Contents
SASIG 2013/14 Meeting Dates
Regional News
Industry News
European News
Parliamentary News
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
24 Feb 2014 – A skydiving company has been given permission to operate from Durham Tees Valley Airport this summer. Skydive St George will run commercial parachuting operations, specialising in tandem skydives for beginners, from April.
25 Feb 2014 – Aviation Minister Robert Goodwill joined Newcastle International Airport Chief Executive David Laws and Leader of Newcastle City Council Nick Forbes to launch Phase one of a new business park at Newcastle Airport. The development was outlined in the airport’s 2013 master plan, and plans will establish 175,000 sq ft of office accommodation across six buildings, in close proximity to the airport and within walking distance of Callerton Parkway Metro station.
25 Feb 2014 – The not-for-profit flying group Bristol Flying has been told it cannot store some of its planes where it currently operates because doing so contravenes regulations – a decision which it claims is ‘wrong’ and will restrict its activities. Richard Nightingale, who runs it, said the group is set up to help people who have physical disabilities or could not afford to fly otherwise. That aim however is now being jeopardised because of the disagreement with Bristol and Wessex Aeroplane Club, Mr Nightingale said.
25 Feb 2014 – The owner of Plymouth’s former airport has confirmed that the site will never re-open. Sutton Harbour Holdings cited two independent reports commissioned to provide further research on the feasibility of running and operating the airport, which closed in December 2011.
26 Feb 2014 – Newport Business Association (NBA) has called for business to be expanded to the north side of Stansted Airport. Cllr Jeremy Rose, Uttlesford District Councillor for Newport and NBA founder, has called for the north side of the airport to be developed into a hub for local businesses.
26 Feb 2013 – An all-party group of MPs, councils and aviation campaigners attended the launch of a report into aircraft noise, at the House of Commons. A link to the full report can be found here or on the publications page of the SASIG website here.
26 Feb 2014 – Residents of the London Borough of Hounslow are being asked for their opinions about a planned third runway at Heathrow Airport at a consultation event. Heathrow Airport wants to get local resident views on its proposal for a new runway to the north-west before submitting detailed plans to the Airports Commission. Member of Parliament for Feltham & Heston, Seema Malhotra, this week urged people to attend the events and make their views known before the consultation closes on March 16. The consultation is only about Heathrow’s own plans for a third runway and how it would be operated should it get the go-ahead from the Airports Commission. Heathrow Airport is not discussing the other two proposals shortlisted by the commission: extending the northern runway to allow it to effectively operate as two separate landing strips, as proposed by Heathrow Hub; and Gatwick’s plans for a second runway.
27 Feb 2014 – Defence contractor BAE Systems wants to cut 75 jobs from its Regional Aircraft business at Prestwick Airport. The company said the move was needed after a business review concluded there was a ‘significant shortfall’ in orders. It has started consultation with staff and unions and aims to achieve the jobs cut through voluntary redundancies.
27 Feb 2014 – The social and public relations communications contract for Gatwick Airport is to be placed under review. Agencies have been approached to pitch for the account. The pitch process is expected to be confirmed on the airport’s website during March.
27 Feb 2014 – Concerns are being raised over trials for a new flight path from Gatwick Airport by local villagers who are being overflown.
28 Feb 2014 – An aircraft engineering facility which opened at Birmingham Airport has closed less than three years after opening. Around ten jobs are to go with the closure of Eurojet Aviation’s engineering arm at the airport.
28 Feb 2014 – Bournemouth Aviation Museum has won permanent planning permission for its current site. The attraction had temporary consent that was due to end in February 2015, but now planning permission has been given to stay in their current home for as long as needed.
28 Feb 2014 – East Midlands Airport are to consult on their Sustainable Development Plan during March. The purpose of the plan is to identify and deliver the sustainable growth of the airport, setting out the short and long-term strategy that will make the best use of the site.
Industry News
24 Feb 2014 – Heathrow Airport’s ‘Fly Quiet’ league table, which ranks the top 50 airlines according to their noise performance, has been published. The list shows British Airways (short-haul) as number one, followed by Virgin Atlantic Little Red, Aer Lingus, Emirates and Qantas Airways at number five. The most improved airline is Cathay Pacific; the Hong Kong airline has jumped from 24th to 12th place as a direct result of the replacement of B747s with B777s on the route.
