. GACC suggests that, if the number of passengers per plane continues to increase, there will be no need for any new runway. In 2011 the average number of passengers per flight at Heathrow was 146 compared to 138 at Gatwick. But if - with ever larger planes - over the next 20 years the average number of passengers per aircraft were to increase to 200 that would be roughly equivalent to two new runways in the South East. GACC suggests estimates of greatly increased demand for runway capacity may be exaggerated. At London’s airports the number of flights was exactly the same in 2012 as in 2002. The total number of aircraft movements at Gatwick has only increased by 2% in the past 10 years. And the number of business flights abroad by UK residents has fallen by 20% in the past 10 years. GACC gives examples of where the creation of over-optimistic 'models' have resulted in 'castles in the air' - desolate and empty airports.
Click here to view full story...
G8 Summit admits “grave concern” over slow progress of climate change action
Leaders at the G8 Summit reiterated their commitment to delivering action to tackle climate change, acknowledging they have "grave concern" about the failure to deliver sufficiently deep emission cuts and the economic and security risks that result from climate impacts. The British government had faced criticism from France and Germany for failing to include climate change on the main agenda. However, the final communique dedicates a page to climate change and states that "it is one of the foremost challenges for our future economic growth and well-being". "We remain strongly committed to addressing the urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions significantly by 2020". This includes wanting ICAO to come up with agreement on market based, and non market based measures, at its September conference. Specifically, the statement commits the G8 to supporting the UNFCCC's efforts to deliver a new global climate change at the Paris Summit in 2015 and reiterates its desire to produce a more ambitious policy framework than the current one.
Click here to view full story...
EasyJet agrees to buy 135 new planes from Airbus – it has 190 planes now
EasyJet says it has entered into arrangements to buy 35 A320 planes and 100 A320neos, for an undisclosed price - but which includes a large discount. Sir Stelios, who still owns 37% of easyJet, has been against buying so many new planes, saying it is a "vanity exercise" and the cost is too high.” The undiscounted price for a A320 is some $76m, and $92m for the A320neo. EasyJet said it could make savings, largely on fuel, of some 11 - 12% with the new planes, compared to the A319. It could then pay more from its profits to its shareholders in future. Shareholders of easyJet have to vote on whether to agree the sale of the planes at their meeting on 11th July. EasyJet now has around 190 planes, and of the 135 new planes, 85 would be used to replace less fuel efficient models. The other 50 would be for more growth. Easyjet said: "Whilst the announcement today will deliver a fleet of 276 aircraft by 2022, as of today, the new arrangements also give easyJet the ability to manage the fleet size to between 165 and 298 aircraft in 2022 depending on economic conditions and opportunities available."
Click here to view full story...
Heathrow report backing its case to grow as UK hub – but would need public funding for expansion
Heathrow, which is currently enjoying 4 nights of BBC programmes this week on "Airport Live" giving hours of free publicity, has had a new report published. This is called "Heathrow: Best placed for Britain" (by AECOM and Quod) and its purpose is to set out Heathrow's case that it is far better value to the UK economy and the UK taxpayer to expand Heathrow rather than to build a brand new airport in the Thames Estuary, or expand Stansted. Also that the UK must have one huge hub airport, and no other solution will do, as the airlines will only make enough profit by using the hub. Heathrow does admit that the taxpayer will have to contribute funds for expansion plans involving at least one new runway. However, it is coy on the matter and gives no indication of how much. The report says: "Financing additional capacity at Heathrow entirely from the private sector will be challenging and will need an appropriate investment framework. The recent difficulties in securing investment for new UK nuclear power stations are a reminder of the difficulty in securing commercial finance for major infrastructure projects without an attractive and stable return." Heathrow makes out that rejection of its proposals could consign a generation to economic stagnation.
Click here to view full story...
