Latest News
Latest news stories:
Flybe plane’s wheel falls off sparking emergency landing drama at Exeter
Date added: 4 March, 2011
A Flybe aircraft lost a wheel during take-off, forcing the pilot to make an emergency
landing. The Flybe Bombardier Q 400 was forced to turn back to Exeter when a wheel underneath
the wing came off during “retraction”. Terrified passengers reported seeing a "large piece of metal" protruding from
the undercarriage. The 39 passengers and 4 crew on board the BE 703 flight, bound
for Newcastle all escaped serious injury.
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Why flying less means more for business – new WWF business flying report
Date added: 3 March, 2011
New research published by WWF suggests that businesses are making a permanent
commitment to fly less. Nearly half of UK businesses said they had cut business
flights over the past 2 years and, of these, 85% said they don’t intend to return
to ‘business as usual’ flying. Most companies who have reduced their flying say
it’s possible to stay profitable and competitive while flying less. These findings
suggest future business flying will not return to pre-recessionary levels.
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Gatwick: Is a runway plan stopping golf fairways?
Date added: 3 March, 2011
A year ago, the chairman of owner GAL, Sir David Rowlands, stated publicly that
the company had "not a shred of interest in a 2nd runway". Concerned residents, who have been fighting any such plans for decades, were
further reassured by the coalition Government's opposition. But now a local landowner who has been trying to get consent for a golf course on an
adjacent site, finds the airport objecting at every turn. Doubtless they want
it for a runway.
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UK public asked to record aircraft contrails for Met Office climate survey
Date added: 3 March, 2011
The UK public are being asked to blow bubbles and spot plane trails as part of a new national survey on the climate. The research, led by scientists at the Met Office and the Royal Meteorological Society, will look at various aspects of how humans
are affecting the climate. People are being asked to look out for contrails, which may be contributing to climate change and which can only be recorded by the human eye. Records can be sent in online
or by text. Please send in as many as you, as often as you can, from March to
June.
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Aviation industry launches “Fair Tax on Flying” campaign, wanting yet more tax concessions
Date added: 3 March, 2011
A new aviation industry (an alliance of over 25 airlines, airports, tour operators,
destinations and trade associations) campaign, Fair Tax on Flying, launches today.
It is calling on the chancellor to stop a planned rise in aviation taxes. The
industry says APD puts the UK at a competitive disadvantage when compared with
our European neighbours and punishes UK holidaymakers and business travellers
unfairly. They omit to mention that aviation pays no fuel tax and no VAT.
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Guernsey Airport runway extension plans under fire from opponents
Date added: 2 March, 2011
A report published earlier this month by consultants Mott MacDonald found the
planned improvements to the runway were essential. The £81m project approved by the States includes the reconstruction of the runway
and the extension of the current boundaries to the west. Mott MacDonald also investigated using a collapsible concrete system, called
EMAS and designed to bring an aircraft overrunning the runway to a controlled
halt.
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New video from Transition Heathrow to mark the group’s first birthday
Date added: 1 March, 2011
There is a wonderfully positive and uplifting video from Transition Heathrow, celebrating the first anniversary of their presence on the site. Before the activists arrived the derelict greenhouses were used by the owners
to illegally dump cars and other waste. Grow Heathrow gardeners and local residents
cleared the refuse with council help and carefully restored the greenhouses –
turning the land back into a market garden and community.
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Advertising watchdog finds Easyjet ad claming to be greener than Jet2 was misleading
Date added: 28 February, 2011
Easyjet plans to appeal against a ruling from the Advertising Standards Agency
that it misrepresented its green credentials. The ASA that the airline had misled the public with an advert that appeared in the Newcastle
press in 2007. In the ad, Easyjet claimed its fleet was greener than that of rival
airline Jet2, because its aircraft were younger. The ASA said the age of the planes
was not the only criterion, and objective verification was needed.
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Work on hydrogen for aircraft fuel progresses through EADS and Glasgow university
Date added: 27 February, 2011
EADS, the European aerospace giant, is collaborating with British universities
on hydrogen fuel cells that could power a new generation of aircraft and cars.
Glasgow researchers are working on a new solid-state storage system for hydrogen
which would not require so much space, nor be too heavy. To enable this, researchers are using nanotechnology to alter the design and
material composition of a storage tank to make it more efficient.
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Report criticises the UK over its refusal to earmark EU ETS carbon revenues for financing green projects
Date added: 25 February, 2011
Aviation will join the EU ETS in 2012. Despite EC proposals that at least half
of auction revenues should be used to help reduce greenhouse gases, develop renewable
energies and clean technologies, and shift to low-emission forms of transport,
the UK has refused to hypothecate revenues. An attempt by the European Parliament
to force EU member states to comply when passing the Aviation EU ETS directive
was rejected by EU Council ministers.
