SASIG Weekly bulletin: 7 July – 13 July

8 July 2014 – A scheme to build a rail freight interchange on farmland close to East Midlands Airport will not have to follow normal planning procedures. The project is regarded as an infrastructure project of national significance, so has been taken out of the hands of local planning councillors. Instead, following two years of consultation, government ministers will decide (contains video footage).

8 July 2014 – The Member of Parliament for Arundel & South Downs, Nick Herbert has raised concerns about aircraft noise over Downland villages resulting from a trial flight path from Gatwick Airport.

9 July 2014 – The Finningley and Rossington Regeneration Route Scheme is to be extended with a dual carriageway running from Parrots Corner directly to Doncaster Sheffield Robin Hood Airport.

10 July 2014 – Nearly 7,700 people have signed a petition calling for the compulsory purchase of Manston airport closed down by its owner in May 2014. The petition, signed by 3,361 people online and 4,330 on paper, was due to be considered by Thanet District Council during a debate.

10 July 2014 – The flying club, TG Aviation has failed to gain an injunction in the High Court which would have allowed them to use the runway of Manston Airport, which no longer has an operating licence for air traffic. The company had been based at the Thanet airfield for 30 years but was forced to move its operations to Lydd when it closed in May.

11 July 2014 – A first stage report examining a new rail connection between Heathrow Airport and the south of England will be published in November this year, the Department for Transport has confirmed. The new study will build on Wandsworth Council’s feasibility work which suggests a new direct route to Waterloo via Clapham Junction and Vauxhall would be the best solution to a severe shortage of public transport links into the airport. Network Rail will lead the investigation and the first stage report will establish potential demand, service frequencies, journey times, passenger capacity and potential interchange points with other transport services. A second stage report will be completed by June 2015 which will provide a shortlist of route options.

11 July 2014 – A Thanet Council meeting to discuss the compulsory purchase of Manston Airport was stopped temporarily while the Green Party Councillor, Ian Driver was removed from the meeting for filming the proceedings.

12 July 2014 – Surrey County Council has said it has received a ‘crucial’ boost over potential expansion at Heathrow and Gatwick Airports after the Airports Commission said it would look at infrastructure issues first. The council said the boost had followed its leader, David Hodge’s, speech to aviation experts two weeks ago, in which he stressed infrastructure must come before any airport expansion. The council said that last week, the Airports Commission, appointed by the Government to look at airport expansion, confirmed to South-east politicians that it will consult local communities later this year. The consultation, which is due to launch in the autumn and last three months, will ask councils, business groups and residents for feedback on infrastructure such as roads, rail, housing, healthcare and schools.

Industry News

2 July 2014 – Sustainable Aviation, the voluntary coalition of industry partners, has launched a Continuous Descent Operations campaign in an effort to achieve a 5 per cent increase across the UK.

8 July 2014 – Members of the UK Parliament have called for a public inquiry into whether commercial pressure from oil and gas companies affects offshore helicopter safety. The Transport Select Committee also want a full examination into the role of the Civil Aviation Authority.

10 July 2014 – The airline operator Lufthansa is considering launching low-cost long-haul flights as it looks to hit back at competition from Middle East airlines and budget carriers. The German airline will decide later this year whether to go it alone or to cooperate with another airline on certain long-haul routes. The low-cost subsidiary will include the Wings name as part of its identity, fitting in with Lufthansa partner carriers Germanwings and Eurowings. Chief Executive of Lufthansa Carsten Spohr, said that a subsidiary had to be created in order to compete against the Middle East and Asian carriers.

10 July 2014 – Air New Zealand has become the first airline to take delivery of the ‘stretched’ Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.

European News

11 July 2014 – The European Commission has formally requested Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and United Kingdom, members of six different Functional Airspace Blocks (FABs) to improve their FABs, a common airspace arranged around traffic flows rather than state boundaries. Commission Vice-President Siim Kallas, responsible for transport, said, ‘we have to finally overcome national borders in the European airspace. FABs are a necessary, vital component of the Single European Sky. Right now these common airspaces exist only on paper; they are formally established but not yet functional. I urge Member States to step up their ambitions and push forward the implementation of the Single Sky’.