UNEP Executive Director says airlines must agree on cutting their carbon emissions
Achim Steiner, who is the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has written an op-ed in the China Daily and in China.org. He says that airlines need to cut their carbon emissions. "If the world is to head off dangerous climate change and somehow keep a global temperature rise under 2 degrees Celsus, we need all hands on deck. That includes airlines." Aviation is responsible for some 5% of humnanity's impact on the climate." He adds: "Air travel is not only the fastest growing form of transport. It is also the most carbon intensive" and that a global agreement on a market-based measure is needed - through ICAO - to take effect by 2020, or soon after. That needs to be agreed at ICAO's meeting this September. Achim says: "In order to realize the future we want, and need, economies must urgently begin decoupling economic growth from natural resource use, including fossil fuels. Airlines must be part of that transformation. This can be the year when ICAO departs the runway and plots a course for a low carbon future. The first stop is a global deal in Montreal."
Click here to view full story...
Nantes campaigners say: Let’s bury the Notre Dame des Landes airport project for good ! 3rd & 4th August – huge summer gathering.
Over the weekend of 3rd and 4th August, at Nantes, there will be a weekend gathering of all those who have worked over the past years to oppose a new airport at Notre-Dame-des-Landes. This is part of a series of protests against Imposed Useless Major Projects (les Grands Projets Inutiles et Imposés) across and outside France. There will be music, forums and debates, on a range of subjects such as threats to agricultural land, environmental and energy transition, urbanization, spatial planning, transport, water and biodiversity. Thecampaigners say this will be "The essential rally this summer to defend the land and agricultural jobs that are threatened, for better use of public money, and to stop projects as useless as destructive, here as elsewhere!" It will also be THE place to invent and create, in solidarity, essential alternatives on the fight against global warming and the return to solid citizen representation, which they feel has been removed from local people during the process of forcing through the new airport plans.confiscated. They say: "No giving up ! Neither here, nor anywhere else!"
Click here to view full story...
Flybe expected to announce loss of £23 million for the year and more job losses
Regional airline Flybe is expected to announce annual losses for the year to March will be bigger than feared at around £23 million when it reports annual figures on Friday after a turbulent year. Fly be says it has been squeezed by higher fuel costs and the tough economy. It has been taking tough action reverse the losses, recently quitting Gatwick Airport by selling its 25 pairs of landing slots there to easyJet for £20 million, while also slashing jobs and cutting its pilots' pay by 5%. Flybe currently has about half a million domestic passengers per year at Gatwick. The airline also revealed another 80 redundancies, on top of almost 600 staff - or 22% of its workforce - who have been axed so far as part of plans to save at least £35 million a year. In January Fl ybe reported a loss of £1.3m in the six months to 30 September. That compared with a profit of £14.3m a year earlier.
Click here to view full story...
World Bank study shows carbon footprint of First Class passengers can be up to 9 times that in Economy
The World Bank Group seeks to offset the travel of its staff. The Bank acknowledges that passengers in premium (First and business) classes on a plane have a higher carbon footprint, so they have recalculated the World Bank Group footprint from their air travel, taking the class of travel into account. The Bank estimates that emissions per passenger in First class can be as much as nine times as high, and those in Business class can be three times as high, as those in Economy class. Those in premium classes not only have larger seats and more space per passenger (meaning that there can be fewer passengers, overall, in the plane) but there is often a lower load factor (the proportion of seats occupied) and they can take on more luggage (meaning more fuel has to be used to transport it). A Guardian journalist looked into the class issue in 2010 and concluded that the more passengers pay for a square metre of cabin, the more profit the airline makes and the more the premium travellers subsidise the cheaper classes of tickets. "Put another way, if no one flew business or first class, the price of economy travel would have to rise, leading ultimately to lower occupancy rates, fewer flights and less global warming." .
Click here to view full story...
Airbus A350 completes maiden test flight (claims it will be 25% more fuel efficient than current wide-bodied planes)
The Airbus A350 is a new wide-bodied aircraft, and their equivalent of the Boeing Dreamliner 787. The A350 has now made its maiden test flight of 4 hours, to and from Toulouse. The Airbus A350 is designed to be more fuel-efficient, and Airbus claims that, powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines, the A350 will use about 25% less fuel than previous generation wide-bodied aircraft. Like the Dreamliner, the A350 is made largely of advanced materials, particularly carbon composites in some 50% of the plane, and also use of titanium and advanced aluminum alloys, in order to save weight. Airbus said, about 70% of the plane's airframe is made with "advanced materials". The A350 is slightly larger than the 787 and there are 3 variants of it, the A350-800 XWB (extra wide body), the A350- 999 XWB and the A350-1000 XWB. They will seat between around 315 to 440, depending on layout, and will have a range of around 9,700 miles Airbus has already taken more than 600 orders for the new plane, whereas there have been 890 Dreamliner orders so far. The plane's wings are manufactured at Broughton in Wales.
