Contents
SASIG 2014/15 Meeting Dates
Regional News
Industry News
European News
Parliamentary News
Government News
House of Commons Questions
House of Commons Business Statements
Media News
SASIG 2014/15 Meeting Dates
6 March 2014
27 June 2014
24 October 2014
13 March 2015
Meetings are held at Local Government House, Smith Square, SW1P 3HZ, location map.
Regional News
27 Jan 2014 – Work has started on a newly-acquired site at Durham Tees Valley Airport which the airport hopes will help them to ‘maximise future development’. The former hangar building was last used as a sports and tennis centre and covers 9.5 acres of land.
27 Jan 2014 – The Vice President of the European Commission and commissioner responsible for transport policy, Siim Kallas’ has visited Bristol Airport to meet major local employers and transport groups. Mr Kallas also met with Bristol Airport Chief Executive Robert Sinclair, to discuss issues affecting the European aviation industry, including passenger rights, security relations and competition.
29 Jan 2014 – Manchester Airports continues to be the first choice airport for most travellers from South Yorkshire, followed by East Midlands. More than two thirds of South Yorkshire passengers say they use Manchester ‘often’ or ‘very often’ while one in four said the same of East Midlands, while one in seven used Heathrow on a similar basis. Just one in 14 said they used Doncaster/Sheffield Robin Hood often or very often – a similar proportion to those using Leeds Bradford and fewer than use Stansted or Liverpool John Lennon Airports. However, nine out of 10 said they would like to use Doncaster/Sheffield Robin Hood if it had flights to a wider range of destinations.
29 Jan 2014 – The Leader of Wandsworth Council Ravi Govindia will address a public meeting in Putney on 6 February examining the potential impacts of the Airports Commission’s proposals for expanding Heathrow and allowing more night flights. The meeting will also be attended by John Stewart of the aviation campaign group HACAN and local MP Justine Greening.
29 Jan 2014 – Guernsey’s States has announced plans to improve the airfield at Alderney.
29 Jan 2014 – A third of ground staff at Guernsey Airport are to lose their jobs. Handling company Menzies Aviation said it would offer voluntary redundancies or other airport roles to 18 staff. A one-month consultation period will determine which of the 53 staff will be offered the severance scheme.
29 Jan 2014 – A report from the University of Sheffield has found that people prefer to travel from regional airports where possible because it cuts down the amount of time they spend transiting through the airport. The study focused on northern England, which is dominated by Manchester Airport, with smaller airports including Doncaster/Sheffield Robin Hood Airport and Leeds-Bradford Airport.
30 Jan 2014 – Wakefield councillors have voted to oppose the High Speed 2 Rail scheme which would see trains passing through the district to a new stop in the centre of Leeds. Leader of the Council Peter Box has called for a broader debate on the future of transport in the north of England including alternative proposals for high speed rail, investment in the road network and a possible long term replacement for Leeds-Bradford Airport.
30 Jan 2014 – Southend Airport have unveiled a new £10M extension, creating a larger departure area for passengers.
31 Jan 2014 – A petition has been launched calling on the Government to safeguard the future of Durham Tees Valley Airport. The petition has attracted 250 signatures since it was launched a month ago, and supporters have commented that they would use the airport more often if there were more scheduled flights.
Industry News
31 Jan 2014 – The Air Traffic Control Service NATS will continue to provide air traffic services at Cardiff Airport, after securing a five year contract. The contract provides aerodrome and airport approach services, approach radar for MOD St Athan southwest of Cardiff Airport) and air traffic control engineering services at the airport. NATS will also continue to provide a delegated air traffic function for Swanwick Area Control.
European News
31 Jan 2014 – The new European Union (EU) rules for air passengers carrying liquids, aerosols and gels (LAG) have taken effect. They are being introduced as part of a plan to lift the ban on the carriage of LAGs altogether. However, it is felt that the new rules will have minimal direct impact on EU air passengers as their primary function is to facilitate passengers travelling from/to non-EU airports transferring at EU airports and the LAGs in question are only those purchased (and correctly packaged) at airport shops and on board air carriers.
31 Jan 2014 – Members of the European Union Parliament’s Transport Committee have rejected the European Commission’s attempt to fully liberalise air navigation services in the 28-country bloc, until further impact studies are carried out. MEPs gave the Commission a two-year deadline to come up with a detailed assessment of the consequences of full liberalisation of air navigation services, which encompass activities such as weather forecasting and information services.
Parliamentary News
29 Jan 2014 – The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on UK Integrated Transport Strategy have published the report ‘HS2 and Intermodality for the UK:How do we better link up the UK?’, considering air/rail integration, and whether the High Speed 2 Rail (HS2) line, as currently designed, represents international best practice. The key points of the report outline the Group’s call for: Decisions on Heathrow and HS2 to be made together in the national interest, rather than in isolation; a fully functional rail link between HS1 and HS2; A ‘fresh look’ at transport planning in the UK – based on integration, across all modes of transport.
Government News
27 Jan 2014 – The UK Civil Aviation Authority have issued a reminder to companies shipping ‘dangerous goods’ by air to follow the correct procedures to avoid endangering the safety of aircraft. The advice follows the successful prosecution of an aircraft component supplier from Dorset for sending an oxygen generator by air to the United States in an incorrectly packaged condition.
30 Jan 2014 – The General Aviation Challenge Panel have published an interim report to ministers, on the regulation of the General Aviation (GA) sector, grouped into themes: CAA Oversight; Finance; Culture and Communication; Safety regulation; Airspace; Planning protection; Growth projects. Among the key recommendations are:
- CAA Oversight. The Panel recommends that, the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)’s current duties should be extended so that it should consider opportunities to enable UK GA to contribute to economic growth.
