Latest News
AirportWatch on 
@AirportWatch
Summaries of, and links to, the latest aviation news stories appear below. News is archived into topics
For a daily compilation of UK articles on national and regional transport issues, see Transportinfo.org.uk | For more stories about specific airports see Aviation Environment Federation Transport & Environment Anna Aero TravelMole Press releases from CAA IATA BA Ryanair easyJet Jet2.com For climate change ECEEE news and Guardian Climate and NoAA monthly analysisCheck Hansard for reports on Parliament |
 |
Latest news stories:
Thames Estuary airport plans will be considered by the government
People living around the Thames estuary are increasingly worried about prospects of one or other scheme being taken seriously by government next year. There are concerns about wildlife and birds; also about the wreck of a wartime ship that contains explosives. Kent County Council has joined forces with Medway Council and the RSPB in the Stop the Estuary Airport campaign, which encourages people to email Mr Johnson stating their opposition.
Click here to view full story...
Autumn statement by Chancellor. U-turn on Gatwick and Stansted airports and consideration of estuary airport. But APD will rise in April
In this autumn statement, George Osborne - in a desperate attempt to boost the economy - has turned his back on environmental safeguards and the green economy, to encourage high carbon infrastructure. He has said he wants to improve, performance and resilience of airports. He says the Government is committed to maintaining the status of the UK as an international hub for aviation, with excellent connectivity to both developed as well as emerging markets. He said "And we will explore all the options for maintaining the UK’s aviation hub status, with the exception of a third runway at Heathrow." So that means runways at Gatwick and Stansted are to be considered again, as well as looking at an estuary hub. However, on the plus side, even with all the lobbying by the aviation industry for APD to be reduced or frozen, the rates will rise in April 2012 in line with inflation. [APD announcement on 6th December for a 8% approx rise from 1st April 2012] .
Click here to view full story...
Belfast City Residents meet Environment Minister to discuss City Airport
The Northern Ireland Environment Minister has told local residents he has yet to make a final decision on the shape of his forthcoming inquiry into modifying the noise regulations governing George Best Belfast City Airport. He is awaiting legal advice. The inquiry which would investigate how the planning agreement between the Department of the Environment and the airport could be altered. The aim of the agreement is to provide protection for residents against undue levels of noise pollution from planes. Belfast City Airport Watch asked for assurances that the Minister would, in the meantime, enforce two crucial clauses in the planning agreement – relating to late flights and the number of seats offered for sale by the airport.
Click here to view full story...
Global air freight down – 4.7% in October. It has been declining since May
The confidence of purchasing managers has caused shippers to switch some transport needs to slower and cheaper sea options to the detriment of air freight which showed a 4.7% decline in October compared to the previous year. Airlines have responded to weaker demand by cutting their freighter fleet. There has been a steady and substantial 5% fall in freight load factors compared to their early 2010 peak. Air freight has been down every month since May.
Click here to view full story...
Ditch HS2 rail link at eleventh hour – MPs
10 backbenchers say the government should, instead of HS2, develop a new "comprehensive" transport strategy which concentrates on better connections between road, rail and air. Justine Greening is expected to give the final go-ahead within weeks to the current planned route from London to Birmingham. There will be a revolt by MPs with affected constituencies if it is approved. Labour are pushing for an alternative route via Heathrow. but government sources said this had been rejected.
Click here to view full story...
UN report shows role for EU ETS in helping to control rising emissions from aviation
A new report from UNEP looks at the gap between the emissions cuts needed to avoid a 2 degrees C rise in temperature by 2020, and the pledges made. It finds that global aviation (excluding military) produced around 0.63 GtCO2 in 2005 and could rise to 1.16 GtCO2e in 2020. Aviation and shipping together could be 4 - 5.7% of global emissions by 2020 and 10 to 32 % of the total emissions humanity could be producing in 2050, while staying below 2 degrees. Schemes like the EU ETS are very helpful in charging for carbon and cutting its emission.
Click here to view full story...
Cheap flights comic show ready for West End take-off
Fascinsting Aida will be touring with their new show, "Cheap Flights" - in London from 8th December to 7th January. If you have not yet heard the song, catch it on YouTube even if you can't get to the show.
Click here to view full story...
Gatwick goes after the business traveller – and rejects “Heathwick”
Click here to view full story...
Draft Civil Aviation Bill published putting passengers first and largely ignoring environmental concerns
Transport secretary Justine Greening has published a draft version of the new Civil Aviation Bill, which is expected to be introduced by parliament early next year. She said the DfT’s new airports legislation was centred around the experience of the passenger. “This Bill couples our commitment to make our airports better rather than bigger with the Government's wider agenda on better regulation". There is almost nothing on environmental impacts of airports or aviation, with the CAA's responsibilities on noise, emissions etc reduced - it just has to publish environmental information. “It also complements our ongoing work to produce a sustainable policy framework for aviation, a draft of which will be published next spring.”
Click here to view full story...
