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Summaries of, and links to, the latest aviation news stories appear below. News is archived into topics Air Quality Climate Change  Airport News Biodiversity  Noise  General News Publicity & Politics  Air Freight  Biofuels  Air Travel and Consumerism  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:

Dismay as Judge allows Newham green light to London City Airport expansion

Date added: 20 January, 2011

A High Court judge has refused to overturn Newham Council’s decision to expand London City Airport.  Campaigners are now considering an appeal.  Residents, represented by FoE’s Rights and Justice Centre, took the council to court in Novemberafter it decided to allow a 50% increase in flights.  Fight the Flights argued that Newham Council failed to consider changes to Government policy on climate change and did not properly consult boroughs and residents in the surrounding area.

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Edinburgh Airport pulls back on expansion plans in its draft Master Plan

Date added: 18 January, 2011

Edinburgh airport has launched its draft Master Plan, with enormous growth forecasts, but slightly lower than previous estimates. BAA hopes passenger numbers will increase from 8.6 million in 2010 to 13 million by 2020 (it originally hoped by 2013) and to 20.5 million by 2040.  And that air transport movements will grow from 100,592 in 2010 to 141,300 by 2020.  BAA says no 2nd runway will be required, but it needs new aircraft hangars and stands.

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London mayor Boris Johnson backs call for hub airport

Date added: 18 January, 2011

Boris Johnson has backed a report calling for a new airport in SE England.  Overseen by Daniel Moylan, deputy chairman of TfL, it claims the economy will suffer and jobs lost to European competitors without a hub airport. And that in terms of destinations served, Heathrow had fallen from 2nd in 1990 to 7th in 2010.  Boris said for London to remain at the centre of global business "we need aviation links that will allow us to compete with our rivals". (BBC)

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Designer art, Sommeliers: Airlines take luxury to a new altitude on (wasteful) A380

Date added: 18 January, 2011

Airbus A380 planes are alleged to have lower carbon emissions per passenger, as the plane is huge and could fit in up to 850 passengers, if in single class economy configuration. But airlines are instead decking them out for luxury, with cabins even with their own sliding doors, showers (Emirates employs shower attendants scrubbing the A380s' showers after each use),  bars, flat beds, even double beds etc. A massive CO2 footprint per passenger

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BMI reviews UK domestic flights at Heathrow – substitute more polluting long haul instead

Date added: 16 January, 2011

BMI is cutting Manchester flights from 6 daily to 4 and is considering closing its loss-making Glasgow route.  It follows a series of price rises at Heathrow that have dented the profitability of small planes and shorter flights. Route closures would hand BA a monopoly on some domestic routes.  However, BMI will use slots created by domestic cutbacks for more lucrative international routes instead - which produce far higher carbon emissions per flight.

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Boris Johnson ‘opposing government airport policy’ on new hub airport

Date added: 16 January, 2011

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2010 passengers at UK airports down 3.5% and number of flights down 5.6% on 2009

Date added: 15 January, 2011

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AirportWatch briefing sheets January 2011

Date added: 14 January, 2011

Three new AirportWatch briefing documents, with a fourth on climate and technology coming shortly

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European space tourism jet work continues – in addition to Branson’s

Date added: 14 January, 2011

Though the Virgin Galactic project is much further advanced, and has had a drop test already, the European project to develop a space jet for fare-paying passengers is still alive, says EADS Astrium. The plane, which would make short hops above the atmosphere, was announced in 2007 and then put on hold because of the global downturn. It will spend a further 10m euros on the concept in 2011, but lacks a partner that would move the project from concept to production.

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Ferrovial in move to cut its stake in BAA by 10%

Date added: 14 January, 2011

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£15m growth fund boost for Birmingham Airport runway plans

Date added: 14 January, 2011

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Cost of air travel could rise by a fifth under European VAT proposal

Date added: 14 January, 2011

VAT could be imposed on all flights from British and EU airports under proposals being considered by the European Commission. A recent EU green paper recommends that VAT be levied on all air and sea transport, so the cost of flights, ferry tickets and cruises could increase by up to 20%. Currently all air and sea travel is exempt from VAT within the EU. Treasury figures show the notional benefit aviation receives by paying no fuel tax and no VAT is up to £10 billion a year.

