Heathrow Airport News 2012
- Earlier news
- Heathrow news 2011
- Heathrow News in 2010
- News April 2009 to Feb 2010
- News Feb – Mar 2009
- News Jan 2009
- News April to Dec 2009
- News Jan 2008 to Jan 2009
- News December 2008
- News Sept to end Nov 2008
- News to end of Aug 2008
Heathrow news in 2012:
IAG signs non-binding MOU with Ryanair for some 19 Heathrow slot pairs belonging to Aer Lingus
December 15, 2012 Ryanair, which owns 29.8% percent of Aer Lingus, in June renewed its effort to buy the rest of Aer Lingus, to boost its Irish operations. The EU blocked a previous takeover attempt 5 years ago, saying it would create a monopoly for Irish flights. Now IAG has signed a non-binding agreement to buy landing slots at Heathrow airport from Ryanair as part of its takeover bid for Aer Lingus. This is subject to EC approval, and Ryanair hopes the sale of the slots will help its bid to buy Aer Lingus. Ryanair proposed selling more than 85 % of Aer Lingus’s Heathrow slots and the FT says Ryanair has reached agreement with BA. Aer Lingus already has 23 daily slot pairs at Heathrow, which amounts to 3.5% of the total. It currently flies to Heathrow from Dublin, Cork, Shannon and Belfast. It recently tried – but failed – to get some of the 14 pairs of slots that had been owned by BMI. Let’s see if BA uses its new slots for flights to the emerging markets – or just more lucrative tourist routes. Click here to view full story…
Emirates keen on changing 3 degree approach slope to 5.5 degrees, to allow A380s to land at Heathrow part of the night
December 11, 2012 Giving evidence at the House of Commons Transport Select Committee, on aviation strategy, two senior staff from NATS discussed the idea of perhaps introducing a steeper approach angle for planes coming into Heathrow. At present, all airlines come in at a 3 degree angle, but at London City airport, planes approach at 5.5 degrees. However, many planes such as A380s would need to level out to a 3 degree slope some 6 miles or so from touchdown, so there would be no change for people living very close to the airport. There would be a small reduction in noise for those living from around 15 to 6 miles (approx distances) from the airport. This idea has been suggested by Emirates, as a way to be able to land more of their A380s at Heathrow and to land them until 1am each night and again from 4am. This would not be acceptable to most London residents being overflown. Andrew Haines, the chief executive of the UK CAA, told the hearing that although the idea went against the grain of international convention, “the idea ‘certainly had merit’ and that it was ‘definitely worth looking at’. Click here to view full story…
Heathrow begins trial of noise relief zones for early morning flights
December 4, 2012 About 17 flights arrive at Heathrow each morning between 04:30 and 06:00. Heathrow is now starting a 5 month trial, the Early Morning Noise Respite Trial, to fly these flights on more defined flight paths, at the beginning of their approach, to give residents respite from noise. The aim is to protect people in dedicated areas from unpredictable aircraft noise between 04:30 and 06:00. Normally the flight paths into the airport are spread across London. The trial will define 2 zones over each trial area – 2 to the east and 2 to the west. Each zone will take turns to be active on a weekly basis. The areas covered are Vauxhall, Wandsworth, Battersea, Clapham Common, Westminster, Bermondsey, Streatham, Binfield, Reading, Purley-on-Thames and Winnersh. The scheme is a partnership between Heathrow, BA, NATS and HACAN. Click here to view full story…
British Airways seeks voluntary departures for 400 high-ranking cabin crew
4.12.2012 The announcement seems light in comparison to IAG’s plans to cut thousands of jobs at Iberia and the involuntary cuts being doled out at Air France and Lufthansa.
-Samantha Shankman. BA said it’s seeking voluntary departures among 2,338 senior cabin crew based at Heathrow airport to address “an imbalance” in numbers. Applicants are being sought among pursers working in the carrier’s global fleet, known as Worldwide, which operates long- haul services. They’re also being targeted among pursers and cabin service directors — the highest-ranked flight attendant position — in the Eurofleet, which provides short-haul flights. Also cuts of 4,500 jobs at Iberia. Also details of job cuts of 1,300 + 500 at Air France-KLM, and 3,500 at Lufthansa. Details
Gatwick and Heathrow attack each other in row over hub airport status, new runways and flights to Far East
December 3, 2012 Heathrow and Gatwick have given evidence to the Commons Transport Committee. Colin Matthews for Heathrow said Heathrow should be the single hub, and needs a 3rd runway. Stewart Wingate, Gatwick chief executive, said he would oppose a 3rd runway at Heathrow and wanted to see Gatwick develop as a competing hub airport. Gatwick announced plans to connect low-cost domestic and European flights to long-haul services, to the Far East or USA, with improved baggage transfer, to take on Heathow’s hub airport model. Mr Wingate also proposed London should be served by three 2-runway airports, with both Gatwick and Stansted getting an extra runway, instead of Heathrow getting a 3rd. He rejected suggestions that the South East was facing an airport crisis and said: “There’s a lot of capacity in the system. The challenge is how to make better use of it in the short term.” As well as representatives from the 4 main London airports giving evidence, there were also anti-expansion campaigners. EasyJet said “The importance of the hub airport has been massively overstated.” Click here to view full story…
BA chief Willie Walsh comes out against a third Heathrow runway
December 2, 2012 John Stewart writes, in a blog for HACAN, that at at conference on 30th November Willie Walsh said he did not believe a 3rd runway at Heathrow would ever be built and that British Airways was basing its future plans on that belief by buying slots from other airlines at Heathrow and expanding its operations in Madrid. This has important implications for the future of UK aviation policy, and leaves Heathrow Airport without a critical ally. Walsh said BA is planning for life without a new Heathrow runway, and it appears that BA no longer sees the runway as in its commercial interesst. He also said he was opposed to mixed-mode at Heathrow. BA’s newly-acquired Heathrow slots could in due course be used to serve the emerging markets of Asia and Africa and Madrid had good connections to South America. Click here to view full story…
Heathrow to be in conflict with its airlines over increases in landing fees
November 26, 2012 The FT reports that Heathrow will be in conflict with the airlines that use it, as it plans to raise its landing charges. BA, Lufthansa and Virgin say they will reject Heathrow’s plan to increase the charges by 6.8% in real terms annually over 5 years, from 2014. The CAA controls the level of charges at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted. The CAA has allowed a rise of up to 7.5% each year since 2008. But airlines say they are struggling and not making profits now. Heathrow has not handled as many flights as it had hoped over the past 10 years (odd, as it says the airport is at 99% capacity now). Heathrow made £1.2bn last year in aeronautical charges. Click here to view full story…
Heathrow telling Davies Commission it only needs a 3rd, not a 4th, extra runway. But won’t pay noise compensation.
November 26, 2012 The Times reports that Heathrow will tell the Davies Commission that it can remain as the world’s premier international passenger hub by building a third, but does not need a fourth, runway. It is also saying that if it is allowed another runway, it will not pay for “noise compensation” for the extra numbers affected by aircraft noise. The Davies Commission has already raised this issue, as one that needs to be addressed if thousands more households are to be affected by noise. The Commission has said that it will look at noise compensation programmes at other airports. Heathrow says job creation and the boost for the neighbouring economy from expanded Heathrow is more important than direct noise compensation for Londoners. Heathrow continues to lobby to persuade opinion formers that Britain will lose tens of billions of pounds in trade if it does not have a massive hub, even larger than Heathrow now. With even more tens of millions of international passengers each year. Click here to view full story…
Ferrovial in new deal to cut its stake in Heathrow Airport Holdings to 20%
November 22, 2012 Spain’s Ferrovial has signed a new shareholders’ pact in Heathrow Airport Holdings that opens the door for the infrastructure firm to cut its stake to 20%. The new agreement follows the purchase of stakes in Heathrow, formerly known as BAA, by Qatari and Chinese funds, as Ferrovial has sold 16% of its stake over the past year to reduce its holding to 34%. It owned 55.9% of BAA in January 2011. According to Espirito Santo Investment Bank, Ferrovial must keep a stake of at least 25% for now and at least 20% from 2019, when a £600 million credit line matures. Click here to view full story…
EC stance on air pollution in London could affect ability of Heathrow to expand
November 17, 2012 Government plans to delay air pollution improvements in 12 areas of the UK areas were refused by the European Commission in June. The UK may now face fines if it fails to improve air quality quickly. The worst offender is London, where it is estimated that there over 4,000 ‘excess deaths’ per year from air pollution. This could have implications for Heathrow expansion. Air pollution is recognised by the government as the 2nd-biggest public health threat, after smoking. A judgement will be made at a later date on government plans to delay meeting NO2 standards in major cities until 2020 – or in the case of London, 2025. The EC decision addresses the shorter term, whereas a 3rd runway at Heathrow could not be operation for about 10 years. However, the tough stance by the EC suggests that any plan for Heathrow expansion, which increased air pollution and prevented limits being met, would face legal action. Click here to view full story…
Heathrow gets another report from Frontier Economies – pushing dodgy figure of £14 billion loss in trade … if no massive UK hub
November 15, 2012 Heathrow has commissioned yet another report from Frontier Economics, making out that there is a huge loss – “up to £14 billion per year” – to the UK economy from not having a massive hub airport. Colin Matthew does admit that the headline figure,for purposes of publicity, of £14 billion “should be treated with caution”. ie. it is a somewhat random figure, and quite how it is arrived at is not explained. In a Frontier Economics report in September 2011 they said there might be a £14 billion loss of trade over 10 years, not per year. The analysis seems to seriously confuse chicken and egg. Do more flights to certain destinations generate more trade – or are more flights needed once there is already trade with that destination? This seems to be a very one-sided report, putting a flimsy case for self-serving ends, and deliberately misleading on the realities on air travel. In reality 70% or so of flghts from Heathrow are for leisure purposes – not businesses. More long haul flights for leisure are what airport expansion would promote. These lucrative routes are what Heathrow wants more of. More flights are profitable for airlines and airports, without doubt. But the benefit to the UK economy as a whole is very much less certain. Click here to view full story…
Blog by Zac Goldsmith: “No ifs, no buts, we need a decision on Heathrow now”
November 13, 2012 In a blog in the Spectator, Zac writes that waiting 3 years for the Davies Commission to report, and then another 3 years for a lengthy planning process, it could be more like six years before work even begins. He says a delay of 6 years would cause paralysis for business, and also for residents. “The dithering isn’t simply bad for the economy. For voters beneath Heathrow’s flight-path, this ambiguity looks like a hidden green light for expansion.” Zac believes that the government’s review will almost certainly rule out Heathrow expansion, as the economic arguments “will not justify subjecting 2 million residents to increased aerial bombardment.” And Zac argues that “the arguments being used to bulldoze the government into a U-turn are grossly exaggerated.” His solution is for Heathrow to operate much more efficiently, to get rid of the point-to-point flights to places such as Cyprus and Greece, and for a two-hub approach, with Heathrow catering (broadly speaking) for western-facing flights, and Stansted catering for eastern business flights. Click here to view full story…
‘More air traffic through Heathrow would ruin quality of hundreds of thousands of lives’
November 13, 2012 The Standard reports that the all-party 2M group of London Councils, including Wandsworth, Richmond, Hounslow and 17 more, have warned the Airports Commission that allowing both runways to be used for arrivals and departures at same time (= mixed mode) would be ‘devastating’ to thousands of Londoners. Alternating runways at 3pm each day gives residents a break from aircraft noise and removing this would destroy the quality of life of hundreds of thousands. The 2M group represents 20 councils and 5 million people under the flight paths. It is warning that allowing more plane traffic through ending runway alternation and having mixed mode instead would be as damaging as building a 3rd runway, and have a devastating impact. On a typical day the first planes approach over South and West London from 4.30am. Intervals between aircraft are around 90 seconds.The 2M group want guarantees that alternating runways and limits on night flights will not be sacrificed so Heathrow can handle more flights. The Standard continues to push for a Heathrow 3rd runway. Click here to view full story…
Heathrow to demand £18bn compensation if a new hub is built
November 11, 2012 ”This is Money” reports that Heathrow would demand compensation of between £11 billion and £18 billion if it was forced to close because a new hub airport was built elsewhere.They say executive sources said it would seek to recoup the net asset value of Heathrow, plus a premium for compulsory closure. Heathrow is 40% owned by the Chinese, Qatari and Singaporean governments and 34% by Ferrovial. BA would also expect compensation for the investment it has put into the airport, it is believed. Willie Walsh has said BA would move to an alternative site only if Heathrow were closed. The prospect of huge compensation bills on top of the £80 billion needed to build a new four-runway hub airport in the Thames estuary would make the cost prohibitive. BA and other airlines have insisted that they would stay at Heathrow if they had a choice. They also say linking Heathrow to either Gatwick or Stansted would not work. And love the 4 runway idea. Click here to view full story…
Heathrow arguing, as ever, about need for single hub airport, due to benefits of transfer passengers
November 11, 2012 The Sunday Telegraph [no analysis, poor journalism, just regurgitation of Heathrow’s claims] reports that Heathrow’s first tranche of evidence to be put before the Airports Commission will say that only a single hub airport allows for a sufficient number of vital transfer passengers. This, of course, is what one would expect them to say, from self interest. The Telegraph says that at present 1 million long-haul business and 1st-class passengers travel through Heathrow every year, which is nearly 85% of all such traffic that leaves the UK. Heathrow relies on transfer passengers from other international destinations to support the number of flights that leave Britain to vital business centres in China and the USA. Heathrow says if there were two hubs (as happens in New York), such as Heathrow and Gatwick, or Heathrow and Stansted, the transfer traffic that makes these flights profitable would be lost. And “The number of destinations served will therefore be cut, at a cost to British businesses.” The first stage is for the Airports Commission, under Sir Howard Davies, to decide whether a single hub is necessary – or whether there is enough capacity already and traffic needs to be more efficiently spread between airports. Click here to view full story…Industry poll shows some tourism executives want a Heathrow 3rd runway. Non story! Not news!