Industry urged to sign e-petition against APD rise
The air travel industry is desperate to influence the Chancellor on Air Passenger Duty, before his autumn statement on 29th November. They have created a petition and want 100,000 of the staff who work in the industry to sign it. They are arguing that APD is damaging European countries, as we Brits are now deterred from visiting them. Whether a £12 charge per person per holiday is enough to stop us visiting Europe, when a hotel for the night is at least £40 each, is hard to believe.
Click here to view full story...
Thomas Cook shares collapse as financial troubles unfold
Europe's second-biggest travel firm after rival TUI Travel has suffered a disastrous year, and is looking to borrow around £100m to tide it over during December, when trading is traditionally quiet, and give it sufficient headroom to be in no danger of breaching banking covenants. The group has suffered from the impact of the Arab spring, which has hit bookings to Tunisia and Egypt. Some analysts question the long-term survival of the travel company. Travel agency chains might soon join bookshops, record shops and bank branches as yet another high street victim of the internet and the recession.
Click here to view full story...
IATA chief urges governments to adopt a six-step policy approach to promote aviation biofuels commercialisation
The DG of IATA says: “Oil is a scarce resource. The long-term price is upward – with volatility as a result of political and economic uncertainty,” he said and biofuels "are the industry’s long-term licence to grow". “While sustainable biofuels have the potential to help us in our environmental efforts, current costs are prohibitive.” He has called on governments to "Provide incentives for airlines to use biofuels" and "De-risk public and private investments in aviation biofuels". ie financial support from the public purse to assist the aviation industry.
Click here to view full story...
Declining air freight – various news items
At UK airports, CAA figures show air freight tonnage has fallen each month since May. It had been rising during the first part of the year. IFW reports that Lufthansa Cargo is cutting 20% or even 30% of its cargo capacity in the new year, to counter anticipated slowdown in demand. (a 25% drop = one aircraft). Lufthansa has shelved its plan for a new cargo hub at Frankfurt, as there is a night flights ban from 11pm to 5am. Moving flights elsewhere is now costing it many millions of €s.
Click here to view full story...
Boris’s 2nd report on his Estuary Airport (megalomanic) dream
The GLA has now produced the 2nd part of the Mayor's report into his plan for a mega-giant airport in the Thames estuary. The first part of the report came out in January. It would appear that this monster airport, with up to 180 million passengers per year, (almost x3 the size of Heathrow) would only get this size if aviation climate targets are reduced and if other airports in the south east, or in the rest of the UK, have fewer passengers. Megalomania indeed.
Click here to view full story...
Souter in bid to buy Edinburgh airport
Sir Brian Souter, the founder of Stagecoach, is considering joining a consortium of Scottish investors to buy Edinburgh airport. The Scottish millionaire is thought to be drawing up plans after BAA appointed investment banks Citigroup and BNP Paribas to help sell the airport. The entrepreneur will not make any formal decisions until the sales document is sent out in January. Other parties interested in buying it are 3i; Aeroports de Paris, which owns Charles de Gaulle airport; and GIP.
Click here to view full story...
Response by GACC to the Gatwick Master Plan 2011
Gatwick Airport produced its draft Master Plan on 13th October. The consultation lasts till 13th January. GACC, the Gatwick Area Conservation Campaign, has produced a thoughtful, well researched and hard hitting response, picking out the many areas on which the master plan is deficient, where information is left out and where assumptions and forecasts are made which are unrealistic. The response highlights issues such as the absence of consideration given to rising oil prices, and to the amount of money taken out of the UK by holiday makers travelling abroad - the tourism deficit - which cuts UK tourism employment. It also questions dubious economic figures, for which the airport cannot produce evidence.
Click here to view full story...
Expensive and ineffective: Boris Johnson’s island airport (even Tories think so)
Writing in Left Foot Forward, John Stewart (Chair of AirportWatch) says the carefully-placed article today, exclusive to the Times, looks like an attempt to distance the government from the mayor’s speech to the IoD. which his aides have been using as proof that the idea of an estuary airport is gaining traction. With the announcement earlier by Maria Eagle that Labour no longer support a 3rd Heathrow runway, the industry is not clear what it should unite behind. Most city firms are not keen on an estuary airport.
Click here to view full story...
Thames Estuary airport plans delayed until next year
The final nail in the coffin of plans to build a huge Thames Estuary airport may not be hammered in until next year, according to The Times. It says ministers have ruled out making any decision on the issue until mid-2012 - and even then are likely to reject the proposals. Ministers are dubious of the viability of either scheme with the biggest stumbling block being the cost of the project, as well as adverse impacts on jobs and the economy round Heathrow.
Click here to view full story...
Campaigners challenge London Mayor over need more airport capacity in the South East
While the Mayor of London is expected to release a report arguing for new runways, campaigners question the need for more airport capacity. Boris is expected to argue that new airport capacity in the South East will help revive the economy. AirportWatch has produced figures which show that London has a greater number of flights to the world’s main business destinations than any of its European rivals, Paris, Frankfurt and Amsterdam.
