Contents
SASIG 2013/14 Meeting Dates
Regional News
Industry News
European News
Parliamentary News
Government News
House of Commons Questions
Media News
Forthcoming events
SASIG 2013/14 Meeting Dates
28 June 2013
25 October 2013
7 March 2014
Meetings are held at 11am, Local Government House, Smith Square, SW1P 3HZ, with lunch provided afterwards, location map.
Regional News
14 Apr 2013 – The new owners of Stansted Airport have begun an expansion of the security area in the main concourse in an attempt to speed passenger flow-through the airport.The £45 million project over the next two years forms the first phase of a five-year, £230m investment programme by Manchester Airport Group.
15 Apr 2013 – A £1.4 billion package of transport projects are being planned in Leeds and West Yorkshire. The plans include: a new access road to Leeds Bradford Airport; a third line for the new trolleybus system; a new park-and-ride site and a new orbital highway route from the M.
15 Apr 2013 – A letter published in the Guardian raises the issue of the danger of expansion at Lydd Airport in Kent.
15 Apr 2013 – London City airport is to seek planning application to increase the size of the main terminal. The airport handles around 3 million passengers a year and 70,000 flights, but has permission to handle 120,000 annually. An expansion would enable increased retail activity at the airport. The aim is to accommodate 6 million passengers a year by 2021
16 Apr 2013 – The Scottish Herald reports on a survey they have undertaken comparing the cost of travelling by train from Scotland to London to travelling by air.The survey found a higher proportion of journeys were cheaper by air.
16 Apr 2013 – Passenger numbers at Cardiff Airport have fallen below one million .The latest provisional figures from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) show 994,885 people flew from the airport in the year to March, which is down 15 per cent on the previous year.
16 Apr 2013 – The promotion of Cardiff City football club to the English Premier League will increase the number of flights and passenger numbers at Cardiff Airport. It is forecast that Cardiff Airport will benefit due to additional ad-hoc charter flights by visiting teams and some of the club’s away games.
16 Apr 2013 – A planning application has been submitted for the first commercial occupier for the £210m Skypark scheme near Exeter Airport. St Modwen, which is working with Devon County Council on the scheme, has submitted plans for a new Ambulance Special Operations Centre at the development. If approved, the Trust would establish an operational ambulance facility within the initial phase of development at the 1.4 million square foot business park.
17 Apr 2013 – The European Regions Airline Association (ERA) held its annual Regional Airline Conference in Edinburgh between the 10 and 11 of April. A range of issues were covered from the proposed EU legislation for passenger compensation, to the role of social media. Day one and Day two Conference reports and presentations from speakers are available.
18 Apr 2013 – Bournemouth Airport is anticipating an 8.3 per cent growth in passenger numbers for 2012/13 on the previous year’s figures once final figures are collated. The airport is also expecting a five per cent growth in passenger numbers for 2013/14.
Industry News
15 Apr 2013 – Heathrow Airport’s new, £2.5 billion Terminal 2 is experiencing a high demand for outlets. The airport said demand from stores and restaurateurs at its new terminal, which is set to open in summer 2014, had exceeded that seen at Terminal 5, which opened in March 2008.
15 Apr 2013 – Norwegian Air Shuttle has chosen to establish a UK base at Gatwick and will launch 12 new short haul routes in April. The move comes as Norwegian has increased weekly flights from 198 in 2009 and will offer 320 by the end of summer 2013.
15 Apr 2013 – Heathrow saw 5.9 million passengers in March, a record for the month and up 3.9 per cent on March 2012. The figures were driven by a record March average load factor of 75.8 per cent, up 2.4 percentage points. This was on top of an increase in the average number of seats per aircraft, up 1.8 per cent to 199.3, another record for the month. The integration of bmi into the British Airways network was felt to be the main driver of the increased numbers.
15 Apr 2013 – Airline bosses, speaking at the CAPA Aviation in Transition conference in Ireland, admitted that the difference between low-cost and full-service airlines was becoming increasingly blurred. A summary report for the event can be found here.