Parliamentary News

8 July 2014 – The House of Commons Transport Committee has published the report ‘2nd Report – Offshore helicopter safety’. the report highlights areas which the Committee believe require more work, particularly on the problems caused by the customer requirements for helicopter pilots and on the impact of seating restrictions on workers and their livelihoods.

10 July 2014 – The House of Commons Transport Select Committee has announced an inquiry into smaller airports. As well as general issues affecting smaller airports, the Committee is particularly interested in receiving evidence on:

the strategic importance of smaller airports and the extent to which smaller airports meet the needs of regional economies and provide efficient and effective services for the local communities in which they sit, and their impact on regional economic development and regeneration
the steps the Government is taking or could take to support smaller airports and aid diversification to ensure their longer-term viability
the effect of current local, regional, national and EU policy and regulations on the future of smaller airports, including policy on (a) air passenger duty, (b) route subsidies (e.g. use of public service obligations to maintain particular routes and other state aid, the Regional Air Connectivity Fund, etc.) and (c) housing and enterprise zones
issues around competitiveness, rationalisation and commercial viability affecting smaller airports, including the importance of smaller airports in serving niche leisure and business markets and flight training and education (‘general aviation’) and providing dedicated capacity for cargo services, and the role that partners and airlines play in the delivery of such services
the role of local authorities and Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) in ensuring smaller airports improve connectivity.

The Committee would be like to receive written submissions by Friday 3 October 2014. Written submissions for this inquiry should be sent via the Transport Committee inquiry page.

10 July 2014 – The House of Lords has debated the opening of a new airport on the Island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic. Lord Shutt of Greetland started the debate asking ‘what assessment they have made of the opportunities for the economic benefit and the enhancement of the lives of the citizens of the Island of St Helena consequent upon the expected opening of the new Department for International Development-funded airport in 2016’. A full transcript of the debate is available on the ‘Latest News’ page of the SASIG website or here on the Parliament website.

Government News

8 July 2014 – The Airport Commission has published its environmental impact study on the proposed scheme for an airport in the Inner Thames Estuary. The report concludes that the scheme would result in a large scale direct habitat loss to Special Protected Areas in the Thames Estuary and Marshes. Special Protected Areas are those which EU member states, including the EU, have a duty to protect in order to safeguard habitats of threatened bird species. The cost of providing the required habitat compensation if the airport goes ahead could be as high as £2 billion. The report, however, noted uncertainty as to whether this compensation would even be possible.

8 July 2014 – The UK Civil Aviation Authority has made a statement in response to the Transport Select Committee report on offshore helicopter safety. The full statement reads ‘Any loss of life in aviation accidents is always tragic and the safety of those who rely on offshore helicopter flights is therefore our absolute priority. In February we announced over 70 actions and recommendations to improve safety, primarily aimed at preventing accidents but also to improve survivability following an incident. These were widely welcomed by unions, helicopter operators, the oil and gas industry and Norwegian regulators and are bringing significant improvements in safety for those flying offshore in the UK and potentially worldwide. The new CAA-led Offshore Helicopter Safety Action Group is ensuring operators and industry implement these changes as quickly as possible. Made up of the offshore helicopter operators, oil and gas industry and offshore workforce and pilot representatives, it has already overseen the approval of a new significantly enhanced underwater emergency breathing system for offshore workers. This new system will be rolled out across the UK offshore industry this summer and autumn with accompanying training. The CAA will ensure that safety improvements to UK offshore helicopter operations continue to be implemented as a priority’.

