Contents
SASIG 2013/14 Meeting Dates
Regional News
Industry News
European News
Government News
Media News
SASIG 2014/15 Meeting Dates
27 June 2014
24 October 2014
6 March 2015
Meetings are held at Local Government House, Smith Square, SW1P 3HZ, location map.
Regional News
27 May 2014 – The owner of Manston Airport Ann Gloag, has said that she is considering turning the site into a garden city. Ms Gloag is in talks with local landowners and ‘other interested parties’ about the future of the airport site, and could create a mixed-use scheme with thousands of homes. A garden city proposal could incorporate other schemes in the Thanet area, including Discovery Park Kent, the former Pfizer campus in Sandwich.
27 May 2014 – Nottingham chartered accountancy firm Cooper Parry has relocate its office premises to a site at East Midlands Airport. The company has merged its three regional offices, Nottingham, Derby and Leicester, to work under one roof at the airport.
27 May 2014 – Crossrail and Network Rail have built a new flyover in Stockley, marking an important milestone in the completion of the new railway’s overground works. The structure will allow Crossrail and Heathrow Express trains to cross over the Great Western main line on their way to the airport without impacting on other services.
27 May 2014 – In January 2014, the High Court held that Luton Airport had infringed its position in granting a concession to National Express to operate a coach service from Victoria to Luton Airport. However, it also concluded that Luton Airport’s procurement process in awarding the concession to National Express was fair.
28 May 2014 – All three runways at Alderney Airport are expected to be back in operation within two weeks. Extensive work has been carried out in recent months after the runways were affected by poor drainage.
29 May 2014 – The London Control Zone will change from Class A to Class D airspace from 18 September 2014. The reclassification supports of the introduction of SERA, the Standardised European Rules of the Air, which will create consistent airspace classifications across Europe by the end of the 2014. Under SERA, Visual Flight Rules (VFR) and Special VFR flights will not be able to enter Class A airspace. As such, following a consultation with airspace users, NATS proposed the zone be reclassified as Class D.
29 May 2014 – Manchester’s enterprise zone is to receive £6m in Government funding for infrastructure works in order to encourage tenants in the healthcare and medical technology sectors. The zone also includes Manchester Airport and the area’s Airport City development.
Industry News
27 May 2014 – UK air navigation service provider (ANSP) NATS and Norwegian equivalent service at Avinor, have signed a contract for a single common aeronautical information management (AIM) system. The move is part of the Borealis Alliance of ANSPs, and will see one platform shared to provide vital airspace and procedural information to airlines and airports.
28 May 2014 – Qatar Airways has postponed its inaugural A380 route to London Heathrow by two weeks. The Gulf airline’s Doha to LHR service had been scheduled to launch on June 17 2014 but will now begin on July 1.
29 May 2014 – The Managing Director of Monarch Airlines, Mr Andrew Swaffield has echoed company Chairman Mr Iain Rawlinson in warning that ‘too many aircraft, are chasing too few customers’. Mr Swafield has said ‘it is a soft market with lots of capacity. There are too many aircraft chasing too few customers in Europe. It is a very commoditised market’.
29 May 2014 – British Airways is to launch a range of through fares from the UK regions.
European News
27 May 2014 – Airline carrier Norwegian faces international union opposition to plans to start new low-fare transatlantic flights from Gatwick Airport. A group of unions claims Norwegian Air International’s business plan is ‘crafted to circumvent worker protections’ by evading international labour laws, creating unfair competition with EU and US carriers and threatening to ‘degrade labour standards’ both in the US and in Europe.
Government News
The plan has been developed as part of the second reference period of the EU’s Single European Sky (SES) performance scheme. The publication of the revised plan follows a consultation within the aviation industry earlier this year. The plan needs to be agreed by both the UK and Irish governments before it can be submitted to the European Commission by 30 June. All performance plans must then be accepted by the European Commission, before they can come in to force from 1 January 2015 onwards. The revised performance plan is available here. Other documents relating to the draft performance plan are also available here.