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Transport Minister orders Public Inquiry of Southend Airport runway extension road closure
Date added: 25 February, 2011
Philip Hammond has called a Public Inquiry into the Stopping Up (closure) of
Eastwoodbury Lane. SAEN learned the news in a letter from the National Transport
Casework Team. The Minister’s decision was taken in the light of objections to
the Stopping Up order from members of the public, including members of SAEN. The
closure of the road essential to the airport’s plan to extend its runway. The
economic, environmental and social costs of the road closure outweigh any benefit
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China plans airport building spree – up to a total of 220 airports
Date added: 25 February, 2011
China will build another 45 airports over the next 5 years. Li Jiaxing, the head of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, said that
the new investments would take the total number of airports in the country to
220, even though most of the existing airports were losing money. 130 of the
country’s 175 existing airports were currently lossmaking, with the combined loss
amounting to Rmb1.68bn. The rapid expansion in China’s high-speed rail network has also raised questions about over-investment
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Empty Ciudad Real airport – a silent witness to Spanish boom
Date added: 25 February, 2011
Ciudad Real airport, 140 miles south of Madrid, is one of the country’s largest
and most modern international airports. The site is next to a town of just 72,000 people on the sparsely populated Castilian
plain. It has become a monument to the financial folly born of the property boom and exacerbated
by regional politics. Few flights use it now. The airport is in bankruptcy proceedings owing vast sums, including publicly
funded infrastructure
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Scottish government says it will seek powers if re-elected to cut APD to help boost flights
Date added: 25 February, 2011
Alex Salmond has said his SNP will seek powers to reduce UK Air Passenger Duty
on Scottish air travellers if re-elected to office in parliamentary elections
in May. He believes cutting APD would not impact on Scotland’s climate change
goals as having more direct flights abroad would reduce the need to travel and
connect through Heathrow and would be cost neutral as lost tax revenue would be
made up for by the increased number of flights.
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Group claims London City Airport’s Crash Zone “Corporate Conspiracy of Silence”
Date added: 25 February, 2011
Questions have been raised about why London City Airport did not raise objections
to the planned cable car due to its route passing through the Public Safety Zone.
The Cable Car is a joint application between Transport for London and the London
Development Agency from whom London City Airport have received £millions in taxpayer
subsidies. Newham council appears to have omitted important details on the PSZ
in their approval.
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TakeVAT strikes again, with a massive aviation VAT poster in London
Date added: 24 February, 2011
TakeVAT, the group which caused disruption at Heathrow 3 weeks ago, has struck
again. They “subvertised” an advertising billboard on a busy South London street
as part of their ongoing campaign to highlight the fact that the aviation industry
- one of the most noisy and carbon intensive - pays no VAT. There is no VAT on
airline tickets, the purchase of planes or on spare parts for aircraft. This amounts
to around £9 billion loss to the Treasury each year.
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BAA reduces losses in 2010 as it hopes passenger traffic returning
Date added: 24 February, 2011
BAA said it delivered a "robust" financial performance in 2010 despite disruption
caused by volcanic ash, strikes and snow. It reported a 9% rise in underlying earnings to £966.9m and said losses including
one-off items narrowed to £316.6m from the £821.9m recorded a year earlier. BAA
said with improved passenger growth at Heathrow over the 2nd half of 2010, there
would be an increase in profitability this year with additional investment in
facilities.
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East Midlands Airport “is a step closer to providing its own bio-fuel to power terminal”
Date added: 24 February, 2011
More than 390,000 trees will be planted by the aiport on land near Castle Donington,
which covers about 32 hectares. The first of 3 phases of planting started March
2010 and the airport hopes to harvest its first crop in 2013. The willow will
be used in a bio-mass boiler, due to be fitted in 2012 – and save 350 tonnes of
CO2 per year (about the same as 10 planes on return flights to Greece). The airport
hopes to become "carbon-neutral" (ignoring the flights).
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BAA owner Ferrovial returns to profit after disposals
Date added: 24 February, 2011
Ferrovial announced a net profit for 2010 of €2.2bn (£1.8bn) driven by gains
it made on asset sales. However, a €734m provision against the fall in value of
BAA because of forced sales of UK airports meant the profit was lower than expected.
Ferrovial wants to sell a 10% stake, worth about €200m, in BAA. This would take Ferrovial's holding in BAA, which it bought at the height of the credit
boom, below 50%
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Lydd Airport: local resident group sends simple message to the Secretary of State: “This is an inappropriate site for a regional airport”
Date added: 23 February, 2011
The Lydd Airport Action Airport Group (LAAG) QC, Matthew Horton told the Lydd
Airport Public Inquiry at the Tuesday 22nd February opening session: “A simple
common sense approach would dictate that Lydd Airport is an inappropriate site
for a regional airport, direction to this effect should have been given much earlier
in the planning and regulatory process. We would like this simple message to be
conveyed to the secretary of state.”
