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
22 September 2014 – Representatives of Heathrow Airport have said companies in Dorset will benefit from better connections to emerging markets if it is granted expansion.
23 September 2014 – Manston Airport in Kent has been sold to regeneration specialists who plan to develop the site for manufacturing, housing and schools. Trevor Cartner and Chris Musgrave (part of the consortium behind Discovery Park) Sandwich, have bought a majority stake for an undisclosed fee.
24 September 2014 – The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead is supporting Heathrow Airport’s appeal against the London Borough of Hillingdon which has refused planning permission on works to the runway. The planning permission sought to carry out works on the taxiways which would enable the abandonment of the Cranford Agreement. The Royal Borough is in favour of this abandonment because it would allow full alternation of aircraft overhead throughout the day and give respite to some of our residents. The agreement was an oral undertaking given in 1952 by government to the residents of Cranford regarding the use of the runways at Heathrow to reduce the impact of aircraft noise on Cranford residents to the east if the airport. The Royal Borough has been urging Government to end the agreement so that flight operations can be changed.
26 September 2014 – Strategic Planning Director the Peel Group Peter Nears has told Darlington Borough Councillors that the existing routes from Durham Tees Valley Airport to Amsterdam and Aberdeen must be prioritised ahead of new London or international routes. Mr Nears said any future London routes were dependent on increased capacity being granted at Heathrow or Gatwick airports, something that could take more than 15 years to achieve.
28 September 2014 – The former leader of the Luton Conservative Association John Young is to lodge a formal complaint with the Luton Council Chief Executive Trevor Holden, over comments that estimates for the expected number of journeys for the first year of the town’s bus way were ‘embellished’ and ‘pumped up’. Mr Young, the Conservative Council candidate for the Bramingham Ward, said he would be writing to Mr Holden this week.
28 September 2014 – Southborough Town Council has announced it will join an action group against the expansion of Gatwick Airport – The High Weald Councils Aviation Action Group is a collection of parish and town councils that are opposed to a second runway at Gatwick. Chaired by Richard Streatfield, it currently covers Chiddingstone, Hever, Leigh and Penshurst Councils.
28 September 2014 – Blackpool Airport has been put up for sale, however the current owners, Balfour Beatty have moved to reassure passengers the sale would not affect flights.
Industry News
22 September 2014 – Egyptair has cancelled its Manchester to Cairo route 15 months after it was launched. The service will cease on 26 October.
22 September 2014 – Attendees at the Let Britain Fly air connectivity roundtable discussion in Newcastle have given their support for a third runway at Heathrow Airport.
22 September 2014 – Bristol Airport are forecasting further increases in passenger numbers for 2015, building on the progressive growth they have experienced since 2009.
22 September 2014 – Flight punctuality at UK airports fell in the second quarter of 2014 compared with the same period in 2013. On-time performance of scheduled flights was 78 per cent, which was three percentage points lower than the second quarter of 2013. The five biggest London airports, Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton and London City, saw an overall reduction of three percentage points for on-time scheduled flights, falling from 80 per cent to 77 per cent. The five other UK airports monitored, Manchester, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Glasgow and Newcastle, have also seen an overall reduction of three percentage points, from 84 per cent to 81 per cent of flights on-time. Individually all ten airports saw punctuality deteriorations. On-time performance falls for scheduled flights varied by airport, with the biggest fall being at Luton, where the decline was eight percentage points. An ‘on-time’ flight is defined as departing or arriving at a UK airport either early or up to 15 minutes late. On average monitored scheduled flights were delayed by 12 minutes, which is an increase of one minute when compared to the second quarter of 2013.
22 September 2014 – The airline operator Monarch has announced that Greybull Capital is the preferred bidder to acquire the travel group, as the airline looks to switch focus to the ‘low-cost carrier’ market. 24 September 2014 – Monarch have said that they hope about 600 staff will take voluntary redundancy as a result of company restructuring.
23 September 2014 – The aviation sector have joined other business and government groups at the United Nations Climate Summit to announce a commitment on climate action between the International Civil Aviation Organization, a United Nations specialized agency, and the aviation industry represented by the Air Transport Action Group. This partnership expands on work already being undertaken across the air transport sector to reduce emissions from the industry.
23 September 2014 – Aerospace Industries Association President and Chief Executive Marion C. Blakey has made a statement on the new collaborative climate action goals. Ms. Blakey said that,
‘As civil air traffic is predicted to double by the year 2030, our industry has strived to improve the quality and safety of air travel, while minimizing its environmental impact. Over the last several decades, perhaps no industry has done more to improve its environmental performance than the aerospace industry. In the last 40 years, the fuel efficiency of jet aircraft has improved by 70 percent, while the aircraft themselves have become 90 percent quieter.