29 May 2014 – The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has published a series of recommendations which it states will help drive improvements in the way the aviation industry manages aircraft noise. The recommendations cover changes airports and airlines could make now, as well as improvements policy-makers and industry could make ahead of any future increases in capacity. There is a strong focus on making sure airports work with their local communities more closely, as well as operational changes and ideas for incentivising airlines to reduce the noise impact of their flights.
Key recommendations for the aviation industry include:
- Airports and airlines should ensure that operational approaches to mitigate noise are incentivised and adopted wherever feasible. The CAA will work with industry to consider trial and promote novel operational approaches to noise minimisation.
- When looking to expand, airports should do more to ensure local residents see benefits from additional capacity – whether through funding community schemes, direct payments, or tax breaks.
- Airports seeking expansion should significantly increase spending on noise. mitigation schemes to get closer to international competitors – including full insulation for those most affected.
- Airlines should focus on noise performance when purchasing new aircraft.
- Airports should structure their landing charges to incentivise airlines to operate cleaner, quieter flights.
A full report detailing the recommendations is available here.
29 May 2014 – The General Aviation (GA) Challenge Panel has published its final report to ministers about the regulation of the general aviation sector. Recommendations have been published in the areas of ‘Reform of the CAA’s regulatory approach to GA’, these include recommendations on: Safety regulation, Airspace, European regulations, CAA Culture, CAA Finances, and Deregulation and delegation. The panel have also published recommendations in the area of ‘Wider opportunities for deregulation and growth’. These cover: the Role of Government; Planning; Growth; Aviation Skills development; and GA border issues. A full copy of the report can be found here.
30 May 2014 – The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has launched a consultation on its future policy for General Aviation (GA) regulation. It builds on the recent GA Red Tape Challenge and the formation of the CAA’s first dedicated GA unit and will define how the CAA regulates GA on a day-to-day basis. The proposed policy seeks to put in place a new way to regulate GA that both recognises the need to protect third parties, such as the general public, but also makes requirements more proportionate and assists in the Government’s aims of making the UK GA sector innovative and vibrant.
As well as the overall regulation of GA the consultation also seeks views on how members of the public might be more easily able to take part in GA activities (such as flying in historic aircraft) while allowing the operator of the aircraft to make a profit. This is currently possible but requires the operator to obtain and maintain a full commercial Air Operators Certificate approval from the CAA. The new policy sets out a much easier route by ensuring passengers are aware of the level of regulation and risk before deciding to fly.
The consultation can be viewed at www.caa.co.uk/consultations where details of how to respond are also provided. The closing date for responses is 31 July 2014.
30 May 2014 – As part of its consultation on the future regulation of General Aviation (GA) in the UK the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has proposed an easier way for aviation enthusiasts to enjoy flights in historic aircraft. The consultation can be viewed at www.caa.co.uk/consultations where details of how to respond are also provided. The closing date for responses is 31 July 2014.
Media News
27 May 2014 – A three-part documentary on British Airways will air at 9pm on Mondays from 2 June to 16 June on BBC Two.
30 May 2014 – The States of Guernsey have issued a public survey requesting views on residents’ use of Mainland airports. The air route survey is also an opportunity for the States Department with responsibility for developing and maintaining air links, to gather intelligence regarding air movement behaviour by business travellers and the general public, and to understand the reasoning behind these decisions. The survey may also provide information on which to discuss opportunities for the development of new or enhanced air route links in the future. The survey is open until 6 June 2014 and can be found here.
30 May 2014 – Airport City Manchester, the 5m sq ft development around Manchester Airport, has appointed public relations agency Weber Shandwick to support media and investor relations in China, ahead of embarking on its first international road show in the country from June 2014.
SASIG Regional&IndustryNews Bulletin 27 May – 1 June
SASIG ParliamentaryNews Bulletin 27 May – 1 June
The Parliamentary information in this Bulletin is sourced from De Havilland Information Services plc