Click here to view full story...
EU warned: biofuels will drive biodiversity loss
New research from the European Commission confirms that EU biofuel targets will speed up the rate of extinction of plants and animals. The EU has committed to halting biodiversity loss by 2020 – yet without reform, it’s biofuels policy will seriously undermine this. The indirect land use impacts would convert some 17,000 km2 of natural habitats to grow biofuels, none protected under EU legislation, with the transition to cropland decreasing species abundance by some 85%.
Click here to view full story...
UK airlines seek to evade taxation
Commenting on the airlines' attempts to get cuts in APD, the Aviation Environment Federation says while Government figures suggest that the benefit to the aviation industry as a result of its paying no fuel tax or VAT is around £10 billion a year, APD brings in only £2 billion. The four airlines ‘pleading poverty’, have all recently made millions of pounds in profit. Ryanair reported a £467 million profit in the months to Sept 2011. APD will represent a ‘double counting’ of environmental costs, as it was never designed as an exclusively environmental tax.
Click here to view full story...
European politicians call on EU to ensure international aviation emissions are addressed at Durban climate talks
In a resolution adopted at a plenary session of the EP, MEPs have urged the EU to push for binding reduction targets on international aviation emissions at the forthcoming UNFCCC COP 17 climate talks in Durban. Negotiations at UNFCCC over international aviation and maritime carbon emissions have been largely stalled for some time and the MEPs say resolution of the issue has become increasingly pressing. ICAO says it is "taking active steps"- but little progress is expected on the issue, which has seen a split down developed/developing world lines and arguments over texts at a basic level.
Click here to view full story...
Bitter airline rivals fly the same flag to fight tax rise
The Independent says that airlines expect a 25% increase in Air Passenger Duty, when the Chancellor makes his autumn budget statement at the end of November. In the last budget the rate of APD stayed the same, but with the proviso it would rise by above inflation in 2012. Long-haul passengers face far greater rises. The tax take is necessary for the UK economy, as aviation pays no VAT and no fuel duty.
Click here to view full story...
Transition Heathrow. We’re not going anywhere !
Transition Heathrow's "Grow Heathrow" project were due to be in court on 17th November, for a hearing about having them evicted from the site they are occupying at Sipson. The judge took into account the human rights arguments and adjourned the case to the higher authority of Central London County Court where a two day hearing will take place in a few months time. The owner of the site wants the land back, though it had been neglected for years, and Grow Heathrow has turned it into a thriving community venture.
Click here to view full story...
AirportWatch says airlines must pay their fair share of the fuel tax burden
In a letter to the Chancellor in advance of the Pre Budget Report AirportWatch has pointed out that those who travel by air have it easy compared to those who travel by car. Motorists pay 58p a litre duty on their fuel. Motorists pay a further 22p VAT on their fuel. Motorists pay 20% VAT to have their car serviced. Airlines pay NONE of these. Motorists pay 20% VAT to buy their car. Airlines pay no tax on new aircraft. APD would need to be quadrupled to compensate for the fuel duty and VAT exemptions enjoyed by the aviation industry. In 2010/11 the exemption from fuel tax and VAT was worth more than £11 billion to the airlines.
Click here to view full story...
Four airlines complain to Chancellor that they want APD scrapped
EasyJet, Ryanair, IAG and Virgin Atlantic have written to the Chancellor to complain, yet again (and as APD will be reviewed in the Chancellor’s autumn statement next week) that they want APD cut. They are trying to make out that passenger numbers have fallen due to APD, rather than the economic recession. The “hard working family” argument is trotted out again (though most flights are taken by the rich. They, as usual, ignore the tourism deficit and the inconvenient fact that they pay no duty on fuel and no VAT on anything.
Click here to view full story...
Easyjet profits from business travel – now 9 million business passengers per year
A rise in the number of its business and European travellers helped Easyjet report increased profits for 2011. Its pre-tax profit was £248m for the year to 30 September, led by a 11.8% increase in passenger numbers, with 1 million more people using the airline for business travel. Business passengers now account for over 9 million annually. EasyJet paid £100m more in fuel costs during the year, but said it managed to offset this through efficiency savings.
Click here to view full story...
Qantas, Solazyme and Solena to launch Australian biofuels flights in 2012
Qantas has announced that Australia’s first commercial flight powered by "sustainable" fuel will be in early 2012. Qantas has signed agreements with Solazyme (in the USA), which is working with algae-based aviation fuels, and Solena (in the USA), which is experimenting with waste-based fuels. Qantas hopes to improve fuel efficiency by 1.5% each year. Solarzyme's fuel is called Solajet, and they aim to scale its production up to commercial levels.
Click here to view full story...
New chief executive – Declan Collier – for London City Airport
London City Airport chief executive, Richard Gooding, is to step down after 15 years and join the board as a non-executive director. Declan Collier, now chief executive of the Dublin Airport Authority, will take over in early 2012. Declan is involved with Airports Council International, where he is currently president, ACI Europe. Declan used to work at ExxonMobil in Ireland and abroad.