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Nuclear risk from plane crashes is higher than estimated, Lydd inquiry shows
Date added: 23 February, 2011
The risk that planes will crash into nuclear plants and release potentially lethal
clouds of radioactivity is significantly higher than official estimates, according
to expert evidence to the Lydd airport expansion public inquiry. Studies submitted to the inquiry cast doubt on assurances from the government's
HSE that the dangers of accidental plane crashes are too small to worry about,
and could underestimate the risk by 20%. (Guardian)
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Oil price fueling fears for airlines
Date added: 22 February, 2011
Nobody is prepared to say Saudi Arabia will be immune to the wave of unrest in the middle east. In 2010, Brent Crude averaged about $80 per barrel. If prices remain as they are now in 2011, the industry's fuel bill will jump perhaps $22 billion, wiping out last year's record $15.1 billion industry profit. For every dollar increase in the average price of a barrel of oil over the year, airlines have to recover an additional $1.6 billion in costs.
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Campaigners remain defiant after Manchester airport protest verdict and sentencing
Date added: 22 February, 2011
Campaigners from the ‘Manchester Airport on Trial’ group were sentenced after
a 2 day trial at Trafford Magistrates’ court. The judge recognised the “sincerity”
and “laudable motives” of the protesters, and handed down lenient sentences of
2 year conditional discharges and £310 court costs. One defendant received 80
hours of community service. The 6 campaigners stood trial for an action last May
2010 where they formed a human circle around the wheel of a Monarch Airline jet.
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Plane Stupid demo at Manchester airport increased emissions, court hears
Date added: 22 February, 2011
The trial of the 6 Manchester climate protestors continues. The court heard that
during the 30 minutes when the airport was closed, the protest about aviation
carbon emissions actually led to an increase in pollution. Allegedly the delay
caused burning £1,500 extra fuel as the Monarch plane left late and attempted
to make up lost time and 6 planes were diverted elsewhere. The protestors were
tired of being "fobbed off" by the airport on climate issues.
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Start of 2nd trial of Manchester airport protestors: climate expert speaks out on aviation industry’s ‘special treatment’
Date added: 21 February, 2011
The trial of 6 climate protesters who breached airside security at Manchester
Airport began today at Trafford Magistrates Court. They will plead not guilty
to the charge of aggravated trespass after they formed a human circle around the
wheel of a Monarch Airline jet in May 2010. The defendants argue they acted to
prevent death and serious injury by stopping emissions from the airport. Leading
scientist Kevin Anderson, from the Tyndall Centre spoke for the defence.
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Hammond lends an ear to jet din protest in Egham and Thorpe
Date added: 18 February, 2011
A public meeting to discuss the growing frustration at aircraft noise over Egham,
Egham Hythe and Thorpe has been called by Transport Sec and Runnymede & Weybridge
MP Philip Hammond. Research carried out by residents attributes the increased noise to Heathrow's
policy of using fewer take-off flight paths and restricting the aircraft to a
narrower band of space. Aircraft flying lower and the increase in flights at Heathrow are also blamed.
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Supreme Court calls time on BAA
Date added: 18 February, 2011
Stop Stansted Expansion has welcomed the decision by the Supreme Court to refuse
BAA permission to mount a further appeal against the Competition Commission’s
2009 ruling that it must sell Stansted Airport (and also either its Edinburgh
or Glasgow airport). This means that BAA has now exhausted the full legal process. But SSE is concerned
that BAA now argue circumstances have changed since 2009, and are trying for further
delay.
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BAA airport sell-off still on after new court ruling
Date added: 18 February, 2011
BAA has lost its latest challenge against a ruling that it must sell Stansted
and either Glasgow or Edinburgh. BAA has mounted a string of legal challenges in an attempt to keep them ever
since the Competition Commission ruled in 2009 that BAA must sell 3 of its 7 UK
airports. The Supreme Court has not allowed BAA to appeal against the earlier Court of
Appeal decision. The Competition Commission will report again next month.
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Lufthansa biofuel flights postponed by certification delay
Date added: 18 February, 2011
Lufthansa has been forced to postpone its planned commercial biofuel flights by at least
a month because the fuel will not be certified in time by regulators. It planned to begin a 6-month trial in April, in which it aims to operate its Frankfurt-Hamburg
route using an International Aero Engine-powered Airbus A321 with one of its engines running on a 50/50 blend of biofuel from vegetable
oil and traditional kerosene. Now pushed back to end of May.
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Families forced to pay 269% more for holidays (by the travel companies) in popular weeks
Date added: 18 February, 2011
Hard pressed, hard working British families are being charged up to 269% more
to go on holiday over half-term. On average, trips for the week of Feb 19 - 26,
when most British schoolchildren are off, are 53% more expensive than going 2
weeks later. Packages with flights from London face the biggest price increases – on average
67% more than 2 weeks later. Travel companies are trying to scoop money wherever
they can. So much for complaints about APD.