This is just more of the industry’s continual lobbying for a new runway at Heathrow … it just goes on …. and on … and on ….
November 5, 2012 A poll carried out for “World Travel Market” apparently shows that 34% of tourism chiefs – not only those from the UK – believe expanding Heathrow is the best way of solving the UK’s airport capacity problems. (Not much of a surprise, as the industry has lobbied relentless for that for years). They say “Of the 1,300 bosses surveyed, 20% backed the Thames Estuary airport plan”. World Travel Market director Simon Press said: “It is clear that senior travel executives from around the globe are in favour of expanding the UK’s primary airport with a third runway at Heathrow. Expanding other airports in south-east England is more popular than building a new airport which suggests that our overseas colleagues think the UK Government should steer clear from an ambitious if expensive solution when there are better options available.” At the end of last week, Boris criticised the government for setting the date of the Airports Commission final report to be about 2 months after the 2015 election, and David Cameron then said Boris was wrong to dismiss a third runway at Heathrow and he will not be given a veto on the issue. Click here to view full story…
Sir Howard Davies suggests payouts might be given to people under flightpaths
November 3, 2012 The Standard reports that Sir Howard Davies suggested, at the launch of the Airports Commission, that cash compensation could be paid to west London residents if a 3rd Heathrow runway is built. He would look at whether financial payments should be given to people under the flightpaths if Heathrow, Gatwick or Stansted expansion took place. He said: “There are examples in other countries of different kinds of compensation arrangements which have been used, and that is certainly something we are going to look at.” and “I am conscious that allowing a lot of options to run does create the risk of planning blight … and I don’t want to alarm people who have no need to be alarmed.” He also said the 2013 interim report by the Commission will be much more significant than previously expected and narrow down the rival options to a shortlist of “realistic” schemes, ending the anxiety of people living near more marginal sites. The 2013 interim report will also make recommendations on immediate ways to boost capacity in the south east, possibly including mixed-mode operation at Heathrow or night flights. Click here to view full story…
Heathrow rejects both “Heathwick” and any idea of a dual hub with Stansted
October 30, 2012 On 21st October, Philip Hammond (now Defence Secretary, but who was Transport Secretary) said a Thames estuary airport would be very expensive and require closing Heathrow, which he believes would “destroy” the economies of West London, the Thames Valley, and the Surrey-Sussex corridor and be a complete disaster. He also said “I have long thought the answer is one hub across two sites, with a fast shuttle service between Heathrow and Gatwick.” Now José Leo, BAA’s [now renamed Heathrow Ltd] company’s chief financial officer says “Heathwick” would mean Heathrow would lose a “critical element of competition” if passengers had to spend time on trains between airports. So neither Heathrow nor Gatwick want Heathwick. On the suggested rail link between Heathrow and Stansted, Mr Leo said that had a dual hub system between Heathrow and Stansted been viable, BAA,would already have pursued that option, but it would not be of use to Heathrow. Click here to view full story…
Heathrow finds space for new flights to Mexico – and Alicante
October 19, 2012 The Telegraph writes that it has taken Aeromexico four years to get some slots at Heathrow, and makes out that this is because Heathrow is full etc etc. There are already 4 flights per week to Mexico, and these new flights will bring the total number to 7 per week. The Telegraph compares this to Paris with 14 and Madrid with 19. In reality, due to the BA link with Iberia, there are relatively few flights from Heathrow to south America, as they go via Madrid. Looking at Heathrow’s website, and its new destinations, one could be forgiven for thinking the airport is only looking to attract tourists, as all its publicity about new destinations is about their tourism potential, and delightful things to go and see and experience. Not one word about their business potential, or the chances for business to drive UK exports. And Heathrow has found room for as many new flights per week to Alicante as there will be to Mexico. Driving UK exports via Alicante ? Really? Click here to view full story…
Heathrow complaints unit too busy to deal with complaints
October 19, 2012 Heathrow Airport’s noise complaints unit are so inundated that they have given up providing individual responses to disgruntled residents. Someone who complained has this response from Heathrow: ‘Thank you for your email and I hope this finds you well. Unfortunately due to the high volume of complaints we are receiving at the moment, we are currently unable to provide detailed individual responses. We aspire to providing individual responses in future.” Complaints about BAA’s ‘operational freedoms trial – which allows the airport operator to use runways simultaneously under certain circumstances – are soaring in Hammersmith & Fulham, and elsewhere. Many have found that since July the incoming plane noise has been horrendous, and much worse than usual. BAA should not try to ignore this massive groundswell of opinion and residents need more detailed answers from BAA about what has gone wrong with their trial. Click here to view full story…
Surrey County Council rejects new runways at Heathrow and Gatwick
October 16, 2012 Conservative-led Surrey County Council have rejected plans to build more runways at Heathrow and Gatwick, due to their concerns about the impact on the environment. It will write to the transport secretary, Patrick McLoughlin, to say it is against airport expansion. Council leader David Hodge said SCC opposed any plans to build additional runways “out of line with the existing county council policy”. SCC had a policy agreed in March 2008 opposing expansion unless there was “comprehensive and creditable investment” satisfactorily addressing environmental issues. Lib Dem councillors said the airports have reached their limit. They want alternatives elsewhere to increase in UK airport capacity. Opposition leader Hazel Watson said increased capacity at Gatwick would lead to the loss of “precious countryside” and “irreplaceable historic buildings”. Click here to view full story…
BAA name to be dropped – as the company is now primarily Heathrow. It will be called Heathrow Ltd.
October 15, 2012 From today the name BAA will be dropped. Heathrow, Glasgow, Aberdeen Southampton and Stansted Airports will operate solely under their own stand-alone brand. Colin Matthews, said that as over the past few years, BAA has sold its stakes in Gatwick, Edinburgh, Budapest and Naples airports – and now Stansted – the name BAA no longer fits as it does represent all British airports; “we are not a public authority; and practically speaking the company is no longer a group as Heathrow will account for more than 95% of the business.” BAA Ltd has changed its name to Heathrow Ltd. Glasgow, Aberdeen Southampton and Stansted Airports will operate solely under their own stand-alone brand. Click here to view full story…
New report says UK airport emissions today cause about 110 early deaths per year, of which 50 are due to Heathrow. (Also says there would be fewer from a Thames Estuary airport)
October 12, 2012 Premature deaths from Heathrow pollution would treble by 2030 if a third runway is built, according to an academic study to be published next week. The study says that even if Heathrow does not expand, increased numbers of flights will lead to a more than doubling in the number of deaths from pollution. The research is the first to analyse the health consequences of aircraft fumes at the 20 major airports of Britain. It reveals there would be major health benefits if Heathrow operations were replaced with a new hub in the Thames estuary. This is because Heathrow is located in a busy population centre, and also as the prevailing wind in London is westerly, the pollution is blown over millions of people. The research says that, based on 2005 data, UK airports contribute to 110 early deaths each year, mostly due to lung cancer and cardiopulmonary complaints. Of those, 50 can be attributed to Heathrow alone. With a 50% growth in air travel, there would be 250 early deaths in the UK. And that is not including road vehicle pollution, just that from planes. Click here to view full story…
September showed no increase in BAA airport passengers from September 2011, but a fall in ATMs
October 11, 2012 The September figures for BAA’s airports showed no growth in passenger numbers compared to September 2011, and a fall of – 2.3% in the number of air transport movements (ATMs). At Heathrow, the number of passengers was up +0.6%, with ATMs down – 2.3%, so a slightly higher load factor. At Stansted, as usual, there was a fall in the number of passengers, down – 4% on Sept 2011. There were the falls in the number of passengers at BAA’s airports of 4.1% in July and 2.0% in August. In September, at Heathrow, Brazil and China passenger numbers increased 14% and 5.9% respectively whilst traffic to and from India fell 7%.(there have been problems with Indian airlines). So the rise in China and Brazil traffic indicates there is no problem for Heathrow in processing more passengers to and from the new economies. Across BAA’s airports, domestic air passengers were down -7.2%, but passengers to North America up +3.7% and to other long haul destinations up + 3.2%. Click here to view full story…
Daniel Moylan and his bizarre plans to fund an estuary airport by cutting Heathrow down to one runway …
October 7, 2012 Daniel Moylan, who is leading Boris Johnson’s submission into the hub airport review being led by Sir Howard Davies, says he does not believe the case for a new hub rested on closing Heathrow. He outlined a scenario that saw Heathrow becoming “a smaller point-to-point airport serving the West London and Home Counties premium leisure market”. With one runway. Relocation of major airlines, including BA, to the new hub would see Heathrow passenger volumes fall from 70 million to 20 million a year. Daniel Moylan says his plan would involve billions of pounds of compensation BAA, as well as airlines forcibly relocated, with industry experts believing the bill could easily reach £15bn – on top of at least £50bn for the new airport. And that funds could by generated over a 10 to 15 year transitional period by raising landing charges at Heathrow, cutting capital expenditure, and partially redeveloping Heathrow for commercial use. (It doesn’t make much sense at all…) Click here to view full story…
Policy Exchange produces report hoping to shift Heathrow a few km to the west, with 4 runways over the M25 …
October 5, 2012
The Policy Exchange, which says it is a leading think tank to deliver a stronger society and a more dynamic economy (nothing about care of the environment) have put forward a proposal to expand Heathrow, by building 4 new runways. And moving the existing two a mile or two to the west, on top of the M25. Then there would be a two more runways, one parallel to each of the shifted runways. The Policy Exchange then says that if this cannot be built, 4 runways could be be built at Luton instead. They claim around 700 properties (in Poyle) would need to be demolished compared to the 1,400 that would need to go to make way for the estuary airport, and its purpose would be to send a “much needed signal to people that Britain is open for business.” They dismiss the problem of carbon emissions by presuming that all homes in the UK will be insulated, so leaving fossil fuel for transport – and that travelling is much more appealing so we can “have the money and carbon allocation to see the world.” A very odd report, with some very dubious logic ….. Click here to view full story…
News from Jenny Jones Assembly Member: “Heathrow review should report before 2015 General Election”
3 OCTOBER 2012 A motion has been submitted to the London Assembly calling on the Government to ensure the Independent Commission on the UK’s airport capacity “publishes its final report before to the 2015 General Election”. It is proposed by Jenny Jones and seconded by Andrew Boff, a Conservative member of the London Assembly.Given the importance of Heathrow airport and aviation policy to London, this Assembly calls on the Government to ensure the Commission publishes its final report before the 2015 General Election. This Assembly also reaffirms its longstanding opposition to any increase in flights at Heathrow, whether through mixed mode operation, night flights or the construction of a third runway. This Assembly would not want to see Heathrow Airport closed.” Details …..
