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Latest news stories:
Questions asked by London Assembly about the BA plane with a burning engine flying over millions of Londoners
Richard Tracey, London Assembly Member for Merton and Wandsworth, has written to Heathrow authorities to ask why the BA aircraft with its engine ablaze was routed to fly back into Heathrow last week rather than being diverted elsewhere. Richard's questions followed worried enquiries from Wandsworth councillors Rosemary Torrington and James Maddan who represent the riverside Thamesfield ward on the flightpath. He received a prompt response Heathrow's Government Relations Manager: "The normal procedure in these circumstances if for the Captain to decide what is the safest course of action, and this is what happened in this case. This is an approved procedure." Richard Tracey commented that the damaged aircraft flew over Slough, Watford, parts of Essex, Battersea, Putney, Chelsea, Fulham, Hammersmith and Hounslow. "This is complete madness. Three or four million people on the ground were put at risk and thousands of travellers from Heathrow had their flights cancelled. Incoming flights were diverted to Stansted, Luton, Cardiff, even Manston". "We are now seriously considering taking this further , including talks with Heathrow and British Airways."
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Heathrow emergency landing of BA plane with engine on fire: Engine cowls had been left unlatched
Air accident investigators say the doors on both engines of the BA flight that made an emergency landing at Heathrow last week had been left unlatched. This was due to human error. Air accident experts said the coverings - the fan cowl doors - broke off and punctured the right engine's fuel pipe, damaging the aircraft's systems. The engine was extensively damaged. The jet flew back to Heathrow, on one engine, with smoke trailing from the other, right across heavily populated London. It landed safely. The findings were made in an interim report by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), which is examining the cause of the emergency It will make its final report in a couple of months. The fan cowl doors on both engines were left unlatched during maintenance and this was not identified prior to aircraft departure. BA confirmed that 2 different engineers would normally check whether a plane's engine covers had been shut before take-off. David Learmount, former pilot: "This is a bit of an accident waiting to happen because it is so difficult to see". Airbus said there had, in the past, been 32 reported incidents of fan cowl doors not being shut.
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Illustrative flight path maps of a 2nd Gatwick runway cause consternation – and show impact on AONBs
The maps showing the probable new flight paths if there were to be a new runway at Gatwick have caused widespread consternation. These were produced by GACC (the Gatwick Area Conservation Campaign) in mid May. GACC has received many enquiries from councillors surprised that their areas are likely to be affected. These include anxious queries from people who live in the Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) which surround Gatwick on three sides. GACC has now also published new maps showing the impact of the probable new flight paths on the AONBs. ‘These areas are recognised nationally as places of beauty and peace,’ said Brendon Sewill, GACC chairman. ‘They are visited by over a million people each year in search of quiet relaxation. All the AONBs are on high ground and therefore the impact of aircraft noise is greater.’ When Gatwick Airport claim that ‘only’ 29,000 people would be affected by noise from a new runway, and that this is fewer than at Heathrow, they ignore the impact on the million or so people who enjoy the peace of the AONBs.
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HACAN Blog: Heathrow’s noise proposals are welcome, but beware a 3rd runway……
Writing in a blog for HACAN, John Stewart welcomes the proposals by Heathrow Airport to reduce noise - through respite periods, steeper approaches, improved sound insulation and n fines for the noisier aircraft. Of course Heathrow understands that, unless it is shown to be dealing with noise, there is no possibility it will get approval for a new runway. HACAN has worked with Heathrow on a number of its proposals and it is in the interests of HACAN's members get improvements to the current noise situation. However, any improvements in the amount of aircraft noise are unlikely to survive the building of a third runway. The sheer number of planes would wipe out virtually all the benefits. With a third runway, the number of planes which could use Heathrow would rise from 480,000 to over 700,000. A fourth runway airport, such as the Policy Exchange is promoting (but which Heathrow believes is not necessary), would allow 960,000 aircraft to use the airport. History suggests that it is the increase in flight numbers which causes the real noise problems for residents.
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Balfour Beatty may sell Exeter airport due to financial problems
Exeter airport was sold by DevonCounty Council to the airports group of British infrastructure company, Balfour Beatty, in early 2007. Now Balfour Beatty has started looking for buyers for its 60% stake, according to Sky news. The price is not known. Balfour Beatty has not been doing well in recent years, and they issued their second profits warning in six months, blaming “extremely tough” market conditions etc. The airport has not been doing well. The number of travellers using Exeter Airport topped one million in 2007 but has been falling since then, though the rate of decline has slowed since 2009. In 2012 passenger numbers were down to 697,074, following a drop of nearly 4% in 2011. About 250 people are directly employed by the airport, with a further 50 working at car parks, catering and retail concessions on the site. The remaining shareholding in Exeter airport is owned by Galaxy, a specialist fund which is backed by French and Italian investors and the European Commission.
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Heathrow publishes commitments on noise reduction measures, such as ranking airlines on noise
Heathrow Airport has put forward proposals that aim at "reducing aircraft noise while safeguarding the UK’s connectivity". These come in a report entitled "A quieter Heathrow" with the aim of defusing opposition to another runway (or two) by attempting to make Heathrow, as it is, a little less noisy for those who are now overflown. Heathrow's efforts to cut noise come under the headings of quieter planes, quieter operating procedures, noise mitigation and land-use planning, operating restrictions and working with local communities. Heathrow says it will rank airlines according to how noisy their aircraft are; it will increase fines for airlines that break noise limits; it will try new plane departure routes and steeper approaches. Plans also include establishing a new noise insulation scheme for homes and offices around Heathrow. In reality, though new planes produced today are slightly quieter than older ones, the difference are not large. What those overflown notice is the sheer number of noise events. HACAN welcomed the programme of noise reductions but - the huge increase in flight numbers from a new runway "would almost certainly outweigh the benefits these measures will bring."
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Think tank, Independent Transport Commission, recommends one hub airport, at Heathrow, Stansted or Thames Estuary
A charity land use and transport think tank, the Independent Transport Commission (ITC), have produced a report - to be submitted to the Airports Commission, on airport capacity. The ITC report says one major hub airport is needed, in order to compete with European rival airports. Heathrow cannot be left as it is. They say using two London airports to share the load will not do. They also say that if that hub is not Heathrow, then Heathrow would need to close, in order to give investors confidence that airlines would move their business. Closing Heathrow would have immense implications, with 114,000 people directly and indirectly employed by the airport. Its closure would have impacts on their families and the communities in which they live - but release a huge area of land (some 1,200 acres for profitable re-development..... though a town the size of Peterborough would be needed for the new hub airport. Their report follows a call for evidence last summer. The ITC's key worry seems to be that "...we are losing that capacity to Charles de Gaulle, Frankfurt [and] Schiphol and the airlines will want to use those airports."
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Our love affair with consumerism and consumption is damaging the planet at an increasing rate …
Our love affair with cars, consumerism and consumption is damaging the planet at an increasing rate. The last time atmospheric concentrations of CO2 were as high as they are now, around 3 - 5 million years ago, humans had not even evolved. The level reached 400ppm this year, for the first time, and the rate of increase in emissions is accelerating. Little has been done to reduce pollution from agriculture or road transport, or aviation. Much of the CO2 is emitted by factories producing goods for customers in the UK. Phasing out oil and gas and investing in green technology could provide a huge boost to the economy, while numerous studies have shown that living simpler, less materialistic lives make us happier. But society's focus is increasingly on material consumption. Consumerism is not only the buying of physical objects: it extends to the buying of experiences. Consumer activities include things like eating at a restaurant, buying local handicrafts, buying 'tourist' experiences such as a camel ride or a picture with a tango dancer, and clocking up travel destinations as form of one-upmanship.
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Lydd airport expansion decision to be challenged at the High Court by RSPB and LAAG
Plans for expansion at Lydd airport were initially proposed in 2010, and were given the go-ahead by the government in April after a public inquiry. Now campaigners opposed to development at Lydd have lodged an appeal against the government decision. The airport wants a runway extension of almost 300m and a new terminal, and development to allow up to 500,000 passengers per year, up from hardly any now. The RSPB and Lydd Airport Action Group (LAAG) have lodged separate appeals. The RSPB says that the area where the airport is situated, Dungeness, is one of the most important wildlife sites in the world - it is protected at global, European and UK levels. "The stakes are too high to risk the future of one of our best and most important places for nature without testing the basis for this decision which we consider to be flawed." The airport would damage the wildlife and landscape. LAAG argues the expansion plan is unsafe due to the airport being in such close proximity to Dungeness nuclear power station.
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Scots want APD devolved to Scotland before 2014 Games and London flight guarantees
In 2014 the 2014 the Commonwealth Games and the Ryder Cup will be held in Scotland. This, together with the recent decision by Flybe to sell all their landing slots at Gatwick, has prompted more calls to the Treasury,by the Scottish government to, get devolution of APD (Air Passenger Duty). Scotland wants to both deal with their own air travel tax, and also get guarantees of London airport slots for Scottish flights. Heathrow and Gatwick prefer larger planes to more profitable long haul destinations, and smaller planes from domestic airports are less lucrative for them. The Scottish government are claiming that the extra cost of £13 per flight within the UK (£26 for a return flight) is deterring tourists coming from London. As air travel pays no fuel duty and no VAT, removing or reducing APD would make the sector even more under-taxed than it is at present. The Flybe Gatwick slots will be taken over by EasyJet, which is likely to use them for more profitable destinations abroad, as that would make more money for shareholders than UK flights.