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State of Washingon to focus on aviation biofuel from wood waste

Date added: 14 January, 2011

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Around 5,000 attend Southampton Airport careers fair with 100 jobs available

Date added: 14 January, 2011

MORE than 5,000 hopefuls turned up for just 100 jobs advertised at Southampton Airport in its first careers fair. The posts which included baggage handling and check-in staff, catering, cleaning, IT, security, engineering, retail and customer service. Some of the roles were permanent but others were seasonal during the coming year. 30 different companies at the airport, including BAA, Servisair, Flybe and NATS as well as Hampshire Police.

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AEA warns of fragile recovery in the European airline industry in 2010

Date added: 14 January, 2011

The Association of European Airlines, which represents Europe’s main carriers, has revealed a preliminary traffic estimate for 2010 of 335 million passengers boarded by its members, 10 million more than in 2009 - +2.5% increase over 2009.  However, factors such as the Icelandic volcano eruption, the heavy December snow falls and industrial action at British Airways led the AEA to estimate an underlying growth rate of 5  - 6%. Recovery is still "weak". (AEA)

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Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management wants an end to cheap flights

Date added: 13 January, 2011

The CIWEM - an independent, chartered professional body - has produced an excellent position paper on aviation, and says that in recent years, air travel has become cheaper but the real costs are masked. CIWEM believes there needs to be a wider debate in the UK about the role of aviation in achieving a low carbon global economy. There must be an end to misleading advertising of air fares that encourage air travel, and aviation fuel should pay VAT.

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Stansted flights in 2010 hit 10 year low – and worse is to come

Date added: 12 January, 2011

Flights in and out of Stansted in 2010 hit a 10 year low, which has prompted Stop Stansted Expansion to reiterate its call for BAA to commit to a long term moratorium on a 2nd runway.  The airport handled 143,335 commercial flights compared to 146,500 in 2000.  The number of passengers continued to decline, dropping 7% last year to 18.6 million passengers compared to 20.0 m in 2009.  BAA expects tolose another million travellers in 2011, down to 17.6m.  (SSE)

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Freezing December cost BAA £24 million with passengers down – 10.9%

Date added: 12 January, 2011

BAA's UK airports handled 7.2 million passengers in Dec 2010, a decrease of - 10.9% on Dec 2009. The drop in passenger traffic was mainly due to weather.  Without the snow, underlying performance was broadly flat.  Compared with December 2009, Heathrow’s passenger total fell - 9.5%; they fell - 10.9% at Stansted; by - 22% at Southampton; by - 18.4% at Edinburgh; by - 15.3% at Glasgow; - 8.35 at Aberdeen. Air cargo was down - 8.3%..  

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BAA’s airports handled 2.8% less passengers in 2010 than in 2009, and 0.2% less at Heathrow

Date added: 12 January, 2011

In the UK in 2010 BAA handled 103.9 million passengers, a drop of -2.8% on 2009. There were strikes, icy weather and the ash cloud. BAA estimates that without these, there would have been a rise of +0.6% in passengers.  The annual actual decline was - 0-.2% at Heathrow; - 7% at Stansted; - 3.2% at Southampton; - 5% at Edinburgh; - 9.6% at Glasgow; - 7.4% at Aberdeen.  For all the UK, air transport movements were down - 4.4% and cargo up + 14.2%.  (BAA)

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BA and Rolls-Royce to ramp up their biofuel effort

Date added: 11 January, 2011

BA and Rolls-Royce will begin work on validating 10 different alternative fuel programs, with the hope of completing work on the initiative by early 2012.  Last year they launched a new call to fuel suppliers to provide 60,000 litres of fuel for testing. A similar initiative failed due to a lack of responses, but this time 17 suppliers say they can meet the criteria. They will conduct a variety of tests during 2011. BA is also sponsoring Cranfield to work on algal biofuels.

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Air Southwest’s Gatwick-Plymouth air route to close

Date added: 10 January, 2011

Plymouth is to lose its air link to Gatwick after Air Southwest announced closure of the loss-making route.  Air Southwest’s flights, which operate from Plymouth via Newquay (which is further from Gatwick than Plymouth), will cease on February 1. The decision follows the takeover of Air Southwest by Humberside-based Eastern Airways in September.

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The Co-operative Bank; good with money or fantastic for aviation?

