SASIG 2012/13 Meeting Dates
Thursday 14 June 2012 The Aviation Minister, Theresa Villiers, shall be attending.
Friday 9 November 2012
Friday 1 March 2013.
3 – 9 March 2012 Regional and Industry News
Regional News
Southend Airport’s £10 million passenger terminal officially opened
The £10 million terminal building is the latest stage in the airport’s expansion and has been officially opened by Transport Secretary Justine Greening. The terminal is part of a £100m investment and is the latest expansion by its owners, the Stobart Group, which is aiming for 20 million passengers by 2020. Ms Greening said regional airports such as Southend had a “vital part to play” in the UK aviation industry.
Kent’s Manston Airport put up for sale
The owners of Kent Airport, Infratil had been trying to persuade Thanet Council to allow night flying at Manston to attract new airlines, enabling the airport to grow, with a consequent boost for jobs in the area. But a report commissioned by the council suggested Infratil may have underestimated the impact of noise from night flying.
Glasgow Prestwick Airport put up for sale
Glasgow Prestwick Airport, Scotland’s fourth-biggest airport, has been put up for sale by its New Zealand based owners Infratil. The owners of Infratil had warned last year that Prestwick, around 30 miles south of Glasgow, was under threat because of dwindling passenger numbers falling by nearly a third to just 1.4 million in two years at the airport. The airport was bought by Infratil ten years ago from Perth-based transport giant Stagecoach for £33.4 million.
Flybe to set up regional hub at Manchester
Regional carrier Flybe is to set up a hub at Manchester airport, allowing the creation of 86 new point-to-point connections through the airport, including Norwich to Aberdeen and Exeter to Inverness. The airline says it has worked with Manchester to reduce connecting times on services “to as little as 35 minutes”.
Industry News
BAA Ltd signals legal action over Heathrow
BAA Ltd is signalling it could take legal action to ensure the government considers the case for expanding Heathrow as part of its aviation review. BAA Ltd wish to persuade ministers to review their opposition to a third runway at Heathrow.
In November, Chancellor George Osborne said the government would look at all options to relieve airport capacity in south-east England – except a third runway at Heathrow. However, BAA Ltd has studied a judicial review against the former Labour government’s refusal to consider the case for expanding Gatwick airport in 2002. The case ended in a ruling that the government was irrational and unfair in excluding the option of extra runways at Gatwick in a consultation document, and ministers subsequently looked at expanding Gatwick in a 2003 white paper.
Office of Fair Trading statement on International Airlines Group and bmi merger
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) today announced that it has decided not to make a request to the European Commission for a UK review of the proposed acquisition by International Airline Group (IAG) of bmi from Lufthansa. The OFT will continue to work closely with the European Commission as it assesses whether the proposed transaction raises competition concerns for airline passengers.
National Air Traffic Service (NATS) Wins Jane’s Air Traffic Control Environment Award
The award was given for a tool developed by National Air Traffic Service for measuring the environmental performance of aircraft. The work established an average efficiency rating in terms of vertical and horizontal trajectories – how smooth a climb and descent – as well as how direct a route could be provided for each flight.
UK aviation industry plots roadmap to accommodate significant growth to 2050 without substantial CO2 increase
An alliance of UK aviation sectors committed to driving a greener long-term strategy for the industry says a significant growth in passenger and freight traffic to 2050 is possible without a substantial increase in absolute carbon emissions.
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10 – 16 March 2012 Regional and Industry News
Regional News
Glasgow Airport operator aims to revive rail link plan to encourage use of public transport
The plan to connect Glasgow Airport with a new rail and tram link to the city centre is being revived despite the controversial cancellation of the project by the Scottish National Party Government.
London Assembly report ‘Plane Speaking’ demands Heathrow air pollution be tackled
The London Assembly has published a reported titled ‘Plane Speaking‘, setting out a series of recommendations that could help tackle air pollution around Heathrow – the second worst area in the capital for poor air quality, which causes the early deaths of at least 4,000 Londoners a year.
Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) announces Heathrow Charges Complaint Decision
The CAA has published its decision on a complaint from the operator of airline bmi about the structure of airport charges at Heathrow. The bmi operator complained that airport operator, BAA Ltd, had unreasonably discriminated against it, other short-haul airline operators and passengers on domestic services following changes to the structure of charges introduced in April 2011.
Industry News
European airlines plead for action on emissions trading scheme
Leading airlines have written to Prime Minister David Cameron to warn about a potential trade war with countries opposed to the introduction of the emissions trading scheme (ETS).
Virgin Atlantic President claims Heathrow is missing out on £5bn of investment
Sir Richard Branson has claimed that UK growth by Virgin Atlantic is being stifled by a block on expansion of Heathrow. Sir Richard has claimed that the carrier would invest up to £5 billion in the UK if the government reversed its “incredibly damaging” block on expanding the London hub.
International Airlines Group (IAG) offers ‘concessions’ on bmi
IAG has offered concessions to the European Commission (EC) to try to secure approval for its deal to buy bmi from Lufthansa. The EC confirmed that IAG, the parent company of British Airways, had offered concessions to try to ease competition fears. Neither the commission or IAG would reveal any details of these proposed concessions.
Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) announces jump in UK flight punctuality
In the fourth quarter of 2011, 80% of scheduled flights were on-time, up from 68% in the fourth quarter of 2010. The average delay also fell from 21 minutes to just 11. A significant punctuality improvement was seen at all monitored airports. These results, together with other punctuality improvements in previous quarters, mean that over the whole of 2011, 80% of scheduled flights were on-time, up from 73% in 2010.
International Airlines Group (IAG) Chief Executive condemns aviation policy as an “unholy mess”
International Airlines Group (IAG) boss Willie Walsh has condemned the government’s aviation policy as an “unholy mess” at a speech at the British Chambers of Commerce’s annual conference.
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17 – 23 March 2012 Regional and Industry News
Regional News
Nigeria’s biggest airline to stop Abuja-London route
Operators of Nigeria’s biggest carrier Arik Air said it would have to stop its daily flights between Abuja and London because it was being prevented from getting arrival and departure slots at UK airports, an accusation that risked reigniting a diplomatic row. Arik Air is the only Nigerian airline flying to Britain, and its operators have claimed that slots it had leased from Lufthansa’s British unit bmi at London’s Heathrow airport were about to expire and it was now facing unspecified “restrictions”.
The decision follows a row over landing slots and ticket pricing between Nigerian and British authorities in November which almost grounded all flights between the two countries.
Airport owner blasts ‘absurd’ solar park plan
The owner of Pembrey Airport in Carmarthenshire, South Wales, has attacked plans to build the UK’s largest solar park nearby. Captain Winston Thomas has slammed Inazin Solar’s proposals for a 40MW park on land to the north and south of the Airport, claiming it would mean the end of the airfield.
The planning application, which is still at its preliminary stage, would place the solar park 50 meters from the airport and risk the closure of the airport as a result. The park plan includes installation of 160,000 solar panels which would produce enough energy for around 12,000 homes in the area.
New report identifies ‘critical’ rail links for Gatwick Airport
A report on, supporting UK growth and global market access: ‘the case for high quality rail services to Gatwick Airport‘, by Arup, the firm designing the HS2 terminal at Euston station, has identified a need for better rail links to Gatwick Airport if it is to compete with Heathrow. The report also states that rail links are “critical” in attracting new airlines.
Istanbul ‘first’ for Edinburgh Airport
Edinburgh Airport has announced Scotland’s first direct Turkish Airlines service to Istanbul to run four times a week from 16 July 2012.
“No alternative” to spending £3m on Isle of Man Airport baggage system
Work on a single storey extension to house a replacement baggage conveyor and three new X-ray machines to screen the luggage of departing passengers will start next month after approval for £2,967,000 in funding was given. Infrastructure Minister David Cretney warned Tynwald that if members voted against, Ronaldsway would lose its domestic airport status.