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Possibility of a rise in US tax on air tickets to pay for air traffic control, security, customs etc
In the USA, the Obama administration has proposed raising the taxes on air travel by about $14 per flight. This, predictably, is being opposed by airlines. In the USA air passengers pay various taxes, much of which goes to fund security, customs, immigration services, air traffic control and airport improvements. There is also some need to help fund the country's economic deficit. At present, the taxpayer pays for some of these things, with the full costs not being born by air travellers. Questions are being asked about whether tax increases be avoided if the money collected were spent more efficiently. A $300 domestic airline ticket now includes about $60 in taxes — or 20% of the total fare. If the rise took place, this would rise from$60 to about $74 per ticket. Airlines, of course, say their passengers are already overtaxed - and rises would hurt the economy. Just like in the UK. In reality, the fees have not increased in years, contributing to outdated systems, flight delays and long lines. And US airlines pay a very reduced level of duty on jet fuel - about 5 cents per gallon.
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Remarkable absence of concern about safety of Londoners in media reports of BA plane engine fire
While a BA plane limped back right across London, flying over miles of the city and thousands or hundreds of thousands of Londoners, with one burning engine and the outside of the other damaged - the media seem not even to consider the safety aspects of the story. It seems the cause of the problem could be a technical fault with the plane, rather than a bird strike. The Telegraph writes about the large number of passengers getting away for the bank holiday weekend, and how their flights are delayed. Simon Calder writing in the Independent takes the opportunity of heading his article "Emergency landing at Heathrow sparks further controversy over London airport capacity" though he does have the decency to add one comment from a member of the public in his piece to say that “London is one of the very few cities in the world that has its main flight paths over the city. A very serious accident is not a question of if, but when.”
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Divergent views among ICAO member states leaves substantive MBM agreement by 2013 hanging in the balance
Officials from 17 countries are working with ICAO to shape an agreement acceptable to its 191 member countries to reduce aviation's carbon footprint through market measures. ICAO needs to agree on progress by its September Assembly meeting. Progress has been glacially slow over the past decade, and there appears to be no real progress now. A high-level group (HGCC) of senior officials and negotiators was set up last November to accelerate discussions and find compromises between states on MBMs, but its process has now ended. It appears that very little progress had been made and there were significant diverging views. GreenAir reports that Russia’s representative firmly rejected MBMs and even called for a reassessment of ICAO’s 2% annual fuel efficiency goal. Some ICAO representatives remained mildly optimistic that some form of an agreement could be reached by ICAO Assembly by September, with further progress towards a global scheme being achieved by 2016. It appears a number of differences between ICAO member states in key areas have not been resolved by the HGCC and time is running out for full consensus by the September Assembly - realistically it seems unlikely.
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Damaged BA plane on one engine and trailing smoke from the other, flies right across London for emergency landing at Heathrow
A British Airways flight (BA 762) from Heathrow to Oslo was forced to turn back immediately after take off, due to what is likely to have been bird strike. The Airbus A319 was powered by two IAE V2500 engines. The left engine appears to have hit an object at take-off, which stripped off the engine cowling. The right engine then may have hit something, and there are observer accounts of a bang. The plane did a large loop around London, in order to land again, using only the left engine. Many observers saw, and recorded, the plane - trailing smoke from the right engine, as it flew right across London. The plane made a safe landing, though passengers were evacuated down emergency chutes, and there were only 3 minor injuries. Heathrow airport was disrupted for hours due to the emergency landing. While those in favour of expanding the airport are likely to use this dangerous incident to call for more airport capacity (so Heathrow can cope with incidents without delays) it would be more relevant and more responsible to question how safe it is to have disabled planes flying miles over densely populated London. Luckily this time, there was no crash. With Heathrow airport hoping to get another runway (or two) the safety issue of flying more and more planes over hundreds of thousands of people has to be confronted.
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China Eastern Airlines carries out test flight using palm oil – and is considering more
China Eastern Airlines has conducted a first test flight of a biofuel blend sourced and produced in China. The fuel was produced from used cooking oil and palm oil though one source says the fuel for this flight was just palm oil, as its processing is cheaper than processing used cooking oil. The use of palm oil as jet fuel has serious environmental problems, due to the loss of tropical rainforest to produce palm oil plantations, which leads to high carbon emissions. The destruction of rainforest causes substantial biodiversity loss. The use of palm oil for jet fuel also conflicts with food use of palm oil. Palm oil is an inappropriate fuel for aviation, and more responsible airlines have not used it. For any biofuel to be environmentally sustainable they would need to be produced from feedstocks that have no impact on biodiversity, land and water use - as well as having lower lifetime carbon emissions. The airline says, in one report, that it will begin to fly commercial services on 100% biofuels. Until now biofuels have been used in combination with traditional jet fuel from fossil sources. China Eastern has not yet released a timetable of when the commercial services will begin.
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Job losses caused to Essex / London economy by expanded operations at Southend airport
With the arrival of easyJet flights using Southend airport over the past year, its number of passengers rose from a tiny number to around 720,000 in the year up to the end of February. The airport and the local authorities were bullish about the number of jobs that would be created and the boost to the local economy. However, in reality it has turned out that almost all those using the easyJet holiday flights are Brits going abroad, with very few coming in the other direction. On estimates (by government) of the cost of providing one job, the amount of jobs lost by the UK economy due to the exodus of British residents abroad can be calculated. It costs around £24,000 to £28,000 to create a job. ONS data for 2011 shows the average Briton spent £557 per foreign trip. With 325,000 Brits flying out of Southend, it can be calculated that the amount of money being sucked out of the UK economy would potentially support many thousand jobs (5,000 or 6,000 jobs or more) here, if that money was spent in the local economy instead. The airport employs about 500 people and claims more work around the airport, but in reality many of those are just jobs that have moved from elsewhere. Not many new jobs.
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Standard speculates whether Labour cabinet tend towards backing Gatwick runway
The Standard says Labour was moving towards backing a 2nd runway at Gatwick before the Airports Commission was set up. Shadow transport secretary Maria Eagle has already publicly ruled out a 3rd runway at Heathrow, and Ed Miliband is"sceptical" about it. Maria Eagle has also rejected Boris’s idea of an airport in the Thames Estuary, largely on cost grounds, branding it an “unworkable fantasy”. A 2nd runway at Gatwick cannot be built before 2019 under a legal agreement, but the Standard says Ms Eagle is understood to have seen a Gatwick runway as a stronger contender than expanding Stansted, if the South-East needed extra aviation capacity. Gatwick is opening new routes, including to the Far East, as it seeks to become a rival to Heathrow while Stansted still has spare capacity. Labour says it will await the Commission's conclusions before drawing up its new policy. Supporting expansion at Gatwick, or Stansted, had also not been agreed by the shadow cabinet.
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Flybe to end all domestic flights from Gatwick by March 2014 after selling its 25 slot pairs to easyJet
Flybe is to stop all of its Gatwick flights after agreeing to sell all its 25 pairs of slots to EasyJet for £20 million, as it needs the money. That only leaves Flybe with a few London slots, at Luton. Flybe will leave Gatwick the end of March 2014. That means the end of its flights from Gatwick to Belfast City, Guernsey, Inverness, the Isle of Man, Jersey, Newcastle and Newquay. EasyJet is under no obligation to replace domestic flights, and will just use the slots for the most profitable holiday routes. There are concerns in Inverness about losing their Gatwick link. Flybe launched an expensive complaint to the CAA in 2010, complaining about the level of its charges. However the CAA ruled in September that Gatwick was within its rights to raise its landing fees for smaller aircraft, as it prefers to use slots for larger planes carrying more passengers. Flybe has been hit because on domestic flights, APD of £13 is charged on both legs of a journey. Flybe's Chairman, Jim French said that even if Gatwick did not want its passengers, other airports would, and Flybe would work to ensure that the "UK's regional passengers don't get left in the cold."
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“Make” try to sell their £23bn plan for Stansted 4-runway airport by saying it would cut flights over London
In October 2012 "Make" architects put forward outline proposals for a 4 runway Stansted. Now Stuart Blower from "Make" says: “One of the great advantages of our Stansted proposal is no aircraft need to fly over London” so reducing the aircraft noise, over London. "Make" are also saying that there is a low population density around Stansted, compared to that around Heathrow, so far fewer people would be affected. They do at least condescend to acknowledge that a huge Stansted would create more noise for residents living near the airport. At present the average journey time by rail beween Stansted and Liverpool Street is about 47 minutes, and the airport is lobbying to get this journey time cut. "Make" is proposing that the new Crossrail line should be extended to Stansted, so it would only take 25 minutes from Canary Wharf to Stansted. However, the extra cost of this Crossrail link would be some £5 billion. The anticipated cost of the "Make" airport scheme would be £18 billion, so the total would be £23 billion. Along with all the other airport and runway proposals, this scheme will be submitted by "Make" to the Airports Commission by the mid July deadline. Any plans to expand Stansted, let alone to become a monster mega-airport, will be strenuously opposed locally.