HS2 rail line could be re-routed to Heathrow if Davies Commission goes for Heathrow expansion
October 3, 2012
The Telegraph reports that Patrick McLoughlin has signalled he could reroute the new high-speed train line towards Heathrow if the Davies Commission recommends – in 2015 – developing Heathrow. This would be welcomed by campaigners trying to protect the Chilterns. Despite strong opposition, the government continues its support for HS2. Mr McLouglin has now said that HS2 may have to be “adapted” depending on what Sir Howard Davies concludes, and said: “I hope if anything needs to be adapted we will have time to do it.” Tricky with the decision being in 2015. Aides acting for the Transport Secretary made clear that HS2’s route could be redirected towards Heathrow if necessary. If the HS2 line is rerouted towards Heathrow, it will probably go to the west of the Chilterns. The blight along the proposed route means estate agents say many properties along the line are not selling at any price even though work on the London to Birmingham stretch is not set to begin until 2018. Click here to view full story…
Concerns raised by Richmond Heathrow Campaign over BAA’s complaints log
2M group of London local authorities say “Heathrow won’t stop at third runway”
September 28, 2012 The 2M Group of local authorities (that now represents some 5 million people in London) has warned that allowing Heathrow to build a 3rd runway would inevitably lead to demands for a 4th. The 2M Group is an all-party campaign alliance, which includes more than 20 councils, including Wandsworth, Richmond, Hounslow and Hammersmith & Fulham. They understand that the ‘hub’ airport model needs high volumes of short-haul ‘feeder flights’ to attract enough passengers to fill its long haul services. And that means that if Heathrow added more long haul routes, it would want even more feeder flights to fill the extra seats. That would lead to high peaks of demand throughout the day. leading to the airport then wanting yet further runway and terminal space. 2M warns that these pressures give hub airports an insatiable appetite for expansion. That kind of growth blights the lives of too many people. Click here to view full story…
Heathrow third runway: London councils to hold local referenda
September 20, 2012 TBoris has backed local referenda across the capital to give Londoners a say on the prospect of a 3rd runway at Heathrow, and signalled he may conduct a London-wide poll on the issue in the future. He said this after Richmond announced they will hold a referendum soon to send a message to the government about the strength of feeling against Heathrow expansion. Another Tory-led council, Hillingdon, is also considering a local referendum on Heathrow. The leader of the council, Ray Puddifoot, said it was in favour of Johnson holding a London-wide poll. Boris says it is vital to knock the “foolish” idea of a third runway once and for all “because as long as business thinks that option is still alive, that is going to be the one the Treasury will continue to push.” And if there was a 3rd runway, there would then be pressure for a 4th. Click here to view full story…
Heathrow expansion referendum call by Richmond Council
September 20, 2012 Richmond Council Leader, Lord True, has said that people in Richmond are to have their say on Heathrow expansion in a referendum-style vote. The ballot would be held in May 2013, and give the borough’s residents the chance to say “No” to expansion. Meanwhile, the Davies Commission on connectivity will provide an interim report to the Government no later than the end of 2013. Lord True said: “I deeply regret that the nightmare vision of Heathrow expansion that had been so wisely laid to rest by our coalition government has been resurrected. This time we must kill it off for good.” He said Richmond residents were given hope, in 2010, of permanent relief from expansion – they trusted the word of those who gave that promise and it should not be broken. The leader of the opposition in Richmond questioned whether the vote would be a good use of taxpayers’ money. Click here to view full story…
Danny Alexander admits some of the Govt £50bn infrastructure fund could go to build Heathrow 3rd runway
September 18, 2012 Chief Secretary to the Treasury: Danny Alexander’s admitted in Parliament that some of the £50 billion funding from the Infrastructure (Financial Assistance) Bill could be used for a third runway at Heathrow. This emerged as Danny Alexander laid out the details of the Bill in the Commons. He acknowledged that in principle some of the £50 billion fund intended to kick-start the UK economy could be used on a 3rd runway. He also admitted the Government was not imposing a time limit on the fund (sunset clause), leaving the door open for it to be allocated to the controversial third runway at a later date. The intention of this funding is to create 140,000 jobs in the construction industry, and would not be added to the country’s borrowing figures, but the companies benefiting from loans would pay a commercial interest rate to offset the risk to the taxpayer. Opposed by John McDonnell. Click here to view full story…
Cameron likely to lose seats in constituencies affected by airport expansion
September 18, 2012 A Bloomberg article says voters affected by noise from Heathrow flights paths are likely to vote against the Conservatives at the next election, if they do not oppose expansion at Heathrow. Zac Goldsmith only won the Richmond Park district 2 years ago by 4,091 votes out of 59,268 from the Liberal Democrats. Cameron can’t afford to lose seats if he wants to retain power after the next election, scheduled for 2015. Conservative Brentford & Isleworth MP, Mary McLeod – with a majority of 2.000 – says she was elected on the basis of no Heathrow expansion. Data from the EC and Britain’s CAA show that 725,000 people are affected by aircraft noise around Heathrow. Justine Greening’s Putney constituency was held by Labour before 2005. Districts to the SE of London in Dartford, Chatham and Gillingham, all of which the Tories won from Labour in 2010, might be vulnerable if an estuary airport went ahead. Click here to view full story…
BBC: Heathrow expansion: The alternatives to a third runway
September 18, 2012 The BBC has done a short analysis on the main suggestions for adding more runway capacity in the south east of England, and include a section on not building any more. They put a couple of points in favour and against, for Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Thames Estuary, Northolt and Birmingham – though many other points are left out. However, they include a comment from Jane Thomas, a senior FoE campaigner that “There should be a moratorium on any airport expansion at all. A bigger threat to our economy and our future is climate change. We need to look at the switch from short haul flights to rail.” And a comment from John Stewart (Chair of AirportWatch) that “We don’t have any hard evidence yet on demand. Former Transport Secretary Justine Greening had the right approach, ‘Is extra capacity needed? How much? Then, where?’ ” Click here to view full story…
Boris links up with cross-party group of MPs to oppose Heathrow expansion
September 15, 2012 Boris Johnson is opening links to a cross-party group of MPs, Lords and councillors opposed to a Heathrow third runway. The group – organised by John Stewart – met in Westminster this week to begin talks on how to campaign against any future Heathrow expansion. Boris has made several recent statements confirming his vehement opposition to change at Heathrow, due to its effects on Londoners. The Standard understands that Boris and Daniel Moylan have already started approaching backbenchers from the 3 parties to work with them to oppose a third runway. This will put pressure on David Cameron. Some of the MPs involved are Adam Afyrie, Mary Macleod, John McDonnell, Seema Malhotra, and Zac Goldsmith. Boris is pushing hard instead for another hub airport, especially one in the Thames estuary. John Stewart said “We’ll make life very uncomfortable for any government that decides to do a U-turn on Heathrow.” Click here to view full story…
You-Gov poll shows huge majority believe airport expansion would cause environmental damage
September 14, 2012 A YouGov-Cambridge forum poll of voters has shown that 34% believed a new Heathrow runway would help trade, while 34% were more concerned by the potential damage of noise and carbon emissions. By a two-to-one margin of 50% to 25%, Conservatives emphasise the economic gains over the environmental damage. By contrast, Labour voters are slightly more inclined to take the environmental perspective – by a 35%-33% margin – as are Liberal Democrats more emphatically, by 45% to 34%. Of Conservatives, 63% believe airport expansion will cause a great deal or a fair amount of damage, which is less than the 72% of Lib Dems. New coal power stations are rated as the most damaging, with a score of 48% and expanding Heathrow comes close behind with a score of 43%. Click here to view full story…
Floating runways scheme proposed for a Thames estuary airport – by Gensler
September 12, 2012 Another week. Another dotty airport scheme announced by the Standard. It reports that there are new plans for a floating airport in the Thames Estuary by a “major global architecture firm,” Gensler (from USA). Calling itself London Britannia Airport, it includes 4 floating runways tethered to the sea bed. Gensier says these could be floated in as required – allowing for future expansion to accommodate 6 runways, with several terminals on land, one in east London between Canary Wharf and the Olympic Park, and there would be high speed rail links. The Standard says Gensler have built airports elsewhere in the world, but it appears it is only now in the process of building terminals at Seoul and Denver airports. Mr Mulcahey from Gensler said: “It absolutely could be done. It’s all fairly standard technology and marine engineering is what we’re good at in Britain.” Heathrow would become an eco-city. Click here to view full story…
Commons Transport Committee shortly to hold inquiry into airport capacity – to report by summer 2013
September 12, 2012 The Commons’ Transport Committee will launch a major inquiry into aviation tomorrow – 13th September – pre-empting the interim results of the Government’s independent Davies Commission report on UK airports – which are expected by the end of 2013. The transport select committee is likely to reach a conclusion in 6 -9 months, so by early next year, on whether there is a need for more capacity, or as the Standard puts it ” on where a major London hub airport should be sited.” Boris will be invited to give evidence to the committee, as will Government ministers, airline chiefs, environmentalists and campaigners against airport expansion. The inquiry will also examine regional airports, passenger experience and APD. Click here to view full story…
Boris to hold rival inquiry on Thames estuary airport or expanding other airports, excluding Heathrow
September 10, 2012 Boris Johnson plans to hold a rival inquiry into the future of aviation capacity which will specifically exclude a 3rd runway at Heathrow. The Aviation Commission on aviation capacity, to be chaired by Sir Howard Davies, announced last week, will include Heathrow. Boris’s “call for evidence” will hear from airlines, airport operators, local authorities and aviation experts, on his proposal for a new airport in the Thames estuary or expansion on alternative sites around the capital. The inquiry will last between 9 and 12 months – reporting two years earlier than the Davies Commission. The findings of the Boris inquiry will be presented to the Davies Commission, and Boris has reluctantly decided to cooperate with because of the “realities” of the situation. Windsor MP, Adam Afriyie, is backing Boris in favouring an estuary airport. Click here to view full story…
New hub airport west of Heathrow “wins support of UK business” – Independent
September 9, 2012 Independent reports that British business is starting to get behind nebulous plans for a £60bn four-runway airport near Heathrow. It says a “world-leading infrastructure firm”, which has worked on aviation projects in Latin and North America, is assessing sites for the scheme to the west and north-west of the airport. Potentially backed by Chinese sovereign wealth fund money, a secretive consortium of UK businesses plans to throw their scheme into the mix as a potential long-term successor to Heathrow. Potential sites, which must be flat with few nearby residential areas, are thought to have been identified along the potential High Speed Two rail line, which would link London and Birmingham, and the Great Western main line, so the airport would be within 30 minutes of London. Click here to view full story…
Government announced the creation of independent Aviation Connectivity Commission – the call for evidence on airport capacity, due shortly, has been cancelled
September 7, 2012 The DfT has now announced that it has asked Sir Howard Davies to chair an independent Commission tasked with identifying and recommending to Government options for maintaining this country’s status as an international hub for aviation. It says the Commission will examine the scale and timing of any requirement for additional capacity to maintain the UK’s position as Europe’s most important aviation hub; and identify and evaluate how any need for additional capacity should be met in the short, medium and long term. In doing so, the Commission, will provide an interim report to the Government no later than the end of 2013 setting out its assessment of the evidence on the nature, scale and timing of the steps needed to maintain the UK’s global hub status; and its recommendation(s) for immediate actions to improve the use of existing runway capacity in the next five years – consistent with credible long term options. The Commission will then publish by the summer of 2015 a final report, for consideration by the Government and Opposition Parties. A decision on whether to support any of the recommendations contained in the final report will be taken by the next Government. Click here to view full story…
Can the UK fly more without breaking climate change targets?
September 7, 2012 The aviation industry is bullish about its prospects of decoupling growth in aviation from the growth in emissions. At least Boeing and BAA are, and a host of airlines and airports that are part of the “Sustainable Aviation Council”. The SAC’s 2012 roadmap argues that virtually all of the extra GHG that would be emitted by this rise can be cut by a combination of sleeker aircraft, leaner engines, smoother ground operations, more direct flight paths and up to 40% use of biofuels in global aviation. It also suggests that the use of carbon trading would mean aviation’s current carbon footprint could be halved even if passenger numbers more than doubled. But aircraft emissions cannot be airbrushed away through carbon trading, as Tim Yeo and others suggest. Given a new dash for gas in the UK, new road building and then more aviation, where are the CO2 cuts needed for permits to trade actually going to come from? Damian Carrington explores the issues. Click here to view full story…
Is air pollution the biggest obstacle to a third runway at Heathrow?
September 7, 2012 Alan Andrews, from Client Earth (a group of environmental lawyers) writes that though Cameron’s reshuffle might have removed a couple of high profile political obstacles to a third runway, it has not dealt with the more difficult obstacle: EU air quality limits. EU law sets legally binding limits on levels of harmful pollution in our air. These limits, which are based on WHO guidelines, govern a number of pollutants which are damaging to human health. The limits for NO2 are currently being broken in towns and cities throughout the UK. But they are worst in London – which is thought to have the worst levels of NO2 of any EU capital. Where limits are breached, EU law requires that an action plan be drawn up which achieves compliance in the “shortest time possible.” The Government’s plan for London shows that limits won’t be achieved until 2025. Alan explains how this means expanding Heathrow would be subject to legal challenge and EU opposition. Click here to view full story…
Why the economic case for a third runway at Heathrow still won’t fly
September 6, 2012 In a long and comprehensive article, (worth reading it all) economist Ann Pettifor sets out the reasons why Heathrow does not need to be expanded, merely improved. The article goes through the many arguments about why Heathrow is already a much larger airport than its rivals, with better connections to significant business destinations. It looks at airport expansion in relation to economic growth (GDP), and finds no correlation. It notes Germany’s economic strength in 2010 and 2011, “which no one has suggested results in any significant way from the steady growth of Frankfurt airport.” It comments “To the extent that Heathrow is a drag on London’s competitiveness, we argue that this relates far more to its poor facilities and problems around security and immigration services. Overall, the airport terminals seem more designed for the retailers than for passengers, and BAA have failed to upgrade the facilities adequately over many years” and says improving “the passenger experience would do far more at lower cost that a new R3″. Click here to view full story…
Evening Standard EXCLUSIVE: ‘Dithering’ Cameron puts off Heathrow decision – with Commission
September 5, 2012 The Standard, desperate as ever to promote a 3rd Heathrow runway, reports that David Cameron has announced that an independent commission will decide the future of Heathrow – but only after the next general election. He has called for a cross-party deal to settle the alleged “crisis” (Standard’s words) in aviation capacity in the South-East. The issue is too divisive to be carried through without support from the 3 parties. The former business chief Sir Howard Davies will be asked to head the commission and recommend in summer 2015 whether a third runway or a new airport is needed. Sir Howard Davis was head of the CBI and was a deputy governor of the Bank of England. Labour said it was “sceptical” about a 3rd runway, a word the Standard says is carefully chosen to keep all options open. Mayor Boris Johnson has sworn to oppose such a plan in a “sustained public campaign”. Cameron said “I’m hoping to make an announcement about this over the coming days”. Click here to view full story…
Boris Johnson’s Heathrow warning after Justine Greening’s move
September 4, 2012 The Mayor of London says the reshuffle shows the government wants to “ditch its promises and send yet more planes over central London”. He said, of the removal of Justine Greening, that “There can be only one reason to move her – and that is to expand Heathrow” and that the idea was “mad” and he would fight it all the way. Boris said “The third runway would mean more traffic, more noise, more pollution – and a serious reduction in the quality of life for hundreds of thousands of people. We will fight this all the way. Even if a third runway was built, it would not do the job of meeting Britain’s needs.” But he continued saying London needs a 4 runway airport, “preferably to the east of London” – ie. Thames Estuary. Boris said: “And it is time for the government to level with Londoners. Are they in favour of a third runway at Heathrow or not?” Click here to view full story…
Patrick McLoughlin replaces Justine Greening as Transport Secretary at the DfT
September 4, 2012 And Simon Burns replaces Theresa Villiers.