Date added: 10 January, 2011

Environmentalists have been angered by the news that the Cooperative Bank has taken part in a refinancing deal for the development of Manchester Airport. The bank will provide £40 million over the next 5 years to MAG despite its much-vaunted ‘Ethical Investments Policy’ which includes mitigating the threat of climate change and a policy of opposing development of runways. The airport is responsible for around 5 m tonnes of CO2 emissions per year. (SEMA)

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Air passenger tax plans could make flying out of London even less appealing

Date added: 9 January, 2011

At the end of December, Theresa Villiers said the government might look at a higher tax to fly from congested South-East airports, and that this would help regional airports to flourish as well as releiving overcrowding in the SE. Birmingham Airport wants to take on many of the services currently operating out of London. BAA is arguing strongly against a south east tax, and claiming it would put Heathrow at a disadvantage against Frankfurt, Paris and Schiphol.

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IATA expects average price for aviation fuel up to $84 in 2011 from $79 in 2010 – it was actually $127.5 for 2011

Date added: 9 January, 2011

Boeing has predicted that jet fuel would be a "big driver of profitability" for its customer airlines in 2011. Every $1 rise in the price of crude adds more than $1.6 billion ( £1 billion) to aviation’s annual fuel bill, according to airline trade body IATA. Aviation fuel consumption is about 1.6 billion barrels a year.   IATA forecasts the average oil price will be $84 per barrel in 2011, up from the $79 per barrel for 2010 and total fuel bill $156 billion - up from $139 billion in 2010.  

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Hydrogen fuel trial of two Ford Transit vans ready at Stansted

Date added: 8 January, 2011

Stansted Airport plans to power two specially adapted Ford Transit vans with hydrogen.   The airport will be the first UK company to test a new hydrogen refuelling system (HFuel) and two specially  adapted vehicles as part of ITM Power’s nationwide Hydrogen On Site Trials programme (HOST). The airport hopes it will lower local emissions.   However, unless the hydrogen is produced using renewable energy, the emissions are merely displaced elsewhere.

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West of England Local Enterprise Partnership interim board appointed

Date added: 8 January, 2011

Some of the region’s leading business people will be helping to drive forward the newly formed West of England Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).   These include  Katherine Bennett OBE, vice president and head of political affairs at Airbus, and Robert Sinclair, chief executive of Bristol Airport among others, who  will represent business on an interim board for the LEP, following it’s formation.   One sector mentioned as vital for the region's economy is aerospace.

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ROLLS-ROYCE GETS LIFT FROM BA’S £3.2BN ENGINE ORDER

Date added: 8 January, 2011

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Doncaster Robin Hood airport wants change in planning rules to get more business

Date added: 7 January, 2011

DEVELOPERS want planning rules to be relaxed in a bid to significantly expand Robin Hood Airport's business park.   Peel Investments Ltd is asking for regulations which only allow airport-related businesses to be located on the site to be waived in a bid to attract more businesses.     The details are included in planning applications the firm has submitted to Doncaster Council.

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UK terrorism security threat level raised from “substantial” to “severe” at airports

Date added: 7 January, 2011

The terrorist threat level specific to major UK transport hubs has been raised from substantial to severe. The move includes airports and London railway terminals;  there is no suggestion of any intelligence of an imminent attack. The BBC has seen a letter to aviation chiefs saying there are indications al-Qaeda "may be considering an attack against a UK airport or aviaiton sector target" due to the economic, political and psychological significance of the sector.

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Jet2 to pick up their own baggage at Blackpool

Date added: 7 January, 2011

Jet2 recently  won a High Court battle with Blackpool  airport after bosses there said they wouldn't cater for late night or early morning flights.   Jet2 will now take over check-in desks and baggage handling operations to secure its future at the airport. Jet2 staff will now greet passengers, check them in and carry out airside roles. Jet2 now employs over 60 staff at the airport  and plans to take on a further 10 over the busy summer season.

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Manchester Airports Group seals £280m refinancing

Date added: 6 January, 2011

MAG has completed a £280m five-year refinancing.   MAG, which owns Manchester, East Midlands, Bournemouth and Humberside Airports, has agreed terms with  7 major lenders ahead of July - when its present facility was due to expire. Existing bankers Barclays the Co-operative Bank, Handelsbanken and RBS have been joined by Yorkshire Bank, Santander and   HSBC. Projects include resurfacing Runway 1 at Manchester and a terminal upgrade

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EasyJet to buy 15 new Airbus A320s to expand in Europe

Date added: 6 January, 2011

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Theresa Villiers finds in favour of Wycombe Air Park Action Group to “specify” the airfield

Date added: 4 January, 2011

Theresa Villiers has agreed to take the first steps to ‘specify’ Wycombe Air Park (WAP), in response to the application made by Wycombe Air Park Action Group. Specification will mean the CAA is granted additional powers to control activity at the airfield. WAPAG has been fighting for several years to persuade WAP’s management to change its operations to limit noise nuisance, and to improve consultation. This is the first ever specification by the CAA.