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Balaced approach needed on Stansted rail services – not a non-stop line excluding local commuter use
Stansted Airport, now owned by MAG, has been lobbying for better rail links from London. It has said this in its submission to the Airports Commission on making better use of airport capacity in the south east. The airport wants faster rail journeys to the airport (30 minutes down from current 47 minutes), and needs to able to show that a high proportion (40% in its interim master plan) arrive by public transport. It wants these better rail links to be paid for by the public purse. Stop Stansted Expansion say that the faster rail journeys between London and Stansted would be achieved by non-stop trains leaving out intermediate stops (Bishop's Stortford or Harlow Town). This current stopping trains provides a vitally important service for local commuters. SSE has written to the Secretary of State for Transport saying unless Stansted Airport wants to build a dedicated rail line to serve the airport then all well and good but, if it wants to continue sharing the West Anglia Main Line with local users, there needs to be a balanced approach. In reality the number of passengers travelling by train to/from Stansted Airport has fallen by a third in recent years, from 5.5 million 2007/08 to 3.7 million in 2011/12, despite the introduction of a brand new fleet of trains in 2011.
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China considers imposing carbon cap on country’s emissions – improving chance of a global deal?
China is the world's largest emitter of CO2 (about 25%) and the US (about 17%) is the second largest. Until now neither China nor the US has made any commitment to a cut of their absolute CO2 emissions. However, now China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the agency responsible for planning the country's social and economic development, has proposed a putting a ceiling on CO2 emissions by 2016. Lord Stern considered this as very exciting news, which "should encourage all countries, and particularly the other large emitters such as the United States, to take stronger action on climate change. And it improves the prospects for a strong international treaty being agreed at the United Nations climate change summit in 2015.” Also Ed Davey believes that China's changing attitude improves prospects for a global deal in 2015. The US has still not agreed any comparable cap. China has agreed to cut its carbon intensity - the amount of CO2 produced per dollar of economic output - by about 40% by 2020, compared to 2005 levels - but that still means a large rise in their emissions.
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Over 100,000 residents of Hounslow, Hillingdon and Richmond vote in local polls against a 3rd Heathrow runway or more flights
Three of the local council areas most affected by Heathrow aircraft noise - Richmond, Hillingdon and Hounslow - recently carried out referendums of their residents on the subject of Heathrow growth. All three ended on 16th May. In total, well over 140,000 people responded to the polls. They voted overwhelmingly against expansion of the airport, against a new runway, and against more flights over Londoners. In the Hounslow poll, 72% of residents said they are against expansion, but 64% said they did not want to see a new hub airport built if it meant losing Heathrow. 83% of Hounslow residents were in favour of a night flight ban (11pm to 7pm) and 94% wanted better noise insulation for schools and residents living under the flight path. In the Richmond and the Hillingdon polls combined, 72% were against a 3rd runway, and 73% were against increasing the number of flights. The Standard says the findings of the poll are bound to be exploited by councillors as they go to the voters in next spring’s local elections. Heathrow sought vainly to rubbish the polls by saying they were voting on an outdated 3rd runway proposal.
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Travelodge says rising number of UK “Staycations” will boost economy by £12 billion this year
A recent survey by Travelodge (of 3000 people) shows that some 65% of Britons will take a summer holiday in the UK this year – up from 41% in 2012 and 35% in 2011. The UK city break takes top position from a traditional seaside holiday as the nation’s favourite type of Staycation. London steals the top Staycation destination position from Cornwall for the first time in 5 years. The average trip costs Brits about £400 this year, (about £34.19 less than last year) and so this will boost the UK tourism industry by £12 billion (up £3.3bn from last year). Of the Brits planning a UK staycation, about 15% will have 2 weeks; about 42% one week; and about 33% will have 3 short domestic breaks to visit more locations. Some 33% said it is cheaper to holiday in the UK than abroad and better value for money. The average foreign holiday cost quoted in the report was £1,010. About 35% said it is important to holiday in the UK in order to preserve our heritage and support British tourism. 32% of respondents will use their Staycation break to bring together more than one generation of their family. For 27% a holiday is something they refuse to cut back on.
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Heathrow confirms it is not seriously considering new 4 runway airport at Haddenham (or White Waltham)
In early May there was speculation that Heathrow was considering various options for its submission to the Airports Commission. One of these - that had been seen as outline proposals by Aviation Week - was for a 4 runway airport at Haddenham (which is east of Oxford). Heathrow Airport Holdings Ltd has now confirmed that this option is no longer being considered. Local MPs and residents had been furious to learn of the plans. Colin Matthews, CEO of Heathrow, wrote to local MP John Howell and said "I can confirm that we will not be proposing plans for a new airport as part of our submission". The MP said "this should come as welcome relief to Thame and to the surrounding villages as far south as Henley who would be affected by noise from take-offs and landings.”
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Cambridge Airport unveils 50 new flights a week to Amsterdam, Paris, Milan and Geneva
Swiss-based Darwin Airline is to launch scheduled flights from Cambridge to Amsterdam, Paris, Milan and Geneva. Fifty flights will take to the air every week - 24 to and from Amsterdam, 12 to and from Paris, eight to and from Milan, and six to and from Geneva, where Darwin is based. The airport's chief commercial officer said “We expect to carry 80,000 people a year from Cambridge to these major European cities, both for pleasure and business. But Cllr Jean Swanson, the city council’s executive councillor for environmental and waste services said that while she welcome initiatives that support the Cambridge economy, she was “concerned” there had ben no detailed talks about the flights between the airport and the council. Marshall’s say all the new flights will take place during the day and no night flying is planned. Flights are due to begin in September, and follow news that recently introduced summer services to Jersey have done well.
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German research finds fine particle air pollution and noise pollution both increase cardiovascular risk
Both fine-particle air pollution and noise pollution may increase a person's risk of developing cardiovascular disease, according to German researchers who have conducted a large population study, in which both factors were considered simultaneously. Other studies have looked at fine particle air pollution, while others have looked at noise pollution but this one looked at both at the same time. It found each form of pollution was independently associated with subclinical atherosclerosis. In the past some air pollution studies have been dismissed because critics said it was probably the noise pollution that caused the harm, and vice versa. The German study looked at 4,238 study participants (mean age 60 years). To determine the association of the two variables with cardiovascular risk, the researchers looked at thoracic aortic calcification (TAC), a measure of subclinical atherosclerosis. The researchers also found that nighttime traffic noise pollution increased subclinical atherosclerosis burden slightly
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Board of Airline Representatives urges action to increase Heathrow capacity
In its submission to the Airports Commission on making the best use of UK airport capacity in the short-to-medium term, the Board of Airline Representatives have pointed out that airlines are only experiencing capacity problems at Heathrow. Not at other airports. A survey completed by 51 of its members found 74.5% (38 airlines) had not experienced capacity problems at any UK airport other than Heathrow, while 23.5% (12 airlines) had not sought capacity at other airports. The BAR said 51% of respondents (25 airlines) said that in the past 2 years they had certainly or probably diverted flights or capacity to other countries or destinations, rather than to other UK airports, because of Heathrow’s slot constraints. Also 47.8% (22 airlines) said they were most likely to operate additional flights to another international hub or destination, rather than to another UK airport, while Heathrow remained full. The BAR says: ‘Airlines are choosing to fly to hub airports and that is where the UK must take action for the sake of the entire UK economy.’ .
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Plans for a 3rd runway at Melbourne Airport, which would mean noise for suburbs, opposed by residents
A 3rd runway planned for Melbourne Airport, parallel to its east-west runway but some 2km to the south. This will give Melbourne Airport the highest capacity in Australia - but put more homes under the flight path and affect more people with noise. Its flight paths will affect three suburbs that are currently little affected. There are the usual claims about employment, driving the economy and getting in more tourists etc. There is local opposition from residents already affected by noise and other airport impacts; they do not want a new runway and have a petition against it, and against night flights. However, the opponents are less bothered about the flights going to other airports in the area. There is also a bitter local battle over a 2nd Sydney Airport and Sydney and Melbourne compete. Passenger movements at Sydney are predicted to grow 3.6% per year for the next 20 years on average, below the recent growth rate. Melbourne Airport is expected to grow slightly faster at 3.9% per year. Melbourne Airport hopes to have 64 million people flying in and out by 2033, more than double the current figure.
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High Speed Rail 2 business case ridiculed by National Audit Office
The National Audit Office, which monitors Government spending on behalf of MPs, has raised doubts over the viability of High Speed 2. This comes within months of the High Court ordering the DfT to re-run its consultation over its compensation arrangements for up to 300,000 households which have been blighted by the plans. The report ridicules many of the key economic arguments put forward by supporters of the scheme. Margaret Hodge said: "The Department has produced a business case that is clearly not up to scratch. Some of their assumptions are just ludicrous.” The NAO says the HS2 analysis does not estimate how many jobs are additional and how many would have been created without HS2 - and it does not provide good supporting evidence that HS2 would rebalance the economy by supporting regional growth. Another failing is in simplistic assumptions that time spent travelling by train is unproductive. “Research commissioned by the department suggests that business travellers do work on trains for at least part of their journeys, and a proportion of the time saved from faster journeys may be used for leisure purposes.”
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Heathrow and Gatwick submit their responses on Aviation & Climate Change to Airports Commission
Both Heathrow and Gatwick airports have submitted their responses to the Aviation Commission's discussion paper on Aviation and Climate Change. Both base their aspirations of high growth rates over coming decades on evidence from the industry body "Sustainable Aviation". Not surprisingly, both airports' submissions are attempts to justify the unjustifiable: to claim that emitting huge amounts more carbon dioxide can be achieved with no net emissions, by various probable and improbable means. They hope improvements in efficiency by airlines and air traffic control, as well as improved aircraft design, will cut their emissions. They place unrealistic hopes in "sustainable" biofuels, with Gatwick's submission saying "...by 2050, sustainable fuels could offer between 15 and 24% reduction in CO2 emissions attributable to UK aviation." Gatwick also wants considerable Government support (ie public expense) to develop biofuels for the industry. And both depend to an enormous extent on international agreements through ICAO, and systems for carbon trading that do not currently exist.
