Contents
SASIG 2013/14 Meeting Dates
Regional News
Industry News
European News
Parliamentary News
Government News
House of Commons Written Answers
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
10 Feb 2013 – National Air Traffic Systems (NATS) has completed the disposal of the former College of Air Traffic Control site at Bournemouth Airport, to Parkfield School. The site has 93,000 sq ft of buildings, which previously housed NATS’ training and research operations. NATS used the site to provide training for all of the UK’s air traffic control officers for more than 60 years, before relocating to Swanwick in Hampshire in August 2011.
12 Feb 2013 – Gatwick Airport has completed its £40 million retail development of its South Terminal’s departure lounge.
13 Feb 2014 – A £10m extension to Southend Airport in Essex is due to open to passengers. A bigger departure lounge, more check-in desks, revamped baggage reclaim facilities, a new arrivals area and five more plane stands have been built.
13 Feb 2014 – Wandsworth Council leader and 2M Group spokesman Ravi Govindia has pledged to challenge the Airports Commission’s proposal to increase the number of night flights into Heathrow Airport. Cllr Govindia said the proposal to increase the nightly quota from 16 to 35 flights is ‘buried’ in a technical appendix to Sir Howard Davies interim report on airport expansion.
Industry News
7 Feb 2014 – Global air passenger growth rose by 5 per cent in 2013 compared with the previous year, according to International Air Transport Association full-year traffic results. The strongest overall growth was recorded by carriers in the Middle East (11 per cent) followed by Asia-Pacific (7 per cent) and Latin America (6 per cent).
European News
11 Feb 2013 – Speaking at the EU-ASEAN Aviation Summit in Singapore, the Director General and Chief Executive of the International Air Transport Association, Tony Tyler, has called on states to focus on ensuring sufficient air and ground capacity around airports. Mr Tyler said that he felt ‘with some exceptions, Europe is not providing a good example in providing sufficient capacity for either air traffic management or airports.’
12 Feb 2014 – The airport trade bodies Airports Council International EUROPE and Airports Council International ASIA PACIFIC have expressed hopes that the 1st EUASEAN Aviation Summit will open the way for aviation negotiations to be initiated between the EU and ASEAN within a year. Both sides have stated that these negotiations should look at removing existing restrictions to the development of air services between the two partners, integrate their regional single aviation markets and seek regulatory alignment on essential issues such as safety, security and competition. Olivier Jankovec, Director General Airports Council International EUROPE commented, ‘liberalising aviation between the EU and ASEAN is not just about normalisation – it is about upping our game in response to increasing competitive pressures from other regions. It is about boosting our own position as global aviation hubs. We need to seize this opportunity for first mover advantage before others reap the full benefit of unrestricted market access.’
Parliamentary News
‘We appointed Sir Howard Davies to chair an independent commission to identify and recommend to Government how best to achieve that. The Commission published its interim report on 17 December 2013, concluding that, while the UK remains well connected, additional capacity will be needed to support competitiveness and prosperity in the medium and longer term,’ he explained.
Continuing, the Minister said the Government welcomed the interim report, and said that the Government had no intention of commenting on any of the long-term options that were, or were not, shortlisted while the Airports Commission continued its work. ‘The Government, however, intend to respond to the commission’s short-term recommendations and will do so as soon as possible. The commission will provide its final report by the summer of 2015 for consideration by the Government and Opposition parties—whoever they may be,’ he stated.
He told the House that Stansted Airport was London’s third busiest airport, but it was only half full and therefore had an important role to play in growing connections between the UK and the rest of the world. He welcomed the significant investment that Manchester Airports Group had put into Stansted, and noted that this summer alone the airport would introduce 12 new routes and a substantial increase in services to key destinations.
On rail links, he said the Stansted Express provided a frequent connection between the airport and London, offering services every 15 minutes to London Liverpool Street station. Furthermore, the Government recognised that there was a desire for more early morning and late night trains to run to and from Stansted, and was working with Network Rail and train operating companies to see if changes could be made.