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Exxon struggles to find new oil – but still increasing gas finds
Date added: 17 February, 2011
Exxon Mobi Corp., the world's largest publicly traded oil company, is struggling to find
more oil. In its closely watched annual financial report just released, the company said
that for every 100 barrels it has pumped out of the earth over the past decade,
it has replaced only 95. Exxon now has more natural gas in reserve for future production than oil. It's a conundrum shared by most of the other large Western oil-producing companies.
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Jo Johnson MP opposes Biggin Hill airport plans
Date added: 17 February, 2011
Jo has said he is “strongly opposed” to the airport’s plans to seek changes to
its Lease, and has said so in his submission to the consultation. He feels running scheduled services and carrying individual fare paying passengers requires
the explicit permission of Bromley Council, as landlord. If these restrictions
are lifted, even if temporarily for the Olympics, the Council risks undermining
a key point of principle and getting larger, noisier planes.
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NOT GUILTY of annoying the airport by complaining for 4 years about Gatwick aircraft noise
Date added: 16 February, 2011
An elderly lady, Ann Jones, was recently arrested, at the instigation of Gatwick Airport, for lodging too many complaints with the airport noise complaints line. She was charged with the criminal offence of using a telephone to cause annoyance or anxiety – although she only spoke to an airport answerphone set up to receive noise complaints. She was taken to court but found not guilty. GACC said it was a disgrace the case had ever been brought, wasting public money. Ann Jones had adopted the tactic of ringing the airport answerphone each time she heard a plane. Although unusual, the court decided that this was not illegal. As Ann said: “What is the point of having a complaints service if one can’t use it to complain?”
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Obama Proposes Cuts in Airport Funding
Date added: 16 February, 2011
The Obama Administration’s Fiscal Year 2012 budget request includes a proposed
$1.1 billion reduction in AIP [Airport Improvement Program] funding to $2.4 billion
and the elimination of all AIP grants - entitlements and discretionary funding -
to large and medium hub airports.
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Arab millionaire’s plan for Kent airport meets mass opposition as Inquiry starts
Date added: 16 February, 2011
The Lydd airport inquiry has started and may run for 13 weeks. The airport, which
handled only 588 commercial passengers in 2009, aims to upgrade its facilities
to allow regular flights by planes as large as Boeing 737s. Environmental and
tourism groups have voiced fierce opposition. There were 12,000 objectors to the
original application, including the RSPB, whose Dungeness reserve lies close to
the airport's flight path.
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Easyjet aircraft coating bid to save 1 – 2% fuel by cutting drag
Date added: 16 February, 2011
EasyJet has sprayed 8 aircraft with a special coating paint, make by TripleO, including
nanoparticles, hoping to make savings which it may pass on to customers. The
technology has been used by the American military for 25 years, and reduces drag
on the plane's surface by preventing dust and debris build-up. It could reduce
drag by 1 - 2%. EasyJet will compare fuel consumption of the 8 planes with the
rest of the fleet over a 12-month trial period.
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Protest as Lydd airport inquiry into runway extension and new terminal starts
Date added: 15 February, 2011
Protests are being held at the start of a public inquiry into plans to build
a new terminal building and extend the runway at Lydd. Campaigners against the
expansion say it will bring noise pollution and damage wildlife in one of the
South East's most tranquil sites. Some businesses back the plans, which they hope
will bring jobs to an area needing regeneration. The airport initially wants 4
take offs and 4 landings per day. The inquiry will last 13 weeks.
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Email campaign launched to ban night flights at Heathrow as major study finds sleep deprivation increases stroke and heart disease risk
Date added: 15 February, 2011
Just after a major new study linked chronic sleep shortage to increased risk of heart disease and strokes, HACAN has launched an email campaign to persuade MPs to back its call for a ban on night flights at Heathrow before 6am. Residents can email their MP and MEPs via HACAN's website: www.hacan.org.uk. The Warwick University Medical School study shows that getting inadequate sleep(under 6 hours), or having sleep disturbed, has highly negative health effects.
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Boris Johnson’s cable car application decends into chaos
Date added: 15 February, 2011
The cable car route goes through the London City Airport Public Safety Zone, also referred to as a "crash zone". The application has now been withdrawn from the Mayor's Office pending a safety assessment. Objections have been sent to the Mayor regarding the potential disregard of the DfT PSZ Circular. TfL have instructed NATS to assess the risks of a cable car through the London City Airport Crash Zone in what appears to be a complete reversal.
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Boeing hopes biofuel could be 1% of global aviation fuel by 2015
Date added: 15 February, 2011
Boeing hopes aviation biofuels will be practical by around 2015. A Boeing director
said the company is working with others throughout the industry toward having
1% (about 16 million gallons) of all aviation fuel come from non-petroleum sources
by then. The industry hopes to become "carbon neutral" by 2020 but only if it
can use low carbon fuels. It hopes (probably unrealistically) that biofuels will
be the magic bullet to allow growth as usual.