9 July 2014 – The Government have launched a consultation through the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), to seek stakeholder views on new guidance for writing operational contingency plans at Heathrow and Gatwick airports. The economic licences held by Heathrow and Gatwick airports require the airports to develop and maintain operational resilience plans. The CAA provided guidance when issuing the licences and are now seeking views on additional guidance building on that original guidance. The consultation closes on 1 August 2014.

10 July 2014 – The Office for National Statistics have published the monthly dataset, ‘Travel and Tourism (May 2014)’. Key findings from the data show that:

Visits to the UK by overseas residents continue to rise and are up 7 per cent year to date (January to May), with holiday visits up 12 per cent in the same period.
Over the last twelve months, estimates of earnings from overseas residents to the UK continue to rise and are up 8 per cent.
Visits abroad by UK residents are up 5 per cent over the past twelve months and their expenditure has increased 1 per cent in the same period.

10 July 2014 – The Office for National Statistics have published the quarterly dataset, ‘Travel and Tourism (Q1 2014)’. Key trends from the data show that:

Compared to a year ago, visits to the UK by overseas residents increased by 11.7 per cent to 7.1 million in quarter 1 2014. The length of visit by overseas residents also increased, with number of nights spent in the UK rising by 11.1 per cent. In addition, the estimated earnings from these visits increased by 9.4 per cent to £3.9 billion.
Visits abroad by UK residents in this quarter increased by 8.7 per cent to 11.1 million. The number of nights spent abroad, by UK residents, also increased by 8.2 per cent compared with quarter 1 in 2013, however expenditure during these visits decreased by 5.4 per cent to £5.7 billion.

10 July 2014 – The Airports Commission set out in its ‘Introductory Note’ on the inner Thames Estuary feasibility studies that it would publish the study outputs in early July 2014. Following consultation on the draft terms of reference, the final terms of reference for each of the studies were published in March 2014.

Consultees were also invited to submit comments and evidence against the terms of reference by 23rd May 2014. A total of just over 170 responses were received, of which around 44 were ‘technical’ and 127 ‘non-technical.’ All of the technical responses are available on the Commission’s website.

Both the Commission and its consultants have reviewed comments and evidence submitted as part of the consultation on the draft terms of reference and the call for evidence, and either incorporated or referenced such evidence in the studies where relevant and appropriate.

The Commission has published its studies to enable parties to submit views on the outcomes of the studies before a decision is made on whether to short-list the inner Thames Estuary for phase 2.

The Commission is particularly inviting views in relation to two specific questions:

Is there information in the studies which is factually inaccurate?
Is there any new information or evidence that you wish the Commission to consider before it makes its decision?

Comments and evidence responding to the specific questions set out above should be sent to Estuary. [email protected] by 5pm on Friday 8th August 2014.

Full details can be found here.

10 July 2014 – An airport in the Thames Estuary would present a ‘considerable cost and risk to the taxpayer’, according to reports published by the Airports Commission. An estuary airport on the Isle of Grain has been proposed by London Mayor Boris Johnson. Four studies into the feasibility of the airport have been published. They state airlines and passengers believe the scheme would carry ‘significantly more risk than opportunity’. One of the reports also stated that explosives on a sunken World War Two munitions ship in the estuary, the SS Richard Montgomery, would need to be removed or treated before the airport could be constructed. It added: ‘Full containment or removal are deemed high-risk and high-cost options, potentially requiring evacuation of the local area for a period of many weeks or months.’

11 July 2014 – The latest data from the UK Civil Aviation Authority shows that between January and March 2014, overall on-time performance was six percentage points higher than the same period in 2014, making this the best first quarter since records began in 1992. The five biggest London airports, Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton and London City, saw an overall increase of eight percentage points of on-time flights as a proportion of total scheduled flights, rising from 76 per cent to 84 per cent. While the five other airports monitored, Manchester, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Glasgow and Newcastle, have seen an overall increase of six percentage points, from 81 per cent to 87 pre cent of flights on-time. Individually, all ten airports saw punctuality improvements. On-time performance increases for scheduled flights ranged from four to eight percentage points, with the biggest increase being at Newcastle, which achieved an increase of nine percentage points.