Concluding, he said the future of Stansted Airport looked very promising. Bringing the debate, Labour MP David Lammy said Stansted Airport was the fourth busiest airport in the UK, and served nearly 18 million passengers last year.
Manchester Airports Group, the airport’s new owner, had committed to building and improving Stansted and the next few years should see the airport go from strength to strength, he added. ‘The new owners have already signed up new airlines at Stansted, announced an £80m redevelopment of the airport, launched a campaign to attract long-haul carriers to Stansted and signed deals that will add more than 11 million passengers in the next ten years,’ Mr Lammy stated.
Moving on, he stressed that London urgently needed more air capacity, and the city could not afford to wait and sit by ‘while the likes of Frankfurt, Schiphol and Charles de Gaulle surpass us and steal the benefits that accompany better connectivity.’ He argued that much more could be done in the short-term to boost Stansted’s success and to alleviate pressed on London’s other airports, including urgently improving rail links to Stansted Airport.
‘Stansted is the only London airport with spare capacity. As a medium-term solution to our aviation problem, why are we not utilising Stansted’s 50 per cent unused capacity? ‘The problem is that the West Anglia main line—the main access route to Stansted—is in a dire state. It has suffered from year after year of underinvestment, and, as a result, it is slow, unreliable and inefficient,’ he explained.
Drawing to a close, Mr Lammy said the future of Stansted was ‘hugely important’ to the UK’s whole economy, and a key component of the rebalancing of London’s economy to the east and north-east.
13 Feb 2014 – Responding to an urgent question in the House of Commons on the transport disruption caused by the recent flooding in England, the Secretary of State for Transport Mr Patrick McLoughlin, announced that the Government were ‘working with the airline Flybe to enable it to double its daily flights between Newquay and London Gatwick’. Mr McLoughlin went on to say that this would ‘increase the number of flights from three to six per weekday, providing more than 4,500 additional seats each week’. He added ‘Flybe has also agreed to keep prices at the same level as before the weather disruption, ensuring that hard-working families are not penalised by the impact of the weather on their travel plans. On Monday this week the Prime Minister also announced a Government subsidy to allow Newquay airport to waive the £5 airport development fee usually charged to those departing from the airport. Together, that package is helping to keep the south-west open for business during these difficult times’.
Government News
The procedural rules for airport appeals (CC19) and NHS tariffs (CC21) are published here, along with guidance to assist the parties involved—CC20 (airports) and CC22 (NHS tariffs).
The Civil Aviation Act 2012 brought in a new system of economic regulation for airports, under which operators of ‘dominant areas’ located at ‘dominant airports’ will require a licence to levy charges for airport operation services. A licence may include such conditions as the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) considers necessary in relation to risks of abuse of market power, including price control conditions. The CAA’s final decision on its market power assessments for Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted Airports and on its licence condition proposals was published last month.
Appeals against licence condition decisions by the CAA can be made to the CC by the holder of the relevant licence or by airlines whose interests are materially affected by the decision. This appeal mechanism replaces the CC’s previous role in quinquennial reviews under the Airports Act 1986 (where designated airports were subject to mandatory five-year price caps which the CC automatically reviewed). CC19 contains rules of procedure for consideration of applications to the CC for permission to appeal, and the conduct of an appeal if permission is granted.
Monitor (the sector regulator for healthcare services in England) and NHS England have assumed responsibility for determining pricing for NHS healthcare services from 2014/15. Before publishing the national tariff, Monitor must consult on the method(s) it proposes to use for determining the national prices of specified NHS healthcare services.
11 Feb 2014 – The Department for Transport will fund a £5 reduction on all domestic flights from Newquay as part of wider plans to provide support during the severe weather affecting Cornish connections. The support will be delivered through a grant to Cornwall Council and will mean that Newquay Airport will, for at least 2 weeks, waive an airport development fee (ADF) that is usually payable by passengers flying from the airport.