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Site battles: Remembering the fight against the 2nd runway at Manchester Airport
Date added: 15 February, 2011
On February 17th in Manchester there will be a photo exhibition and speaker event
at the University of Manchester Students Union, to look back at the fight against
the runway, over ten years ago. In the late 1990s, people from across Greater
Manchester united to oppose a 2nd runway. Whilst local villagers marched and
rallied, environmental protesters occupied treehouses and dug tunnels on the land
where the runway now lies.
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More bad news for Farnborough residents as airport wins appeal for more flights
Date added: 13 February, 2011
The airport has won its fight to nearly double the number of flights each year.
The airport will now be allowed to cater for 50,000 flights every year, almost
twice the 28,000 current limit. It can also now host 8,900 flights on weekend
and Bank Holidays - up from 5,000. The inspector said while there would be some
harm in respect of increased noise, the degree of harm would be moderate. Climate
effects were not propertly taken into account, and undue weight was given to the,
now obsolete, 2003 Aviation White Paper.
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Airline APD lobbyists agree one voice is needed
Date added: 11 February, 2011
BA and rival carriers are finalising plans to offer a united front in their campaign
against the current structure of Air Passenger Duty. They will join with trade associations to lobby the government ahead of the Budget
on March 23 when the chancellor will address APD. The campaign will urge changes to the banding and rates of tax, eg the Caribbean
anomaly. They will also argue that passengers are transferring to European hubs
to avoid the APD.
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Birmingham Friends of the Earth call for fairness and transparency in public funding
Date added: 11 February, 2011
Birmingham FoE welcome the fact that the Birmingham LEP's bid for £15 million
from the Regional Growth Fund to subsidise the airport's runway extension was
ruled ineligible under round one, but is looking for more transparency in future
rounds. The money, which would be used for the diversion of the A45 Coventry Road to
enable the 350-metre runway extension, is still likely to be asked for in future
rounds, but FoE believes public money should not be sought.
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Newquay Airport Local Development Order application consultation until 9th March
Date added: 11 February, 2011
Cornwall Council has announced that Newquay Airport has applied for a Local Development
Order. This would grant the airport planning permission to carry out aviation related development, such as runway
resurfacing, improvements to taxiways and the construction of aviation related
buildings. These would be considered as permitted development. A consultation
on this ends 9th March.
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MoD begins 10 weeks flight training at Newquay Airport
Date added: 11 February, 2011
Newquay Airport has agreed to become the first in the country to strike a deal
with the Ministry of Defence for a two and a half month flight training scheme.
From 15th Feb, Newquay Airport will open its skies to military fixed wing aircraft.
The agreement comes as part of the working relationship that has continued between
the pair since the MoD left RAF St Mawgan in Nov 2008. The MoD are keen on the
long runway and non-congested airspace
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New report reveals Newquay Airport ‘going from strength to strength’ (?)
Date added: 11 February, 2011
A report seems to show that Newquay airport produces a great deal of economic
benefit for Cornwall. This is despite receiving an immense amount of tax payers'
money. The airport gets an annual subsidy from Cornwall Council of £3.4 million. Newquay
will also get £7.8 m from Cornwall over the next 3 years. (The report says this
is a saving to the taxpayer of £112.000 ....?) Newquay also gets significant
European funding.
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New York Aviation report on the (alleged) £500 million annual benefit from London City Airport
Date added: 10 February, 2011
A new report has been written by York Aviation, for the London Chamber of Commerce,
on the alleged financial contribution it makes to London. It says the airport "contributes around £500 million every year to the UK economy and continues to
support London’s financial services sector." It also says the airport has given
the area a presence, image and sense of identity that has made east London and
the Docklands an attractive and exciting place.
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Publicity article in Docklands on Richard Gooding and London City Airport
Date added: 10 February, 2011
A bit of publicity for the airport and its Chief Executive, Richard Gooding OBE.
Gooding reiterates the airport is upfront and very clear about its plans to expand.
"There is not yet the market for that expansion. We need to see it grow". Gooding
will add new upmarket leisure routes. Malaga and Faro will start in spring and
there are still some untapped business travel markets like Scandinavia, Germany
and cities such as Stockholm.
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Data at 300 European airports reveals winners and losers in 2010 by airport and country; demand up 4.8%
Date added: 9 February, 2011
Anna aero figures show the airports across Europe that gained or lost passengers
during 2010 compared to 2009. While UK airports had 3.4% less passengers, France
had a gain of 1.2%; Germany a gain of 4.7% and Italy a gain of 7%; Netherlands
up 4.7%. Out in the lead with growth over 20% were Turkey, Lithuania and Russia.