16 Apr 2013 – Of the 93 million people who began their journey at a British airport last year, 52 per cent used low-cost carriers, according to new data from Amadeus, the travel industry technology company. The latest figures represent a four percentage point rise on the previous year, when 48 per cent of passengers used budget airlines such as easyJet, Ryanair and FlyBe.
16 Apr 2013 – NASA has concluded an eight-month programme of 30 test flights using Boeing’s X-48C subscale prototype. The ‘C’ version of the aircraft was specifically intended to assess the low-speed performance and stability of a noise-reducing configuration of the Blended Wing Body design.
16 Apr 2013 – Reuters reports that German construction group Hochtief AG has received offers for the holdings in five airports it has put on sale. Bidders are believed to include Global Infrastructure Partners, owner of London’s City and Gatwick airports.
17 Apr 2013 – EasyJet have confirmed that Next chairman John Barton is to take over as chairman of the airline on May 1.Barton takes over from Sir Mike Rake as the airline’s non-executive chairman.
17 Apr 2013 – Singapore Changi Airport was voted the World’s best Airport at the most recent World Airport Awards. London Heathrow was voted 10th best. London City and London Gatwick were the next most popular British airports, voted 34th and 35th respectively. Heathrow Terminal 5 was given two awards – World’s Best Airport Shopping and Best Terminal Building. Other highlights of the awards include: Frankfurt Airport voted as the World’s most improved airport, London Stansted named the World’s best low cost airport. Luton were third in this category, with East Midlands seventh. The awards are presented by Skytrax and decided by an annual passenger satisfaction survey of travellers from over 160 countries.
18 Apr 2013- Travel to North America and other long haul destinations has dropped from the UK, according to the latest figures from the Office of National Statistics. In the last 12 months, visits by UK residents to North America and other countries outside of Europe, have fallen 5 per cent and 4 per cent respectively. Meanwhile, visits to Europe have grown slightly by 1 per cent.
18 Apr 2013 – Gatwick Airport submits its response to the Airport’s Commission discussion paper 02 on Aviation Connectivity and the Economy. Among the points they raise are: that the Commission should recommend making the most of existing capacity in the short to medium-term; that the Government should not be influenced by demands for an expanded or new hub airport in order to improve connections with emerging markets; that the cost of air travel should be a vital consideration in the Commission’s research;’ and that connectivity is not just about availability, but also affordability.
18 Apr 2013 – British Airways has stated that it would like to work with Eurostar to combine flight and rail services on the same ticket.
European News
16 Apr 2013 – The EP’s Plenary has rejected the back-loading proposals by a margin of 334-315.
Parliamentary News
16 Apr 2013 – Early Day Motion (EDM) 1275 – Extension to Lydd Airport. Early Day Motion (EDM) 1275 was put down on 16 April 2013 by Caroline Lucas, (Brighton Pavillion; Green Party). That this House is dismayed by the Government’s decision to approve an extension to Lydd Airport in Kent; notes that the expansion would destroy the nature and tranquillity of the Kent coast, thereby harming tourism in the surrounding area and the quality of life of many residents; further notes the view of the Government’s own advisers at Natural England that expansion would be likely to result in very substantial and unmitigated harm to local habitats and wildlife, which are recognised and designated nationally and internationally for their importance and value; further notes the proximity of Lydd to the nuclear reactors at Dungeness and the serious concerns over public health and safety this raises; is concerned that this decision has not taken account of recommendations on changes to infrastructure planning from the Weightman review of nuclear safety after Fukushima; further notes that aviation expansion at Lydd or elsewhere makes it significantly more difficult to meet carbon budgets; believes that the overwhelming beneficiary of the expansion will be the multi-millionaire businessman who owns the airport at the expense of local communities, precious habitats, treasured landscapes, public safety and the UK’s efforts to tackle climate change; further believes that Ministers should cherish the UK’s most important wildlife sites and protect them for future generations rather than allow them to be destroyed for the pursuit of short term profit; and calls on the Government to reverse this harmful and unjustifiable decision. This EDM has been signed by five MPs.