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Losses doubled in 2010 to £26 million at Peel Airports

Date added: 4 January, 2011

Peel Airports, which runs Liverpool John Lennon, Robin Hood Airport and Durham Tees Valley Airport, saw losses double to £26m last year. In the year to March Peel's pre-tax losses rose sharply while turnover fell 18% to £41m. The business finished the year with a gross profit of £18m but administrative expenses grew by 8% to £29.5m and an impairment related to fixed assets cost £7.1m. In June they sold a 65% stake to Vancouver Airport Services.

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Ryanair adds cheap flights from Doncaster to Faro and Tenerife

Date added: 4 January, 2011

Ryanair already has flights from Doncaster to Alicante, but from March adds flights twice a week to Faro, and from February also to Tenerife.

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Qantas and Solena on brink of joint venture to make jet fuel from waste food

Date added: 3 January, 2011

In Australia, Qantas (which spends about $3 billion a year on jet fuel) and Solena Group have announced they expect to finalize a partnership in the next 2 weeks to determine the feasibility of a Fischer-Tropsch based biofuels plant in Australia that will produce aviation biofuels from waste food and grass clipping. They to complete a feasibility study for the waste-based aviation fuel plant within a year, with a view to trialling the fuel on aircraft.

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Carlisle airport application hopes for 200,000 passengers by 2025 and 5 return flights per day

Date added: 3 January, 2011

Owners of Carlisle airport, Stobart Group, have put in a planning application to resurface the runway and build a 394,000sq ft air-freight distribution centre. It claims this would create the equivalent of 156 full-time jobs and safeguard 73 existing jobs. There would be flights to Southend. The application warns that the airport is not viable without redevelopment. Stobart say that if they don't get their application, they will move outside Cumbria. (News & Star)

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3 dead and scores injured after passenger plane explodes in fireball on Russian runway

Date added: 2 January, 2011

A Russian passenger jet, owned by Kogalymavia airline, carrying 124 people caught fire as it taxied down a snowy runway at Surgut in Siberia and then exploded, killing 3 people and injuring 43, including 6 who were badly burned. Most were evacuated before the explosion. The flames spread, especially after a passenger opened an emergency exit and air rushed in. All 3 engines on the Tu-154 are located in the back of the plane. The fire started in one engine. (Mail)

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Airports, glycols in de-icing liquids and Heathrow local water pollution

Date added: 2 January, 2011

There are two main water pollutants arising from the Heathrow site, glycol used for de/anti-icing activities and hydrocarbons from oil and fuel. On 15th December, before the heavy snow on 17th and 18th which closed the airport for several days, that " Heathrow  had  500,000 litres of de-icing fluid at their disposal." But the de-icing chemicals are not without their environmental problems, and if allowed to enter ground water or water courses, exert levels of  biological oxygen demand (BOD).

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Coalition proposes higher air tax from South-East airports to beat congestion

Date added: 1 January, 2011

At a  "New Direction in Aviation"  conference in London, Theresa Villiers intimated the Government is looking at imposing higher taxes - through APD -  on passengers flying from SE  airports in a bid to reduce overcrowding there, and boost regional airports.   BAA and south east airport are predictably not keen, but   Birmingham and Manchester airports are delighted, and making as much of it as they can. Her statement came in a response to MAG.

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Boris Goes After Royal Family but Not London City Airport for Policing Bill

Date added: 1 January, 2011

Boris Johnson will attempt to claim back the estimated £5 million cost of policing the royal wedding from the Government. The Met police is in financial dire straits, with a £30.4 million cut in its Home Office grant this year having resulted in a freeze in officer recruitment and the loss of 955 posts. But London City airport security cost in 2004/05 was £2 million, £5.3 million in 2006/07, £5.5 million in 2007/08 and £5.6 million for 2008/9.

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4th January: VAT goes up to 20%; Aviation still pays no VAT

Date added: 31 December, 2010

Campaigners claim it is ‘deeply unfair’ to the rest of British industry and hard-working families that the aviation industry continues to be a special case. Campaigners are calling for VAT to be imposed on aviation. The call comes as VAT is about to go up to 20%. Currently aviation is zero-rated for VAT. Air passengers pay no VAT on tickets, airline fuel is zero rated and no VAT is due on purchases of new aircraft. Indeed, because of the zero rating, the airlines are VAT registered and can reclaim VAT on goods and services.