Patrick McLoughlin, who was Chief Whip, has now become Transport Secretary, replacing Justine Greening, who – because of her strong opposition to a 3rd runway at Heathrow – has been moved (to be International Development Secretary). The Campaign for Better Transport said it was “a big shame” to lose Greening because she was “actually putting in place a long-term strategy for transport, a rare thing”. John Stewart, Chair of HACAN, said her removal heralded “big changes in aviation policy”. Theresa Villiers, who was Aviation Minister, has been replaced by Simon Burns, with Theresa moved to become Northern Ireland Secretary. Patrick McLoughlin is MP for the Derbyshire Dales, and served briefly as a junior transport minister under Margaret Thatcher from 1989 to 1992. As a backbencher, he voted for a “rethink” on the Labour Government’s policy of expanding Heathrow in 2009 when Villiers made this the Conservatives’ policy. He is apparently afraid of flying, (or he was 20 years ago) and started his working life as a farm worker and a miner. The DfT Aviation team has also been reshuffled. Click here to view full story…
New independent commission to be set up to investigate airport growth
September 3, 2012 The Prime Minister has announced that there will be an independent airports review by a commission, on the issue of a third Heathrow runway, or a new south east airport. This is to have outside experts taking the controversial issue, rather than politicians. It is likely to have the effect of delaying any decision on Heathrow. The Chancellor has recently said: “We need more runway capacity in the southeast of England,” and looking at where it should go: “let’s examine all the options. Let’s make sure we can try and create a political consensus.” Other Conservatives want to avoid breaking a firm manifesto commitment for no 3rd runway, and do not believe it would actually help the UK’s economy. The news of the commission comes as plans emerged for a £60 billion four-runway airport to the west of Heathrow – in Oxfordshire or Berkshire. A major feasibility study has been commissioned by a secret consortium of British businesses. Click here to view full story…
Independent on Sunday: Secret plan for 4-runway airport west of Heathrow
September, 2 2012 The Independent on Sunday reports that a British business consortium (that won’t declare publicly who it is) is proposing a scheme for a 4-runway to the “west and north-west “of London, and the plans are to be submitted to the Government as a solution to the alleged aviation crisis that is dividing the coalition. This new airport could – the firm claims – rival, or even replace, Heathrow to challenge other European hubs in providing air links with the Far East (links which Heathrow can and does provide). Sites in Oxfordshire and Berkshire could potentially be in the frame for the airport, estimated to cost £40bn to £60bn. The “call for evidence” on airport capacity is due shortly, and could start this week. This new idea of a new airport to the west with road and rail links to the capital would be seen as a “wild card” capable of challenging the Thames Estuary airport idea backed by Boris. The IoS says the documents state: “…delivery of any scheme must have cross-party backing and must be supported by business and the workforce.” The consortium of businesses behind the plan are expected to reveal themselves within weeks and is understood to have started talks with Chinese sovereign wealth funds. Click here to view full story…
George Osborne says Heathrow 3rd runway is an option – William Hague confirms no change of Heathrow policy
September 2, 2012 George Osborne – talking on the Andrew Marr Show – said he has not ruled out a third runway at Heathrow airport to help boost growth He said more airport capacity was needed in the South East of England and “all options” should be considered. He added that new measures to speed up the planning process and underwrite spending on big infrastructure projects would also be announced shortly. George Osborne wants the government to seek cross-party agreement on airport expansion plans. This week Downing Street confirmed that the coalition has no plans to reverse policy on Heathrow. Foreign Secretary William Hague, speaking to Sky News on Sunday, also ruled out a change of policy. “The circumstances have not changed… it’s important to stick to that election promise. It’s important to make the right decision about this and study all the options. “We said very specifically we would not be (building a third runway).” Click here to view full story…
Heathrow third runway not right for UK, says Greening
August 29, 2012 Justine Greening has said the government remains opposed to a third runway at Heathrow, despite calls from Conservative MPs for a change of heart. She said it was “not right” for the UK and other options needed to be considered – including building a new hub airport. Ms Greening, whose Putney constituency is on the Heathrow flight path and who personally campaigned against a third runway before becoming a minister, said the coalition agreement was “very clear” in its opposition to a new runway at Heathrow. “I don’t think any of the facts have changed around a third runway,” she told Radio 4′s Today programme. “The facts remain as they were at the time of the election.” She said concerns over increased noise, pollution and disruption to the surrounding area had not been addressed and suggested that a new runway would not be long enough to accommodate new, larger planes and would be full “within a few years”. Click here to view full story…
Caroline Lucas: Heathrow expansionists must drop their third runway obsession
August 29, 2012 Caroline says those in favour of endless airport expansion must finally accept that there are ecological limits to aviation growth. Tim Yeo’s calls for a Heathrow U-turn to mirror his own on the matter back in March this year have been slapped down for now by the transport secretary, Justine Greening, and Number 10, but we can be sure that the poorly informed debate will continue. The reality is that endless growth in aviation capacity is not sustainable. Aviation already contributes 13% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions once non-CO2-emissions including soot, nitrogen oxides and water vapour are taken into account. Worryingly, those non-CO2 effects are not even included in the Climate Change Act, and therefore are not in the Committee on Climate Change’s advice to government on aviation, despite the warming impact being nearly double that of CO2 alone. Unchecked growth in airport capacity would make it impossible for the UK to meet its target of reducing emissions by 80% by 2050 – a target which already falls short of what the science demands. Click here to view full story…
Environmental case for Heathrow expansion is as weak as ever. Why Tim Yeo is wrong on aviation and the EU ETS
August 29, 2012 This is an article from BusinessGreen, with a good and clear explanation of why Tim Yeo is utterly wrong with his pronouncements on aviation and the ETS. You would have thought someone who is Chair of the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee should know this. The ETS cannot and will not prevent aviation emissions from rising, because of the current weakness and failures of the ETS, meaning it does not work properly, largely as the carbon price is too low and dubious credits are imported from outside. However, supposing the ETS did work perfectly, it would drive up the cost of flying hugely as permits become scarce and expensive as carbon cuts are harder and harder for other sectors to make. There would then be no need for more runways as demand would fall greatly. So no need for a new Heathrow runway, or a new airport. Unless planes could become virtually zero carbon – of which there is no current prospect. Click here to view full story…
David Cameron will not drop opposition to Heathrow third runway until at least 2015
August 29, 2012 The Telegraph reports that David Cameron will not drop his opposition to a 3rd runway at Heathrow until at least 2015, despite lobbying from business leaders who say the delay is damaging the UK economy. The Telegraph says the PM is, however, prepared to consider the case for a new airport to the east of London. Meanwhile Nick Clegg said the Liberal Democrats would block any move by their Coalition partners to build a third runway. Justine Greening said a change in policy on Heathrow would make her position “difficult”. The Prime Minister has previously stated that this was an absolute commitment with “no ifs, no buts”, giving him little room for manoeuvre – the commitment was in the Tory manifesto. Justine says “I don’t think any of the facts have changed around the third runway.” However, now after the next election, there is likely to be increased pressure for airport expansion, if the Tories can retain power. Click here to view full story…
Tim Yeo demands PM backs Heathrow 3rd runway and claims it’s a leadership issue
August 28, 2012 It is August. And the end of the Silly Season, with little hard news. So the media have given a disproportionate amount of coverage and hype to repeating this old one, with a few additions. Writing in the Daily Telegraph, (where else?) Tim Yeo, who now backs Heathrow expansion, urged David Cameron to act or risk “presiding over a dignified slide towards insignificance”. The Telegraph etc suggest top ministers are reconsidering their opposition to a Heathrow 3rd runway. However Justine Greening has repeated, yet again, that there was a “political consensus” against a new runway, that the coalition ruled out any expansion before the next election, and that a short runway at Heathrow is not a “solution” to any alleged south east runway capacity shortage in the south east, and that there has been no change in the facts since 2010. Labour also currently opposes the idea of a third runway. Tim Yeo also says, for unaccountable reasons, that the “environmental objections” to the expansion of Heathrow were “disappearing”. On the day when the Arctic ice has reached an all time low. Click here to view full story…
Qatar sovereign wealth fund buys 20% stake in BAA leaving Ferrovial 40%
August 22, 2012 Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund is buying 20% of BAA, adding it to a portfolio of British interests including stakes in Harrods, Barclays and J Sainsbury. Ferrovial will sell a 10.6% stake to Qatar Holding. At the same time two more shareholders have sold shares representing 9.4% of the business to the fund, leaving it with a 20% investment in BAA. The total value of the transaction is £900m. Qatar Holding is funded by proceeds from the world’s third largest gas reserves and wants more investment in the UK. This represents further retrenchment by Ferrovial from one of the UK’s most bruising foreign takeovers, although it denied that it is seeking a full exit from BAA. Ferrovial shareholding in BAA will be less than 40% once the Qatar deal is completed, while it owned 55% in 2010. BAA still has almost £11 billion debt. Click here to view full story…
Free Enterprise Group hopes paying Londoners enough compensation would allow 3rd Heathrow runway
August 1, 2012 The FT reports that BAA expects to have to compensate residents affected by noise and air pollution, if it is allowed to build a 3rd runway. The Free Market group of Tory MPs have suggested that this compensation is the way BAA could go ahead the runway. They hope this money will change the balance of opinion among those overflown, if people get a large payout. The French take the approach of giving compensation, in order to get large infrastructure projects approved quickly. George Osborne is understood to be in favour of a 3rd Heathrow runway, as the cheapest and quickest way to satisfy the airlines. The other option is just noise insulation for more homes – which, of course, has no effect if the windows are open, or if people want to be outside, or in their gardens under a flight path. BAA pays the current costs of insulation, but “is interested in exploring whether the government should also contribute. ” Click here to view full story…
Airport capacity consultation delayed by coalition tension – main policy consultation to be published today