AIA, through ICCAIA, has worked in partnership with industry, non-governmental organizations, and member states, under the International Civil Aviation Organization to develop a meaningful CO2 standard for new civil aviation aircraft. Manufacturers’ technological improvements, along with air traffic modernization and enhanced operational procedures will aid in accomplishing these targets. Also under ICAO, experts are working to develop a global market-based measure for aviation. Both the global market-based measure and the CO2 standard are slated for ICAO sign-off in the year 2016.
Developing sustainable alternative fuels is also an integral part of the carbon neutral growth strategy. Along with our industry colleagues, we will assist in the U.S. government’s goal of producing one billion gallons of alternative jet fuel by 2018’.
23 September 2014 – A computer model that accurately predicts how composite materials behave when damaged will make it easier to design lighter, more fuel-efficient aircraft. Computer codes form the basis of a computer model that shows in unprecedented detail how an aircraft’s composite wing, for instance, would behave if it suffered small-scale damage, such as a bird strike. Any tiny cracks which spread through the composite material can be predicted using this model. To date, aircraft designers have overcompensated for a lack of knowledge of how composites behave by over-reinforcing composite panels. The Boeing 787, for example comprising 50 per cent composites, is about ten per cent overweight. It is anticipated that the new model will enable panels to be made less bulky while still meeting the stringent safety margins demanded by the aviation industry. The result should be aircraft that are lighter than current designs and so use less fuel and produce fewer greenhouse emissions.
25 September 2014 – Gatwick Airport has published a revised noise action plan stating what methods are going to be carried out in a bid to reduce noise pollution levels. Following recent consultations with local residents, the steps now include:
- Explore whether ‘rotating respite’ can be provided to communities most affected by noise from aircraft – potentially benefiting more than 11,000 residents
- Explore other innovative methods to minimise noise – such as the airport’s continuous descent approach, where aircraft use less thrust by gliding and descending at a continuous rate. This approach keeps the aircraft higher for longer and generates significantly less noise.
- Consult with local residents on the measures above.
- Request that the Department of Transport (DfT) explores ways to describe and measure aircraft noise more clearly to help people understand noise impacts.
- Ask the DfT to undertake research on effects of aircraft noise on human health.
- Commission public studies on noise impacts on particular areas.
The revised Noise Action Plan can be found here.
26 September 2014 – The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has launched a call for evidence on the provision of terminal air navigation services (TANS) in the UK. Under the European Commission’s Single European Sky regulation, charges for TANS – effectively air traffic control services for take-off and landing – are exempt from regulation so long as there are conditions for the market to be competitive. The CAA’s previous analysis of the UK’s TANS market was published in February 2013 and advised that market conditions were not present.
However, since the CAA’s previous advice was published there have been a number of developments in the TANS market. As a result of these developments, the Secretary of State has asked the CAA to review its previous analysis of the market. The responses to this call for evidence will therefore inform the CAA’s final advice to the Secretary of State for Transport.
The call for evidence is aimed at airport operators, air navigation services providers (including non-UK providers) and other aviation stakeholders. All responses must be submitted by 7 November 2014, with the CAA’s draft findings due to be published for consultation in December 2014. The CAA’s final advice to the Secretary of State is scheduled to be published in February 2015. The call for evidence is available here.
European News
28 September 2014 – Eurocontrol has launched the Collaborative Environmental Management Specification (CEM) that sets out a unique collaborative approach to managing environmental impacts at and around airports. Director General of Eurocontrol, Frank Brenner said, ‘The CEM Specification supports and facilitates the already considerable efforts being made by airports, aircraft operators and air navigation service providers to deal with the environmental impact of their daily operations. It formalises collaboration between these core operational stakeholders by setting out generic high-level requirements and recommended practices, necessary for setting up CEM working arrangements at an airport’.
Government News
26 September 2014 – The Airports Commission have published the 92 responses they received to their Discussion Paper 6: ‘Utilisation of the UK’s Existing Airport Capacity’. The Commission has made these responses available on their website here. The Commission reports that a further 41 non-technical responses were received but have not been published. The Airports Commission have stated that they will respond to the issues raised in the consultation in its final report, due by summer 2015.
Media News
22 September 2014 – The Sunday Times has reported that Heathrow Airport Holdings will sell Glasgow, Aberdeen and Southampton airports. Heathrow’s biggest shareholder, Ferrovial, and Australian infrastructure company Macquarie have reportedly formed a consortium to buy the three airports.
22 September 2014 – The Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls has said a Labour government would not ‘dither and delay’ over the need for airport expansion in the south east of England. Mr Balls told the party’s conference that if elected Labour would ‘resolve’ the long-running debate over airport capacity and not ‘kick the issue into the long grass’. ‘Whatever the outcome of the Howard Davies review into airport capacity, we must resolve to finally make a decision on airport capacity in London and the south east of England expanding capacity while taking into account the environmental impact,’ Balls said in his keynote speech.
SASIG Regional&IndustryNews Bulletin 22 September – 28 September
SASIG ParliamentaryNews Bulletin 22 September – 28 September
The Parliamentary information in this Bulletin is sourced from De Havilland Information Services plc .