Click here to view full story...
Channel Tunnel Commission grants Deutsche Bahn operating licence for its trains to use the Tunnel
The Channel Tunnel Intergovernmental Commission (IGC) which oversees access to the Channel Tunnel has granted a ‘Certificate B’ operating licence to Deutsche Bahn (DB). This paves the way for more work to enable the introduction of DB’s long-planned high speed services between Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Köln and London. These services had at one point been scheduled to launch this year, but due to many delays are unlikely to start before 2016. DB intends to use pairs of Siemens trains for the London routes but these have in turn been subject to protracted production and approval delays. A further significant hurdle is border and immigration control, as the UK is not a signatory to the Schengen agreement and the UK Border Agency only does border checks now at Lille, Paris and Brussels. Passengers using Eurostar’s trial service from Aix-en-Provence TGV to London this summer have to leave their train at Lille to go through immigration procedures. Over time the DB services could add ‘between 3 and 4 million passengers per year’ to the 10 million already using Eurostar.
Click here to view full story...
Speculation that Maplin might be looked at again as an airport – ruled out for very good reasons in 1974
ABy 19th July, all outline proposals airport plans need to be submitted to the Airports Commission (see below). There will be a great many, some more serious contenders than others. At this stage, the Commission does not require detailed design and assessment materials and limits submissions to 40 pages. Unsurprisingly, there is speculation that schemes like Maplin could be dug up and submitted. Maplin Sands was considered as a possible airport in the early 1970s, under Edward Heath. The plan was abandoned in June 1974, after the oil price rose and the it was decided that the Maplin Development Authority should not spend any more money. Maplin was mentioned, in passing, in a reply to a question in the Lords - which did not rule it out. In reality, it is inaccessible and in the wrong place. It would be unworkable and hugely expensive, as well as the problem of needing to move the military firing range from Shoeburyness, and clearing the site of projectiles. Not a likely runner.
Click here to view full story...
Heathrow likely to submit 3rd runway plan to Airports Commission but unknown if they will want to “safeguard” land for a 4th
The Financial Times reports that Heathrow Airport Holdings is considering a phased approach to its expansion. That means definitely a 3rd runway as soon as it can get it. Heathrow will not rule out a 4th runway for ever (largely because it has got into such trouble in the past over previous broken promises). However, Heathrow does not know whether there will be a need for a 4th runway in any foreseeable timescale, because of the difficulty of predicting demand decades in advance. It appears no decision has been taken on whether they will ask for land to be safeguarded for a 4th runway, as that would be very unpopular and cause decades of blight and misery. The operator of Heathrow has ruled out moving away from its existing site, as expanding at Heathrow would be much cheaper. A 3rd runway at Heathrow might cost about £13 billion. Heathrow will submit its proposal to the Airports Commission by 19th July. Heathrow's decision on what to submit will be taken by its board, which includes representatives from Ferrovial and Chinese and Qatari sovereign wealth funds. The FT suggests their attitudes could be influenced by the CAA's proposal to reduce the fees Heathrow can charge airlines.
Click here to view full story...
EasyJet signs deal to double its annual number of passengers at Stansted
EasyJet is planning to increase its annual passenger numbers at Stansted from 2.8m now to 6m per year, over the next 5 years. EasyJet has announced a framework agreement with MAG, which now owns Stansted. Stansted wants to be seen as a key part of the current debate on South East's airport capacity and hopes that EasyJet will help with that - and halt its steady decline. EasyJet currently flies 8 planes on up to 27 routes from Stansted. It has around twice as many planes and routes at Luton and about 6 times as many at Gatwick as at Stansted. Stansted had around 18 million passengers in 2012, which is about 26.5% lower than its peak in 2007. It could cater for 35 million per year, on its one runway. EasyJet has also struck similar deals with Edinburgh and Gatwick airports since they were sold off by BAA.