July 12, 2012 The government will today publish its consultation on future UK aviation policy, covering noise, night flights, carbon emissions, air quality and regional airports. The more controversial part, on expanding south east airport capacity, with perhaps a new runway, or runways, has been so contentious, and caused such internal difficulties for the coalition government, that it will be postponed till an unknown date in the autumn. The line the industry and the media are all taking on the news is to bemoan the delay in dealing with the south east because expansion is, allegedly, so important to business. The media are also disappointed that for them the “sexy” part of the consultation has been delayed, particularly as many of them are under the impression that the Government will name airports, which is unlikely. The delay to the second part of the consultation is not a huge problem, but the current consultation is absolutely key, because it is the basic document which will set overall policy; if and where expansion is needed (the second paper) will fall within that framework. Click here to view full story…
MP Kwasi Kwarteng’s Heathrow report suggests Stanwell runway – in his own constituency
July 12, 2012 The lives of thousands of residents’ would be blighted if the Spelthorne MP’s plan to demolish parts of Stanwell to build a 4th runway at Heathrow go ahead, say those living under the threat of airport expansion. The report, co-written by MP Kwasi Kwarteng, advocates two more runways for Heathrow Airport, one on the traditional site of Sipson, to the north, and the other in his own constituency to the south. This has led to opponents labelling the proposals “political suicide”. Geraldine Nicholson is chairman of the No Third Runway Action Group explained that residents in Spelthorne could expect blighted lives, broken down communities and death to the soul of their towns, if the plans were taken seriously. Like Sipson, which has suffered from years of blight, and dismantling of the community, from threats of a 3rd runway. It is astonishing for an MP to want to ruin a large part of his own constituency. Click here to view full story…
Peter Mandelson, in the Times, says Heathrow decision needs an independent panel
July 12, 2012 Peter Mandelson says Heathrow can be massively expanded even with Committee on Climate Change carbon targets, and “more flights need not be at the expense of tackling climate change.” He says “politics and the search for partisan advantage make decisions about big infrastructure projects difficult. Local communities and pressure groups usually oppose them. The economic benefits of new developments are long-term and spread widely, while the drawbacks are more immediate and tangible for those affected.” And “ministers should take the ultimate decision with due accountability to Parliament and the public.” But “My proposal would be for the parties to hand the issue to an independent panel of wise people which, working to a clear timetable, would assess the evidence and recommend the best approach.” Click here to view full story…
Richard Branson welcomes Heathrow four runways idea … with reservations
July 10, 2012 Branson has welcomed the idea of four runways at Heathrow airport but admitted there would be “casualties”, adding that the government needed to be brave and take a decision in the national interest. He said he did not know if Monday’s calls by the Free Enterprise Group of Tory MPs for two more runways were realistic, and “We need more capacity, and if an airport review really takes into account the needs of Britain, it’s quite likely the review will say you need a couple more runways at least.” He seems to be making out that if Heathrow does not get another runway or two, people will lose their jobs anyway, so it does not matter if some lose their homes etc now. Chilling and depressing stuff. Amazing that in some circles the man is regarded as environmentally aware. Talk about self interest. The man is a menace. Click here to view full story…
Boris will fight plans for Heathrow mixed mode with “all powers available”
July 9, 2012 Boris Johnson has attacked the Government’s “half-baked” aviation policy as he warned that ministers are preparing to announce plans for 1,000 extra flights a week at Heathrow by their plans to allow mixed mode. He said mixed mode is “a noisy and smelly intellectual cul-de-sac”. It could allow up to 60,000 more flights per year. The Standard reports that risking a huge row with the Government, Boris says he will oppose plans for these increased flights with “all powers available” on grounds of air pollution and noise. The DfT has so far ruled out mixed mode at Heathrow but it is believed the scheme will now be re-visited in the Government’s forthcoming aviation white paper. A senior Tory source today said the Government is now willing to press ahead with plans for mixed mode operation as a “short-term” solution. Click here to view full story…
Foster’s estuary airport plan funding depends largely on Heathrow landing charges, and closing Heathrow
July 9, 2012 The FT writes that, needing some £50 million (or more) Lord Foster and his team have devised a funding model they claim would avoid any significant increase in the landing charges currently paid by airlines at Heathrow – which the airlines are deeply against. However, this funding model would hinge on the support of the government and regulators, plus the co-operation of Ferrovial/BAA. Foster thinks £33 billion is needed for the airport, and they could get £10 billion from closing and redeveloping Heathrow. Then they could get £4bn from the development of land around the new estuary airport for facilities needed to support it. And £8bn from the landing charges levied on airlines using Heathrow between 2018 and 2028. A further £11bn would be raised through landing charges levied at the new airport during the decade after its opening, which is earmarked for 2028. Most of the money would come from Heathrow landing charges, and this problem could be overcome by giving the Ferrovial-led consortium the opportunity to take a controlling equity stake in the estuary airport. Click here to view full story…
MPs ‘fighting the tide of history’ in proposing two more runways for Heathrow: HACAN
July 9, 2012 Campaign group HACAN, representing residents under the Heathrow flight paths, has claimed the group of MPs who are proposing a third and fourth runway at Heathrow are ‘fighting the tide of history’. The Free Enterprise Group – Tory MPs – are pushing for this, as part of their package to stimulate the economy. Their report is co-authored by Spelthorne MP Kwasi Kwarteng, and it was published earlier this year. HACAN says all the political parties have recognized the difficulty of expanding Heathrow and are officially opposed to a third runway.” John Stewart added, “The irony is that, if a fourth runway ever saw the light of day, it would be built south of the existing airport, straight through Kwasi Kwarteng’s Spelthorne constituency.” Positioned where it is, to the west of London, already some 725,000 people live under Heathrow’s flight paths. That’s with just two runways. Click here to view full story…
Free Enterprise Group of Tories now want not only a 3rd Heathrow runway, but a 4th too. By demolishing 4 villages.
July 8, 2012 This gets dottier by the day. The group of free enterprise advocate Tory MPs, called the Free Enterprise Group, is to publish a new report, which calls for …. wait for it …. not only a 3rd Heathrow runway, but also a 4th. Some members of the Free Enterprise Group are close to George Osborne, with Sajid Javid MP one of his ministerial aides. The Sunday Telegraph says the private sector has suggested that it would finance a third runway. The Free Enterprise Group’s paper suggests a 3rd runway could be built to the south and west of the airport on the town of Bedfont and Stanwell, a town with a population of 12,000. It is striking that many of the Tory MPs proposing this have constituencies near here. One of their members, Kwasi Kwarteng, MP for Spelthorne, was good enough to comment that “it was vital that residents were compensated for the loss of their homes” and “Even if you gave every resident £500,000 it would still be cheaper than Boris Island.” Meanwhile, Heathrow continues to use its valuable slots for flights to leisure destinations. Click here to view full story…
BAA urged to abandon Heathrow ‘mixed mode’ operations support
5 July, 2012 Peace may be preserved for Heathrow residents as Wandsworth Council is urging BAA to abandon support for mixed mode operations at the airport. Leader of Wandsworth Council, Councillor Ravi Govindia, said: “Mixed mode has always been seen by the pro-expansion lobby at Heathrow as a stepping stone to a third runway.” Heathrow were hoping to solve it’s capacity problems without the need for an extra runway with a potential extra 120,000 aircraft movements each year. Heathrow can handle up to 44 departures and 43 arrivals every hour. It’s biggest rival Gatwick is the world’s busiest single-runway airport with up to 54 movements an hour. Mr Govindia said: “It is essentially a surrogate form of expansion which would damage the health and well-being of hundreds of thousands of west Londoners.” The call to bring an end to mixed mode is supported by the leaders of Wandsworth, Richmond, Hounslow and Hillingdon councils. Link to article
Justine Greening confirms, in Parliament, no new runways at Heathrow, Gatwick or Stansted and no Heathrow mixed mode
June 29, 2012 Transport Secretary Justine Greening has insisted the Government will stick to the coalition agreement’s restrictions on airport expansion, ruling out a 3rd runway at Heathrow. She also confirmed the government’s support for the full agreement, signed between the Tories and Liberal Democrats, which also rules out further runways at Gatwick and Stansted. The question she was asked, in Parliament, was (by Julian Huppert, Cambridge Lib Dem) “Will the Secretary of State confirm that the Government will stand by the whole of the coalition agreement in this area? Will she confirm that they will stand by the cancellation of the third runway at Heathrow, as she has said, will refuse additional runways at Gatwick and Stansted, and will rule out mixed mode at Heathrow?”. Her reply was: “I think I have been very clear: the coalition agreement, in its entirety, stands. That is the position.” Click here to view full story…
HACAN welcomes Willie Walsh’s recognition that a 3rd runway at Heathrow is off the agenda
June 28, 2012 HACAN has welcomed the recognition by British Airways chief Willie Walsh that a 3rd runway is off the agenda at Heathrow. Walsh also ruled out mixed-mode which he said would make the situation at the airport worse. Speaking in a debate organized by the Evening Standard in Central London last night Walsh admitted that, while he had supported a 3rd runway, he now recognized that it would not be built. He said that decisions about his business were now being made on that assumption. He cited, for example, that BA had acquired BMI in order to get more landing slots at Heathrow. HACAN applauds Willie Walsh’s honesty. When a straw poll was taken at the end of the debate a large majority of the audience voted against a 3rd runway. Click here to view full story…
Report on the Evening Standard’s Great Heathrow Debate
June 28, 2012 The debate hosted by the Evening Standard took place last night in London had an unbalanced panel, with four speakers broadly in favour of expansion, and only one against. The speakers were Alain de Botton, Willy Walsh, CBI chief policy director Katja Hall, the Mayor’s adviser Daniel Moylan with the lone “anti-expansion” voice of the panel, Tamsin Omond leading member of Climate Rush, among other things. The debate was a missed opportunity for a high level debate, not having sufficient speakers from the opposition, but it was of a higher quality than expected. Willie Walsh confirmed that he is not expecting a third runway at Heathrow, and is not planning for it. He also agreed that the presence of a new runway would not determine whether business is attracted to London. No convincing arguments on the economics of a hub airport, or of a new runway, were put forward. Click here to view full story..
BA uses its new BMI slots at Heathrow, not for emerging economies, but largely leisure destinations. As usual.
June 27, 2012 BA got 42 daily Heathrow slots from taking over BMI. And it said very publicly, in March, that it would be using these to fly to the emerging economies – Asia, Africa and Latin America – which is part of the myth that the aviation industry is peddling at present. So what are the slots actually being used for? One flight per day to Seoul. The rest are domestic UK (Aberdeen Edinburgh, Belfast, Manchester), or Zagreb, Las Vegas, Barcelona, Bologna, Marseilles, Phoenix, Zurich and Bologna. So that is where the money is. So much for the desperate need for slots to fly to second tier Chinese cities. This really proves what a lot of misleading PR is being put out by BAA and the airlines at Heathrow. Click here to view full story…
Excellent article by Simon Jenkins, in the Standard, on Heathrow etc. “It’s all about greed”.
