Contents
SASIG 2013/14 Meeting Dates
Regional News
Industry News
Parliamentary News
Government News
House of Commons Questions
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
27 Apr 2013 – Residents of a West Midlands local authority are hoping for a revised decision over new flight paths out of Birmingham Airport which would take planes over Balsall Common. The airport has extended a public consultation and announced a second alternative for departures, further away from Balsall Common.
27 Apr 2013 – Mayor of London, Boris Johnson and Zac Goldsmith MP for Richmond Park and North Kingston, spoke at a rally in Barnes, south-west London on 27 Apr 2013, to demonstrate against the expansion of Heathrow Airport. The Mayor urged the government to resist calls for a third runway at Heathrow and concentrate on expanding other airports, including Gatwick.
29 Apr 2013- Aer Lingus has contacted its shareholders for permission to transfer a slot pair to British Airways. In a letter to shareowners holding more than 10 per cent in the carrier, Aer Lingus has sought approval to shed a summer slot pair for Heathrow, arriving at 10pm and leaving at 6.50am.
30 Apr 2013 – Matt Wood, head of airline relations at Gatwick Airport, said the arrival of the A350 aircraft into the market will help it secure a raft of previously unserved routes to Asia over the coming three to five years, including the potential to revive AirAsia’s abandoned service to Kuala Lumpur.
30 Apr 2013 – Thomson Airways announced the start date for flights of the Boeing 787 plane – which had been grounded because of a faulty battery – from Manchester Airport to Cancun, Mexico and Sanford, Florida.
30 Apr 2013 – Mancheter Airport has been voted the best airport in the UK, according to a study by 1600 British passengers. The airport was voted as having the best customer service, facilities and shopping as well as the best bars and restaurants. Passengers of the airport also commended it for being well organised, passenger friendly and for its accessibility. London Gatwick Airport, came in second place, with Newcastle Airport third.
1 May 2013 – The London Assembly’s Transport Committee has published a report, Airport Capacity in London, which suggests existing airport capacity in London, including at Heathrow and Gatwick, could be used more effectively. The report supports the findings of an independent report carried out for the South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SE LEP) last year. The report from June 2012, highlights the principal issues regarding the long term development of a new hub airport for the UK. The Institute of Directors, The Confederation of British Industry , and The London Chamber of Commerce issued press releases reacting to the findings of the report.
1 May 2013 – The Member of Parliament for Rochester and Strood, Mark Reckless, Conservative, is considering extending his ‘No Estuary Airport’ campaign to the whole of the Rochester and Strood constituency following the response from residents on the Hoo Peninsula. Over the third of residents have so far returned their ballot with over 95% reported to be against the proposal for an airport in or around the Thames Estuary.
2 May 2013 – Figures for railways station exits and entrances show low use of Teesside Station in the 12 months ending March 2012. Rail passenger groups and some of the companies running services at the stations have questioned the figures. The owners of the nearby Airport, Durham Tees Valley, have called for a new station to be developed.
2 May 2013 – Eurocontrol’s annual statistics report shows increase in business flights at London Oxford Airport. In terms of movements it is now ranked fifth by Eurocontrol, handling more business aviation traffic than Stansted and London City Airports.
2 May 2013 – Birmingham Airport’s new Air Traffic Control Tower has been awarded ‘Project of the Year’ and won a further award for the best ‘Regeneration’ scheme at the 2013 RICS West Midlands Awards. The Airport received the two gongs at a ceremony held on May 1st at The National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham.
Industry News
27 Apr 2013 – EasyJet are closing check in desks in favour of ‘bag drop’ queues – where passengers who have already printed off their boarding passes can deposit their luggage before proceeding to the airport’s security gate.
27 Apr 2013 – Michael O’Leary, Chief Executive Officer of the Irish airline Ryanair, wrote to Iain Osborne, the Civil Aviation Authority’s Director of Regulatory Policy, complaining about its refusal to investigate why Stansted’s previous owner was allowed to increase landing charges by 6 per cent in February before it sold the airport for £1.5bn – despite ongoing falls in traffic at the Essex airport.
29 Apr 2013 – Guild of Travel Management Companies (GTMC) chief executive Paul Wait, talks about the Aviation industry case being not strong enough to cut Air Passenger Duty.
30 Apr 2013 – The managing director of Monarch Airlines yesterday predicted that its annual passenger numbers from Leeds-Bradford Airport could rise from 200,000 to 300,000 next year. Kevin George, said the growth was expected to be driven by a combination of new routes and more frequent flights to its current destinations.