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Ethical consumer spending bucks recession with 18% growth (but that includes “ethical” long haul destination holidays …)

Date added: 30 December, 2010

The amount spent on allegedly ethical goods has risen. This apparently includes an increase in so called "eco-friendly" travel. However, how much this increase has any positive effect on the environment you can judge for yourselves, when ethical travel includes long haul destinations reached by plane.

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Air travel and consumerism

Date added: 30 December, 2010

In 2008, the global tourism industry was worth around $8 trillion, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC). They anticipate this might rise to $15 trillion by 2020. Tourism is said to be the world's largest industry.   By 2018, the WTTC expects tourism spending to grow by an average annual rate of 4.4%.   In 2009 there were around 880 million tourist arrivals around the world, up from 683 million in 2000. This might rise to 1.6 billion by 2020.

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Calls again for Kent airport at Hoo by John Olsen etc

Date added: 29 December, 2010

A group of former aviation industry executives, led by John Olsen (former commercial director of Cathay Pacific and ex-head of failed airline Dan-Air) is urging the government to look again at proposals for a £14bn three-runway, 24-hour-a-day hub airport on the Hoo peninsula. They believe an airport at Hoo would be more practical and chepaer than Boris Johnson’s idea of an island airport in the Thames estuary. They dismiss the bird arguments against.

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Newcastle gains another KLM Amsterdam daily flight – making 5 per day

Date added: 29 December, 2010

From March, Newcastle will have 5 daily flights (80 minutes) to and from Amsterdam, and business hopes this will help forge export links abroad. KLM said it would improve North East passengers’ long haul opportunities to destinations such as Dubai and Hong Kong via its main hub at Amsterdam, and give seamless integration with their European network. KLM also flies from Durham Tees Valley.

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Crude oil price hits two-year high amid concerns over demand

Date added: 29 December, 2010

The crude oil price was the highest for 2 years after blizzards hit NE parts of the US, and Kuwait’s oil minister said the global economy can withstand an oil price of $100 a barrel. Other Arab OPEC members said they would probably decide against boosting output in 2011 because the market was well supplied. Oil prices have climbed 35% since this year’s low in May. In week ending 24th Dec the jet fuel price was $107.7 per barrel and $104.6 the week before.

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Boeing joins NASA list of contractors for project to identify airliner of the future with half the emissions of today’s aircraft !!

Date added: 28 December, 2010

Bit of crazy wish fulfillment and a real dose of pie-in-the-sky. Take with huge pinch of salt. NASA expects US aviation to expand by a factor or 2 - 3 over the next 20 years, so it is sponsoring research studies to develop technology that would enable future aircraft to burn 50% less fuel than today’s most efficient models, with 50% fewer harmful emissions, and to shrink the size of geographic areas affected by objectionable airport noise by 83%...etc etc etc

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Theresa Villiers: government knew Heathrow was not prepared for snow and will fine airports unprepared in future

Date added: 27 December, 2010

The aviation minister admitted that the government knew about Heathrow's inadequate preparations for winter as she confirmed that airports could face fines when passengers have their travel disrupted. The government is now pushing for legislation which would give the CAA the power to fine airport owners when they fail passengers, or do not prepare adequately for severe weather. Heathrow spent just £500,000 on snow clearing equipment this year

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Stories about jobs at airports in 2009 and 2010

Date added: 27 December, 2010

in preparation

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Ryanair to Maintain Summer 2011 Capacity at Liverpool John Lennon Airport

Date added: 24 December, 2010

Ryanair will reduce the number of destinations served from Liverpool, but increase the frequency of flights on the most popular summer bucket-and-spade routes. The overall level of traffic is expected to be about the same as in 2010. Destinations will mainly be Mediterranean sun and sand places. Ryanair are cutting back by as much as 20% of their operations elsewhere in the UK, as they can make more money elsewhere.

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Airlines eye options as oil approaches $100 a barrel – and over $104 for jet fuel

Date added: 23 December, 2010

Steadily rising oil prices could stall the airline recovery. on 22nd crude exceeded $90 per barrel for the first time since October 2008 with cold snaps gripping parts of Asia, Europe and the US Northeast. U.S. carriers are on pace to consume 410 million barrels of jet fuel this year with unit prices $20 higher, industry figures show. That means an $8 billion jump in expenses. There are likely to be higher fares, new bag charges and other fees. (Reuters)

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Unprepared Heathrow refused to let airlines clear runways and had cut its snow defence budget

Date added: 23 December, 2010

BAA has admitted that it was ill-prepared for the snow. Phillip Hammond revealed the government offered BAA troops to de-ice the runways but were told BAA could handle it by itself. One source says Heathrow had just 10 snow ploughs and 7 de-icing vehicles, while Gatwick, a smaller airport, has 14 snow ploughs. Another source says Heathrow has 69 vehicles allocated to keep the runways clear, including 28 snow ploughs - and Gatwick has 47 and 29.