Government News
14 Apr 2013 – Scottish National Party (SNP)Transport Spokesperson Angus MacNeill has spoken of the SNPs desire not to implement the planned increase in Air Passenger Duty ahead of the Scottish Parliament’s Finance Bill debate. The SNP will also move an amendment to have APD devolved, in line with the policy in Northern Ireland.
15 Apr 2013 – A consultation has been launched on ‘Foreign airline permits – transfer of function to the Civil Aviation Authority and Reform of the Objections Process’.The consultation invites views on 2 proposals which are to reform the permits which foreign registered aircraft must obtain before they can operate in the UK or carry out aerial work under the Air Navigation Order 2009. The government proposes to:
- remove the objection process, which currently allows UK and Community carriers established in the UK to object to the grant of a permit in respect of a non-scheduled flight by a foreign registered aircraft; and
- transfer from the Secretary of State to the Civil Aviation Authority the administration of these permits.
The consultation closes 5 July 2013.
16 April 2013 – As part of a process to improve the way it handles official transactions with the aviation industry, the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) will from today accept more applications online, including secure payments. UK based aircraft maintenance organisations, for example, can now apply for, or apply for variations to their Part 145 approval electronically, without any need to submit paper forms. The new electronic services are intended to initiate a range of improvements to performance and processes across the CAA. These developments will ensure applicants for licences, certificates and approvals, receive a more efficient and consistent service. Under the new systems, organisations applying for UK CAA issued Part 145 maintenance approvals will be able to submit online documents, such as company expositions, for initial review. The organisations will then be contacted to arrange an audit visit, and any findings following assessment will be sent to the organisation electronically. More details are available on the CAA website www.caa.co.uk.
House of Commons Questions
McCrea – Aviation Strategy for Northern Ireland
15 April 2013
William McCrea (Democratic Unionist Party, South Antrim): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he will announce details of an aviation strategy for Northern Ireland.
Simon Burns, Transport Minister: On 22 March the Government published its Aviation Policy Framework (APF). The APF outlines in Chapter 5 which areas of Aviation are reserved to Westminster and which are devolved to Northern Ireland. It was developed with input from the Devolved Administrations and outlines a strategy to benefit the whole of the United Kingdom including Northern Ireland.The Government has also recently responded to the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee’s An air transport strategy for Northern Ireland Report copies can be found in the House Library or online. The Government has no plans to develop a further aviation strategy that is unique to Northern Ireland at this time.
Goldsmith – Airports Commission and the effect on air quality and EU air quality limits
15 April 2013
Zac Goldsmith (Conservative Party, Richmond Park): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to section 3.54 of the Aviation Policy Framework, whether the Airports Commission will assess the potential effect on (a) air quality and (b) EU air quality limits of each option for meeting the UK’s international connectivity needs.
Simon Burns: The Government expects, in line with its terms of reference, that the Airports Commission will take account of environmental factors including air quality and EU air quality limits when reaching its recommendation.
Media News
18 April 2013 – The Transport Secretary, Patrick McLoughlin gave a speech explaining how local partnerships bring business and government together. The speech was originally given at the LEP network annual conference. The text of the speech as drafted, is available here.
Forthcoming events
SASIG and Transport for London, Regional Engagement Events – The Strategic Aviation Special Interest Group (SASIG) of the Local Government Association, in partnership with the Mayor of London, are running a series of regional engagement events to discuss the role of aviation in generating regional growth to protect the UK’s position as a global trading nation. There are seven, free, half-day events taking place at venues across England. The schedule of meetings is detailed here along with more details and how to register. All events will be welcoming guests at 10am for registration and refreshments, ending at . The workshops will be in session until 1pm when a buffet lunch will be served.
The Parliamentary information in this Bulletin is sourced from De Havilland Information Services plc.