Click here to view full story...
BA’s Airmiles scheme reborn as Avios. No more free flights. Travellers must pay APD etc
The Airmiles reward scheme is being relaunched and customers face having to pay taxes and charges. The scheme operated by BA and Iberia (owned by IAG) can no longer afford to give free flights on Airmiles points, as the airlines would have to pay the Air Passenger Duty. So now the frequent fliers have to pay their own APD, fees and other charges, which could amount to around £30 to European destinations, £300 to New York and £500 to Australia.
Click here to view full story...
BAA refuses to sell homes it bought in Sipson
BAA is being accused of "breaking the heart" of residents in Sipson, which is earmarked as the location for a 3rd Heathrow runway. Now Labour has joined the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats in declaring that a 3rd runway is "off the agenda", residents in Sipson say BAA still refuses to sell the homes it bought up in the area, as it has not yet ruled out the expansion. BAA offered to buy 300 homes and 75% of residents took up the offer, so BAA now rents the houses.
Click here to view full story...
Large demonstration in Paris against building of airport at Nantes
Thousands of demonstrators descended on Paris on Saturday, arriving there from the Nantes area by tractor or bicycle. They were protesting about the building of a new, huge, airport outside Nantes at Notre Dame des Landes. There is already Nantes Atlantique airport near Nantes. It plans go ahead, work will start in 2014 and it may be finished in 2017. Campaigners have commissioned an economic study by CE Delft, which shows there would be little economic benefit.
Click here to view full story...
Environmental Audit Committee publishes report on air quality, and says a 3rd runway at Heathrow would be impossible
The EAC's report says Ministers appear to be actively trying to dilute air quality safety standards to avoid EU fines. Business plans produced by the DfT and Defra do not even mention air quality. It says EU air quality limits for NO2 are not met at Heathrow and the surrounding area the forthcoming Sustainable Framework for UK Aviation and the forthcoming Aviation National Policy Statement must contain an explicit prohibition of a 3rd Heathrow runway.
Click here to view full story...
Row over whether foreign airlines and ETS rumbles on and ICAO is incapable of producing an effective carbon scheme
This month the US joined forces with over 12 other countries, including China, India, Russia and Japan, to take the fight against the ETS to the ICAO, the UN agency that sets airline standards. Brussels is standing firm. Jeff Gazzard argues that as ICAO is run exclusively for the aviation industry, it is institutionally incapable of imposing any global system of taxes or charges to reduce aviation's CO2 emissions. Everyone knows ICAO cannot, and will not, do it.
Click here to view full story...
Passengers down – 1.3% in October, compared to October 2010, at BAA’s airports
In October, the number of passengers at Heathrow was down 1.3% compared to October 2010; at Stansted down - 4.9%; at Edinburgh up + 1.8%; at Glasgow up + 0.3%. Over all BAA's UK airports passengers were down - 1.3% and Air Transport movements down - 0.8%. Cargo was down - 7.5% for all BAA airports, down - 7.2% at Heathrow, and down - 11.4% at Stansted. Heathrow's domestic passengers were down - 17% and BAA's domestic passengers across their airports down 9.9%.
Click here to view full story...
BAA has decided not to submit a planning application for the taxiway works
BAA has decided not to submit a planning application for the taxiway works necessary for aircraft to routinely take-off over the village of Cranford. Take-offs to the east from the northern runway have until now been prevented by the Cranford agreement. The government is committed to ending the Cranford agreement. The consultation will not take place during the 'Operational Freedoms' trial, as BAA believes this could lead to confusion between the two.
Click here to view full story...
How do the charges work out, comparing a return flight for 2 people to Rome, with driving there?
Tweet With the debate on reducing Air Passenger Duty, and increasing petrol prices, how to the costs work out, comparing driving and flying? How much tax is paid, how much duty, how much VAT? The distance from London to Rome is about 890 miles. So driving would be a bit further, as the roads do […]
Click here to view full story...
SESAR – European air traffic control Making the skies safer, cleaner and cheaper to manage
This is a BBC article giving a lot of information about air traffic control in Europe. The European modernisation air traffic control programme, SESAR, is aiming to make improvements. There are currently a lot of inefficiencies with 36 air traffic service providers and 58 en-route centres. Europe has many no-fly areas for use by the military, which commercial airlines have to fly round. With flight numbers expected to grow significantly, improvement is needed.
Click here to view full story...
Manston Campaigners anger at bid to introduce night flights
People living near Manston are very concerned there will be more noisy night flights. Currently the airport is not allowed any flights between 11pm and 7am. In new plans, Infratil says it will limit flights between 11.30pm and 6am to less than 2 per night, but leaves them free to fly as many planes as they want, (forecast to be an average 6.4 per night) unrestricted by noise limits, between 11 and 11.30pm and between 6 and 7 am. Some nights there could be more.