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Heathrow submits its short term capacity fix ideas to Airports Commission – not much mixed mode, but adamant about 3rd runway a.s.a.p.
Heathrow has now made its submission to the Airports Commission, on how to improve airport capacity in the short and medium term. That consultation closes today (17th May). As reported earlier by the FT, Heathrow says it will not be pushing for mixed mode. However, it is keen to introduce the measures used in the recent Operational Freedoms trial " tactically using both runways for arrivals when there are delays; using the southern runway for Terminal 4 arrivals and the departures runway for A380 arrivals" - which in reality means using mixed mode for quite a bit of the time, but calling it Operational Freedoms. The aim would be not to increase flight numbers, but to improve resilience in the event of difficulties. It also wants an end to the Cranford agreement on take offs towards the east. The Heathrow submission also wants to change night flights around, to have more arrivals between 5 - 6am and fewer arriving on both runways between 6 -7am. It wants more areas given respite periods from noise. All this in order to soften up the public so that a third runway can be built, which Heathrow sees - in its own self interest - "is ultimately required to deliver long-haul connectivity for the UK."
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GACC reveals indicative flight paths for a 2nd Gatwick runway, showing new areas overflown
Maps illustrating probable flight paths from a new Gatwick runway have been produced by the local community group, GACC (the Gatwick Area Conservation Campaign). The maps have been designed with a knowledge of the principles of air space design and aeronautical principles, and have been checked out with an air traffic control expert. The maps show the new departure routes as likely to cause disturbance in Horsham, East Grinstead, Dorking, Reigate and many villages which are at present not overflown. The arrival routes are shown as covering most of Sussex. Brendon Sewill, Chairman of GACC said of the new maps that "If Gatwick Airport Ltd don’t like them it is up to them to produce their own maps." The problem with a 2nd runway and hence huge increase in the number of flights, is that If flight paths are to be designed to minimise the risk of accidents flight paths will need to go over areas at present peaceful. The maps are based on a so-called ‘wide-spaced’ runway 1,035 m to the south of the existing one. With planes landing and taking off on each runway, there need to be 2 parallel tracks some 1,035 m apart and flight paths would need to be designed to avoid mid-air collisions.
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Airports Commission: all expansion models on the table but suggests 2 hubs, not only Heathrow, for London
The Airports Commission has produced its discussion paper on "Airport Operational Models." It looks at all options, including developing a single, massive hub airport and building new runways near London to produce two hubs. The paper accepts that Heathrow cannot be expanded in the short term and that politicians must consider the UK regions when they decide which airports to develop. It also indicates the uncertainty that Heathrow would ever get permission to build another runway. The paper puts the option of a complete airline alliance (Star Alliance or SkyTeam) moving in its entirety from Heathrow to another airport (Gatwick or Stansted) to take pressure off Heathrow. ie. building another runway there.The FT thinks the Oneworld alliance, in which BA is key, would want to stay at Heathrow. The Airports Commission paper considers having several airports competing with each other, rather than one key UK hub, would make it easier for new airlines to enter the market. It appreciates that in future, with more use of long distance planes, Britain could be relatively excluded from being a global hub because hub airports in the Gulf area would benefit.
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Airports Commission publishes its 4th discussion paper – “Airport Operational Models”
The Airports Commission has today published the 4th of its discussion papers. This on is "Airport Operational Models" which looks at what are the distinguishing features of a hub or ‘focal’ airport. The paper is looking for information on what enables an airport to assume the role of a hub airport, alongside other possible models for structuring airport capacity. It discusses current trends in the global aviation sector, how they might develop in the future. Sir Howard Davies, Chair of the Commission, said that the way the aviation industry will change in the coming decades is important, but uncertain. The paper explores some of the possible future scenarios, which carry different implications for airport shape and capacity and considers the potential implications for aviation capacity and connectivity in the UK. It looks at whether the UK needs one huge hub or if a more dispersed system of airports competing with each other potentially offers the best deal to passengers. The deadline for comments is 11 July 2013.
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ONS data shows about 12.3% of trips abroad by Brits in 2012 were on business + about 18% of worldwide visitors to the UK were on business
The ONS data from the Office for National Statistics, released on 19th April, shows that there were some 56 million visits by UK residents abroad during the year. There were some 31 million visits by overseas residents to the UK. Some 44 million Brits went to Europe during 2012, and those European visits made up about 78% of the visits by UK residents. Around 22.8 million Europeans visited the UK during 2012 and Europeans make up about 74% of visitors to the UK. Around 12.2% of all UK residents travelling to Europe were on business (and about 26% of Europeans visiting the UK were on business). Of total visits abroad worldwide made by UK residents, about 12.3% were on business, (and about 18% of worldwide visitors to the UK were on business). As well as the 12.2% of Brits on business worldwide in 2012, 21% were visiting friends and family, and 64% were on holidays. About 74% UK of business trips to Europe were by plane, and about 69% of European business trip to the UK were by plane. The rest were by sea or Channel Tunnel. 76% of holiday trips to Europe were by plane and about 10.5% were by the Channel Tunnel.
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Build the 3rd runway at Heathrow now, says Alistair Darling – but it’s not Labour policy
Alistair Darling, who was Labour Chancellor under Gordon Brown between 2007 and 2010, is apparently keen to do that job again, if the opportunity presents itself. He has told the press that he wants this government to get on with building a third runway at Heathrow immediately, rather than wait for the Airports Commission to report in summer 2015. He was Transport Secretary between 2003 and 2007. He has been backing a 3rd Heathrow runway for many years, or another Stansted runway, and claims there is a lack of airport capacity. He has also been opposed to an estuary airport for at least 10 years. Alistair Darling wants the UK to urgently build "big-ticket infrastructure projects" such as a new runway in order "to prevent a lost decade of flat economic growth and rising debt" though quite how encouraging more foreign holidays and visits to friends and family will do that is not explained. Last October, Labour abandoned its support for expansion, when Maria Eagle, the shadow Transport Secretary, said "the 3rd runway at Heathrow is now off the agenda because of the local environmental impact".
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easyJet to give its business passengers fast track through security
EasyJet is hoping to attract increasing numbers of business travellers. They had slightly over 10 million business travellers during 2012, up from around 9 million in 2011 and some 8 million in 2010. The total number of easyJet passengers is around 50 million per year, so business is some 18% or so. EasyJet is now planning to offer free fast track through security for business passengers, to attract yet more. EasyJet claims that what business passengers want is low fares, and flexible fares, punctuality, quick boarding, friendly flexible fares, easy booking, allocated seating and fast security. From May 2013 fast track security will be provided to flexi fare passengers at 27 airports amounting to 54% of the airline’s business network and over the coming months will be expanded to more airports across easyJet’s network. Last year the number of business passengers travelling on Eurostar stayed level.
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Rochester “Airport” in Kent (a tiny airfield) wants to build a hard surface runway
Rochester "Airport" is a tiny airfield south of the town. It has little current activity. A new lease was granted to the Rochester Airport Operating company in 2009, and this year the Conservative led Medway Council announced their wish for some of the airport land to be separated off and developed for Industrial use. This proposal would close one of the two grass runways but allow some of the monies raised by development to pay for improvements to the infrastructure that would remain. An invitation to tender was issued and the operator became the preferred bidder. The airfield has now produced a public exhibition setting out their optimistic vision for the airfield, including plans for a hard surfaced runway. This is part of a process to draw up a master plan. Local ward councillors are very enthusiastic about the hard runway proposals which they claim will make the airfield more "sustainable" and help make money. Not unlike Redhill aerodrome.
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Flybe in talks to sell its 25 Gatwick landing slots for up to £20 million
Flybe is in talks about selling its 25 Gatwick landing slots to raise money, as it is expected to announce a large financial loss - about £14 million - for last year. The slots could raise up to £20 million. Easyjet is one of the companies Flybe is believed to be in discussions with to sell to. Flybe was floated on the stock market at the end of 2010. Since then it has faced soaring fuel costs, falling passenger numbers and higher airport duty. It is currently axing about 10% of its 3,000-strong UK workforce to cut costs by at least £35m. It is also reviewing its network of 13 UK bases of Aberdeen, Belfast City, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Exeter, Guernsey, Glasgow, Inverness, Isle of Man, Jersey, Manchester, Newcastle and Southampton. Last week, BALPA confirmed Flybe's pilots had agreed to a 5% pay cut to avoid compulsory redundancies. If Flybe sells all its Gatwick slots, that only leaves it a few London slots, at Luton.
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Birmingham Airport says British exports need network of long-haul airports, not only a Heathrow hub
Paul Kehoe, the Chief Executive of Birmingham Airport, has commissioned research to back his campaign to get more long haul flights to his airport. The 400 metre runway extension at Birmingham (taking the runway to some 3,000 metres) should be in use by spring 2014. The new report says that Birmingham is well situated for a large number of UK businesses that want to do business abroad and fly abroad. It says Birmingham has the second largest business catchment - within 2 hours travel - in the UK and the biggest number of manufacturers. Therefore Kehoe argues (as he has done consistently for years) that if this government is to fulfil its promise to rebalance the UK economy towards manufacturing and exports, there have to be more long haul flights from the Midlands and further north. Business people don't want to land at Heathrow and have to treck up north by road or rail. The report says "long-haul airports at Heathrow, Birmingham and Manchester could serve and support growth in economies of their sizeable catchment areas. But unlike Manchester Airport, Birmingham Airport is uniquely placed to ease congestion at Heathrow."