24 Feb 2014 – Liberal Democrat MP John Hemming is lobbying to reduce or suspend Air Passenger Duty at peak travel times in an attempt to lower family holiday prices. 24 Feb 2014 – The BBC reports the potential options which the Aviation Industry and the Government could consider, and reports on the debate in the House of Commons.
European News
24 Feb 2014 – As part of a coordinated process across European Union (EU) Member states, notices have been sent to airlines and business jet operators that failed to comply with Aviation EU ETS regulations in 2012. One Europe-based commercial business jet owner is understood to have received a penalty from the UK authorities amounting to nearly half a million Euros for failing to surrender the required number of allowances by the 30 April 2013 deadline.
26 Feb 2014 – The European Parliament has adopted new rules to help prevent aircraft accidents. It is anticipated that with the ‘Regulation on the reporting, analysis and follow up of occurrences’, information on aviation safety incidents will be exchanged more efficiently. It is hope that this in turn will allow for a thorough analysis and adoption of necessary action to help prevent similar incidents from happening again.
The system involves all stakeholders in the aviation sector – airlines, manufacturers, air traffic controllers, aircrew, mechanics, national authorities and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA); who must gather and exchange incident information, and ensure that action is taken where it is most effective. A European network of safety analysts will be hosted by the EASA. It will be charged with detecting trends and safety issues of pan-European significance and with recommending appropriate action.
Following the vote in the European Parliament, the Council is expected to endorse the text as adopted by the Parliament, in accordance with the informal agreement reached between the two institutions in December 2013. The new regulation is expected to enter into force in May 2014.
27 Feb 2014 – New research published in the journal ‘Environmental Health’ has shown that exposure to aircraft noise at night for more than 20 years could increase the risk of heart disease and stroke. Risk also increased for those constantly exposed to road traffic, but this may have been caused by air pollution rather than noise.
The study found that there was a significant association between night-time aircraft noise and heart disease and stroke for those who had lived for 20 years or more at the same address. If the daytime exposure was also considered, the association between noise and health problems was less clear, suggesting that is it the night-time effects that are relevant in this case.
There was also an association between 24-hour exposure to road traffic noise and heart disease and stroke. However, when the researchers examined air pollution levels for a subset of 2401 participants in the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK, they concluded that the health problems could potentially also be explained by traffic-related air pollution.
The researchers also investigated whether air pollution was a driving factor in the association found between these health problems and night-time aircraft noise for those living at the same address for 20 years or more. However, in this case air pollution did not have any effect.
Based on findings from previous studies, the researchers suggest that the apparent health impacts of night-time aircraft noise may be due to negative effects on sleep, as lack of sleep has been linked to cardiovascular risk factors. Aircraft noise also causes high levels of annoyance, which can increase stress, again putting people at risk of heart disease or stroke. The researchers note that aircraft noise causes greater annoyance than road traffic noise, which could explain the weaker association of road traffic noise with these health problems.
Parliamentary News
25 Feb 2014 – Stephen Gilbert (Lib Dem) has been announced as the Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Regional Aviation. The vice-chairs are Martin Vickers (Con), Steve McCabe (Lab), and Naomi Long (NI Alliance). The remaining Members are: Liam Fox (Con), Jason McCartney (Con), Philip Davies (Con), Alec Shelbrooke (Con), Paul Maynard (Con), Roger Gale (Con), Chloe Smith (Con), Karen Lumley (Con), Caroline Spelman (Con), Malcolm Bruce (Lib Dem), John Thurso (Lib Dem), John Leech (Lib Dem), Mike Thornton (Lib Dem), Greg Mulholland (Lib Dem), Nigel Dodds (DUP), Alasdair Mcdonnell (SDLP), Frank Doran (Lab), Ben Bradshaw (Lab), John Robertson (Lab), Catherine McKinnell (Lab), Dame Anne Begg (Lab), Graham Stringer (Lab), John Denham (Lab).
Media News
SASIG ParliamentaryNews Bulletin 24 Feb – 2 Mar
SASIG Regional&IndustryNews Bulletin 24 Feb – 2 Mar
There will be a reduced Parliamentary service while the House of Commons and House of Lords are in recess until Monday 24 February