Overall gain across Europe was up 4.8%. Passengers at Greek airports were down
5%, Ireland down 13%,
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Southend Judicial Review applicant wins right to oral hearing
Date added: 9 February, 2011
Southend campaigners have learned that a renewal of claim for permission to apply
for JR has been filed with the High Court. This means that a 20-minute hearing in front of a High Court judge will take
place later this year, perhaps within 2 months. All grounds for refusal are being challenged by the lawyers pursuing the case.
This means the initial refusal is effectively meaningless, and the decision will be
taken by the judge presiding over the Oral Hearing.
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Plan for 2nd Glasgow runway ditched in draft Master Plan with lower passenger forecasts
Date added: 9 February, 2011
BAA, the owners of Glasgow Airport, have dropped plans to build a 2nd runway
and slashed forecasts for passenger growth under a new 30-year development plan.
It expects to see 10 million people a year use Glasgow International by 2020, compared to
6.5 million passengers in 2010, with 16.4 million passengers a year expected by
2040. But this is far lower than the earlier forecast of over 20 million passengers by 2030, needing runway 2.
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Deluge of complaints on night flights since launch of Heathrow report
Date added: 7 February, 2011
Campaign group HACAN has been deluged by complaints about night flights following
the publication of its report two weeks ago. HACAN has released a digest of some
of the emails they received from people outlining how they are disturbed by night
flights, with emails from as far afield as Greenwich and North East London. For those who are woken up by aircraft noise, there is no escape and night flights
have become a regular nightmare or alarm call.
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Students group, People & Planet, make pledges on cutting carbon emissions
Date added: 7 February, 2011
Student environmental organisation, People & Planet,are asking students to
take the pledge to cut carbon, One of the 5 pledges that students are asked to
take says "Seek alternatives to international flights and never fly within the
UK". They are asking universities to cut spending on flights and increase video
conferencing. Also asking students to email David Willetts, the Minister of State,
to ask him for a range of actions relating to education and universities.
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Airlines warn Tories not to sell Government 49% stake in NATS
Date added: 6 February, 2011
7 UK airlines have warned government not to sell Nats, arguing that the system
is a key strategic asset not suitable for full privatisation. The Airline Group warns of "highly damaging" consequences if the state sells all
of its 49% stake, an option under consideration by Philip Hammond. The Airline Group, which has a 42% stake in Nats, told Hammond that it would
sell its interest if the government failed to retain a shareholding of at least
25%. (Observer)
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Olympic cable car ‘at risk from City Airport planes’
Date added: 5 February, 2011
A planned cable car across the River Thames may be unsafe because it goes too
close to London City Airport, Friends of the Earth has warned. It would go through the "public safety zone" around the airport though the docking stations
are not in the PSZ. FoE felt proper consideration had not been given to this problem. The cable car would link 2012 Olympic venues at Greenwich and the Royal Docks
and will carry up to 2,500 passengers an hour.
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High Court initial refusal of legal challenge to Southend Airport plan
Date added: 3 February, 2011
The High Court has refused permission for the Judicial Review being pursued by a member of the local
group, Stop Southend Extension Now (SAEN) against the Southend Council decision
to allow a runway extension. The situation is not as straight-forward as this
makes it sound and the media and airport supporters are under the impression that
it's all over for opponents. The applicants' next stage would be to apply for
an Oral Hearing in the next week.
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Calls for Boris Cable Car route across London City airport PSZ to be scrapped
Date added: 3 February, 2011
Local people around London City Airport have called for Boris Johnson to scrap
his plans for his Cable Car crossing on safety grounds. The Cable Car, which has received planning permission from Newham Council, is
to be built through the London City Airport Public Safety Zone against DFT Guidelines
to the contrary. The Cable Car system which will carry up to 340 people at any one time is at
a higher risk of being involved in an aircraft incident.
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The EU ETS: The great carbon trading scandal
Date added: 2 February, 2011
The European market for carbon allowances is worth about €90bn per year. Companies that use a lot of energy are obliged to own allowances for each tonne of CO2 they produce. Carbon allowances are now worth €14. There have been many recent cases where carbon allowance have been stolen or disappeared, through fraud. Over the past 2 years carbon allowance fraud escalated into an organised crime depriving taxpayers of €5bn in revenue. Aviation joins the ETS in 2012.
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BP enters aviation biofuels in Brazil (jatropha, soy, sugarcane?)
Date added: 2 February, 2011
In Brazil TAM Airlines in conjunction with Airbus, jatropha biofuel producer
Brasil Ecodiesel, and AirBP are jointly developing a bio-SPK (Synthetic Paraffinic
Kerosene) manufacturing facility with a 80,000 ton per year capacity that is expected
to come online in 2013. in addition to the jatropha and soy biodiesel production
there is a substantial influx of US advanced biofuels technologies based in the
conversion of sugarcane to diesel and jet fuel.