Click here to view full story...
Greg Hands MP: Why do we fly 1,000 planes a day over London?
Greg Hands, MP for Fulham & Hammersmith, asks why Heathrow is one of the very few cities which have so many planes flying over hundreds of thousands of people, on their way to the country's largest airports. There was a recent interview, in the BA in-flight magazine, in which a pilot said: ‘I always enjoy flying over London, because there are so few approaches over cities’. Greg Hands questions not only the noise implications, but also safety - everyone was recently reminded of the problem when the BA jet with one of its engines in flames was routed directly over London - including Chelsea, Fulham and Hammersmith. Greg says: "Thankfully, it made it back to the airport and nobody was hurt, but it again begs the question: why do we fly more than 1,000 planes a day over London?"
Click here to view full story...
Demonstration of the pitfalls of polls: 2 polls. Same place. Same issue. Utterly different results
It is curious that the Hillingdon survey recently sent questionnaires to all 205,634 residents on their electoral role, and got 80,457 responses. Of these responses, 66% said No in reply to the question: "Are you in favour of more flights into and out of Heathrow? Yes/no". Richmond Council recently also sent out 136,880 questionnaires, and 58,953 responses were received, of which 82% replied NO to the same question. Link to Hillingdon and Richmond poll results . However, in the Populus poll for Heathrow, in response to the question: "Taking everything you know into account, do you currently support or oppose expanding Heathrow?" they say that of the 1,000 or so Hillingdon residents questionned, 47% were opposed and of the 1,000 or so residents in Richmond, 51% were opposed. So with a survey size some 80 times larger, the Hillingdon response was substantially more negative (66% cf. 47%) and with a survey size some 60 times larger, the Richmond response was also substantially more negative, (82% cf. 51%).
Click here to view full story...
Open letter to MEPs from civil society groups and NGOs calls for a change in EU biofuels policy
A large number of European environmental organisations have written an open letter to MEPs (Members of the European Parliament) asking them to make crucial changes to the EU biofuels policy. The policy is not only failing in its basic objective of cutting CO2 emissions from Europe's transport, but is also costing governments and taxpayers €10 billion in support every year. The letter says instead EU biofuel policy exacerbates land grabs, deforestation, hunger and poverty. It questions how it can be justified to support this ineffective policy with so much public money. The letter asks MEPs to halt the expansion of land-based biofuels in transport; to fully account for the lifetime carbon emissions of biofuels, including their indirect land use impacts; and to phase out subsidies and public support for environmentally damaging biofuels. Airlines are interested in using more biofuel, though flights so far using oils that have competing human food use have been minimal.
Click here to view full story...
Heathrow Airport to provide funding to set up pro-Heathrow expansion group
Heathrow Airport has announced that it will provide seed funding for a new community campaign "to provide a voice for the thousands of local people who support Heathrow". Plans for the campaign are in their early stages but it said it will seek to establish itself and start identifying and recruiting support before the end of the year. The announcement comes on the back of polling results Heathrow released today which claims almost half the people in the boroughs closest to the airport favour its expansion. The Populus telephone poll took place between 27th February and 4th May, and questionned 6,000 residents in Hounslow, Richmond, Hillingdon, Windsor and Spelthorne. It found that 46% support expanding Heathrow, compared to 43% who oppose expansion. They say 60% of residents feel positive towards Heathrow compared to 6% who feel negatively. In reality, it is well known that the results of a poll depend on the wording of questions, and how they are asked. Previous surveys have shown most residents are opposed to expansion - and many other residents should be questioned in other boroughs to get full data.
Click here to view full story...
Richmond Heathrow Campaign say Heathrow does not need to be expanded to better service more passengers, and to more destinations
The Richmond Heathrow Campaign have made a submission to the Airports Commission on making best short and medium term use of Heathrow. They say Heathrow can be improved, and the amount of aircraft noise caused by Heathrow flights reduced, if there is a (1). More even distribution of aircraft movements across each hour of the day to avoid disruption and delay in peak hours and to end night flights. (2). Increase the seating capacity of the Heathrow air fleet (i.e. more larger aircraft and fewer small aircraft), in order to increase the number of passengers per aircraft movement within the 480,000 movements limit operating in unbroken segregated mode. (3). Reverse the strategy of attracting ever more transfer passengers to Heathrow, in order to free up terminal and aircraft capacity for more terminating passengers within the legal limit of 480,000 movements limit operating in unbroken segregated mode. The Campaign says reducing 20 million transfers a year would free up runway capacity in whole or in part for around 140,000 flights a year from over-subscribed destinations to new destinations. There is a similar improvement as loads are increased from 149 to 187 passengers per flight.