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The train in Spain goes faster than the plane

Date added: 22 December, 2010

A new AVE high speed link has been opened between Madrid and Valencia taking 95 minutes. The new line, expected to be the most profitable of the network, makes Spain the European country with most kilometres of high speed track in Service. A new high speed train service has come into operation between Barcelona and Paris, with journey time of 7 hours 25 mins. The train will run twice daily in each direction, and stop in Girona, Perpignan, Narbona-Montpellier and Nimes.

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Clean Air in London welcomes first offical estimate that 29,000 premature deaths in the UK in 2008 were attributable to long-term exposure to PM2.5

Date added: 22 December, 2010

The Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants (COMEAP) has published a report with new calculations of the effects of air pollution on health in the UK. COMEAP speculates that air pollution, acting together with other factors, may have made some smaller contribution to the earlier deaths of up to 200,000 people. Aircraft emissions contribute to PM2.5 levels, and the Heathrow area has particularly high levels.

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Donald Trump backs extended Aberdeen airport runway and opposed wind farm

Date added: 22 December, 2010

Donald Trump is planning a huge 5 star golf, housing and hotel complex on the coast near Aberdeen. Its aim is to draw in a lot of rich people to play golf in a high-end golf course, and this means he supports extension of Aberdeen's runway. His plans are deeply unpopular with the local community. Trump is opposing an off-shore windfarm, as it would damage the view from his golf course. He is also evicting an 86 year old lady, to get her land. (TUT)

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Government announcement of proposed high speed rail strategy for consultation

Date added: 22 December, 2010

London-to-Birmingham high speed train route announced. Consultation started on the plans, which include changes from the initial route and some attempts to mitigate impacts.

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Finnair aims to become a launch customer for commercial airline jet biofuel flights in 2011

Date added: 22 December, 2010

Following the announcement that Lufthansa is set to become the 1st airline to use biofuels on commercial flights, it has emerged that Finnair is also in discussions with the same biofuel supplier, Finland’s Neste Oil, to be the 1st user of "sustainable" jet fuels derived from logging waste. When the first commercial biofuel flights will take place will depend on the availability of biomass and biofuel certification for commercial use. (GreenAir)

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The extreme cold in the UK right now really could be a result of global warming – Monbiot

Date added: 22 December, 2010

There is now strong evidence to suggest that the unusually cold winters of the past 2 years in the UK are the result of heating elsewhere. While some areas like the UK and much of Europe are several degrees colder than the 1951 to 1980 average, other areas are many degrees hotter. The UK gets warm south westerly winds when there is the right balance of pressure between the Arctic Low and the Azores High. But if the balance is different, we get cold Arctic air.

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BAA raises profit forecast on predictions of record-breaking year for Heathrow Airport

Date added: 21 December, 2010

BAA has raised its profits expectations for this year and predicted that Heathrow will handle more than 70m passengers in 2011 – its highest ever. BAA expects full-year earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) exceed its most recent guidance of £972m. It expects 2011 ebitda to rise 15.2% £1.12bn, with revenues up 10.7% to £2.3bn. Heathrow passengers to be highest ever, at 66.3m for 2010 and 70.4 m for 2011. But Stansted down 5.1%.

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London-to-Birmingham high speed train route announced

Date added: 21 December, 2010

The planned route of the high-speed rail line from London to B'ham has been altered after protests about its impact on homes and the countryside. Philip Hammond confirmed the government broadly agreed with the chosen HS2 rail route, but 50% of the preferred route had been amended. There will be a consultation from Feb 2011. The route could cut journey time from London to B'ham by 30 minutes. Deeply controversial, widely unpopular, minimal carbon benefits.