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Heathrow may stop pushing for mixed mode or more night flights – to improve its chance of getting another runway
The Financial Times reports that Heathrow will soon make its submission to the Airports Commission, and it will not be pushing for mixed mode (ie. take offs and landings on the same runway). The Commission's deadline for comment on ways to make better use of existing capacity is 17th May. The FT also thinks Heathrow will not be pushing for more night flights. The airport knows the extent of opposition to both mixed mode and to night flights over London. Those affected by aircraft noise hold dear their half day of respite, when flights change runway for landing at 3pm. However, this tactic by Heathrow is thought to be a calculated move in order to increase its chances of getting permission for a 3rd (and maybe even a 4th runway). The airport appears to hope it has more chance of getting what it wants, with less opposition. The fear by those already heavily over-flown is that mixed mode could increase the total number of air transport movements from some 480,000 now to around 530,000 and that could be seen as a temporary measure to increase the throughput of the airport.
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Norwegian aviation industry hopes for large volumes of biojet fuel from timber and logging residues
A report on possible production of aviation biofuel from Norwegian forests has been published. Conducted by Rambøll, it was commissioned by Norwegian airport operator Avinor, along with airlines SAS and Norwegian, and the Federation of Norwegian Aviation Industries. The report concludes that cost-competitive, large-scale production of aviation biofuels might be viable in Norway between 2020 and 2025. There is, of course, an immense resource of timber in Norway, and of logging residues. The report considers two processes - either Fischer-Tropsch + gasification, or the refining of bio-alcohols to Jet A-1 fuel. Norway wants to cut its aviation emissions by 10-15% by 2020-25, which would need some 190-250 million litres of biojet fuel. To produce that amount, there would need to be around 8-10 production plants with an annual output of 50 million litres each. To be profitable the plants would need to have added sales income from biodiesel and bionaphtha byproducts. There are a large number of economic and technological uncertainties about whether this scheme could ever happen, and if it would be financially viable.
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easyJet 39 dropped routes – many to Spain, some to UK airports – but added 64 new routes
Airlines constantly monitor the financial performance of individual routes, so if they are not making money on a particular airport pair, it is axed. There is then capacity that can either be used to increase frequency on existing routes, or for a new route. Anna Aero reports that comparing the routes of EasyJet this summer, compared to summer 2012, they have dropped 39 airport pairs, but set up 64 new ones. There have been many cuts in their routes to Spain. The airport to lose the largest number of routes is Madrid (14 routes) and second is Liverpool (5 lost), followed by Barcelona and Dortmund with four each. Of the five dropped Liverpool routes, only one (Malta) is served by easyJet from its nearby base at Manchester. The net result is for the overall number of easyJet flights to increase by 2.2% in August compared to August 2012. Due to more larger planes - the growing number of A320s in the fleet - the total number of EasyJet seats is up 2.8%, while ASKs (Available Seat Kilometres) are up 3.1%, indicating a small increase in average sector (ie journey) length.
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Red Tape Challenge asks General Aviation sector which regulations it wants removed
Along with the other sectors for which this government is keen to reduce red tape and bureaucracy is general aviation (ie. small airfields and aerodromes, not commercial planes). The government is now asking everyone involved in the sector – to submit their comments on which regulations could be removed. The government wants the sector to be able to thrive and make money, with less regulation and bureaucracy. Grant Shapps said: “A flourishing aviation sector is vital to Britain winning the global race and that includes general aviation as well as the large commercial operators. ……. We want to help generate jobs and prosperity ……..let us know how we can help you to succeed.” It seems from some of the comments on the website that many users of light aircraft would like less regulation in terms of when the airfields close for the night, which is likely to be unpopular with those living near GA airfields.
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Ever larger proportion of diesel road vehicles which produce carginogenic exhaust contribute to airport air pollution
Whereas people hoped that ever more advanced engine technology would reduce the amount of air pollution produced from road vehicles, it seems that air pollution continues to rise. There is mounting evidence that the tiny particulates produced from incompletely combusted diesel fuel are carcinogenic. As diesel vehicles can be slightly more fuel-efficient in miles per gallon, there has been a shift in the UK towards more and more diesel vehicles, since around 2000. At present there are around 50% diesel and 50% petrol cars, though this balance may swing back towards petrol. Diesel engines often do not appear to be as "clean" as their manufacturer spec would indicate, especially if there is slow moving traffic or traffic jams. The net effect has been no reduction in air pollution - for example around busy airports. For airports such as Heathrow which have a higher proportion of diesel vehicles, including lorries, the air pollution - and therefore risk to health - has been growing, as the diesel proportion has grown.
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Over 30,000 people form a 25km human chain surrounding site of proposed new Nantes airport
A huge number of protesters from across France organised themselves into a human chain in the early afternoon on Saturday. There are likely to have been almost 40,000 though the authorities give a lower attendance figure. The human chain surrounded the site of the proposed new Nantes airport, at Notre-Dame-des-Landes, with its two planned runways and new passenger terminal. The airport has been intended as a replacement for the current Nantes airport. Large numbers of people had come long distances to be there, many travelling overnight by bus, and then shared their picnics in a good natured event with a festive, but determined, spirit. The opponents of the new airport say that it is not needed, the economic arguments don't stack up, it will increase carbon emissions, and will destroy valuable farmland and biodiversity. At the moment, the project is considerably delayed, but it is still going ahead. Its opponents want it stopped, and they show no sign of reducing their intense opposition.
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Letter from Airbus to Chinese aviation official shows how active Airbus was in getting ETS emasculated
In April a deal was agreed between Airbus and China that they would buy 18 long-haul A330s because of the ETS being temporarily stopped. Now Reuters reports on a letter from the Airbus Chief Executive, Fabrice Bregier to China's top aviation official shortly after the EU back-pedaled on its ETS in November, (4 days after the ETS climb down) saying AIrbus had been "very active" in supporting China's preference for a broader global system. The letter gives a glimpse into the intensity of the lobbying in the dispute, which helped persuade the EU to freeze the ETS. Behind the scenes, Airbus claimed partial credit for the EU climb-down and cheered what its chief executive described to Beijing as "joint efforts" to limit damage to Chinese airlines. Bregier said "Through our joint efforts, we have managed to ensure that Chinese airlines are not unfairly impacted by the scheme as previously planned." Airbus needs certainty on its future plane sales far in advance, in order to order parts. Reuters says more valuable deals for Airbus from the Chinese remain on hold as China awaits the outcome of international talks on aviation carbon emissions.
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London Assembly restates its strong opposition to building new runways at Heathrow
In response to the publication of the Transport Select Committee report "Aviation Strategy" today, which backs expansion at Heathrow with another runway, the London Assembly restated its view that no new runways at Heathrow should be built because of serious and rising concerns about air quality and noise pollution. The Assembly has consistently opposed proposals for Heathrow expansion on the grounds that the negative environmental effects are disproportionate to the estimated benefits it might bring to London. Already some 700,000 Londoners suffer from aircraft noise due to Heathrow, and this accounts for 28% of all the people in Europe who are affected by aircraft noise. Air quality standards in the area round Heathrow already breach EU air quality limits. The Assembly has just produced its own report on airport capacity, which concluded that as there is a large amount of spare capacity at some London airports, the Airports Commission should first look at ways to use this capacity more effectively, such as improving rail links, before considering building a new runway. Luton and Stansted Airports have around half their slots free and the airline industry should be encouraged to use this existing capacity.
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GACC point out that there is no robust business case for a 2nd Gatwick runway
The Select Committee on Transport, in their report published today, recommends that Gatwick Airport Ltd should ‘develop a robust business case to demonstrate the role that a two runway airport could play in increasing airport competition.’ GACC (the Gatwick Area Conservation Campaign) commented that they agree with the Committee that no robust business case currently exists, and that the economics of a 2nd Gatwick runway do not stack up. Gatwick Airport has said in their business plan that a new runway and a new terminal would cost £3 -5 billion, but they only paid £1.5 billion for the whole airport in 2009. It is unlikely that the airlines will want to pay the necessary rises in charges. In reality with larger planes increasingly being used, there is no need for any new south east runways. Gatwick campaigners stand shoulder to shoulder with those at Heathrow and Stansted in resisting any new runways in the UK.
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Commons Transport Committee wants a 3rd Heathrow runway + perhaps later a 4th runway
The House of Commons Transport Committee gathered evidence on airport capacity at the end of 2012, to submit to the Airports Commission. They have now produced their report "Aviation Strategy" in which they say they reject "calls for a new hub airport east of London and urge the Government to permit the expansion of Heathrow where a 3rd runway is long overdue." Its Chairman, Lousie Ellman, said “We recognise that demand for air travel across the UK is forecast to grow, believe that aviation should be permitted to expand and accept that more capacity is necessary to accommodate sustainable aviation growth." Also "We conclude that a 3rd runway at Heathrow is necessary, but also suggest that a 4-runway proposal may have merit, especially if expanding to locate 2 new runways westwards from the current site could curb the noise experienced by people affected under the flight path." It mentions establishing "a national scheme to ensure adequate compensation for people affected by noise from expansion at Heathrow." The report also want HS2 to go to Heathrow; better rail links to Gatwick and Stansted; advantages for regional airports; and reassessment of APD and its effects (which demonstrates how much industry lobbying has influenced the report). HACAN said the Committee's report was predictable.