Click here to view full story...
St Erth British International Helicopters plan dropped
In order to save money, by selling their Penzance heliport site to Sainsburys (which has planning consent), British International Helicopters had a planning application to create a new heliport at St Erth, some 8 miles north east of Penzance. This plan has now been dropped. The heliport would largely be used for flights to and from the Scilly Isles. There will inevitably be more noise for people locally, who strongly opposed the move. The helicopters will move to Newquay instead of St Erth.
Click here to view full story...
Scandinavian airline, SAS, to lose 1,000 jobs and make 15% pay cuts due to large losses
Scandinavian airline SAS is to announce a cost cutting plan, approved by its lenders, containing over 1,000 staff reductions and 15% pay cuts. SAS, in which Denmark, Norway and Sweden own a combined 50 % stake, has been in talks with banks on securing financing to roll over debt coming due next year. It has postponed its third-quarter results, saying it was delaying publication until negotiations on efforts to ensure its survival had been finalized. It also aims to sell assets totaling around 3 billion crowns ($445.39 million). SAS, which made a 1.6 billion crown pretax loss in 2011, has been struggling for years against cut-price rivals such as Ryanair, industry overcapacity and more recently high jet fuel costs and an economic slowdown.
Click here to view full story...
EU COULD GET AIRLINE COMMITMENTS ON CARBON
IATA says Europe could gain commitments from global airlines to end the dispute over ETS. He said othewise airlines and governments would continue to fight the EU. He wants some sort of commitments to be obtained by ICAO, rather than having to comply with the ETS and suggested: "Surely a deal could be done." Airlines are complaining that the cost will eat into their profits and whine that they would delay investment in environmentally friendly technology.
Click here to view full story...
UK’s domestic air travel boom is over, says Flybe
Flybe has declared an end to the boom in domestic air travel and reports a deepening drop in demand for British routes. The unreliability of demand has led to 2 profit warnings this year. Flybe said winter bookings were down 1% compared with last year, while last month they forecast a 1% increase. UK domestic routets are 70% of Flybe's passengers. The CAA says domestic air travel fell 20% over the past 4 years, as an over-supplied market bottomed out.
Click here to view full story...
CAA sets new targets for NATS to cut airline CO2 and improve flight efficiency
The CAA hopes new flight-efficiency targets could cut aviation CO2 emissions over the next 3 years. The new targets are being set for NATS, to reduce aircraft CO2 emissions, with bonus or penalty payments depending on Nats' performance. The proposals are published for consultation. The CAA targets involve the directness of flights and how smooth the climb and descent is for every flight. NATS and CAA will monitor and publish monthly performance figures.
Click here to view full story...
World headed for irreversible climate change in five years, IEA warns
The IEA, and others, warn if the world is to stay below 2C of warming (likely to be the limit of safety) CO2 must be held to no more than 450 ppm (now around 390 ppm). But the world is already producing huge amounts of CO2 making this target difficult. All new high-carbon infrastructure built in future (power generation, energy-guzzling factories, inefficient buildings) would add more carbon, making the target unachievable. And that includes airports expanding.
Click here to view full story...
Australia Senate backs carbon tax – airlines can opt in to emissions-trading
The country's mining firms, airlines, steel makers and energy firms are among those expected to be hardest hit by the new tax. The Clean Energy Act includes an amendment allowing airlines and other large fuel users to opt in to a carbon-emissions trading program, and airlines argued that being part of the scheme would allow them to manage their fuel liability and carbon-cost liability for their fuel more efficiently. Airlines prefer this to a higher fuel tax.
Click here to view full story...
Nantes campaigners set off by bike and tractor on 400km journey to get to Paris by 12th
The protestors against a new airport at Nantes have set of on their week long, 400 km ride by bicycle and tractor to Paris for a rally on Saturday 12th. This is a key part of their campaign against the building of a new airport, on a greenfield site. The campaigners argue that the airport is not needed, does not make economic sense, and will do great damage both to the local environment, and by increasing carbon emissions.
Click here to view full story...
United Airlines (Continental) biofuel flight on 7th Nov and Alaska Airlines on 9th Nov
The United flight is a Boeing 737-800 from Houston to Chicago, using 40% Solarzyme fuel, with allegedly "sustainable" biofuel of unknown composition. The Alaska Airlines' 1st commercial biofuel flight is Seattle to Washington. Alaska & its sister, Horizon Air, plan to fly 75 "selected" flights over the next few weeks using 20% fuel made from used cooking oil (a gimmick, as there is so little of the stuff) made by Dynamic Fuels. The fuel companies are in a race to scale up profitably.
Click here to view full story...
Billionaires to be given free carbon allowances to offset green tax on private jets
Corporate jets owned by very rich people and large companies will be given some free carbon permits under the ETS when it starts in January. Some 200 corporate jet owners will benefit. Flying Lion, the company used by Lord Ashcroft, will initially get 24 allowances per year worth €240 at today’s prices (€10 each). DECC said aircraft operators had to submit flying data this spring to qualify for relief of up to 85% of their total bill by free allowances in the 1st year.