June 26, 2012 Jenkins has seen straight through the aviation industry spin and PR, and is not remotely taken in by it. In a brilliantly written piece, this are some quotes: “BAA and BA have been wrapping themselves in the flag of “growth” and “UK plc” for years, as if Heathrow had anything to do with some wider public interest. It does not. British aviation is chiefly about shifting millions of leisure travellers, mostly British tourists going overseas” And “. A mere 13% of British airport passengers are in any sense “business”, and that embraces company junkets, conferences and trips on expenses. The industry may present Heathrow as the throbbing hub, the nerve centre, of the nation’s economy but only 30% of its passengers are in any sense “business”, which is why it is designed like a supermarket. Gatwick and Stansted are barely 15% business travellers. This whole enterprise is dedicated to inducing Britons to holiday abroad.” Click here to view full story…
Myths Dispelled about Heathrow Expansion
June 25, 2012 A new pamphlet from HACAN, (produced to coincide with a conference put on by the aviation lobby, the Aviation Foundation), says the health of the UK economy does not depend on the expansion of Heathrow. The pamphlet aims to expose the myth that a third runway is essential for the UK economy. The pamphlet, entitled Heathrow Expansion Myths and Facts will open people’s eyes to the fact that London won’t become a backwater if Heathrow does not expand. It aims to dispel a lot of the myths that the aviation industry has put around, such as that Heathrow lacks flights to the rapidly developing economies. In fact, Heathrow has 990 departure flights each week to the world’s key business centres – that is more than its two closest rivals, Charles de Gaulle (484) and Frankfurt (450), combined. There is also no hard evidence that London’s economy will lose out if Heathrow does not expand as a hub. Click here to view full story…
Sunday Times says Osborne pushing for mixed mode at Heathrow for 60,000 more flights per year
June 24, 2012 The Sunday Times writes that the Coalition is discussing the potential of increasing the number of flights at Heathrow by up to 60,000 per year by using mixed mode on both runways. It says George Osborne has been promoting this idea, to increase capacity without building a 3rd runway by adding over 1,000 flights a week and 20m passengers a year. The Times says discussions have been held on this between George Osborne, David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Danny Alexander. Liberal Democrats are against it, and apart from the immense upset the extra relentless aircraft noise would cause to hundreds of thousands of Londoners being overflown, there are very real problems of air pollution around Heathrow, which already breach EU limits. The industry is publishing another study tomorrow, putting its economic case for more south east flights. Click here to view full story…
Observer: “We need a clear yes or no on Heathrow. Airlines can’t wait for ever”
June 24, 2012 Anticipating that the government’s consultation on aviation and air capacity may start sooner rather than later, the media and the aviation industry have ramped themselves up into a flurry of comment, lobbying, speculation, publicity and biased information. Commenting on the piece in the Observer, John Stewart writes on Heathrow expansion: “Ministers have consistently ruled out expansion at the airport. The problem is not a lack of clarity from Government but a refusal of much of the aviation industry to accept the Government’s decision. That refusal is threatening to damage the economy of the country …because the industry has become paralysed by its desire for a 3rd runway. The Conservatives oppose a 3rd runway not just on environmental grounds …. but because they are unconvinced about the economic case. Click here to view full story…
John Stewart: There is a better solution than mixed mode at Heathrow for both BAA and residents
June 23, 2012 From 1 July the Government has given BAA permission to use the “wrong” runway to prevent delays building up. There will not be an overall increase in the number of flights in and out of Heathrow but residents will lose their respite period. People living under the flight paths in to Heathrow will suffer more noise, as their quiet half of the day now has aircraft landings coming in overhead. Though Theresa Villiers has stressed that the Government remains committed to a policy of no further expansion at Heathrow, and no mixed mode, residents fear that the industry will see this as an opening to push for the eventual ending of the respite period. Heathrow’s problem is operating at 99% capacity, but if larger planes were used, then the capacity situation would be eased. Click here to view full story…
Simon Calder, in the Independent, sets out how allowing mixed mode at Heathrow would increase its capacity
June 23, 2012 At present, Heathrow operates “runway alternation” by which for most of the day, planes land on one runway, and take off from the other. The runways switch at 3pm each day, to give residents under the flight paths half a day’s respite. Under this scheme, Heathrow can cater for about 44 departures and 43 arrivals per hour maximum. The alternative is “mixed mode”, by which planes can both land and take off on the same runway, so there can be 15 -25% more per hour. That could be 120,000 extra aircraft movements each year with no extra concrete laid. Residents of west London could expect noise from arriving aircraft every 90 seconds all day long when the wind is from the west – which it is 70% per cent of the time. Advocates of this scheme say it would relieve pressure on Heathrow – as well as remove the need for a new runway. There is already a second period of the Operational Freedoms trial, which allows simultaneous runway use for short periods if delay has built up. The fact that the DfT has agreed to tinker with long-standing rules against “mixed mode” indicates they may be willing to overrule the strong and passionate objections by local residents, to the noise stress they suffer. Click here to view full story…
Smartphone app trial to capture and map Heathrow flight noise
June 19, 2012 HACAN has teamed up with University College London (UCL) to enable local communities on the flight path into Heathrowto do something about the problem of noise pollution for themselves. A new free to download app, called Widenoise, on smart phones enables them to collect their own noise readings. Isleworth has been chosen as the project location because it is directly under the Heathrow flight path. The readings taken by the phones can then be mapped and the combined information shared by all. From the launch on 19th June, the project will run for 4 weeks, and local residents are being encouraged to take part. and send in readings. The project will include the first few weeks of the ‘operational trials’ due to start on 1st July. It will give residents a really useful way measuring the impact of the trials. Click here to view full story…
What the Evening Standard has been putting out recently in its Heathrow PR campaign
June 14, 2012 The Evening Standard seems to have taken it upon itself, under the editorship of Sarah Sands, to persuade Londoners and the government that a third runway at Heathrow is needed, and must be built in order to save the UK from an economic fate “worse than death”. It has produced about one article per day on the subject, over the past 2 weeks or so. Even though there is no new news, and nothing new to say – other than to keep trotting out the same arguments and the same people. To keep tabs, here is an (incomplete) list of the recent articles. You wouldn’t want to miss one! There are bound to be more … we’ll try and keep track with them. And there’s a link to John Stewart’s blog on this strange, biased, one-sided barrage of pro-Heathrow PR that the Standard has embarked upon. Click here to view full story…
Zac Goldsmith ‘would quit as MP over Heathrow runway’
June 11, 2012 Zac Goldsmith has said he will not stand as a Conservative MP at the next election if the party supports a third runway at Heathrow. Zac, who is MP for Richmond Park and north Kingston says the focus should be on improving how Heathrow manages its flight capacity. On the BBC’s Sunday Politics Show he said he said if the Conservatives stand at the next election with a manifesto which includes a third runway, a number of what are existing Conservative seats would no longer be Conservative seats in west London. Theresa Villiers has reiterated her concerns about the environmental impact of a 3rd runway and the potential for it to damage people’s quality of life, and said she does not see “any technological solution on the horizon which could see us change our minds.” Click here to view full story…
Murad Qureshi on how Heathrow is expanding passenger numbers, but BAA don’t want Londoners to know it
Date added: May 30, 2012
In his blog, Murad Qureshi (Chair of the Environment Committee, of the London Assembly) writes that after a week of BAA propaganda last week in the pages of the Evening Standard you would be forgiven for thinking that Heathrow is not expanding – but it is! It may not be by the number of flights coming in and out of Heathrow but it certainly is by passenger numbers. The A380s have around 500 passengers each. At present Heathrow turns over 69 million passengers annually and once the redevelopment and construction of the five terminals are complete, it will be able to cope with 90 million passengers a year. This capacity is not something we hear about often but the fact is that Heathrow will be able to deal an extra 20 million passengers annually! This point is made well by AirportWatch yesterday in a letter to the Financial Times (below). Click here to view full story…
AirportWatch letter in the FT: Focus on filling existing Heathrow terminals
May 30, 2012 Contrary to the impression often given by the aviation industry, Heathrow is not full. While its runways are close to capacity, it has the terminal capacity to accommodate another 20m passengers each year. BAA is failing to exploit the opportunities this presents. BAA’s focus should instead be on working with government to develop market mechanisms that encourage the airlines to take advantage of this spare terminal capacity in order to bring more intercontinental business passengers to London through the use of larger aircraft. This will not happen as long as BAA remains so focused on a third runway. Click here to view full story…
Boris: dead against 3rd Heathrow runway, but wants runway at Stansted or Gatwick reconsidered (while waiting for the estuary airport)
May 29, 2012 Interviewed by Allegra Stratton, of BBC’s Newsnight, Boris Johnson said London should follow Hong Kong’s example and build a new airport. And quickly. Boris Johnson has accused the government of trying to kick a decision about a new airport into “the long grass” until past the next election, and that this was down to the coalition leadership trying to “appease their ideological environmental wing” of both parties. Boris said his colleagues in central government appear to be “tip-toeing back towards the electrified fence of the third runway,” and says that if they go ahead they will get “the most powerful shock”. He opposes a 3rd Heathrow runway, but urges the government to discard the coalition agreement and consider expanding at Stansted or Gatwick as an interim solution ahead of any new airport built in the South East. Click here to view full story…
Heathrow night flights: Ministers to consider economic impact of sleep loss
May 29, 2012 The government says it will consider the economic impact of sleep disruption on people living near Heathrow in any review of night flights to the airport. Current rules, under which an average of between 14 and 16 flights land before 6am each day, were recently extended until October 2014. A Minister pledged to balance business and noise concerns in future. Campaigners are pressing for a ban on flights arriving before 6am – which come mainly from the Far East and the west coast of America – and a phased reduction in arrivals before 6am and 7am. Susan Kramer said: “Local residents are woken at 4am onwards not because of capacity issues at Heathrow but because of limits on departure schedules at other airports.” HACAN commented: “We have, frankly, never believed the argument made by the airline industry that if 16 night flights were moved to daytime then the economy of London and the UK would collapse,” Click here to view full story…
“Operational freedoms” trial at Heathrow to be extended by 6 months to March 2013
May 15, 2012 The trial that was originally planned for three months over the summer from 1st July is now to be extended to March 2013. It also looks as if there will be more early morning landings between 0500 and 0600 in exchange for fewer between 0430 and 0500. Theresa Villiers’ statement says: “Aircraft scheduled to arrive after 0600 will be permitted to land between 0530 and 0600 provided that the same number of flights scheduled to arrive between 0430 and 0500 are rescheduled to after 0500. This is expected to delay the onset of noise disturbance to local communities in the early morning period and enhance the resilience of the schedule”. Also departing aircraft may be re-directed (radar vectored) by air traffic control from their normal routes of departure. And the cap on the more flexible use of dual arrivals allowed as part of the trial will be raised from 6 to 12 per hour. Click here to view full story…
Here is a classic bit of BAA lobbying, spinning the standard “Heathrow must be expanded” line
May 14, 2012 This is an article in the Evening Standard, which seems to have just taken the BAA publicity, amplified it somewhat, and re-hashed it. There is a lot of this stuff about, all the proponents of massive London airport expansion working themselves up to fever pitch of self righteousness and pro-expansion propaganda. They capitalise on people’s fear of economic failure and recession, and exaggerate nervousness about Britain not having the biggest and best and failing to out-do all the financial competition. It contains statement after statement, with no offer to back these up with facts. As usual, the key logical fallacy is in confounding the self interest of the aviation industry, and BAA, with the interest of the nation. The two are separate. The government sometimes appears to realise this, but the aviation industry has succeeded for far too long with propaganda that peddles the misapprehension that economic growth depends on more air travel. It does not. Click here to view full story…
Justine Greening confirms no Heathrow 3rd runway, and no mixed mode in prospect
May 11, 2012 At a travel conference in London, the Transport Secretary, Justine Greening, conclusively ruled out any prospect of increasing flights at Heathrow: “We don’t think the third runway is the right thing.” She also said “mixed-mode” would not be considered in the government’s review of airport capacity. This technique, enabling aircraft to land and take off from both Heathrow runways, extracts at least 25% more capacity with no extra building – but subjects those on the ground to more noise. [BAA persists with its whinge that the UK economy is being damaged without more flights to China etc, (ignoring the fact that airlines could put these on, using other leisure travel slots, if there was the demand for them. When the aviation policy consultation starts, some time this summer, a key issue is going to be to really question the insidious perception that aviation growth is what drives the UK economy. The interests of airport operators and airlines are not necessarily the same as those of the wider society, and the soon everyone wakes up to this reality, the better]. Click here to view full story…
Queues at Heathrow, cuts to UK Border Agency budget and what it costs the taxpayer
April 28, 2012 Long queues at Heathrow for Border Control are getting a lot of news coverage, and there are fears this is damaging the reputation of Heathrow. Some claim even damaging the reputation of the UK. Fast Track passengers – in many cases business passengers who are considered as vital for the British economy – also often have to queue for up to half an hour. The Border Force has agreed a series of performance targets with Heathrow setting out the maximum acceptable queuing times. Immigration controls are not done by BAA itself, but by the UK Border Agency. The UK Border Agency gets about 35 – 40% of its funds from fees, the rest is paid by the taxpayer. Quite how much border control at UK airports is not revealed. Civil service unions have predicted even longer queues if the Border Force presses ahead with plans to cut the number of staff from 8,500 in October 2010 to 7,322 by April 2015. The Immigration Service fears delays could get much worse during the Olympics. Click here to view full story…
Kehoe says BAA claims are a con, and Chinese companies are happy to fly to Birmingham, by-passing Heathrow
April 22, 2012 We have heard many aviation lobbyists claiming that if business people cannot get direct flights from Heathrow to a multitude of destinations, Britain’s economy is doomed. Now Paul Kehoe, CEO of Birmingham airport, publicly disagrees, wanting to persuade those in power that flights to or from Birmingham will be quite acceptable to commerce, and can bypass Heathrow. And Birmingham gets the profit. He says BAA is “trying to conflate the wider British economic interest with the interests of Heathrow”. Kehoe says the claims that Britain’s economy requires new runways in the south-east are a “con” that an industry dominated by BAA will not question. He says he was in Chengdu recently, talking to Chinese airlines that were considering any entry point into the UK. Kehoe says the Chinese he had spoken to would be happy to come to Birmingham: “they see the UK as an important market and don’t care how they get there.” So lots of in-fighting within the industry, like dogs over a bone … They all want the money … Click here to view full story…
Aviation minister Theresa Villiers defends Heathrow No 3rd runway policy
April 18, 2012 Theresa, speaking at an aviation conference in London, said a new third runway at Heathrow would have a “massive” impact on the quality of lives of residents near the airport. She stressed the coalition Government had “always been clear” that it did not support a third runway at Heathrow. Instead, she said “another solution” to south east England airport capacity was needed. At the conference, Colin Matthews produced figures showing that foreign airlines were shunning Heathrow because of capacity constraints at the airport. Mrs Villiers said: “The coalition has always been clear that it does not support a third runway at Heathrow. One of its very first acts as a Government was to confirm this. Heathrow is unique in Europe in terms of the magnitude of the noise impact it has on densely populated areas.” She also said that “arguably the most well-connected city in the world, with its airports providing direct links to around 350 international destinations”. Click here to view full story…
Traffic pollution kills 5,000 a year in UK, and aviation pollution kills another 2,000, says MIT study
April 18, 2012 A study by MIT in Massachusetts has found that combustion exhausts across the UK cause nearly 5,000 premature deaths each year. They also estimate that exhaust gases from aeroplanes cause a further 2,000 deaths annually, compared to 1,850 deaths due to road accidents. In total, about 19,000 deaths per year in the UK are caused by air pollution of all sorts – of which 7,000 are due to pollutants blown in from the continent. The findings challenge the traditional view that industrial plants are the main source of pollution, because traffic pollution occurs much nearer to people’s homes than industrial emissions. One of the authors, Steven Barrett hopes soon to conclude a detailed assessment of the health impacts of either a 3rd runway at Heathrow or a Thames Estuary Airport. Click here to view full story…