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Air China plans transpacific jatropha biofuel test flight in 2011
Date added: 2 February, 2011
Air China said it plans to operate a transpacific demonstration flight partially
powered by biofuel in the 2nd half of 2011. CA is expected to use a Boeing 747
powered by Pratt & Whitney engines on the test flight. Boeing has agreed to
partner with CA to provide technical support. PetroChina will provide jatropha-based
fuel. The flight would follow a number of biofuel test flights including Air New
Zealand, Continental Airlines, Japan Airlines and TAM.
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Finnair postpones introduction of biofuel
Date added: 1 February, 2011
In December, Finnair announced it was in discussion with Nesté Oil to buy jet
fuels made from logging waste. Their decision would depend on avialability, commercial
viability etc. Now Finnair has decided against using this biofuel in some flights
this year, on grounds of cost and sustainability. They are still interested if
fuel can be produced from local wood chips. However these fuels are more costly
than kerosene.
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Taking the train to Europe: Light at the end of the Chunnel
Date added: 1 February, 2011
The Metro reports that the future of travel to mainland Europe could take a different turn with the train
making a play for millions of new passengers. The number of trains crossing the Channel could double from 2013 with proposed
new routes. The plans would mean direct services to major cities and tourist hot
spots in Germany, Netherlands, eastern Europe, France, Italy and Spain becoming
a reality - using currently unused chunnel capacity.
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Shell exits algae as it commences “Year of Choices”
Date added: 31 January, 2011
Last week Shell announced that it will will exit its shareholding in Cellana,
a joint venture between Shell and HR Biopetroleum. In 2007, HRBP and Royal Dutch
Shell had formed Cellana as a separate joint venture to build and operate a demonstration
facility to grow marine algae and produce vegetable oil for conversion into biofuel.
Shell said it will "narrow its research paths in advanced biofuels from 10 advanced
technologies to 5 in 2011".
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APD may scupper airlines’ ‘premium economy’ seats
Date added: 31 January, 2011
A number of airlines are preparing to scrap their "premium economy" products
unless the Treasury agrees to overhaul APD. Currently the same tax is charged
on a seat with a couple of inches more space as for a full business-class ticket
which includs a lot more. This adds £120 to the cost of a flight to the US. The Government has announced that it is ready to review APD bands and will publish
proposals for reform in March in the budget. (Telegraph)
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Biggin Hill airport is hopeful of cashing in on an Olympic bonus
Date added: 29 January, 2011
Biggin Hill airport is keen to capitalise on the Olympics, and wants to be a
key gateway partly by increasing its hours so it is open from 6.30am to 11pm
each day from July 13 to September 23. The lease currently permits flights between
6.30am and 10pm in the week and from 9am to 8pm at weekends. Local group BRAAD,
Bromley Residents Against Airport Development, says the longer hours will badly
affect residents and be of no benefit to them.
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Philip Hammond tells industry “We will not agree” on aviation policy
Date added: 29 January, 2011
Hammond has acknowledged he and airline bosses are likely to disagree on some
key issues, but called on the industry to back a new government strategy for aviation. The
government recognises that the industry plays an important role for the economy and the transport system, but also that aviation imposes a cost, particularly
on the environment. And that aviation growth must be "within the environmental
constraints, both local and global, that we must impose”.
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Hydrogen to fuel planes: too energy intensive to be viable but research continues
Date added: 29 January, 2011
Though hydrogen to fuel aircraft has been rejected as an option by most fuel
researchers due to enormous energy costs in its production and the need for huge
fuel tanks, which themselves increase the plane's fuel consumption. However, a
research project at Glasgow university is working to use nanotechnology to find
a way of storing hydrogen in a solid state by modifying the compostion and microstructure
of the tank.
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Manston airport opens horses facility to cash in on 2012 London Olympics
Date added: 28 January, 2011
Manston airport hopes the world’s top horses could be landing at the airport in the run up to the Olympics. The
airport has started work on a new £250,000 EU equine border inspection post that will open
in April and able to house up to 10 horses. They have offered their services to
the Olympic Committee. It will be licensed for the importation of horses and other animals into the EU. These flights
often climb slowly and noisily to avoid scaring the horses.
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Decision nears on Manston Airport plan to discharge runway waste into the sea
Date added: 28 January, 2011
The EA will make a decision in February on plans to allow drainage of runway
waste into Pegwell Bay. The EA invited residents to view the application made by Infratil, at a meeting in Ramsgate
last week. Infratil plans to install an interceptor tank capable of removing runoff water from the taxiways,
aprons and runway before discharging the waste into the sea. Concerns were raised over glycols (de-icers) which cannot be removed using filtration.
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The end of consumerism: Our way of life is ‘not viable’
Date added: 27 January, 2011
Ditch the dog; throw away (sorry, recycle) those takeaway menus; bin bottled
water; get rid of that gas-guzzling car and forget flying to far-flung places.