Click here to view full story...
Ryanair profits from higher revenues – due to higher fares
Ryanair said it had seen almost no impact from the downturn in consumer confidence. Yields (the average revenue gained per mile per passenger) are expected to grow at 14% in the 6 months to March, up from 12% previously forecast. Ryanair raised its 2011 profit forecast by 10%, saying higher revenue per passenger mile would offset high fuel prices. The airline expects to make a profit before tax of €440 m for its 2011 financial year, up from previous forecast.
Click here to view full story...
ACI Backs IATA In Fight Against EU Emissions Trading
ICAO endorsed a paper by 26 states asking the EU to exclude non-EU states from the ETS. The Airports Council International says the issues of aircraft emissions should be addressed globally by ICAO and is “very concerned over the trade conflict” developing over the EU’s plan to charge all airlines flying into and out of European airports. IATA called for ICAO to develop a global ETS and appreciates the ACI support. The EU shows no signs of backing down.
Click here to view full story...
Durban climate summit set for rows on flying, cash and history
The summit opens at the end of November. EU plans on aviation, "climate aid" and the West's past CO2 output are set to be divisive. India has tabled a paper arguing that the EU's plan to include international flights in its ETS violates the UN climate convention and sets causes a new intractable conflict within the already strife-ridden climate negotiations. Some developing countries say Western nations have a duty to absorb CO2 over the coming decades.
Click here to view full story...
Shipping emissions ‘should be included in UK carbon targets’
The Committee on Climate Change warn that CO2 emissions from shipping should not be left to rise unchecked, and should be counted in UK's carbon targets. Otherwise they will imperil efforts to control global warming if left to rise unchecked. Shipping & aviation were purposely omitted from the UN negotiations because of alleged difficulty of apportioning them. If these sectors don't cut, all other sectors of the UK economy have to make steeper cuts.
Click here to view full story...
Indonesian palm oil industry pushing to double its output to provide 12% of all aviation biofuel
This is an article by the body that promotes Indonesian palm oil. So it is ludicrously biased in favour of using as much palm oil as possible, and to hell with the consequences. It hugely plays down environmental impacts of growing palm oil and talks about doubling existing palm oil growing in order to provide 1% of all aviation fuel by 2015. And then an extra 1% added each year, up to 12% when Indonesia grows double its current amount. And up to 50% "eventually".
Click here to view full story...
New study by Leicester University suggests EU biofuels are as carbon intensive as petrol
The new study was conducted for the International Council on Clean Transportation, an international think tank that wished to assess the greenhouse gas emissions associated with biodiesel production. Biodiesel mandates increase palm oil demand, and more is now being imported by the EU from Indonesia. The study found the scale of greenhouse gas emissions from oil palm plantations on peat is significantly higher than previously assumed.
Click here to view full story...
EU faces growing row over jet carbon plan
Pressure mounted on the European Union on Wednesday to back down over charges for jetliner pollution as a United Nations body was urged to weigh in and help prevent a carbon trade war. The aviation industry called for urgent action to prevent disruption to trade and tourism links as a result of EU plans to make airlines join a cap-and-trade scheme to curb emissions, which has sparked tit-for-tat legislation in the U.S. Congress.
Click here to view full story...
Greenhouse gases rose by record amount (6%) in 2010 – worse than the worst case scenario
The global output of CO2 has jumped by a record amount, according to the US department of energy, a sign of how feeble the world's efforts are at slowing man-made global warming. The 2010 figures mean levels of greenhouse gases are higher than the worst case scenario outlined by climate experts 4 years ago. The world pumped about 564 m more tons of carbon into the air in 2010 than it did in 2009, an increase of 6%. China, the US & India emitted the most.
Click here to view full story...
Committee on Climate Change says shipping should turn to sail to cut carbon
The Committee on Climate Change has called on the shipping industry to turn to wind power to cut the country’s carbon emissions. They want the industry to update propulsion systems, and fit sails, including a new rigid design resembling aircraft wings or large “towing kites”. There has been a 5 year study by the Technical University of Berlin. The CCC wants the UK to be the first to include shipping emissions in its calculation of greenhouse gases.
Click here to view full story...
Upset over Pickles’ airport business dinner with the industry before granting consent
Local government secretary Eric Pickles has come under fire for attending a private dinner with Farnborough airport chief executive Brandon O'Reilly just days before plans to almost double its capacity were finally approved. The dinner, at the 5-star Savoy hotel in February, was hosted by the lobbying firm Bell Pottinger. Guidance from Mr Pickles’s own department states that planning ministers are ‘strongly advised’ to decline requests for such meetings.
Click here to view full story...