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“London First” calls for more intensive use of Heathrow runways with mixed mode in submission to Airports Commission
"London First" is an aggressively pro-growth, pro London business lobby organisation, whose stated mission is to "make London the best city in the world in which to do business." It has sent in a submission to the Airports Commission, calling for expansion of Heathrow and the ending of runway alternation. This would mean both runways being used for much of the day, in "mixed mode". London First believes that fitting some 10% more fights into Heathrow will solve the UK's economic ills, and takes a dashingly cavalier attitude to the impact of the extra noise on the quality of life of Londoners overflown. They appear to either not understand how aircraft noise impinges on the lives of those under flight paths, or deliberately seek to underplay the problems, and exaggerate the small reductions in noise that aircraft manufacturers have achieved. They use noise figures from the time of Concorde to give the impression there has been a huge noise reduction. London First also recommend that Gatwick and Stansted be allowed to compete more effectively, and have better rail services, to take some business from Heathrow.
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UK remains largest no-frills market in Europe – some 8.8 million international seats
The aviation analysts, OAG, say the number of seats offered by European low-cost carriers (LCC) has increased by an average of 14% per year over the 10 years. By contrast the number of seats offered by the legacy airlines rose by about 1% per year. Over the 10 years from 2004 to 2013 the low cost airlines added some 20 million seats, and the legacy airlines added some 2.8 million seats. The UK remains the largest LCC market in Europe, with more than double the seat capacity of 10 years ago, and the UK number rose by 15% in the last year. While the UK LCC market has some 8.8 million international seats per year, Spain is the 2nd largest with 7.4 million. Then come Italy (4.5m), Germany (3.7m) and France 3.2m). The number of seats on European LCCs is of the order of 34 million, and they are somewhere around 43% of all international seats for the UK, with legacy carriers having some 57% of seats. The LCC proportion is higher in Spain than in the UK and lower in France and Germany. Across Europe, Ryanair has about 31% of the LCC seat capacity and Easyjet about 21%.
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Borough-wide consultations by Richmond, Hounslow and Hillingdon Boroughs on Heathrow expansion – end 16th May
Hounslow Council has a community consultation, called "Make Some Noise Over Heathrow" through which they are trying to assess the views of their borough residents on Heathrow expansion. Residents can comment online or via a paper questionnaire, which is being distributed to some 100,000 households. The consultation started on 9th April and ends on 16th May. Richmond and Hillingdon councils have similar consultations which also end on 16th May. Hounslow is one of the places most affected by noise from the airport, lying directly under both main approach paths from east to west, and is also affected by noise from easterly take-offs. Cllr Colin Ellar, deputy leader and cabinet member for environment, said while appreciating that many borough residents work at Heathrow, they want a better deal for all residents who suffer the environmental downsides of Heathrow, particularly aircraft noise. They want the views of residents to be heard above those of government or of Heathrow itself. The results of the consultation will be presented to the Airports Commission later in the summer.
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Lydd Airport expansion plans to be shown off at Dubai Airport Show and other international shows
The owners of Lydd Airport, Lydd Holdings, is exhibiting the plans for their 294 metre runway extension, plus a 150-metre starter extension and an new terminal building, in Dubai. There is the Dubai Airport Show taking place, and Lydd Holdings are showing off their plans to delegates from some 200 companies from 32 countries. Lydd Holidngs is to invest £25million into the development, and has already spent £35m upgrading the site over the last year including installing a new executive terminal with VIP facilities, improved passenger check-in and security and a new departure lounge. They will be promoting the airport at other international aviation shows this year, including the EBACE (European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition), later in May. Currently the airport has begun to work on the pre-development conditions, which include things like carrying out baseline biodiversity surveys (water voles, bats, lizards, grass snakes etc), and a Carbon Management Action Plan for the ground operational vehicles etc. The airport may not start the terminal until the runway extension is started .
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Airlines to try new infrared detectors of volcanic ash to protect aircraft engines
In order to try and prevent plane engines being damaged when flying through very fine ash particles from a volcano, a test is to be conducted in August of a system that may allow planes to detect ash some 10 -30 km ahead, in order to avoid it. The test are to be done by Nicarnica Aviation, easyJet and Airbus. Two aircraft will be used, with the first dispersing the ash collected earlier from Iceland. The second aircraft following at 30,000ft will carry a pod containing infrared sensors, which can detect silica in the air, from the ash. The aim is to allow planes time to divert. A tonne of ash has been flown to in preparation for an airborne test of the imaging system aboard an airliner. Two large volcanoes in Iceland, Katla and Hekla, have not erupted for some time and there are signs that they may erupt before long. However, whether this is within a month or several years is not known. When the Eyjafjallajökull volcano erupted in April 2010, aircraft in Europe and in the UK were grounded for six days. If an Icelandic volcano erupts with a lot of ash ejected, and there are north westerly winds, Europe could be affected again.
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Thames Estuary airport ballot extended from Hoo Peninsula to all of Rochester and Strood
Rochester & Stroud MP Mark Reckless has organised a ballot for people on the Hoo Peninsula about a Thames Estuary airport. The area to be canvassed has now been extended across the constituency. Another 30,000 papers have been ordered, with getting them distributed by volunteers being a logistic challenge. So far more than 10,000 ballot papers have been delivered, of which around 3,700 have been returned. Mark Reckless says there has been an "overwhelming response" and that 95% of those returning ballot papers have been against an airport. The peninsula has a population of more than 20,000 and includes villages like Cliffe and Grain, which have both been suggested as possible sites for an airport. The ballot has been criticised by the Labour party, who have long campaigned for a referendum across Medway on the issue. This would be held on a specific day, with voters going to polling stations to cast their vote. Unfortunately however, Mark Reckless is keen to see either Gatwick or Stansted airports expanded instead.
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Heathrow considering a range of runway options including long & short 3rd runway, and 4 runway airport at Haddenham or White Waltham
"Aviation Week" has reported that Heathrow is considering at least 10 expansion options which are being whittled down. These "Heathrow 2025: Masterplan Options & Indicative Layouts" documents - seen by Aviation Week - were produced by the Mott MacDonald consultancy. Four of the options are a short 3rd runway north of the airport, at Sipson - or a long 3rd runway there. Another two options are for a 4 runway airport (each the same design) either at Haddenham or at White Waltham. Haddenham is about 15 miles east of Oxford, and building a vast airport there, in countryside, would mean the virtual removal of two villages, Chearsley and Long Crendon. White Waltham is a small general aviation airfield about 15 miles west of Heathrow and close to Maidenhead. The 4 runway airport design could potentially handle 140 million passengers and 800,000 air traffic movements a year, (compared to some 70 million passengers and around 480,000 movements now) - so that is just under twice Heathrow's capacity today. The current designs are early drafts developed last year, and Heathrow will be "making its considered submission to the Airports Commission in July.” .
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Airports Commission unveils new expert panel
The Airports Commission has announced the composition of its new expert panel, the job of which is to ensure the Commission has access to good scientific and technical expertise in its deliberations. Sir Howard Davies said, of the panel: "The experts we have appointed bring a wide range of skills and experience, and will ensure the Commission has access to a broad spectrum of quality scientific and technical expertise as we progress our work." There are several experts on the panel with environmental expertise; Professor Helen ApSimon - studies Air Pollution; Dr Charlotte Clark works on Environmental and Mental Health Epidemidogy, including noise; Professor Piers Forster; works on Physical Climate Change with interest in forest: Dr Andrew Kempton works on noise for Rolls Royce; Professor Andreas Schäfer works on Energy and Transport; Professor Keith P. Shine is head of the Atmospheric Radiation and Climate group at Reading University including radiative forcing; and Professor Callum Thomas; Professor of Sustainable Aviation, Manchester Metropolitan University (by training, a bird biologist). There is some biographical detail about all the expert panel members.
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The clock has stopped on aviation’s inclusion in the ETS: but where is ICAO now?
Following the European Parliament’s vote approving the Commission’s proposal to “Stop the Clock”, Conservative MEP Peter Liese, aviation EU ETS and “Stop the Clock” Rapporteur, hosted a public briefing for MEPs in Brussels on 24th April to review progress of the ICAO High Level Group on Climate Change (HGCC) formation. The conference was attended by Jos Delbeke (Director–General DG Clima), Prof David Lee (Manchester University), IATA’s Paul Steele and Green MEP Satu Hassi. T&E have written a report on the meeting. Unless things changed, and ICAO made rapid progress leading to a constructive agreement on both the need for a global market-based mechanism (MBM) to address international aviation emissions and for a Framework to govern national/regional schemes such as the EU ETS , then the original aviation Directive would “snap back” automatically next January. The Directive wouldn’t be amended “because of pressure from China, the US or Airbus”. Jos Delbeke insisted that if the whole problem couldn’t be solved now it couldn’t be solved later and, consequently, the credibility of ICAO’s global goals was squarely on the table.
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New book on carbon footprint of international air passengers – shows Heathrow massively ahead of any other world airport by CO2
In a new book on global aviation carbon emissions, by Dave Southgate in Australia, there are a multitude of remarkable facts. The book gives details of CO2 emissions country by country, airport by airport and airline by airline. The UK comes second globally for the amount of carbon produced from international flying, second only to the USA, and above Germany (3rd), UAE (4th) and Japan (5th). The CO2 emissions generated from flights from Heathrow are not only the highest from any airport in the world, but they are some 45% higher than the second airport, ranked by CO2. Heathrow's CO2 emissions are some 16.4 kt CO2, compared to Dubai in second place(11 kt), Hong Kong third (10.3 kt) and Frankfurt fourth (10.2 kt). In a global ranking of size of country carbon emissions, Heathrow would occupy 4th position in the country hierarchy if it were a country. The top 10 countries constitute 50% of the global aviation carbon footprint. The carbon emissions of British Airways are the 2nd largest of any airline, other than Emirates. Many more details in Dave Southgate's book.