Click here to view full story...
IEA warns 60%+ of existing fossil fuel reserves cannot be burned to avoid a global 2C temperature rise
The International Energy Agency has produced a report, called "Re-drawing the Energy Climate Map" which looks at measures to deal with global carbon emissions. The report only looks at the energy sector, the biggest contributor to global emissions. (It did not look at aviation). The IEA said, as they said last year, that two-thirds of existing fossil fuel reserves cannot be burned if global CO2 emissions are to be held within the projected danger threshold of a 2C rise. They also say climate change could pass a critical level if the world waits until 2020 for the planned comprehensive UN deal to cut emissions. The IEA authors believe governments will find it easier to take smaller focused measures than to shift their entire economies to clean energy systems - and they hope competitive advantage to nations that can save more energy and cut emissions cheaply will be motivation for governments to act. This report comes at the same time as announcements of massive worldwide reserves of shale oil. It will not be possible to burn these, for many decades to come, without catastrophic climate impacts.
Click here to view full story...
Frequent flyers pressure United Airlines to stop opposing climate action, such as the EU ETS
Thousands of United Airline's frequent flyers and tens of thousands of its customers have urged them to stop opposing climate action and work with US and European agencies to reduce the aviation industry's impact. Signatories of an open letter to chief executive Jeff Smisek include more than 500 United Airlines premier status frequent flyers, of which 20 are members of the exclusive invitation-only Global Services programme. They are joined by around 85,000 other passengers, who have signed a petition demanding bolder climate action. This comes 2 days before United's annual shareholder meeting. They want United to stop blocking "common sense, low cost policies that would reduce airplane pollution", such as the EU's ETS. United has consistently spoken out against the EU ETS after it lost a 2011 lawsuit alongside American Airlines that challenged the legality of the ETS. United has also been accused of lobbying against US domestic action to combat airline pollution under the Clean Air Act. The open letter calls on United to work with the EPA to develop regulations that reduce greenhouse gas emissions from flights in and out of the US.
Click here to view full story...
Birmingham Airport unveils vision for growth, up to 70 million passengers per year, new business park etc etc
Birmingham Airport has unveiled long-term growth plans to challenge Heathrow’s supremacy and help to what they say will ‘rebalance the UK economy’. The plan would see Birmingham catering for 70m air passengers a year and 500,000 flights a year - both slightly more than Heathrow now. A business park for the Midland’s manufacturing sector is also proposed alongside the expanded airport site and has the backing of some business leaders and local councils. It, of course, predictably, promises huge numbers of jobs - no less than a quarter of a million. Paul Kehoe, the airport's CEO, expects that in 20 years’ time British air travel will double - though there is no evidence for this, and it is utterly at variance with the advice of the UK's Committee on Climate Change that UK air passengers could perhaps increase by 60% on 2005 levels by 2050. For the whole of the UK. Birmingham airport thinks transport infrastructure acts as an economic enabler, "a pathway to a virtuous cycle of growth", and "each major regional economy cannot succeed without its own meaningful international gateway." They believe "the UK economy is large enough to support at least four major ‘national’ airports – London, Midlands, North West, Scotland".
Click here to view full story...