Lord Foster’s Thames Estuary airport plan ‘pie-in-the-sky’ too close to oil terminal and devastating to wildlife
Foster's plan for a 4-runway airport in the Thames Estuary has been branded as a "daft pie-in-the-sky" scheme. Medway council say building it near existing gas terminals was a "potentially lethal mix". Nearby is one of the world's largest liquefied natural gas terminals. Medway council say the Isle of Grain was one of the worst places anyone could build a new airport. Friends of the Earth said building the airport would have a "devastating impact" on wildlife.
Click here to view full story...
Lord Foster unveils ambitious airport plans for Hoo Peninsula
Lord Foster has revealed ambitious plans for a multi-billion pounds transport hub connecting the UK's main sea ports and creating a huge new airport in Kent. The Thames Hub plans bring together a new river barrier and crossing, a 4 runway international airport on the Hoo Peninsula, and a shipping and rail complex.Foster says it will "lay the foundations for the future prosperity of Britain" and "create jobs across the UK and boost the economies ..." etc etc
Click here to view full story...
Home demolished for Gloucestershire Airport runway growth – for CAA “safety requirements”
A family home has been demolished to make way for a controversial runway extension. The demolition is part of a £4 million scheme to allow safety areas at either end of the runway to be extended by 30 metres to meet CAA requirements. Most of the work should be completed by the end of the year, but installation of new technology enabling aircraft to land in bad weather will be in 2012.This could lead to more flights and bigger aircraft using the airfield.
Click here to view full story...
Government won’t rule out plans for Boris Island airport in Thames Estuary
Plans for a Thames Estuary airport have not been ruled out completely by the government. Justine Greening said the coalition was willing to examine options to increase capacity in the region. "The Mayor is obviously a keen campaigner for the scheme and it will be something we look at..." said a DfT spokesman. She left open the possibility that the airport plan – dubbed Boris Island – could still be part of the agenda. They also back expansion at many airports.
Click here to view full story...
Gatwick chairman says aviation in ‘dialogue of the deaf’ with environmental groups
Sir David Rowlands, in a speech to the AOA criticised the industry's obsession with flaunting its green credentials via announcements about biofuel flights. He said airlines and airports are failing to engage with environmental groups. ‘What it does not mean is lone voices shouting 'hey – look at us we have just flown one of our aircraft on chip fat!' Just look at the reaction from environmental commentators to what has been happening with biofuels.’
Click here to view full story...
Plans for Manston Airport night flights – up to 8 per night
Manston is asking for permission to operate night flights, and wants Thanet District Council to allow an average of 8 take-offs or landings per night, between 11.30pm and 7am. They hope this would attract new airlines and they have over-ambitious job creation figures. Opponents fear it could pave the way for 24-hour arrivals & departures. The proposal is for 3 flights between 23:00 and 23:30, 2 flights between 23:30 and 06:00 and 3 between 06:00 and 07:00
Click here to view full story...
Airlines ready for next battle against EU carbon law
26 nations are expected to lodge a formal protest on 2nd Nov at the ICAO meeting, against the EU ETS, adding to transatlantic tension on the issue. From 1st Jan all flights entering the EU will have to buy carbon permits. Last week the US lower house passed a bill making it illegal for airlines to comply with the ETS. EU lawyers say any decision by ICAO would not be legally binding. Connie Hedegaard said the legislation was designed to address "the vertiginous growth in carbon emissions from aviation".
Click here to view full story...
Full text of Maria Eagle’s speech, on Labour’s ideas on future aviation policy
This is the full text of the speech by Maria Eagle, Labour's Shadow Transport Secretary, to the Airport Operators' Association. This confirms Labour will not press for a 3rd Heathrow runway. However, she says "Any serious strategy for aviation and its crucial role in the UK economy cannot start from a position that rules out additional capacity in the South East." This favours expansion at airports other than Heathrow. And also deeper aviation carbon cuts by 2050.
Click here to view full story...
Some of the many articles backing more expansion of London airports
There are so many of these stories, with pressure of one airport expansion lobbyist or another getting media time to argue for a new runway, or a new airport, or a cut in tax etc. These are a few recent ones. There is Lord Glendonbrook wanting new runways at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted. He is one of the Conservatives' largest donors .... And there are articles in the Telegraph every few days. And yet more complaints about paying APD ...
Click here to view full story...
Labour drops support for Heathrow runway and unveils new HS2 route to Birmingham
Labour will abandon its previous support for building a Heathrow 3rd runway. Ed Miliband had opposed its construction when he was in Government, but failed to persuade Gordon Brown to drop the party's commitment to runway 3. Maria Eagle, the shadow Transport Secretary, will confirm the move in a speech to the AOA, saying that "the local environmental impact means this is off the agenda". She will ask for cross-party consensus on this. She will unveil a new route for HS2
Click here to view full story...
US-wide activist network to be set up to oppose aviation growth
A new US-wide activist network is to be set up to oppose the soaring growth of aviation in America. The decision was taken after Americans heard from British campaigners John Stewart & Dan Glass about the success of similar networks in the UK. The new network will bring together local airport community campaigns with climate change activists and will press for investment in fast, affordable rail and coach systems as viable alternatives to many short distance flights.