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Global air passenger demand up 5.9% in March and up 3.7% in February
IATA figures for global demand for air passenger travel show an increase of 5.9% (combining international and domestic) for March, compared to March 2012. Latin America, the Middle East and China grew the most, (domestic flights within China increased about 12%). There was less growth in Europe and North America - with 3.6% and 2.8% respectively, but even this was substantial growth - though the timing of Easter, early this year, may have had an effect. For Europe, IATA comments: ..." the trend for international travel on European airlines has been largely flat since October 2012, reflecting persisting weakness in the Eurozone economy and recent downward revisions to growth expectations for 2013. Nearly flat capacity growth of 0.4% helped propel load factor 2.6 percentage points to 81.2%". So most European planes still have more than 18% of seats empty. For February, IATA said global air passenger demand rose 3.7% compared to February 2012.
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George Monbiot on the apparent failure of the UK government to understand the precautionary principle
George Monbiot seems to have stumbled upon very important failing in the way our government considers the environment. The precautionary principle. This was defined in the Rio Declaration, which the UK, with 171 other states, signed in 1992, as: “Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation.” And the European Commission says it has “become a full-fledged and general principle of international law.” However, the new Chief Scientist Sir Mark Walport has defined it as “working out and balancing in advance all the risks and benefits of action or inaction, and to make a proportionate response.” Very different. And much weaker. Monbiot then checked with Defra and found they initially had no working definition of the precautionary principle and had to cobble one together. Monbiot says the Uk government "appears not to possess a definition of the principle which sits at the heart of environmental protection and environmental law. This could explain quite a lot." eg. on climate, biodiversity offsetting not to mention bees etc.
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Supreme Court rules UK Government is breaking air pollution laws
The UK Supreme Court has ruled that the government has failed to meet European air pollution limits. Britain will therefore face European fines and may have to drastically reduce the use of heavy goods vehicles and cars in some of the UK’s major cities. Much of the problem is from diesel vehicles. The Supreme Court said "The way is open for immediate enforcement action at national and European level.” The government had been challenged by ClientEarth (lawyers who work on environmental issues) because of air quality concerns in 15 cities and regions across the UK, including London ( where one area that is very bad is around the Heathrow area), Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow. The low air quality is already having a marked effect on health, and ClientEarth felt the only way to get the UK government to act on the matter was legal action. The UK has so far made repeated attempts to get the air quality limits weakened or delayed. The European Court of Justice will have to clear up some legal issues, so the UK government may be able to play for time and delay doing anything for a year or so. The infringement action to be taken has not yet been decided. This will have an impact on Heathrow expansion plans.
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Airport capacity in London is currently underused, says new London Assembly report
The London Assembly's Transport Committee has published a report – "Airport Capacity in London" - which suggests existing airport capacity in London, including at Heathrow and Gatwick, could be used more effectively. Their research shows Stansted (summer 2012) was only 47% full; Gatwick was 88% full; Luton was 49% full. At Heathrow there is terminal capacity for 20 million more passengers, so if larger planes were used, there is ample surplus capacity - though landing slots are 99% filled. To encourage passengers to switch from Heathrow, the report says improving transport access from central London to Gatwick, Luton and Stansted is needed – for example, by better rail connections and actively promoting public transport. The report questions the alleged "need" for additional hub airport capacity, as the vast majority of passengers using Heathrow few direct, point to point, rather than transferring. The report also notes that 75% of flights from Heathrow are short haul and that London remains the best connected European city to 23 fastest growing economies. The Transport Committee hopes its report will inform the Airports Commission, and says the Commission must examine whether better use of existing airport capacity could be an intelligent cost-effective alternative to building new airports or runways.
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CAA proposals to limit airport charges at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted over next 5 years
Proposals by the CAA on changes to the regulatory regime for Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted are the most significant reform of airport regulation since the 1987. Heathrow is likely to be prevented from raising its charges to airlines as much as it had hoped. The CAA plans could mean cheaper air fares from Heathrow, though the airport had wanted to be allowed to raise charges by 5.9% per year in real terms between 2014 and 2019 - to pay back to shareholders. The CAA wants a rise only in line with inflation, at the most. The CAA will be consulting on its proposals and make its final decision in October. Heathrow's charges are higher than those of Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Hong Kong, because airlines like to fly there and there is little spare capacity - hence the market would allow the cost to rise. In the past, the CAA allowed Heathrow to rise its charges, to pay for infrastructure like T5. The CAA is now considering removing caps on aeronautical charges at Gatwick and Stansted from next year. They would then be able to agree aeronautical charges with the airlines, but the CAA would retain the right to intervene if it regards the agreements as unacceptable. The civil aviation act in 2012 gave the CAA new powers over airport regulation.
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Airline style discounting by rail cuts aviation’s domestic market share
On the 10 busiest domestic air routes, mainly between the south of England and Scotland, (or Bristol or Birmingham to Scotland) the market share of rail travel increased from 29% to 46% between 2006 and 2012. During those 6 years, the number of train journeys rose 52% (to about 7.7 million journeys) while at the same time the number of domestic air passengers fell by about 26% to about 9 million). The total number of trips by both means fell by some 3% over the period, due to the economic slowdown. The rail companies have taken to giving more discounted tickets over recent years. Data from the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) shows that around a quarter of all rail journeys are made using one or other sort of Railcard, giving around a third off the price. The growth of use of these Railcards has grown by some 92% over 6 years. The number paying full fare has fallen by some 37% and those buying advance tickets has risen by some 103%. There were some 21.1 million air passengers on all UK domestic routes in 2012, and about 2.3 million passengers in 2011. By contrast there were some 26 million domestic air journeys in 2006.
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Huge rally against Heathrow expansion – if allowed it would face opposition on a truly massive scale
Over a thousand people attended a rally in Barnes, against the possible expansion of Heathrow. The rally was organised by Zac Goldsmith, and attended by Mayor of London Boris Johnson. Boris said he thought the Conservatives "would be utterly nuts to go into the next election with the possibility of a Heathrow third runway on the table." [However, unfortunately Boris thinks the alternatives offered by Gatwick, Stansted and two sites in the Thames Estuary should be concentrated on. Worryingly, he seems to favour expansion at Stansted, and have little concern about aviation's carbon emissions]. Boris told the rally that a 3rd runway at Heathrow was "just too difficult to deliver - 15 years at least it would take to bring about. “Above all you would be inflicting noise pollution not just on west London but on huge parts of London that don’t even know they are going to be affected. That is not the right way forward for the greatest city on earth.” Zac said the opponents of a 3rd runway will continue to make clear their opposition to further expansion, and he wants "ministers to be left in no doubt that if they give expansion a green light, they will face a campaign on a truly massive scale.”
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Recent cases of icefalls – and now a pair of pliers – from planes onto homes. Nobody injured, so far.
There have been a considerable number of cases of items falling from aircraft, onto houses under flight paths. The most recent is a case of a large pair of pliers that appear to have been left in the undercarriage of an easyJet plane (as reported by the Sun newspaper) which fell onto a house in Canvey Island, on its way to land at Southend. Falling from some 7,000 feet the pliers went straight through the tiled roof and the ceiling. Luckily the occupants were not hurt. In March a block of what appears to be frozen aircraft lavatory waste fell onto a static caravan in the Midlands, causing severe damage to the roof of the caravan's bathroom and its floor, as well as ruining the rest of the bathroom. In February a block of ice did serious damage to the conservatory of a house in Clanfield, Hampshire, shattering glass. Again, fortunately, nobody was in the room when the block fell, as they would possibly have been badly injured by flying glass.
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China agrees $4.1bn Airbus plane deal to buy 18 wide-body jets + $3.8 bn deal for 42 narrow-body jets
Fear by European countries, Airbus and many airlines, that loss of sales of Airbus planes to China was a reason for "stopping the clock" for a year, on aviation's inclusion in the ETS. Now a deal has been agreed that China will buy 18 A330s from Airbus. Now inclusion of aviation in the ETS has been emasculated, Airbus is keen to sell as many planes as it can to China and returning to what it calls ‘business as usual’. The order that has now been announced is part of an earlier order for 45 wide-body jets, which are worth about $4n at list prices, although China may get a hefty discount on them. There is also an order by the Chinese for 42 A320 narrow-body jets, worth about $3.8bn though this deal had not been affected by the ETS debacle. Airbus, which is a subsidiary of EADS, hopes China will be its largest customer during coming 2 decades, buying large numbers of planes. France, Germany and Britain continue to do all they can to build strong commercial ties with China, to boost exports and income.
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Lydd airport: will it find enough passenger demand, or is its business plan nonsensical?
Gwyn Topham, in the Guardian, speculates on whether the government granting planning permission to Lydd airport is an indication to their thinking on airport expansion in general. The decision came relatively soon after publication of the aviation policy framework in March which reiterated the idea of growth elsewhere to take pressure off London's main airports. And it may be connected to Osborne's budget talking up infrastructure and its impact on the economy. Approval has been given for up to 500,000 passengers a year, though Lydd will struggle to get anywhere near that. They hope to eventually be able to use the railway track that carries nuclear waste from Dungeness to link passengers to Ashford's high-speed train – a 37-minute journey to London, albeit expensive. Though Lydd would like to get easyJet, as Southend has, but it is more likely to expand the executive jet service. And they hope when Gatwick is full and wants more A380, it will kick out the smaller planes, which will then find Lydd useful. That will take a while ... and currently the lack of demand makes the Lydd business plan nonsensical.