30 Apr 2013 – British Airways UK, Head of Sales, Richard Tams, has called for a relaxation of visa controls, along with the scrapping of Air Passenger Duty and removal of a threat to ban night flights into Heathrow, at the annual Guild of Travel Management Companies conference in Barcelona on 28 April 2013.
30 Apr 2013 – The Civil Aviation Authority has confirmed plans to change the way airlines are charged for using London’s three main airports.The regulator is to cap charges at Heathrow for five years from this month and introduce more flexible price controls at Gatwick and Stansted. The proposals will mean airlines will be charged far less for using Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports from 2014-19 than they were for the 2009-14 period. More on this can be found in ‘Government News’ below.
1 May 2013 – Flybe began their new, six times a week, year-round scheduled service to Lyon.
2 May 2013 – Turkish Airlines has expanded services to Istanbul. Passengers can now fly to Sabiha Gökçen airport, adding to daily services already offered to Atatürk airport.
Parliamentary News
30 Apr 2013 – Culture Secretary Maria Miller spoke on the launch of VisitBritain’s tourism strategy Originally given at One Great George Street, Westminster, London. A transcript of the speech, exactly as it was delivered, can be found here.
Government News
30 Apr 2013 – The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has published for consultation its initial proposals for the economic regulation of Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports to ensure passengers are protected after April 2014.The initial proposals are set out under powers granted by the Civil Aviation Act 2012 that allow regulatory flexibility, ensuring the CAA’s proposals reflect the unique circumstances of each airport.
At Heathrow Airport, the CAA found clear evidence of substantial market power, and is proposing a traditional price control mechanism. Heathrow Airport issued their response to the proposals.
At Gatwick Airport, substantial market power persists, as neither low cost carriers nor full service carriers can easily switch to other airports and still serve the London market. However, because Gatwick’s market power is weaker than Heathrow’s, the CAA would like to implement a flexible regulatory approach that is based upon price and service quality commitments agreed between Gatwick and their airline customers, underpinned by a licence from the CAA. Gatwick Airport issued their response to the proposal.
As the CAA set out in December, Stansted Airport shows the weakest evidence of market power today, but the CAA believes that as of today it may have substantial market power, and this is likely to grow stronger between 2014 and 2019 as capacity around London becomes even more constrained. Regulation at Stansted Airport will take the form of the CAA monitoring price and service quality – this will ensure that users are protected while minimising the regulatory burden on airport and airlines. However, the CAA may impose more detailed regulation unless prices at Stansted reduce over time.
An overview of the CAA’s consultations for all three airports can be found here, with links through to the separate documents. The consultation documents for each airport along with several associated documents can be found here. A briefing about airport economic regulation, setting out why regulation is necessary and the CAA’s approach is available here.
The British Air Transport Association (BATA) have made a statement about the publication of the Civil Aviation Authority’s consultation on proposals for changes to these regulatory regime, and landing charges. EasyJet and British Airways also issued statements on the proposals.
30 Apr 2013 – The Supreme Court has declared that the UK Government is failing to protect people from dangerous levels of air pollution. This decision paves the way for the European Commission to take legal action against the UK. However, before deciding whether to take further action to enforce the law, it has referred a number of legal questions to the Court of Justice of the European Union. Friends of the Earth responded to the ruling calling it ‘significant’.
House of Commons Questions
Paisley – Air Passenger Duty – Government policy on short haul flights
25 April 2013
Ian Paisley Jr. (Democratic Unionist Party; North Antrim): To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his policy is on air passenger duty on short haul flights within the UK.
Sajid Javid, Economic Secretary to the Treasury: Air Passenger Duty (APD) rates for short-haul flights for 2013-14 were set out at the 2012 Budget. The APD rates for. 2014-15 were set out at the 2013 Budget. In both cases, rates have increased in line with inflation only. A table of APD rates can be found online here.
Edwards – Air Passenger Duty – rate and devolution for Wales
25 April 2013
Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru; Carmarthen East and Dinefwr): To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has received from Ministers in the Welsh Government on the (a) rate and (b) devolution of airport duty tax.
Danny Alexander, Chief Secretary to the Treasury: treasury Ministers and officials have regular discussions with the Welsh Government on a wide variety of topics. To support the UK Government’s assessment of the recommendations in the Silk Commission’s first report “Empowerment and Responsibility: Financial Powers to Strengthen Wales”, an intergovernmental working group has been established comprising officials from the UK and Welsh Governments.
The Parliamentary information in this Bulletin is sourced from De Havilland Information Services plc.