Click here to view full story...
Air China test-flies 50% jatropha biofuel-powered Boeing 747
An Air China Boeing 747-400 took off from the Beijing airport, flew for 2 hours, and landed back at Beijing. It used 50% jatropha. This is one of a series of research projects launched last year by the US and China, the world's two biggest oil consumers. The fuel was developed by Boeing, Honeywell UOP, Chinese oil company PetroChina and Air China. They say a commercial biofuel should be available in three to five years.
Click here to view full story...
Runway invasion at Southend airport by Plane Stupid and Climate Rush
15 activists from Plane Stupid, and Climate Rush, entered Southend airport at 9am, got onto the runway, and stayed there for over an hour, before being arrested. They did a dance routine dressed as pilots and cabin crew, and planned to put up some solar panels. The protest was against the planned increase in flights from Southend in 2012, and the planned 300 metre runway extension. Protestors said the expansion will not create as many jobs as could be created by building renewable energy instead - saying "we need solar power, not plane power."
Click here to view full story...
New planning policy ‘completely omits aircraft noise issues’ – says Hounslow
Hounslow council has expressed concern that the new planning policy could see pressure from developers to build in areas most affected by noise from Heathrow Airport. They say the Draft NPPF has "completely omitted" the "inhumanity of living in areas most affected by aircraft noise". The borough is classified as one of the noisiest places in Europe, due to Heathrow. Under the NPPF local authorities would lose clear guidance on siting new developments in noisy areas.
Click here to view full story...
CE Delft economic study shows cost of building a new Nantes airport would exceed its benefits
Campaigners fighting the building of a new airport at Nantes (France) have commissioned a report by CE Delft, looking into the economics of building the airport, and whether there would be a financial benefit. This finds that, when correcting for the extremely high valuation of time and taking oil price projections and inclusion of aviation in the EU ETS into account, the costs of the new airport at Notre-Dame-des-Landes exceed the benefits.
Click here to view full story...
Kent and Essex airport plan debated by businesses
Proposals to build an airport in the Thames Estuary have been debated by business leaders in Kent. Boris is keen to have a £40bn facility between the Essex and Kent coasts. The RSPB, Medway Council and Kent County Council have opposed the idea, saying it would damage the environment. But some business leaders feel opposition obscures the potential economic benefits. Daniel Moylan says the airport would create 70,000 jobs (ignoring the jobs lost elsewhere).
Click here to view full story...
Boeing, Embraer enter Brazil jet-biofuel venture
Boeing Co and its Brazilian counterpart Embraer have joined forces with Brazilian Fapesp, to map out how best to expand the use of biofuels for jet engines from renewable sources such as sugar cane. They are aware of criticisms about biofuel not helping with global warming. They say they don't want feedstocks that are also food crops. A 9-month study will look at the potential feedstocks and their large-scale commercial challenges and advantages.
Click here to view full story...
BAA revenues rise on more Heathrow passengers this year
Record summer traffic at Heathrow has helped to narrow the losses of BAA. Heathrow has had record monthly passenger numbers since April, up 6.1% to 52.6m in the 9 months to September 30. There was increased travel to and from the US, Germany, Switzerland, France and Brazil. This drove revenues up 10% to £1.7bn at BAA's London airports – Heathrow and Stansted – and narrowed pre-tax losses from £193m to £147m.
Click here to view full story...
High Court rejects Bristol Airport judicial review
Campaign group Stop Bristol Airport Expansion have been refused permission for a judicial review against North Somerset Council’s approval of the airport’s plan. Mr Justice Collins, at London’s High Court, said the decision adhered to Government aviation policy (the out of date ATWP 2003) and even if that policy was flawed, legally it should stand. They had argued that climate change was a local, national & international issue, and thus relevant to airport expansion.
Click here to view full story...
Commission recognises climate impact of unconventional oil in fuel quality directive
The EU is committed to cutting the CO2 impact of fuel production by 6% by 2020 from 2010 level. So it has to set "values" for each fuel, on the carbon intensity of the extraction process. Conventional fuels have a value of 87.5 gCO2/ MJ of energy. Fierce lobbying from Alberta, which has huge tar sands reserves, led to a delay in setting a tar sand oil standard.. The EU plans to give oil from tar sands a value of 107g CO2/MJ and oil from shale 131.5 g. To be decided in December. UK is one country to oppose the higer tar sand level.
Click here to view full story...
Institution of Mechanical Engineers urges UK aerospace to consider ambitious futuristic tecnologies
The IMechE has produced a report saying UK aerospace should be considering seemingly improbable options, like pilot-free planes, solar powered flight, planes flying at x5 the speed of sound, and a system by which individual units can be released and float down to the designated area where the passenger needs to go ... and flying pigs .... The UK is currently the second biggest aerospace manufacturer in the world but is being challenged by emerging economies.
Click here to view full story...