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Newcastle: MP demands probe of secret £377m airport deal

Date added: 20 December, 2010

An airport re-financing deal, which could leave North East taxpayers with a debt worth hundreds of millions of pounds, has been revealed. Two former executive directors at Newcastle airport, partly-owned by the region’s 7 local authorities, were each paid millions for securing a £377m mortgage as part of a refinancing deal with the Royal Bank of Scotland in 2006. Up to £83m was shared between all 7 local authorities due to the refinancing deal. (Journal)

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Durham Tees Valley: Middlesbrough airline fraudster’s web of lies

Date added: 20 December, 2010

Durham Tees Valey lost its lint to London when BMI pulled its daily service. Nigerian businessman Victor Bassey revealed a plan in summer 2009 to restore flights from Durham Tees Valley Airport to London City Airport. It would be a luxury service aimed at business travellers. It all sounded plausible, until last year evidence accumulated that it was pure fraud, and Mr Bassey pleaded guilty to eight counts of fraud. He had also been in prison before. (BBC)

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Snow problems for the airports, closures, cancellations, unhappy passengers and complaints

Date added: 20 December, 2010

Hundreds of thousands of Britons had been due to fly this weekend, with 4 million expected to go abroad, according to travel association Abta. One million passengers were due to pass through Heathrow alone this week. Only 16 flights left Heathrow yesterday out of a total of 650 scheduled services. Gatwick fared better than Heathrow. Only Heathrow's north runway is operational, with the problem being inability to clear ice and snow from stands.

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Extra planes will land and take-off from Heathrow at night to clear the big freeze backlog

Date added: 20 December, 2010

Heathrow has been given permission by the DfT to relax overnight restrictions, in order to clear the flight backlog. Planes will be allowed to take off and land betweem 11pm and 7am. BAA said it had cancelled about 840 out of a scheduled 1,300 flights today. This may last for 4 nights. Heathrow is allowed an average of 16 overnight flights within its quota. (local Guardian)

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New report from Europe shows people are disturbed by much lower levels of aircraft noise than previously admitted

Date added: 17 December, 2010

A new report on noise from the European Environment Agency supports the findings of the ANASE Study and shows that people are disturbed by much lower levels of aircraft noise than has been previously admitted. The study shows how many people are annoyed by aircraft noise, not merely the number exposed to it. For example, at a noise level of 55 dB 27% are highly annoyed by aircraft noise, but 3% by rail noise and 6% by road noise.

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EC: Single European Sky ‘crucial’ to air traffic management in Europe

Date added: 16 December, 2010

Siim Kallas, European Commission Vice President responsible for Transport, believes the Single European Sky will solve many problems, including reducing strikes like that of the Spanish air traffic controllers. He said the fragmentation of the EU airspace costs the sector €3 billion; and inefficiencies of the air traffic management system in Europe are responsible for 16 million tonnes of unnecessary CO2 emissions. Unions are still opposed.

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O’Leary blames tax for cuts to Ryanair German flights in 2011

Date added: 15 December, 2010

Ryanair blames the new German tax on flights for its decision to axe 34 routes from its schedule next summer. Flights connecting Liverpool to Bremen and Birmingham to Dusseldorf are among those to be scrapped as a result of Germany's €8 ( £6.79) tax on flights, which comes into effect at the start of January. Ryanair flights between Kerry in Ireland and Dusseldorf will also be stopped but no flights from Scottish airports will be affected.(Scotsman)

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IATA: Improved profitability, margins still pathetic, Europe still lags and forecast for 2011

Date added: 15 December, 2010

IATA forecasts for the aviation industry say "The recovery cycle will pause in 2011. Although the $9.1 billion profit projection for 2011 is better than previously forecast, next year the industry will face tougher conditions than what we are experiencing today". They expect global passenger demand to rise by 5.2% in 2011, European demand by 3.5% and European profit to fall to $100 million in 2011. IATA expect fuel to be $84 per barrel, up from $79 in 2010.

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Iata raises global airline profit forecast by 70% for 2010

Date added: 15 December, 2010

IATA says airlines will make a record $15.1bn this year - 70% more than its last forecast made in September, when it said the total airline profit for 2010 would be $8.9bn. It says the change in forecast is due to higher-than-expected 3rd quarter passenger numbers, but profit margins are only 2.7% hich is says are "knife edge". Bisigiani says the profit margin in 2011 will only be 1.5%. The global industry's projected revenues for 2010 are $565 billion.