Airlines selling expensive meal upgrades to economy class passengers, for foie gras, duck confit etc, to boost profits
Airlines are always keen to find new ways to extract money from their customers. Now several airlines have begun selling gourmet food to the passengers in the cheap seats, for a price. In February Air France has started tempting economy-class customers with paid-for meal upgrades featuring foie gras terrine. eg. duck confit with mushrooms and sauteed potatoes, followed by Opera cake for dessert, costing €18. So-called ancillary sales ranging from food to overhead-bin space have jumped more than tenfold to $36 billion since 2007, amounting to 5% of the total $680 billion earned by airlines in 2012. They are expected to rise to $50 billion per year by 2019 or so. “The low-cost carriers have taken ancillary revenue from a normal way of doing business and turned it almost into an art form.” Revenue streams that remain untapped -- in-flight entertainment, wireless access and shopping -- could be worth $5 billion. “When people get on board an aircraft, they’re actually in a great retail mindset. About an hour into the flight, they start to relax and their mind opens.Opening their wallets, too, has become a major ambition of airlines". So much for the fake concern about the odd few $$s or €€s in aviation taxes on their "hard working family" passengers.
Click here to view full story...
Heathrow’s latest plan for southern 3rd runway “R3S” would be death to Stanwell Moor
Plans by Heathrow to build a third runway to the south west of the existing runways have met with dismay by those who would have their homes demolished, and their local area ruined. The new southern runway, already dubbed “R3S”, is regarded as both cheaper and more attractive than the northern option. Simon Calder says it would be used exclusively by smaller jets – the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 series – which are somewhat less noisy than wide-bodied aircraft. Also that the eastern end of the new runway would be located about a mile further west than the existing two runways. Arriving and departing aircraft would therefore be significantly higher when flying over the capital. Heathrow apparently also says there would be no need for a 6th terminal, as the runway could be accessed from Terminal 4 (Skyteam alliance) and Terminal 5 (BA). Much of the land on which the new runway would be built is currently covered by airport-related buildings, including cargo warehouses and car parks. Simon Calder thinks these could be re-located "with little fuss". But the western end would encroach on Stanwell Moor, a post-war development less than a mile from Terminal 5, where residents have not been consulted in any way on the proposals.
Click here to view full story...
Birmingham Airport expected to announce plans for 2nd runway and new terminal to the Airports Commission
Birmingham Airport is expected to announce shortly that it is considering building a 2nd runway, and submit its plan to the Airports Commission. The airport wants to be considered as a major part of Britain's aviation plans for the future, and could be a hub for European airports. Back in 2007 the airport's plans for a second runway, in its Master Plans, were dropped in favour of the runway extension - due to open in 2014. If HS2 is built, Birmingham airport intends to benefit from it. Proposals include another terminal, incorporating HS2, as well as the runway. It is thought that the airport will say, in its submission, that the runway may not be needed for a long time, even decades as it currently caters for some 9 million passengers and could take over 25 million on its one runway. The airport's plans are reported to be supported by the West Midlands Economic Forum which will release a report expected to say that there is plenty more potential growth for Birmingham Airport as the world economy grows. MP Mark Garnier said the airport needed to capitalise on being at the heart of the motorway and potential high-speed rail networks.
Click here to view full story...
CAA produces its consultation on its statutory duty to provide information (including environmental information)
The CAA has launched its consultation on the implementation of its new statutory duty to provide information. The various consultation papers can be found on the CAA’s website. The CAA says that under the Civil Aviation Act 2012, it has "new duties and powers to provide information to users of air transport to assist them in comparing services and facilities, and to the general public about the environmental impact of aviation." However, it seems that the CAA is adopting a minimalist and inadequate approach to the provision of environmental information - which is disappointing. It had been hoped that the CAA might have agreed to take its new duty to provide environmental information more seriously. However, the CAA is asking if it should develop a standardised methodology for calculating CO2 emissions - more accurate than those offered by airlines - and presenting it to consumers so they can assess flight emissions. The consultation closes on 31 August and the CAA will publish its final Statement of Policy in Winter 2013.
Click here to view full story...
Redhill Aerodrome hard runway plans rejected
Councillors have thrown out plans for a hard runway at Redhill Aerodrome because it would "scar" the landscape. The aerodrome currently only has grass runways, so cannot operate in bad weather. But the aerodrome's owners, RAV, say they will appeal to the Planning Inspectorate. Both Tandridge and Reigate & Banstead councils decisively rejected the plans to build a 1,349m-long concrete runway . A planning officer's report had recommended councillors reject the scheme on the grounds of inappropriate development in the green belt. The new runway would have enabled the air field to increase air traffic movements by about 72% by flying in wet weather. The applicant had "dismally failed" to argue a case of special circumstances in order to gain approval to develop green belt. Opponents said 90% of households were against the hard surfaced runway, and a local councillor agreed with many residents in saying that there was "no merit" to the application which would "spoil the rural area" if given approval.