13 Feb 2014 – The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has published licences for economic regulation at both Gatwick and Heathrow, after previously confirming that both airports will continue to be economically regulated when the new regulatory period begins on 1 April 2014. Under the Civil Aviation Act 2012, any airport deemed to have substantial market power is required to have a licence, with the airport having to comply with the conditions of that licence by law. On 10 January, the CAA announced its final decision that Gatwick and Heathrow Airports have substantial market power and published proposed licences for both airports. Today the CAA has published the final versions of these licences.
The licences confirm the tailored approaches to economic regulation at the two airports, following extensive consultation with stakeholders. At Heathrow, the CAA has decided average charges to airlines should rise by no more than RPI minus 1.5 per cent per year up until 2019. At Gatwick, the airport has made a number of commitments to its airline customers, with the licence ensuring the CAA can ensure compliance with these commitments – the CAA have said that it will monitor the situation so prices are fair and service standards are high.
As proposed in January, the licences include conditions that require the airports to address issues such as cleanliness, queuing times, seating availability and information provision in the passenger interest. In addition, both airports must develop and update robust contingency plans to ensure they are well prepared for potential disruption and can manage it effectively when it does occur.
13 Feb 2014 – The UK Government has published the report ‘EU balance of competences review: transport call for evidence’. The report examines the balance of competences between the European Union and the United Kingdom in the area of transport, and is led by the Department for Transport. It is a reflection and analysis of the evidence submitted by experts, non-governmental organisations, businesspeople, Members of Parliament and other interested parties, either in writing or orally, as well as a literature review of relevant material. Where appropriate, the report sets out the current position agreed within the Coalition Government for handling this policy area in the EU. It does not predetermine or prejudge proposals that either Coalition party may make in the future for changes to the EU or about the appropriate balance of competences.
House of Commons Questions – Written Answers
12 Feb 2014
Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist, East Antrim): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has made of the potential effects of additional airport capacity in the South East of England on the economies of other regions of the UK.
Robert Goodwill, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Conservative, Scarborough and Whitby): The Government has established the independent Airports Commission, chaired by Sir Howard Davies, to examine the scale and timing of any requirements for additional capacity to maintain the UK’s position as Europe’s most important aviation hub. As part of its interim report the Airports Commission identified the economic impacts associated with constrained airport capacity—this was undertaken at a national level. As part of the Commission’s second phase of work it will look at the impacts of the short-listed schemes on the economy in more detail, including at a local and national level. This assessment will consider the needs of other regions in the UK, outside the South East of England.
Rehman Chishti – Convictions for the use of Laser pointers at aircraft
12 Feb 2014
Rehman Chishti (Conservative, Gillingham and Rainham): To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 4 February 2014, Official Report, column 223W, on aviation, how many convictions have been made under Article 222 of the Air Navigation Order 2009 since that order came into force.
Jeremy Wright, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Justice (Conservative, Kenilworth and Southam): The number of offenders found guilty at all courts for offences under article 222 of the Air Navigation Order 2009 in England and Wales from 2009 to 2012 (latest available) can be viewed in the table. Court proceedings data for 2013 are planned for publication in May 2014.
Offenders found guilty at all courts for offence under article 222 of the Air Navigation Order 2009, England and Wales, 2009-12.
Statute: Air Navigation Order 2009, AA.221(a) & (b), 222 & 241(5) & Sch 13 Part B
Offence: Exhibiting, directing or shining a light which by its glare or liability to be mistaken for an aeronautical ground light would endanger aircraft
2009: 0
2010: 26
2011: 48
2012: 27
The figures given on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collectiod processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are uses (source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice).
Media News
11 Feb 2014 – French MEP Franck Proust (European People’s Party) has taken the lead of a group of 53 European Parliament Members opposed to the Commission’s proposed reform of state aid rules for regional airports. The group have called on the European Commission to raise the state aid threshold for regional airports, arguing they are ‘vital’ to the local economy and create ‘thousands of direct and indirect jobs’. But green campaigners disagree entirely and back what they describe as a ‘balanced’ set of rules.
SASIG Regional&IndustryNews Bulletin 10 Feb – 16 Feb
SASIG ParliamentaryNews Bulletin 10 Feb – 16 Feb
The Parliamentary information in this Bulletin is sourced from De Havilland Information Services plc.