House of Commons Questions

Campbell – Request to bring forward the legislative proposals to lower air passenger duty

7 July 2014

Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist, East Londonderry): To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will bring forward legislative proposals to lower air passenger duty.

Nicky Morgan , Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Conservative, Loughborough): Budget 2014 announced the reform of air passenger duty with the abolition of bands C and D from 1 April 2015. This will eliminate the two highest rates of air passenger duty charged on flights to countries over 4,000 miles from Britain, cutting tax for millions of passengers travelling to China, India, Brazil and many other emerging markets. This will also mean that flights to South Asia and the Caribbean will pay tax at the lower band B rate.

Lumley – Incentivising the take-up of sustainable aviation fuels

7 July 2014

Karen Lumley (Conservative, Redditch): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department is taking to incentivise the take-up of sustainable aviation fuels; what discussions his Department held with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on this issue; and if he will make a statement.

Robert Goodwill, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport & Aviation Minister (Conservative, Scarborough and Whitby: At the European level sustainable aviation fuel is incentivised through generous accounting in the EU Aviation Emission Trading System, although volumes of sustainable fuel are currently very limited. Incentives in the road sector aim to increase the volume of sustainable fuels produced, in particular advanced biofuels, and reduce their cost. The Government recognises that advanced biofuels offer many benefits including increased greenhouse gas savings, but that there are risks and barriers to entry associated with the production of advanced biofuels. This is why we are making available £25 million of capital funding to leverage private sector capital to construct demonstration-scale advanced biofuel plants in the UK. Many advanced biofuel technologies can be used to produce either road transport fuel or aviation fuel. Therefore, developing these technologies in the road sector will build an industry that can be used to fuel low-carbon aviation in years to come.

Fox – Estimate of the economic and social contribution of Bristol Airport to the Exchequer and the local communities.

7 July 2014

Dr Liam Fox (Conservative, North Somerset): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the economic and social contribution of Bristol Airport to (a) the Exchequer and (b) local communities; and if he will make a statement.

Robert Goodwill: The Government’s Aviation Policy Framework, published in March 2013, recognised the contribution that airports across the UK-such as Bristol airport-make to local, regional and national economies, and the important role they play an in securing connectivity for local populations. Bristol airport handled over six million passengers during 2013, has direct air services to over one hundred destinations, and its on-site businesses provide valuable employment for approximately three thousand people. Last month the independent Airports Commission published a call for evidence on the domestic and international air connectivity provided by airports across the country. It also examines connectivity trends at these airports, how the business models of these airports are developing, and whether the connectivity provided by these airports can be enhanced.

Haselhurst – Manchester Airport and a ‘Northern Hub’

10 July 2014

Sir Alan Haselhurst, Chair of the Administration Select Committee (Conservative, Saffron Walden):In the light of the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s statement about the importance of a northern hub, should we pay more attention to that having a hub airport? Manchester has the possibility and potential increasingly to become a port of entry to this country, opening up the whole of the north of England and north Wales, as well as easing pressures on connectivity in the south-east.

Robert Goodwill: I am a great fan of Manchester airport, and many of my constituents on the east coast use it because it has such good connectivity by rail. I know that my right hon. Friend the Chancellor is also keen to take pressure off other airports in the south of England, and Manchester airport and other regional airports have a great part to play in relieving pressure on the south-east. Indeed, with more point-to-point destinations being served, such as the one I saw at Newcastle recently, that is the way forward.

Kane – Rebalancing connectivity to regional airports such as Manchester

10 July 2014

Mike Kane (Labour, Wythenshawe and Sale East): Will the Minister join me in welcoming business leaders from across the globe to the aerotropolis conference in Manchester today – Cottonopolis itself? Does he agree that we must rebalance the economy in this country, and that to do so we must turn our focus away from Heathrow – the Transport Front-Bench team have a rabbit-in-the-glare obsession with Heathrow – and rebalance connectivity to our regional airports such as Manchester?