Click here to view full story...
New data shows airlines favour industrial gas projects at lowest cost to offset emissions
Carbon Market Watch reports that recent data by the European Commission reveals for the first time the choice of offsets used by airlines during the first compliance period in the EU ETS. This shows that in 2012 airlines favoured using offset credits from HFC-23 and N2O industrial gas destruction projects, credits meanwhile banned in the EU ETS since May 2013. They are just the cheapest available. Airlines used almost 11 million offsets, 5.6 million and 5.3 million coming from the Clean Development Mechanism and Joint Implementation respectively. The ten largest emitters amongst the aircraft operators in the EU, including Lufthansa, Ryanair and Easyjet, were responsible for almost half of all offsets used. Even though offsets with environmental and social benefits are readily available at cheap prices, the airlines chose the cheapest offsets which lack environmental integrity. NGOs are demanding strict quality restrictions for any future global offsetting mechanism under ICAO. Airlines should be choosing offsets with high environmental and social integrity.
Click here to view full story...
United hopes to buy 5 million gallons of biofuel per year from AltAir Fuels – from “non-edible natural oils and agricultural wastes”?
US United Airlines has announced that it has executed a definitive purchase agreement with USA-based AltAir Fuels to buy allegedly "sustainable"advanced biofuels at commercial scale. In the partnership AltAir Fuels will retrofit part of an existing petroleum refinery near Los Angeles to produce some 30 million gallons per year, partly of jet fuel and partly other diesel fuel. United has agreed to buy 5 million gallons of the jet fuel each year, for 3 years, starting in 2014, with the option to buy more. United has agreed a price for the fuel that is competitive with traditional, petroleum-based jet fuel. United says it will use this biofuel on flights from Los Angeles. The refinery will use the Honeywell Green Jet process. All they say about the feedstock is that it will be using "non-edible natural oils [which is probably camelina] and agricultural wastes" but they claim the fuel will have " at least a 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions on a lifecycle basis" compared to conventional kerosene. Back in 2012 there was no mention of not competing with food crops, and in 2011 there was a flight using Solarzyme fuel of unknown source.
Click here to view full story...
Standard says Heathrow planning new runway to the south-west in Stanwell Moor area
The Standard reports that Heathrow is planning a new runway south-west of the airport, in one of three options that the airport will submit to the Airports Commission. The south-west runway would destroy the village of Staines Moor, and might be just north of the two large reservoirs, the George VI and the Staines reservoir. The Standard believes that Heathrow is no longer seriously considering a northern runway, at Sipson. A south-west runway might mean the demolition of fewer properties unless Stanwell itself was destroyed. Heathrow knows it can only get another runway if it can persuade enough people that the noise burden from extra flights will not be significantly larger. Therefore the airport has been trying to hard to convince those under flight paths that there will be improvements. A new runway to the south-west would increase aircraft noise for Feltham, Twickenham, Ham, Richmond Park and Wimbledon Common - where there would be intense opposition. Daniel Moylan, the Mayor’s chief aviation adviser, said: “Even to discuss this is to add a new blight to the lives of thousands of Londoners. It is further proof Heathrow expansion is environmentally and politically impossible.”
Click here to view full story...
Guardian looks into All-Party Parliamentary Groups, their lobbying, outside support and funding
Recent incidents showing Members of the House of Lords accepting money for lobbying have increased interest in the system of so called "All Party Parliamentary Groups". The Guardian says that corporations and outside interest groups have funnelled more than £2.2m in sponsorship, research support and freebies to MPs and peers through all-party parliamentary groups, a rise of 22% since last year. The Speaker has suspended 80 Commons security passes pending a standards committee inquiry into the all-party parliamentary groups which give these passes to lobbyists, allowing them unsupervised and regular access to much of parliament and its accompanying offices. There is an All Party Parliamentary Group for Aviation, which receives benefits from industry lobbyists. These groups allow those outside parliament to engage in informal discussion with MPs interested in a particular topic. There are concerns that these groups provide a channel for lobbyists to gain influence.