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Airports and airlines eyeing up passengers to increase their retail spend
If the airlines can't make enough profit from flying their passengers from A to B, then they want to extract every bit of cash they can from them, in the airport shops. An anna-aero article discusses how airports and airlines might work more effectively together, to get passengers to buy more stuff. The airlines have more personal data about the passengers, and the airports want this data in order to maximise the retail earnings in their shops. But the airlines don't want to share the chance of profit with the airports. The Chief Commercial Officer at Manchester Airports Group said – “airport retail is vital precisely because airport charges paid by airlines are already well below the cost of the infrastructure they use.” The airports and airlines don't see eye to eye on this. There is a problem for retailers, with the low cost airlines that limit baggage, and the 'one-bag rule’, which is a disincentive to buy a lot at the airport. An ACI conference next spring will look at actual practical solutions to enhance “Airline-Airport Cooperation to Increase Passenger Spend.”
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Standard reports that Shadow Transport Secretary, Maria Eagle, is “warming towards” a Gatwick runway
The Labour Party shifted last year from its post-election position of being against a 3rd runway at Heathrow to being “sceptical” about it. Shadow transport secretary Maria Eagle has publicly ruled out a new Heathrow runway, and also a Thames estuary airport. However, the Evening Standard reports that Ms Eagle is now understood (how is not explained) to see a new Gatwick runway as a stronger contender than a new runway at Stansted, if the Airports Commission concludes that the South-East needs extra aviation capacity. Gatwick is opening new routes, including to the Far East, as it seeks to become a rival to Heathrow while Stansted still has spare capacity. While at the end of last year Labour was pressing for the Commission to report earlier than 2015, it now says it will await the conclusions before drawing up its new policy. Supporting expansion at Gatwick, or Stansted, has not been agreed by the shadow cabinet.
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Adobe earth houses in school playground give pupils refuge from Heathrow noise
Pupils at the Hounslow Heath Infant school ( children aged 3 - 7) just under a Heathrow flight path, have very loud and intrusive aircraft noise from the planes flying some 180 metres approx overhead. The problem is so bad that BAA (as it was) paid for the construction of some adobe structures in the playground, so the children can spend at least part of their time outdoors in places where they can hear each other speak. At some times of day, there is aircraft noise for 25 seconds out of every 90 seconds. Classes of up to 30 children can be seated inside the main dome, and inside the noise is reduced by some 17 decibels. Outdoor learning is valued by teachers and is also a statutory part of the national curriculum. The headteacher said the adobe structures are important as refuges because "When kids are playing they are also developing their language skills, and in the playground again they're being interrupted." Schools should not be located under flight paths where planes are low.
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CBI submits its response to the night flights consultation – wanting number of night flights to be retained
TThe CBI, somewhat predictably, has sent in a response to the government consultation on night flights, making out that they are indispensable to the UK economy. They claim that overnight flights played a "unique role" ensuring both timely movements of freight and allowing business travellers to arrive at destinations ready for a full day's work. And there is more about claims that night flights are boosting exports through enhanced connectivity, increasing productivity, creating resilient supply chains and enhancing international competitiveness. And they claim that night flights contributed £1.2 billion to the economy in 2011, supporting 18,700 jobs and delivering £197 million in tax revenue - from discredited data by Oxford Economics. The CBI is, as usual, gung-ho about growth, and uses disingenuous claims about how "quiet" planes are going to get. They perhaps do not understand that an alleged "50% reduction in noise" means, in reality, about a 3 decibel reduction in the sound heard, which is on the borderline of what an ordinary person can distinguish. Not a massive cut in perceived noise
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Stop Stansted Expansion says majority of night flights are unnecessary and should be phased out
SSE has called for night flights to be progressively phased out at Stansted in order to reduce sleep disturbance for local communities. This is part of SSE's submission to the Government's current consultation on night flights at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted. Because of its quiet, rural location, aircraft noise - especially at night - is more intrusive than in noisier, urban areas with higher background noise levels. The adverse economic impacts of night noise have been consistently underestimated. An independent study by consultants CE Delft last year showed that the cost to business of a ban on night flights at Heathrow would be outweighed by savings made through the reduced costs of sleep disturbance and stress caused by night flight noise. SSE believes this would also be the case at Stansted where the vast majority of night flights are not business related and do not need to operate during the night. Stansted is currently allowed 12,000 flights a year between 11.30pm and 6.00am - on average, 33 per night. This is more than twice as many as allowed at Heathrow even though Heathrow. The actual number of night flights at Stansted last year was just over 8,000. SSE wants the new cap to be well below this figure.
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Aviation report finds: “claims about the economic benefits of connectivity are not founded on solid evidence”
An important new report, by CE Delft, has been published. It was commissioned by WWF, RSPB and HACAN, and its purpose is to assess whether it is true - as the aviation industry continually proclaims - that better "connectivity" will create greater economic growth for the UK. The report found that claims about the economic benefits of connectivity are not founded on solid evidence. The Airports Commission currently has a discussion document on aviation and connectivity, and this report - The Economics of Airport Expansion - is a contribution to this debate. The CE Delft report found there is a correlation between aviation activity and economic growth, However, there does not appear to be any evidence for a causal relationship between connectivity and economic growth. Causation and correlation are not the same thing. They also found that increasing connectivity is more beneficial for developing countries or regions than for developed economies, such as that of the UK. They also found that extra connectivity in cities that are already well-connected, like London, does not necessarily deliver measurable or substantial economic benefits. CE Delft also looked at some of the economic arguments being used by proponents of airport expansion and found them to be miscalculated and exaggerated, distorting the aviation debate.
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Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted face regulatory shake-up by CAA and pricing changes
The CAA has the responsibility of setting the maximum level of airport charges, every 5 years, for Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted -the 3 "designated" airports. On 30th April the CAA is expected to announce its initial plans. It will make a final decision in January 2014. The landing charges generally rise a bit faster than the rate of inflation and the RPI (retail price index) and charges are passed on to passengers, increasing air fares. Since the last 5 yearly review, the three airports now each has a different owner, whereas before all three were BAA owned. The CAA is not expected to allow Heathrow to increase its landing charges of 5.9% a year above inflation - which it has requested - and which have enraged the airlines. Gatwick airport has been campaigning to be permitted to strike commercial deals with major customers such as easyJet, which it says would reduce its fares. Gatwick already has different landing charges in summer and winter. The CAA’s announcement is expected to trigger intense lobbying by airports and airlines over the regime for Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted.
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In its submission to the Airports Commission SSE rebuffs claims that the UK faces an airport capacity crisis
Stop Stansted Expansion (SSE) has rebuffed claims that the UK is facing an airport capacity crisis which is damaging the UK economy. Contrary to aviation industry pleading for more runways, SSE says there simply isn't the demand for more business flights or more routes to emerging markets. The SSE comments appear in their submission to the Airports Commission discussion paper on 'Aviation Connectivity and the Economy'. SSE makes it clear that it is the corporate interests of the UK aviation lobby rather than concern for UK Plc that is driving calls for additional runways, highlighting specific examples to back this up. Heathrow, for example, flew more people to Miami last year than to the whole of mainland China, and more people to Nice than to either Beijing or Shanghai. SSE also reminds those caught up in the whirl of aviation industry spin that London continues to be independently ranked as the best city in Europe for doing business and as the city with the best transport links with other cities and internationally. Their submission is well worth reading.
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Heathrow award for top airport for shopping for 3rd year. Net Retail Income per passenger £6.21 in 2012 (£5.64 in 2010)
For the third year, Heathrow got the award (within the airports industry) for the top airport for shopping. Heathrow has over 52,000 square metres of retail space and more than 340 retail and catering outlets. Heathrow overtook Dubai International to win the title of “World’s Best Airport for Shopping” for 2012. Heathrow has the highest retail sales of any airport in the world ahead of Incheon airport in South Korea. Figures from the Moodie Report in February 2013 said that Net Retail Income per passenger at Heathrow was £6.21 (up 4.4% on 2011, partly due to the Olympics) in 2012 and £5.95 in 2011, while it was £5.64 in 2010. (By comparison the Net Retail Income at Stansted in 2012 was £4.27 per passenger). At Heathrow in 2012 the gross retail income increased +5.7% to £460.1 million
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Eurostar passengers up about 2% in 2012 – with around 8% of the trips from UK to Europe
Eurostar had 2% more passengers travelling between the UK and Europe in 2012 than in 2011. It has 9.9 million passengers in 2012, compared with 9.7 million in 2011, and there was 8% growth in travellers from outside EU. Eurostar's sales revenue was 799 million in 2012 (2011: £803 million) with an operating profit of £52.3 million in 2012, up from £25 million in 2011. The combination of the Olympic Games and the Jubilee caused an increase in the number of travellers coming to London, by Eurostar. Eurostar has 28 trains, which can each carry some 750 passengers. There will be some fleet refurbishment, and some new trains by 2015. By contrast, there were about 115.5 million air passengers who travelled between UK airports and EU airports in 2012, and some 114.5 million in 2011. ie. about 8% of passengers travelling between the UK and Europe went by Eurostar in 2012.
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