- Finance. The Panel believes that the CAA should provide greater transparency and clearer justification for the level of its charges.
- Culture and Communication. The Panel considers that significant attention should be given to the way the CAA engages and communicates with the GA community, with particular emphasis on improving the quality of written publications.
- Safety Regulation. The Panel recommends that the CAA outlines steps to protect and reward good management of total system safety in accordance with effective risk assessment. It believes the Government should also consider creating a legal framework to support individual decision makers on their application of good safety management principles.
- Airspace. The Panel believes that controlled airspace should be designed to reflect practical operational requirements laterally and vertically and not theoretical requirements based on often over optimistic forecasts of commercial traffic usage.
- Planning Protection. The Panel recognises a need to secure a network of GA aerodromes which would in addition provide improved opportunities for regional connectivity for many areas not regularly served by the commercial aviation network and also have a role in facilitating lifesaving air ambulance operations and civil protection. However, the Panel believes what it considers to be the trend of losing airports and airfields used by GA will hinder this and reduce their wider economic benefits. There may be many factors relating to the closure of airfields but the designation of some of them as brownfield sites makes them attractive to local planning authorities and owners to redevelop or sell them for other uses, in particular to meet housing stock demands. The Panel has begun work with The Department for Communities and Local Government to explore opportunities to protect aerodromes from redevelopment.
- Growth Projects. The Panel believes that research into the direct and indirect benefits of GA to the UK economy would be worthwhile and would help determine what interventions might be appropriate to promote growth.
House of Commons Questions
Smith, H – Gatwick Airport and future fast-track border entry
27 January 2014
Henry Smith (Conservative, Crawley): London Gatwick Airport in my constituency introduced automatic e-gates for departures for all passengers some time ago. May I seek assurances from my hon. Friend that Gatwick will be included in future fast-track border entry, which will be great for local business and great for that important gateway into the UK?
Mark Harper, Immigration Minister (Conservative, Forest of Dean): My hon. Friend makes a very good point. He will be aware that I recently had the opportunity to open the e-gates at the south terminal at Gatwick that mean that British citizens and European economic area passengers can get access to the United Kingdom more quickly with their chipped passports. We are looking into developing a range of services so that those who bring value, business, growth and jobs to the country can get here more efficiently. That is something that all Members should welcome.
Marsden – Information on private flights arriving into UK
28 January 2014
Gordon Marsden, Shadow Further Education, Skills and Regional Growth Minister (Labour, Blackpool South): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 11 November 2013, Official Report, column 452W, on aviation, whether any officials or agencies within his jurisdiction are collecting comprehensive information on private flights arriving into UK airspace each year.
Mark Harper, Immigration Minister (Conservative, Forest of Dean) [holding answer 27 January 2014]: The Department for Transport does not collect information on such flights. All general aviation flights are required to submit advance information to Border Force, in the form of a General Aviation Report (GAR) prior to arriving in the UK. This information includes: passenger details, flight details, and aircraft details. All flights must also submit a flight plan before arriving in the UK to NATS (formerly National Air Traffic Services).
House of Commons Business Statements
Opperman – Regional cuts to air passenger duty for entrants to the long-haul market
30 January 2014
The following question was asked in response to the Business Statement, made by Leader of the House Andrew Lansley, (Conservative, South Cambridgeshire).
Guy Opperman, PPS to Immigration Minister Mark Harper (Conservative, Hexham): May we have a Treasury debate on regional cuts to air passenger duty for entrants to the long-haul market, which would stimulate growth, reduce the burden on the south-east and kick-start the regional economy? I echo what was said by the right hon. Member for Belfast North (Nigel Dodds, Democratic Unionist, Belfast North).
Andrew Lansley CBE MP, Leader of the House of Commons (Conservative, South Cambridgeshire): I will not reiterate what I have said, but the point about regional airports is well taken. Taxes and duties are of course matters for my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer, but I will be glad to alert my hon. Friends at the Treasury to the point that my hon. Friend raises.
Media News
28 Jan 2014 – The Financial Times discusses the implications for the new European Union energy policy for 2030.
30 Jan 2014 – A consortium behind plans for an airport in the Outer Thames Estuary has questioned why it was excluded from the Airports Commission shortlist. The consortium behind the £47bn London Britannia Airport has written to the Commission to complain about not being shortlisted in December. It has also queried why the Isle of Grain scheme – an onshore project – remains under consideration.
31 Jan 2014 – The European Court of Justice has ruled that wholesale travel transactions should fall within Tour Operators Margin Scheme, increasing VAT costs for many companies. Under the current system, wholesalers are able to sell the flight or passenger transport element of a European Union (EU) package without VAT, under the ‘VAT Transport Company Scheme’. But once the new rules have come into force, EU travel wholesalers will have to account for VAT from the whole profit margin on sales of EU travel in the country in which they are established.
31 Jan 2014 – The campaign group Stop Stansted Expansion (SSE) has made a detailed submission to the Department for Transport calling for Government action to end night flights at the airport. SSE’s submission is in response to a Government consultation which proposes that Stansted Airport should continue to be allowed flights between the hours of 11.30pm and 6.00am.
SASIG Regional&IndustryNews Bulletin 27 Jan – 2 Feb
SASIG ParliamentaryNews Bulletin 27 Jan – 2 Feb
The Parliamentary information in this Bulletin is sourced from De Havilland Information Services plc