Click here to view full story...
Bigger terminal at revamped Southend Airport – now with increased numbers of Thomson and First Choice flights
Work is progressing on the Southend airport terminal extension, with sections opening in June, October, November and December. In addition to the easyJet flights, to some 12 holiday destinations, there are now also flights by Thomson and First Choice. These are expected to grow rapidly by next year. By summer 2014 Thomson and First Choice will be flying twice a week to Palma, and adding Ibiza to their schedule – tripling their service from Southend Airport in 12 months. The airport is selling its services on its fast processing of passengers, and it wants to attract many from the local catchment area, on grounds of convenience. The travel companies PR talks of ...enhancing "the holiday experience for our customers.” Stage 1 of the Southend Airport terminal became operational a year ago and is some 100 metres from the new railway station. The airport hopes passenger numbers will grow to 2 million/ year by 2020. There is the usual hype about some 300 jobs being created. The unfortunate reality is that by encouraging more Brits to holiday abroad, and spend their holiday money abroad, the net effect is that jobs are lost from the local economy, and the UK economy.
Click here to view full story...
Over 1,000 claims for compensation from Southend Airport due to loss in value of homes, because of aircraft noise
Southend Airport - which has had a huge and very rapid rise in the number of aircraft using the airport over the past year - has received more than 1,000 claims for compensation over aircraft noise. Homeowners nearby are concerned that the airport is reducing the value of their properties, due to the noise. The airport has said it will honour residents' compensation claims if it is proven their homes have lost value because of its activities. Jon Fuller, of local group SAEN (Stop Airport Expansion and Noise) said that estate agents are giving strong indications local residents must expect many thousands of pounds less than they expect when they sell their homes. Though house prices in the area are generally fairly buoyant, if houses are close to the airport or on the flight path prices are suppressed. The airport's CEO, Alistair Welch said people can make a compensation claim up to a year after the new terminal is finished. Surveyors, Michael Marriott, who are helping people submit claims say they can only claim for nuisances arising from the use of the runway extension. Nuisances arising from the use of the airport which do not depend upon the extension will be disregarded.
Click here to view full story...
Airlines’ call for global emissions deal not convincing – too slow and relying on out-of-sector offsets
IATA, the trade body comprising 240 airlines worldwide, has finally acknowledged the need for a global market–based measure (MBM) to reduce aviation's contribution to climate change. IATA called on their airline members to encourage their governments to agree at this year’s ICAO Assembly on a global carbon offsetting measure to take effect in 2020. However, IATA only endorses such a global scheme ‘as opposed to a patchwork of unilateral national and/or regional policy measures’. Environmental groups working on aviation emissions said though the IATA statement is welcome, rather than their usual position that better air traffic control, better planes and biofuels alone can solve the problem. However, it kicks the ball in the long grass, until after 2020, and sets out a string of unworkable conditions. It rules out the EU ETS as a stepping stone, as well as the raising of revenues, and impacts on traffic volume, which are inherent to any market-based measure. It also relies solely on out-of-sector offsets rather than real emissions reductions within the aviation sector itself. It merely compensates these emissions through investment in reduction projects in other sectors.
Click here to view full story...
Spanish group Aena to take over control of Luton airport from Spanish group Abertis
The Sunday Times reports that Luton airport operating concession, which is controlled by the Spanish infrastructure company, Abertis, is to be sold. The buyer is another Spanish company, Aena which owns other airports across the world. The airport is owned by Luton Borough Council. The airport's operating company is London Luton Airport Operations Ltd, which is in turn a wholly-owned subsidiary of an alliance between two Spanish-based companies: Abertis, being the majority shareholder, and AENA (Spain's equivalent of NATS) the minority. Aena has now exercised its right - as it has first refusal - to become the new owner of Luton under an agreement with Abertis. By passenger numbers, Luton is the UK's 5th largest airport, with some 9.6 million passengers in 2012 (around 9.5 million in 2011) and around 72,000 air transport movements, by low cost airlines. Abertis owned Cardiff and still owns Belfast International airport. This explains why there has been no news on the airport's planning application for some time.
Click here to view full story...