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British Airways raises fuel surcharge by £10 as oil price rises

Date added: 14 December, 2010

BA is to increase its fuel surcharge on long-haul flights for the first time in more than 2 years. Passengers will pay an extra £10 per journey sector ( £20 return) - taking the surcharge to between £63 and £108 depending on flight length and class of travel. BA said the rise reflected "the substantial recent increase in the price of oil". Short-haul flights are unaffected by the changes. IATA says the recent oil price rises will be a challenge in 2011. (BBC)

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The aviation industry fears the spectre of being the source of climate finance

Date added: 13 December, 2010

The wider Cancun agreement includes the setting up of a Green Climate Fund that will aim to raise $100 billion a year by 2020 to help developing countries mitigate climate change impacts. With most of the funding expected to come from private rather than public finance, ICAO and the aviation industry may well have to marshal forces as attention turns in 2011 to identifying possible sources, with aviation suggested as a potential easy earner. (GreenAir)

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NASA explains how Europe can be so cold amidst the hottest November and hottest year on record

Date added: 13 December, 2010

The cold anomaly in Northern Europe in November has continued into December. Combined with the unusual cold winter of 2009-2010 in Northern Hemisphere mid-latitudes, this regional cold spell has caused commentary that global warming has ended, which is NOT the case. Elsewhere it is hotter than usual. November 2010 is the warmest November in the NASA GISS record. Globally 2010 is likely to be the hottest year on record. NASA has theories on why we are cold here.

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Cancún climate change summit: Deal is reached. Update and comments

Date added: 13 December, 2010

The Cancun deal has been hailed as restoring faith in the multilateral UN process but will not reduce temperatures which may rise by 4C, and it pushes many of the most important decisions to future negotiations. It clearly says that there should be reductions from developing countries. Greenpeace said we saved the process but did not save the climate. No date was included by when countries must "peak" their emissions, which is essential for the future.

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Southend: “Fears town will be hit by legal bid to stop runway”

Date added: 13 December, 2010

Anti-runway campaigners at Southend launched a legal bid to block the runway extension, and are waiting to hear if the JR will proceed. An member of SAEN applied for the JR of the decision and won legal aid. The application claims procedures followed by Southend Council, when it approved the extension, were flawed. A Conservative councillor is now saying Stobart might now abandon their runway plans, and this would have negative economic impacts on the town. (Echo)

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Cancun: UN climate conference OKs deals overriding Bolivia’s objection

Date added: 11 December, 2010

The Cancun conference has agreed a "green fund" for developing countries, but does not show how the money will be raised. It also takes other small steps to address global warming. It hopes to cut emissions from developed countries by between 25 and 40% by 2020, but it deferred debate on a larger pact till the Durban 2011 conference. Bolivia does not agree, and is adamant that it is not strong enough to prevent large global temperature rise.

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Cancún climate change summit: The deal so far

Date added: 11 December, 2010

The Cancun talks have almost ended, and there may be a Cancun Accord, which approves a "green fund" for developing countries and gives recognition to the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from industrial countries by 25 - 40% from 1990 levels within the next 10 years. Current pledges amount to about 16%. It is still a relatively weak deal, which does not produce the ambitious, legally binding cuts in emissions that are necessary.

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Gatwick chairman, Sir David Rowlands, blasts Government’s airport expansion ban

Date added: 11 December, 2010

Sir David, a fromer permanent secretary at the DfT till 2007, naturally wants more runways in the south east. He claims the need for new airport capacity in the UK cannot be avoided and warned that aviation's contribution to the British economy was not appreciated as much as it should be. The industry, and Sir David, claim Britain must have better connections to China and new markets, [and (somehow) new runways are necessary for this?] (Guardian)

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BAA passenger numbers rise less in November because of snow and bad weather

Date added: 11 December, 2010

Passenger numbers across its 6 UK airports did not grow as much as BAA expected in November due to snow. They were up +1% from a year ago to 7.9 million, but BAA said the rise would have been 2.7% without the snow. At Heathrow pax were up + 4.3% (5th monthly record); Stansted down - 7.6%; Edinburgh down -3.9%; Glasgow down - 0.8%; Aberdeen down - 1.9% and Southampton down - 3.2%. UK Air Transport Movements for BAA airports were down - 1.5% and air cargo up + 2.8%.

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Ireland to go for flat rate flight tax of €3 from March to December 2011

Date added: 10 December, 2010

The Irish Government stopped short of axeing the controversial air travel tax but instead changed it to a flat rate of €3. Previously the charge was €2 for a short flight (less than 300km) and €10 for a long-haul flight. Finance Minister Brian Lenihan said the move, which takes effect from March, would help the tourism industry which has taken a hit in the past year. It will be reviewed next year. Tourist numbers to Ireland  fell hugely during 2010.

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