Jeff Gazzard: Let’s do the maths on third Heathrow runway CO2 emissions
April 17, 2012 Jeff Gazzard, in a letter in the Guardian, rejects the comment by Richard Deakin (head of NATS) last week that – and this is a literal quote – “the single biggest thing we could do to reduce CO2 in the UK is to build a third runway at Heathrow”. Barely a credible statement. Jeff shows that the CO2 produced by aircraft stacking over London is perhaps 219,000 tonnes CO2 per year, compared to around 19 million tonnes per year from planes using Heathrow. So the stacking is about 1.16% of the total. And a 3rd runway would perhaps generate another 7 million tonnes per year. If so, the amount of CO2 wasted now in stacking would be about 3 – 4% of that produced by runway 3. Click here to view full story…
IAG keeps 42 pairs of slots at Heathrow out of the 56 acquired from bmi
April 12, 2012 ABA’s parent company, IAG, has to give up 14 pairs of daily take-off and landing slots at Heathrow, in order for its take-over of bmi to be approved. BA gains 56 pairs of slots per day, so without the 14, is gaining 42 pairs, which will be used to expand BA’s operations at Heathrow with new destinations and more schedules. Seven of the relinquished Heathrow slots must be sold to operators providing flights to Edinburgh and Aberdeen. IAG must also provide competitors with access to seats on its UK and European services, allowing airlines such as Virgin to book journeys for passengers who wish to transfer on to its long-haul flights. Completion of the sale of bmi by Lufthansa is anticipated to take place around 20 April. Walsh said IAG would operate bmi’s published schedule in the short-term but soon expand IAG’s long-haul network, announcing new destinations in Asia. Click here to view full story…
Frankfurt night flight ban between 11pm and 5am upheld by higher court – implications for Heathrow night flights
April 6, 2012 A German court on Wednesday ruled in favor of a night flight ban at Frankfurt airport, Europe’s third busiest, dealing a blow to German flagship airline Lufthansa and airport operator Fraport. Lufthansa says it needs Frankfurt night flights so its cargo operations can compete with fast-growing Gulf airports and it will be hit financially if there is a ban. In 2009 the local government said it would allow 17 flights between 11 pm and 5am from the end of October 2011 on economic grounds. Then residents under the flight paths took the case to court. Their complaint was upheld in October by a local court just before the opening of the 4th runway. Now a judge at a higher court in Leipzig confirmed the ban and said the federal state of Hesse must make a new decision on whether to allow night flights. This will have implications for other European airports like Paris Charles de Gaulle and Heathrow and Gatwick. Click here to view full story…
Emirates wants to be allowed to fly A380s over London at night except 1 – 4am
April 11, 2012 Emirates wants to be allowed to land its A380s at Heathrow, at night, except 1 – 4am. The number of night flights – which are deeply hated by tens or hundreds of thousands of London residents, whose sleep is disturbed by the noise – is around 16 per night, between 23:30 and 06:00, and those flights are mainly between 04:15 and 06:00. Emirates claims is A380s are quieter than most 747s on take off and landing, but the difference is small. To someone sleeping below the flight path, it is still a noisy plane going overhead, even if it is a fraction less noisy. Emirates wants to land at an angle of 5.5 degrees, rather than the usual glideslope of 3 degrees, so making less noise further from the runway. There is due to be a night flights consultation starting later this year – hence the Emirates hopes. Click here to view full story…
Richmond Park MP Zac Goldsmith warns of Heathrow expansion backlash
March 29, 2012 Zac has warned that a Government u-turn on Heathrow expansion would have “crushing political ramifications” for his party. He says if the Tories back reconsideration of a third Heathrow runway, it would be an “unbearable betrayal” for the 2 million residents living under the flight paths – and he threatened to resign if the Conservative Party went back on its pre-election pledge to block Heathrow expansion. He appreciated that the Heathrow controversy helped him win his Richmond seat, one of the biggest victories for the Conservatives in the 2010 election. Vince Cable, MP for Twickenham, declined to say this week whether he would quit if the Government reconsidered a third runway. Click here to view full story…
Heathrow’s third runway is not happening – move on. John Stewart
March 28, 2012 It turns out that the stories about the government having changed its mind on a Heathrow 3rd runway were just rumours, set off by the aviation industry as part of their PR machine. The Financial Times quotes George Osborne’s office: “There is no softening on the question of a third runway at Heathrow.” This is significant, as the chancellor was the man consistently fingered as pushing for a review of the policy on Heathrow. In November 2011 the Chancellor said the government would “explore all options for maintaining the UK’s aviation hub status, with the exception of a third runway at Heathrow”. In reality, the practical and political difficulties of building a 3rd airport at Heathrow are insuperable. . The high-profile aviation industry campaign has not produced any convincing evidence to back up its vociferous claims that the UK economy will suffer unless there is additional runway capacity. Click here to view full story…
Heathrow: The whirlpool of uncertainty is playing to the aviation industry’s advantage – John Stewart
March 26, 2012 John Stewart, Chair of AirportWatch and of HACAN, writes about the flurry of publicity over the past few days, with speculative stories about the prospects of a third Heathrow runway. John says this whirlpool of uncertainty is playing to the aviation industry’s advantage. This campaign is aiming to change opinion in government, and is one lacking supporting facts and figures, and is based on innuendo, off-the-record briefings, private lunches and advertising slogans. The campaign is typified by the BAA adverts plastered across the London underground. MPs have said they cannot remember such a sustained campaign from any industry. Click here to view full story…
Boris Johnson: Heathrow third runway will not be built while I’m mayor
March 26, 2012 Boris yesterday said that reviving the plan “would be an environmental disaster”. He said: “It would mean a huge increase in plans over London, and intolerable traffic and fumes in the west of the city – and it will not be built as long as I am Mayor of London. That is why the Government is right to look at all new solutions for extra aviation capacity except the third runway at Heathrow.” The Department for Transport said last week opposition to a third runway at Heathrow is a “Coalition policy” that will not change. Ken LIvingstone also opposes a 3rd runway at Heathrow, arguing short-haul capacity should instead be switched from Heathrow to Gatwick and Stansted to open up more long-haul slots to emerging markets including India and China. Click here to view full story…
Why Heathrow does not need to be expanded and the UK does not need a new hub airport
March 26, 2012 There have been a great many speculative articles over the past few days, since the Chancellor announced the consultation on the draft white paper on aviation policy was suddenly, and unexpectedly, delayed till summer. A likely cause of the speculation is that the DfT is probably having to include Heathrow in the consultation, or risk legal challenge. GACC (the Gatwick Area Conservation Campaign) has set out some of the key reasons why Heathrow does not need to be expanded, and why a new hub airport is not needed in the UK. Gatwick and Stansted have space and are well under capacity. There is nothing stopping airlines putting on flights to the Far East from London airports, it if is their choice to do so. If these flights could be run at a profit, they would be provided. Geographically, for travellers from Europe heading east, the UK is in the wrong place, so is not well situated as a hub for them. In another informative article, Murad Qureshi also set out why Heathrow does not need to be physically expanded, as its passenger numbers are already growing, it has more than enough space for business travellers, and large numbers of convenient flights via hubs like Dubai to anywhere further east. The problem with the growing number of passengers using Heathrow is the noise and local air pollution. Click here to view full story…
Sunday papers speculate on Tories’ change of mind on Heathrow runway
March 25, 2012 There has been a rash of very similar stories in the Observer, the Independent on Sunday and other papers today. The story seems to be somewhat flimsy, and based on no new evidence, on rather a slow news day. There appears to be nothing new other than David Cameron’s vague comment, comment by the Chancellor, and a statement from Tim Yeo earlier. Nothing else is new, other than journalist speculation. The Independent talks of the rifts in the government, between the Chancellor, Nick Clegg and Justine Greening. It also talks of “Secret plans being drawn up in Whitehall include the possibility of transforming the runway at RAF Northolt.” The Independent also says: “.. flights from Chongqing, China’s biggest city, do not go direct to any of London’s four airports. Mr Osborne has privately admitted it was a “mistake” to rule out Heathrow expansion.” Zac Goldsmith has threatened to resign as an MP if Heathrow expansion went ahead. Click here to view full story…
Observer: “Top Tories admit: we got it wrong on third runway at Heathrow”
March 24, 2012 The Observer says that according to senior sources, both David Cameron and George Osborne have been persuaded by pressure from industry to re-examine a 3rd Heathrow runway. Apparently they have been lobbied that otherwise trade will move elsewhere in the EU. The Liberal Democrats remain deeply opposed to a 3rd runway. MPs such as Vince Cable, Justine Greening and Zac Goldsmith would be deeply opposed. However, many senior Tories want to back the runway, and have this in their next general election manifesto. The possibility of using Northolt has been put forward again. The government is afraid that without a huge hub, even larger than Heathrow, the UK will be left behind economically. Those in favour of the 3rd runway are claiming the hugely increased carbon emissions from expanding UK aviation would be taken care of through the EU ETS Click here to view full story…
David Cameron says Britain needs bigger airport for London
March 19, 2012 Mr Cameron’s comments came in a speech in London shortly after a meeting of the so-called Quad of senior Tory and Liberal Democrat ministers to put the final touches to Wednesday’s Budget. He said:”I’m not blind to the need to increase airport capacity, particularly in the south-east.” “We need to retain our status as a key global hub for air travel, not just a feeder route to bigger airports elsewhere, in Frankfurt, Amsterdam or Dubai.” Gatwick is emerging as a business airport for London, under a new owner competing with Heathrow.” “Yes, this will be controversial. We will need to take decisions for the long-term – and we will be bringing forward options in our aviation strategy which will include an examination of the pros and cons of a new airport in the Thames estuary.” “The aviation paper that we will be producing will look at a range of options and possibilities, scope the whole issue but also look at what the estuary options are – obviously there is more than one.” Click here to view full story…
Observer article on BAA, Heathrow expansion, hub airports, capacity, tax etc leading up to the consultation
March 18, 2012 ”Sustainable” aviation remains an aspiration, and Heathrow continues its lobbying campaign to get its 3rd runway. Justine Greening has said there will be no new Heathrow during the life of this parliament. However, the Observer says “Despite officially ruling out Heathrow expansion, noises emanating from the Department for Transport suggest BAA’s claims won’t go entirely unheard.” One apparent compromise could be getting more planes in and out under “mixed mode” – using both runways as air traffic controllers see fit. John Stewart said: “If you take [runway alternation] away, you could generate revolution in Richmond. It could be even more controversial than a third runway.” Environmentalists are not the only ones to query the hub argument: plenty within the industry do too. Click here to view full story…
Heathrow welcomes China’s largest airline, and a new trade route to Guangzhou
March 18, 2012 China Southern, the largest Chinese airline, has now been able to get take off and landing slots at Heathrow for 3 flights a week to Guangzhou. This is the first direct flight to Guanzhou from the UK, though there are many other flights to Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, from where connecting flights can be made to all the regional Chinese cities. BAA complains that it is limited in how many flights it can provide to China, that its European rivals have more, and that they have more direct routes. BAA says Paris, Frankfurt or Amsterdam airports will boast direct flights to Chengdu, Hangzhou, Wuhan, Xiamen, Nanjing, Shenyang and Qingdao this year. However, Heathrow manages around 21 flights per day to Miami, and large numbers to other non-business but profitable routes. Click here to view full story…
Jury still out on Heathrow operational freedom trials
March 16, 2012 Heathrow has been running its ‘operational freedoms’ trial for several months, from November 2011 to February 2012. This is the first of two trial periods, with the second during the Olympics, from July to September this year. BAA produces results of the trials, and a daily report, which are very difficult indeed to interpret. The trials are to allow Heathrow to use both runways for takes offs or landings, if a delay builds up, so flights do not suffer more than a minimum delay. It appears that an average of 23 aircraft landed on the ‘wrong’ runway each day during the first two months of the ‘operational freedom’ trials at Heathrow, which compares to a daily average of 12 during the same period in 2010. The number of complaints received by BAA rose significantly but more analysis is being carried out on the reason for this. Click here to view full story…
Sir Richard Branson: Virgin expansion finished in UK – without a 3rd Heathrow runway
March 10, 2012 Virgin Atlantic was now focusing on expansion in America and Australia rather than the UK. Branson’s announcement is intended to put pressure on the government to expand Heathrow. He made the somewhat bizarre statement that ” If there is one thing that is holding the country back it was the decision by all three parties to do the cowardly thing and that was to say they wouldn’t allow a third runway.”. So that explains the economic downturn? Virgin’s problem is that it cannot get enough slots at Heathrow, especially if BA buys BMI. So as a bit of a bribe, Branson says Virgin would be willing to invest £5bn in expansion at Heathrow with new routes and take on thousands of new people, if the Government reversed its position on the 3rd runway. Another strange comment is that “in 5 to 10 years planes would burn clean fuel and have quieter engines.” What ?? Click here to view full story…
Zac Goldsmith MP: A new runway is the last thing Heathrow needs
March 9, 2012 Zac, who is MP for Richmond Park and North Kingston, both badly affected by Heathrow noise, writes in the Standard to say that the two million or so residents who live beneath the Heathrow flight path are accustomed to the noise – but they would feel that any expansion would represent an unacceptable broken promise. They remember all too well the pledge from BAA’s chairman in 1999 that “Terminal 5 will not lead to a third runway”. But no one should underestimate the power of the aviation lobby. Just a year after its apparent surrender, BAA is at it again, lobbying with a fury. However, Zac says he has every reason to believe the Prime Minister will hold his position. The arguments are on his side. The real issue is how Heathrow capacity is used, rather than increased runway capacity. Click here to view full story…
Boris Johnson’s London Assemby colleague Lady Victoria Borwick calls – again – “for Heathwick”, a 4 runway virtual airport
March 7, 2012 A 4 runway airport? That means a second runway at Gatwick too. Lady Victoria Borwick, a GLA member who has twice stood for the London mayoral elections, has again put forward her hopes for a “four runway virtual hub” – which means the discredited “Heathwick” scheme. That would involve a high speed rail link cut between Heathrow and Gatwick. Gatwick Airport Ltd itself has said A “virtual” hub makes no sense …. The airside to airside transfer times, and the difficulties with baggage, will make it deeply unattractive to travellers. Why transfer through such a hub when it can be done so much more easily at a number of airports in Europe?” The idea of Heathwick fails because of a number of key and insuperable problems such as if deep-bored, it would be vastly expensive for little benefit; if not deep-bored it would do huge environmental damage. And other reasons. Perhaps Lady Borwick has not done her research. Click here to view full story…
Letter from Brian Ross (of Stop Stansted Expansion) in the Standard
March 6, 2012 Brian Ross writes that the aviation industry conflates its own interests with the interests of UK plc. hiding some inconvenient truths. By comparison with the UK, Japan with twice our population achieves twice our GDP with far less airport capacity. The reason being that less than a quarter of UK passengers are business travellers. Heathrow flies more holidaymakers to Miami than business people to China, and more passengers to Nice than to either Beijing or Shanghai. London airports last year handled 134 million passengers with more than 500 worldwide destinations direct. No other city in the world comes close to that level of capacity and connectivity. Government is right to stick to its election promise of no more runways at Heathrow, Stansted and Gatwick. And the industry should stop trying to re-open yesterday’s arguments. Click here to view full story…
Unions and industry join forces to push Heathrow third runway
March 6, 2012 BAA has commissioned a study from Oxford Economics (not part of Oxford University) to look at the economics of expanding Heathrow. The study has not been made publicly available. It apparently claims that the UK could lose 141,000 jobs per year by 2012 through some very convoluted calculations, taking absolutely every possible job vaguely related throughout the UK. They claim that if Heathrow is constrained, “capacity constraints will cost the UK £4.5bn in GDP from foreign investment and £1.6bn in lost trade with emerging markets per year by 2021″ (unless there is a new runway ??) Basically they are lobbying for a 3rd Heathrow runway, and to hell with its environmental impacts. The report is enthusiastically backed by Unite and the GMB, and by the Institute of Directors. When experts analyse the report in detail, it is likely that the claims will be shown to be greatly exaggerated, and ignore costs it is inconvenient to include. Click here to view full story…
How many flights does Heathrow actually have to the emerging economies?