Industry News
Lord Coe rules out Games ‘chaos’ at airports
Lord Coe has stated that there is a “very good operational plan” in place for service at Heathrow Airport and added that congestion problems were unfounded as “Heathrow Airport operates at full capacity all the time.”
However, the heads of four leading airlines – British Airways, bmi, Virgin Atlantic and easyJet – have written to the government to highlight concerns that there is little time remaining to tackle the expected surge in air traffic and its impact. The letter states, “there is a significant risk of severe delay and disruption at all of London’s major airports unless urgent action is taken”.
Airports and airlines ‘dismay’ at air passenger duty (APD) increase
Airport Operators Association chief executive Darren Caplan said: “I am dismayed that the Chancellor has gone ahead with this double inflation increase. We already have the highest aviation taxes in Europe, and this new increase will hit the tourism industry and needlessly jeopardise the recovery of the economy as a whole.”
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24 – 30 March 2012 Regional and Industry News
Regional News
Edinburgh Airport loses two of the four potential bidders ahead of the April deadline for submitting second bid
The withdrawal of indicative offers by the UK based investment consortia 3i and American firm Carlyle, has left a straight fight for Edinburgh between Gatwick owner Global Infrastructure Partners and US investment bank J P Morgan.
Security gates to be installed at Edinburgh Airport to cut queues
Five electronic security gates are to be introduced at Edinburgh airport in mid-April 2012 to help cut passport queues by half. It will be the first time the UK Border Agency will see the automatic equipment used at a Scottish airport to increase the speed with which passengers clear immigration.
Manchester Airport relief road to open within five years
Dates for the construction of the £290 million A6 to Manchester Airport relief road have been set. The construction work will be funded through the new £1.2 billion infrastructure fund agreed as part of the Greater Manchester City Deal with Government in the 2012 budget.
Belfast City Airport in move to control noise ‘problem’
Environment Minister Alex Attwood is to launch a public consultation on a proposal by George Best Belfast City Airport to replace an existing passenger cap with one controlling noise. The announcement of the submission comes less than a week after the airport confirmed plans to drop a contentious application to extend its runway.
Industry News
The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) calls for more aviation capacity
The CBI is applying pressure on the Government to decide on a plan for the future of UK aviation as it claims that current capacity constraints means that the UK is losing out to European rivals on new routes to emerging markets, and risk becoming a less attractive place to do business and invest. In a CBI press release, the organisation calls for a firm plan within 18 months.
Promptness improves at Heathrow
Punctuality at Heathrow Airport has improved significantly, according to the latest Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) findings. On-time performance, calculated as a flight arriving or departing early to 15 minutes late, increased by 12 per cent to 77 per cent, between October and December, compared to last year.
Among the five London airports’ scheduled flights, Heathrow performed well delivering the third best results in on-time performance, trailing behind Stansted and Luton airports.
International Airline Group (IAG) cleared in European Union to buy bmi
British Airways owner IAG has secured EU regulatory approval to buy German group Lufthansa’s British airline bmi after offering to give up 14 daily slots at London’s Heathrow airport in a deal worth £172.5 million.
easyJet to trial reserved seating on some flights
Carolyn McCall, chief executive officer of easyJet has announced plans to offer passengers allocated seating in April 2012 in a trial that will take the carrier further away from its no-frills identity.
Media
Chief Executive of Gatwick discusses South East expansion – Interview with The Standard
Stewart Wingate, chief executive of Gatwick announced his interest in opening up new routes to the Far East and other emerging economies; the idea of a Heath-Wick ‘virtual hub’ airport and Gatwick expansion plans.
Events
Consultation on Airports Workshop – 21 June 2012, 10.30am – £195 (Holiday Inn Kings Cross, 1 Kings Cross Road, London, WC1X 9HX)
What Does the Future Hold for Gatwick? – 15 May 2012, 18:30 (for 19:00) – 21:00 – Free event (Harlequin Theatre, Warwick Crescent, Redhill, Surrey, RH1 1NN)
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January 2011-12 CAA Airport Traffic Stats (Reported in March 2012)