Contents
SASIG 2013/14 Meeting Dates
Regional News
Industry News
European News
Government News
Media News
SASIG 2014/15 Meeting Dates
24 October 2014
6 March 2015
Meetings are held at Local Government House, Smith Square, SW1P 3HZ, location map.
Regional News
26 August 2014 – A disagreement among supporters trying to save Manston as an airport has led to a rival campaign group being set up. A split among supporters has seen the establishment of a breakaway group, led by several of the people who were originally involved in the Save Manston Airport Facebook group.
26 August 2014 – The airline operator British Airways has insisted it is committed to Leeds Bradford Airport despite temporarily reducing its flights to London Heathrow. The airline said the flights, which operate three times a day, would be reduced to twice a day during the winter months.
26 August 2014 – Essex County Council have said that they are ‘broadly supportive’ of flight path changes from Stansted Airport. Proposals have been put forward for all flights currently heading south to initially travel east instead during the day. Councillor Rodney Bass, Cabinet Member for Transportation, said the changes would ‘reduce delays, fuel consumption and the amount of CO2 generated’ and ‘minimise noise and disturbance’.
27 August 2014 – London City Airport is to launch a public consultation on plans to alter flight paths by using a new navigation system. The consultation, which will run from September 4 2014 to November 27 2014, is a statutory requirement according to UK Civil Aviation Authority regulations and is being conducted to ensure the needs of stakeholders such as the London City Airport Consultative Committee are considered.
28 August 2014 – Gatwick Airport are arguing that the expansion at the site could be pivotal for the UK’s science and technology sector.
29 August 2014 – The company which owns Exeter Airport, The Rigby Group has announced the acquisition of Exeter-based Capital Air Charter Limited. The company currently operate eight aircraft, and will continue to operate under their own brand as plans for new growth are finalised. However The Rigby Group have ended their plans for opening a heliport at Plymouth Airport.
29 August 2014 – Work has started on a £400,000 project to expand and redevelop the Security Search Area at Exeter Airport. The new enlarged design for the area, with additional screening equipment, is designed to make the passenger journey through the security process faster and more efficient.
30 August 2014 – Farnborough Airport has released a feedback report following a consultation on plans to chance airspace. A public consultation was launched in February and was due to end on May 2 but was extended to May 12. The consultation generated more than 13,000 comments, including around 2,500 from stakeholders. The feedback report states that stakeholders were concerned about access to the proposed airspace, justification for the proposed changes and safety issues caused by the compression of non-Farnborough aircraft around or beneath the airspace. Stakeholders also raised concern about the environmental impact and safety of the proposal. A total of 484 comments were submitted regarding the economic impact of the changes. The full report is available here.
Industry News
26 August 2014 – Manchester Airport Group and the air traffic control provider NATS, have signed an agreement confirming a ten-year contract for air traffic control and engineering services at both Manchester and London Stansted airports. NATS will commence the new contract on 1 April 2015.
27 August 2014 – The airline operator Ryanair are launching a new tier of tickets aimed at business travellers. ‘Business Plus’ tickets will offer the ability to change to another flight on the same day, to any airport in the same destination country, up to 40 minutes before departure for no extra fee. The new tier of service will also include a hold baggage allowance of one bag weighing up to 20kg, which can cost up to £75 on top of a standard ticket in high season on busy routes.
29 August 2014 – The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has announced that licensed aerodromes will be free to introduce pilot controlled lighting systems. Until now, pilot controlled lighting at licensed aerodromes was reserved solely for the emergency services. Unlicensed aerodromes have been using pilot controlled lighting technology for a number of years.
Details of the CAA’s policy change will be made available during this weekend’s LAA Rally at Sywell Aerodrome (29-31 Aug). The change follows a consultation with the aviation community. Aerodromes which already have pilot controlled lighting technology installed for the emergency services can now extend its use to all pilots, once an appropriate method of operation has been agreed between the aerodrome and pilot users.
Aerodromes yet to install the technology will need to submit a proposal to the CAA. The regulator has published details of the criteria aerodromes should follow in an Information Notice IN 2014-143. Details of the consultation, including comment responses are available at www.caa.co.uk/consultations
The CAA’s newly formed GA Unit will be on hand at this year’s LAA Rally to brief the general aviation community on the progress of its deregulation agenda, arising out of last year’s Government sponsored Red Tape Challenge. Actions well underway include a complete review of the Air Navigation Order and the establishment of better links with general aviation representatives. Work coming down the track includes the potential reduction in regulations and requirements for many areas of GA, including operators of historic aircraft and air show organisers, and also the development of an ICAO-compliant Certificate of Airworthiness for gyroplanes.
29 August 2014 – The Icelandic Meteorological Office has lowered its aviation warning from red to orange. It said the alert could be downgraded because no ash was detected in emissions from the latest eruption of the country’s Bardarbunga volcano. The new alert, the second-highest, means aviation authorities can now decide if aircraft may travel over the volcano’s airspace.
European News
27 August 2014 – The Government have said that they will give UK airlines 6.6 million free carbon allowances a year to help reduce the cost of meeting their obligations under Europe’s Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) from 2013-2016. The European Union’s ETS caps the emissions of over 12,000 power plants, factories and airlines, requiring them to surrender one carbon permit for every tonne of CO2 emitted annually by April of the following year.
Government News
29 August 2014 – The Government have published guidance on requirements and procedures for the pre-application process and consultation for major infrastructure projects – Planning Act 2008: guidance on the pre-application process.
The guidance is the result of merging and expanding reworked versions of the local authority guidance and the pre-application guidance that went out to consultation on 13 April 2012. By merging these, we are avoiding unnecessary repetition of the description of common processes.
The guidance sets out the necessary requirements and procedures and gives clarity on the scope and scale of the consultation required at the pre-application stage.
It covers all the main processes required by an applicant prior to the submission of an application, including the pre-application consultation, Environmental Impact Assessment, Habitats Regulations Assessments, and advice on drafting a Development Consent Order. It has been updated to include a new final section relating to the publication of applications.
Media News
26 August 2014 – Transport for London have submitted a report entitled ‘Gateway to our future’ to the Airports Commission – it argues how a new airport in the Thames Estuary would support 336,000 jobs around the country in 2050, compared to 269,000 at Heathrow or 62,000 at Gatwick if either had an additional runway. The numbers do not include additional jobs that the mayor believes would be created in the south-east via new transport connections. The figure is lower than previous estimates given by Transport for London, after forecast future demand for air travel was revised down.
SASIG Regional&IndustryNews Bulletin 26 August – 31 August
SASIG ParliamentaryNews Bulletin 26 August – 31 August
The Parliamentary information in this Bulletin is sourced from De Havilland Information Services plc
There will be a reduced Parliamentary service over the summer while both Houses are in recess