March 5, 2012 There have been letters in the Sunday Times and in the Sunday Telegraph from lists of business people, in support of airport expansion in the south east, and demanding reconsideration of a third runway at Heathrow. They claim that Heathrow is lagging behind Schiphol, Paris Charles de Gaulle and Frankfurt airport in the number of flights to the emerging and rapidly growing economies. And that therefore the UK will be condemned to an economic backwater if vast amounts of concrete are not poured, and another runway is not provided. But what is the actual situation? Are there really not enough flights to emerging economies from Heathrow? Are the numbers to some destinations low just because there really is not the demand (however much UK business might like there to be the demand)? We investigate what flights there really are from Heathrow already. Click here to view full story…
BAA “fighting yesterday’s battles with the day before’s arguments” in an attempt to revive Heathrow Third Runway
March 5, 2012 On March 6th BAA is expected to release a report it commissioned from Oxford Economics which will argue that the UK risks losing trade and inward investment if Heathrow does not expand. The report seeks to influence the Government’s draft aviation strategy which is expected to go out to public consultation towards the end of this month. HACAN says there is no compelling economic case for a third runway at Heathrow. BAA will not accept that the current Government rejected both the environmental and economic case for Heathrow expansion. It’s a sign of its desperation that it has wheeled out Oxford Economics to do the report. These were the consultants who provided the economic basis for the now discredited 2003 Air Transport White Paper. Click here to view full story…
“London First” gets their letter, signed by over 40 business people, in the Sunday Times
March 5, 2012 This is a second letter, this time in the Sunday Times, with a load of business people adding their voice to the lobby group, London First. They are asking Justine Greening to include Heathrow in the forthcoming aviation consultation. What they really want is a third runway at Heathrow. If needs be, they say extra noise from a new Heathrow runway or Heathrow expansion should be mitigated. The myth is again pushed that – in some unexplained way – the UK will suffer economically if there are not enough direct flights to China. There is never any evidence presented to back this up. In reality, Heathrow has excellent connections to the world. Where there are few flights to a destination, it is because there is not enough demand. Many of Heathrow’s flights are predominantly filled with leisure travellers, eg. the approximately 21 flights per day to Miami from Heathrow. Click here to view full story…
Letter from business people in Sunday Telegraph lobbying for airport expansion
March 4, 2012 A group of business people from the business world, some from large organisations and some from apparently tiny ones, have written an open letter published in the Sunday Telegraph, on airport capacity. This letter is part of a campaign by the aviation industry and its supporters, in the run up to the start of the government consultation on future UK aviation policy that starts at the end of this month. There will be many more of these publicity grabs this month, and in the months to come. The letter reiterates the myth that the UK will somehow sink to being an economic backwater if the south east does not have an extra runway, if there is not a larger hub for flights to China etc etc. What is interesting is that repeatedly the industry does not appear to have any actual statistics to back up their claims. Self interest, rather than the wider good, appears to be the underlying motive. Click here to view full story…
Even if people prefer a 3rd runway to Boris Island, it doesn’t mean they like either. John Stewart.
February 29, 2012 An ICM poll commissioned by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, on attitudes to a third Heathrow runway, or an estuary airport, says that a 3rd runway was favoured by 25% of respondents, with 21% backing the new airport. When asked if they believed the Government was right to block Heathrow’s 3rd runway, 35% agreed while 32% thought it was the wrong decision. And it says “The Government needs to urgently rethink its decision to rule out any potential expansion at Heathrow, Gatwick or Stansted, which all offer more sensible and cost-effective alternatives”. John Stewart writes that this poll is yet another attempt to avoid the real debate about whether any further airport capacity is required in the South East. It is part of a coordinated series of publications by the aviation industry and its allies intended to influence the government’s draft aviation policy due to go out to public consultation at the end of this month. Click here to view full story…
Despite Heathrow’s huge business connectivity, BAA trots out its capacity arguments again citing need for flights to China
February 14, 2012 BAA continues to use any opportunity it can to push its ambition to expand Heathrow. It has used the January traffic figures as another chance to lobby for its 3rd runway and trot out its capacity argument. Passengers from Heathrow to China, including Hong Kong, rose by 3% in 2011, but happened to fall by 0.7% in January, compared to Jan 2010. BAA could not confirm whether other airports suffered a similar dip in January traffic. BAA imply, but there are no publicly available figures to check, that traffic to China from Frankfurt and Amsterdam rose in January. Germany exported £27 billion to China in 2010 and the UK exported £5 billion. Research carried out by WWF and AirportWatch in August looking at weekly flights (July 2011) showed Frankfurt had 43 flights to China, Paris Charles de Gaulle had 81 flights, Schiphol had 40 ….. and Heathrow had a whopping 94. It’s not really falling behind, in any meaningful sense of the word. Click here to view full story…
Heathrow cancels 50% of flights – more than the 30% it planned – due to 3 inches of snow
February 5, 2012 Heathrow airport, which says it operates at over 99% of capacity, planned to cancel 30% of flights due to the accurately forecasted snow that fell on Saturday night. However, it has cancelled 50%, saying this is partly due to the threat of freezing fog. There is a great deal of disruption to passengers, and cynics or those fond of conspiracy theories are wondering whether Heathrow has made the most of its problems due to the snowy conditions to improve its case for a third runway, or other increases in flights. Since the snow problems Heathrow had in winter 2010 BAA has increased its Heathrow snowplough fleet by 68 to 185 at a cost of £32.4 million. But still Heathrow seems to have fared much worse with just 3 inches of snow than other airports like Gatwick, Stansted, Luton etc. No doubt BAA will once again blame the chaos on there being no third runway. Click here to view full story…
London First report wants 3rd Heathrow runway, and mixed mode on both its runways, as well as a new south east hub airport
February 1, 2012 London First, which calls themselves “an influential business membership organisation with the mission to make London the best city in the world in which to do business” have today produced a report called “London, Britain and the world: Transport links for economic growth”. The report says that an expanded at Heathrow as the “only credible option” for the capital. It accuses the government of being unwilling to consider “politically difficult solutions”. London First believes the connectivity of London is key in its success, and that “congested roads, overcrowded trains and aircraft circling above the South East waiting for permission to land at Britain’s only hub airport, Heathrow, are all signs of our critical strategic transport infrastructure operating at its limits and lacking resilience when put under pressure.” They are calling for significant improvement in London’s connectivity, both with the rest of the UK and with emerging international markets. They want easier planning and suggest varioius recommendations “to deliver short, medium and long-term improvements to London’s road, rail and air links.” They are asking for an expanded Heathrow, flights landing and taking off on both Heathrow runways (mixed mode) and a new south east airport …….. Click here to view full story…
New report claims poor environment, not lack of airport capacity, threatens London’s status as top city to do business
January 31, 2012 A new report produced by HACAN shows that though the excellent transport links to the rest of the world make it Europe’s premier business city, London fares less well on other issues which influence businesses in deciding where to locate. The annual survey by Cushman & Wakefield in 2011 “London is still ranked – by some distance from its closest competitors – as the leading city in which to do business.” However London performed badly in all the surveys on the quality of life it offered, scoring particularly poorly on air pollution and traffic congestion. HACAN says the message is clear. London has got to clean up its act if its wants remain the top city for business. London First’s Connectivity Commission is due tomorrow to release its report “the policy and investment required to secure London’s road, rail and air links, for the capital to remain globally competitive and support the UK’s long-term growth.” Click here to view full story…
RAF Northolt may be sold to raise defence funds
January 25, 2012 The MoD is considering selling off one of its oldest and most internationally renowned airfields, RAF Northolt in Hillingdon, as it seeks to raise money to help cope with swingeing budget cuts. All or parts of the site on the outskirts of north London could be sold for commercial development, and there have been high-level talks in Whitehall about whether the airfield could even become a satellite for Heathrow. This would enrage local residents but it has not been discounted by ministers, who are trying to reconcile the decision not to go ahead with a third runway at Heathrow with industry clamour for more capacity. DfT ministers are considering whether to include Northolt in the forthcoming aviation policy consultation. Click here to view full story…
Conservative MPs urge rethink on Heathrow 3rd runway and improved links with emerging economies
January 20, 2012 A group of 30 Conservative MPs, calling themselves the “Free Enterprise Group” have produced a report, which attempts to make the case for a 3rd Heathrow runway, and for new runways at Gatwick or Stansted. It presents no new research, and ignores the environmental impacts of their proposals, giving no thought to climate change, and very vague suggestions of payments of up to £40,000 per household near Heathrow as compensation. It makes out that Heathrow cannot produce enough flights to China. In practice, there were 606,800 passengers travelling between China and Heathrow in 2010, with another 1,386,770 travelling to Hong Kong. Heathrow flew 954,000 people to Miami last year (2011), compared to 311,000 to Beijing and 352,000 to Shanghai. It seems beach holidays are a greater priority to airlines than Chinese business. Click here to view full story…
BAA believes that by 2032 HS2 will cut Heathrow domestic flights. Numbers have been falling over the past 10 years anyway
January 16, 2012 BAA Heathrow backs HS2, and believes that once the spur to Heathrow is built by 2032 it will boost the airport. It does not see a great benefit from the first phase of HS2 to Birmingham only, but the benefit starts once the Y shaped links to Leeds and Manchester are built. BAA estimates that there might be some 22% fewer domestic flights from Heathrow after 2032. (There were around 45 – 46,000 domestic flights in 2010, so 9 – 10,000 might be cut). However, unless the ETS deterred a switch from domestic flights to long haul, it is likely that the slots previously used for short flights would be used for long haul, so greatly increasing overall carbon emissions. The GMB continues to press for a third Heathrow runway. Click here to view full story…
Aircraft noise measurements over London ‘inaccurate and misleading’
January 2, 2012 HACAN East, the new group representing residents affected by London City Airport, says that the way the government currently measure aircraft noise over much of London is both inaccurate and misleading. Now that aircraft approaching Heathrow join the approach path much further to the east than they used to, residents affected by planes using London City Airport are also overflown by planes descending to Heathrow. But the noise data for flights using each airport are measured separately and not combined. This problem has been known since 2007, and recognized as underestimating the total noise heard by residents. If the noise levels are combined, aircraft noise levels in parts of East London matches those in West London Click here to view full story…