Robert Goodwill: I represent a constituency in the north of England and my constituents rely on regional airports. In fact, I would rather call them local international airports. Manchester is one of the premier local international airports and I very much enjoy using it. It has exciting plans for further development.

Nuttall – Waiving Air Passenger Duty at regional airports

10 July 2014

David Nuttall (Conservative, Bury North) : One way of encouraging airlines to establish new routes from regional airports is to allow them to operate free of air passenger duty for, say, the first two years. Will my hon. Friend discuss the possibility of introducing that measure with Treasury Ministers?

Robert Goodwill: I am sure Treasury questions will be along very soon, when my hon. Friend will have an opportunity to ask the Chancellor that very question.

Marsden – Support for regional airports from the regional air connectivity fund

10 July 2014

Gordon Marsden, Shadow Further Education, Skills and Regional Growth Minister (Labour, Blackpool South): Regional airports fear that the Government are not doing enough for connectivity, not least to London. Those concerns are reflected in the most recent Davies commission report. In his Budget, the Chancellor grandly announced more money for the regional air connectivity fund, but name-checked airports that are not currently eligible. The ones that definitely are eligible still have no guidance on how to apply. In addition, Ministers still have no green light from Europe to say that airports with 3 million to 5 million passengers, such as Newcastle, can apply. Only one airport – Dundee – is confirmed to get any money so far. How can we be sure that airports such as Newcastle, Leeds Bradford and Norwich, or anywhere else for that matter, will get more support from the Government by 2015?

Robert Goodwill: As the hon. Gentleman knows, the Government are very successful in negotiating in Europe when we need to get a deal. Having spent five years in the European Parliament, I know that we are always keen to engage and ensure that like-minded member states can come to an accommodation. We are optimistic that we can have a positive outcome with the European Commission. We will have further information for airports wishing to apply during the autumn when the details have been hammered out, so that we can comply with the state aid rules and ensure that the money goes to important regional airports such as Newcastle, which I know has aspirations to have flights to the United States.

MacNeil – Air Passenger Duty at Scottish airports

10 July 2014

Angus Brendan MacNeil (Na h-Eileanan an Iar, Scottish National Party): The regional airports of Munich and Barcelona have been named as two of the best airports in Europe and the world. Both have direct links to emerging economies throughout the world. The situation in Scotland is very different, with the UK Government imposing the demand-management, London-centred approach of having the highest air passenger duty in the world, which they have no intention to devolve. Could not Scotland do an awful lot better if it had the powers to help its airports to catch up with the likes of Barcelona and Munich?

Robert Goodwill: I suspect that this matter will be decided in September, but I am pleased that the Government have taken the opportunity of offering public service obligation flights to London. Dundee has put a deal together, and I hope other airports will come forward with good proposals to tap into that fund.

Morris – Importance of the development of regional airports

10 July 2014

Grahame M. Morris (Easington, Labour): May I draw the Minister’s attention to the Airport Operators Association report ‘Airports in the community’ which shows the excellent work that regional airports – also known as local international airports – are doing in the United Kingdom? Does he agree that the development of our regional airports is just as important as HS2 or HS3 in delivering economic growth, jobs and broader community benefits?

Robert Goodwill: I thank the hon. Gentleman for that question, and I am pleased he was paying attention earlier on. It is vital that local international airports play their part, and I know that Newcastle airport is doing that. Of course, the Government are improving connectivity to Newcastle airport, with upgrades on the Metro, work taking place at Newcastle International station and, as he will know, the £61 million upgrade of the A1 western bypass between Coal House and the Metro Centre. That will address not only congestion, but the anxiety that many people feel as they are travelling to the airport worried that they may miss their flights.