These are just some of the sacrifices we in the West will need to make if we are
to survive climate change. The recent WorldWatch report says a wholesale transformation
of dominant cultural patterns is needed, including rejecting consumerism... and
establishing instead a new cultural framework centred on sustainability.
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Report finds ban on Heathrow night flights could benefit the economy by £860 million over 10 years
Date added: 27 January, 2011
A new report has been launched by HACAN, showing that a ban on night flights
arriving at Heathrow before 6am would have a positive effect on the economy. This
would amount to some £860 million over 10 years, from the monetary costs of sleep
disturbance to thousands under flight paths. The report's launch marks the start
of a campaign by HACAN to get a ban on night flights between 11pm and 6am when
the new night flight regime is introduced in 2012.
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Road traffic noise linked with the chance of suffering a stroke
Date added: 26 January, 2011
(Road traffic noise, not aircraft noise). Research at the the Institute of Cancer
Epidemiology in Copenhagen shows exposure to noise from road traffic can increase
the risk of a stroke, particularly in older people. It found that for every 10
dB increase in noise the risk of having a stroke rises by 14%. In those under
65, the chance of a stroke caused by noise was not significant; but over 65, the
risk increased by 27% for every 10dB increase in traffic noise.
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High-speed rail is no substitute for airport runways, says ex-HS2 boss Rowlands
Date added: 26 January, 2011
Sir David Rowlands, who is now chairman of Gatwick airport, the former chairman
of High Speed Two last year, and at the DfT from 2003 - 2007, will give a speech
on 26th Jan to Transport Times. He will say that HS2 cannot replace a Heathrow
3rd runway or reduce congestion at south east airports. He criticises government
policy and says the Government decision to block a 3rd runway was taken with "scant
regard" for the evidence and expert analysis.
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European Aviation CO2 emissions figures for 2010 – UK and Heathrow are WAY ahead of EU countries or airports
Date added: 25 January, 2011
RDC Aviation figures show how much more emissions are produced by UK aviation
than any other EU country. UK aviation produced around 44.9 million tonnes of
CO2 in 2010. Next comes Germany at 31.4 million, and then France at 25 million
tonnes. Heathrow is responsible for nuch more than any other European airport:
Heathrow 16.2 million tonnes in 2010; Frankfurt 2nd at 9.9 million; Paris Charles
de Gaule 3rd at 9.5 million. Amsterdam 4th. (RDC)
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BA and Iberia merged on January 24th to form International Airlines Group
Date added: 24 January, 2011
BA and Iberia have merged. Willie Walsh says the new International Airlines
Group plan to sign up other airlines in due course. It will be a multinational
multi-brand airline group. Combined, the carriers represent the third largest scheduled airline in Europe,
with joint revenues of more than €14 billion. Combined passenger numbers are around
57 million per year, and the two have a total of 406 aircraft, and combined employees
are around 56,000.
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Bristol Airport tries out plan for wind turbine – (to cut carbon emissions !)
Date added: 23 January, 2011
Bristol airport has installed a wind turbine. The South West Regional Development Agency provided £39,000 to pay for the project.
At an average wind speed of 5.8 m/s, it is expected to generate enough electricity
in the coming year to make more than 203,000 cups of tea. [Which equates to around
as much energy as that used by 5 passengers making return flights to Geneva.
And the airport had 5.6 million passengers in 2009].
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Southend Airport boss, Alastair Welch, says Court challenges will not stop expansion
Date added: 21 January, 2011
Alastiar Welch gave South Essex Area Forum an update about how work on the airport’s
new terminal building, hotel, railway station and control tower is going. He says
this is forging ahead despite two applications for judicial review of the Southend
decision to allow the runway extension. The airport has also started building
a new link road, which will run be between Eastwoodbury Lane and Nestuda Way,
and will allow for the runway to be extended by 300m.
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New report by Friends of the Earth Europe says Jatropha fails to deliver
Date added: 21 January, 2011
The new report says the much-touted biofuel crop jatropha is neither a profitable nor a sustainable investment.
It provides growing evidence that the crop is failing to deliver on its promises
while simultaneously failing to prevent climate change or contribute to pro-poor
development. Many projects have already been abandoned because yields have stayed
below expectations, even on good soils. They say companies should stop land-grabbing
for jatropha. (FoE)
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Masdar, Boeing, Etihad, UOP complete seawater biofuels feasibility
Date added: 21 January, 2011
In the UAE a group of companies have announced completion of a Sustainability
Assessment of the Integrated Seawater Agriculture System (ISAS) production of
aviation biofuels and other bioresources. They say this study makes a significant
contribution to current knowledge on the viability of using salt-tolerant plants
irrigated with seawater as a sustainable feedstock for biofuels. The research
is on the halophyte Salicornia bigelovii
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@AirportWatch