Hepburn – Reducing air passenger duty at regional airports

10 July 2014

Stephen Hepburn (Labour, Jarrow):With airports in the south, especially London’s, bursting to capacity and the north-east desperate for some form of economic stimulus, does the Minister not agree that it is about time the Government looked again at reducing air passenger duty or even scrapping it altogether for airports such as Newcastle’s?

Robert Goodwill: Once again, I am tempted to direct the hon. Gentleman to the Chancellor, but of course some simplification of APD was announced in the Budget, which makes it simpler for some long-haul flights. APD is never far from my thoughts when I meet people from airports up and down the country.

Morris – Assessment of the economic and social contribution of airports to the Exchequer and local communities

10 July 2014

Grahame M. Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the economic and social contribution of airports to (a) the Exchequer and (b) the local communities they serve; and if he will make a statement.

Robert Goodwill: The aviation policy framework that the Government published last year recognises the very important role airports across the UK play in providing domestic and international connections and their vital contribution to the growth of regional economies. Only last month the Airport Operators Association published 13 case studies illustrating this – with Newcastle taking centre stage.

Media News

8 July 2014 – A new report warns that any decline of regional airports would damage local economies. The authors of the report said there had been a sharp decline in domestic connections to the UK’s hub airport because of limited capacity at Heathrow and pressure on airlines to maximise profits from long-haul routes. They add that the decline of regional air links to London is set to get worse without extra capacity. Director of Air Service Development at Liverpool John Lennon Airport, Mr. Mark Povall who is among the contributors said that, ‘business and leisure passengers have the opportunity to choose to fly direct from Liverpool John Lennon Airport to a host of European capital cities, but the most-needed destination missing is London.

8 July 2014 – Green Assembly Member Darren Johnson has criticised the owner of Virgin Atlantic, Richard Branson and The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson on their schemes to maximise profits to the detriment of Londoners’ quality of life.

9 July 2014 – A majority of London businesses (54 per cent) have said that they would prefer Heathrow Airport to be expanded compared with 30 per cent backing Gatwick. The finding is part of a survey for the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) by polling company ComRes on a number of key transport issues facing the capital.

The ‘Planes and Trains’ poll of over 500 business leaders also found 31per cent see more efficient runway operations at Heathrow (including ‘mixed mode’ operations) as the most beneficial short- or medium-term means of making best use of existing capacity for their companies, while 17 per cent see extended runway operating hours at Heathrow (including early morning arrivals) as most beneficial. Some 19 per cent think improved railway access into Gatwick would be most valuable to their firms.

‘Easy access via public transport’ was the most important factor determining the choice of airport for business leaders polled, with 61per cent selecting this as very important, followed by ‘quick processing times’ (58 per cent) and then ‘affordable flight costs’ (56 per cent).

While a majority of London business leaders (55 per cent) say that they support plans for High Speed 2 (HS2), interestingly, of those opposed to HS2, a majority (54 per cent) say that they would be more likely to support the project if the plans included a direct link to Heathrow Airport – 42per cent of business leaders opposed to HS2 indicate they would be more likely to support it if it was directly linked to High Speed One (HS1).

10 July 2014 – The new Chief Executive of Heathrow Airport, Mr. John Holland-Kaye will use his first speech as CEO, to launch a series of guides offering advice on how trade with Asian cities showing high growth potential. The series covers Busan, South Korea; Dalian, China; Xiamen, China; Hanoi, Vietnam; Medan, Indonesia; and Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

12 July 2014 – A US study conducted by scientists at Harvard University School of Public Health and at Boston University School of Public Health found that people 65 and older who live near airports and under flight paths have a higher risk of being hospitalized for cardiovascular disease. For every 10-decibel increase in airplane noise, the researchers found that hospital admission rates increased 3.5 percent

13 July 2014 – The campaign group Let Britain Fly has criticised the government’s lack of response to a report on airport expansion. In a letter to the Sunday Times, they said it was ‘unacceptable’ that the government had not responded to the Airports Commission’s interim report.

SASIG ParliamentaryNews Bulletin 7 July – 13 July