Contents
SASIG 2013/14 Meeting Dates
Regional News
Industry News
House of Commons Questions
House of Commons Written Questions
House of Lords Questions
Media News
SASIG 2013/14 Meeting Dates
28 June 2013
25 October 2013
7 March 2014
Meetings are held at 11am, Local Government House, Smith Square, SW1P 3HZ, with lunch provided afterwards, location map.
Regional News
3 June 2013 – The Conservative Party have set out plans to reimburse taxpayers for the £52m the Welsh government paid for Cardiff Airport. ‘A Blueprint for Cardiff Airport’, envisages growth in passengers and routes, and proposals to sell it back to the private sector. The Welsh government agreed a deal to buy the airport in March this year.
3 June 2013 – Work has begun on the renovation of Pier 1 at Gatwick Airport. It is envisaged that the new design will deliver easier access from the departure lounge and larger departure gates. It will also have dedicated areas for families and business travellers.
4 June 2013 – East Midlands Airport has appointed a new managing director, Andy Cliffe who has taken on the role from Brad Miller. Mr Miller was appointed in October 2010 but has left to take up the role of Integration Director at Manchester Airports Group, which owns East Midlands. Mr Cliffe was previously managing director of assets for MAG. As well as overseeing the running of East Midlands, he will continue to be involved in the planning and delivery of a £650 million Airport City project at Manchester Airport.
4 June 2013 – Morgan Sindall Professional Services have been awarded the sole position on a two-year consultancy framework for Stansted Airport. The initial two-year deal covers design, engineering, planning and architectural services for the airport. The group will be responsible for delivering various multidisciplinary design projects with a capital value of up to £5m each.
4 June 2013 – Aer Lingus Regional, operated by Aer Arann, has expanded services to Birmingham with the launch of its first flight from Dublin to Birmingham. The airline will now operate three daily return flights to Birmingham from Dublin Airport and aims to fly up to 65,000 extra passengers on the route this year.
5 June 2013 – Heathrow Airport’s renovated Terminal 2 will open on 4 June 2014. The facility will feature 52 shops and 17 bars and restaurants. It will be home to 23 Star Alliance airlines, as well as carriers such as Aer Lingus, Virgin Atlantic Little Red and Germanwings. The terminal will aim to handle 20 million passengers per year.
5 June 2013 – Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Europe’s second-largest airline, is testing electric ground-handling vehicles at Frankfurt Airport to help cut a fuel bill that reached a record €7.39 billion in 2012. Lufthansa is taking part in a €15.7 million project at the airport, Europe’s third busiest by passenger numbers, to use electric service vehicles such as pusher tugs for plane taxiing, and to upgrade landing gear.
5 June 2013 – A government minister has praised Southend Airport for creating jobs and providing economic benefits to the area.
Industry News
3 June 2013 – African airline operator Fastjet has said it has enough money to continue operating, despite a warning from the company’s auditors. The company’s auditor KPMG had previously stated that there was a ‘material uncertainty which casts significant doubt on the group’s and the parent company’s ability to continue as a going concern’.
4 June 2013 – International airlines have agreed for the first time to global curbs on carbon dioxide from air travel. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) passed a resolution calling on world governments to agree measures to manage emissions, which would come into force from 2020.They said there should be a single global ‘market-based mechanism’ – such as emissions trading – that would enable airlines to account for and offset their emissions. But they did not agree how governments should implement a market-based mechanism to cover all airlines.
4 June 2013 – American Airlines is planning to increase flights to Heathrow Airport for the winter 2013/14 season from both Dallas-Fort Worth and Miami. The airline, which operates a joint business across the Atlantic with British Airways, will increase Dallas-Heathrow flights from 14 per week in winter 2012/13 to 17 per week for the forthcoming winter season, starting on October 27.
5 June 2013 – The London Assembly is calling for urgent measures to bring nitrogen dioxide levels under control. A motion backed by Assembly Members (16 votes for and 6 against) noted the ruling and highlighted its previous calls for the Mayor’s Air Quality Strategy to be updated with faster and stronger action to reduce nitrogen dioxide in London.
Government News
4 June 2013 – The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has called on the aviation industry to seize the chance to shape a new consumer financial-protection scheme offered by a government call for evidence on funding reform. The changes will coincide with reform of the Package Travel Directive and together make a lasting impact. The Department for Transport (DfT) has launched a 12-week ‘call for evidence’ on reform of Atol funding.
6 June 2013 – The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has released additional information in support of its proposals to replace Class F Advisory Routes in the London and Scottish Flight Information Regions. The consultation with the aviation community was launched on 8 April 2013. The CAA proposes to replace Class F Advisory Routes with Class E airways, enhanced by additional conspicuity requirements. This reflects the conclusions of a joint CAA/industry working group established after the 2009 ICAO Safety Audit to identify and consider how the Audit’s recommendations could be acted upon. Full details of the proposals and how to participate in the consultation can be found on the CAA website at www.caa.co.uk/consultations. In recognition of industry’s need to consider the additional material, the consultation period has been extended and will now end on Friday 26 July 2013.
House of Commons Questions
Dodds – Discussions with airport operators and airline carriers on the holding of the G8 Summit
3 June 2013
Nigel Dodds (Democratic Unionist Party; Belfast North): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with (a) airport operators and (b) airline carriers on the holding of the G8 Summit in County Fermanagh in June 2013.
Mark Simmonds: Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) officials had meetings with airport operators at George Best City airport and Belfast International airport in November 2012. Since then, officials have been engaged in continuing discussions with Belfast International airport to ensure a smooth arrivals and departures process for visiting delegations. FCO officials have not had direct discussions with airline carriers.
3 June 2013
Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment she has made of the potential effect on the Northern Ireland economy of the construction of a third runway at London Heathrow airport.
Theresa Villiers, Northern Ireland Secretary : The Government is committed to working with the Northern Ireland Executive to rebalance the Northern Ireland economy, and we have regular discussions with Executive Ministers on these issues, including the contribution that Invest NI makes to promote growth and support the creation of jobs. The Northern Ireland Executive did not ask the Prime Minister to discuss the role of Invest NI in his recent visit to Boston in which the Prime Minister promoted trade, investment and innovation in the UK through a series of events. These included promoting the GREAT campaign by travelling with HRH Prince Harry in the New Bus for London, manufactured in Ballymena and Antrim, with Invest NI backing.
Rosindell – Air passenger duty, Caribbean
5 June 2013
Andrew Rosindell (Conservative, Romford): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his Caribbean counterparts on air passenger duty.
Mark Simmonds, Foreign Office Minister (Africa and the United Nations): As the Foreign Office Minister with responsibility for the Independent Caribbean and Caribbean Overseas Territories, I have regular discussions on air passenger duty with my Caribbean counterparts.
Eagle, M – Financial contributions to the Civil Aviation Authority
5 June 2013
Maria Eagle, Shadow Transport Secretary: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of whether the Government will be required to contribute financially towards the running costs of the Civil Aviation Authority in any year of the current Parliament.
Simon Burns MP: The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) obtains the funding it requires to cover its running costs from the fees and charges which it levies on the aviation industry for the range of services which it provides. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is currently undertaking a classification review of the CAA, which will report soon. The review is focused on whether the CAA’s charges should properly be regarded as taxes. Should the ONS find that some or all of the CAA’s charges should be reclassified as taxes and that, as a result, the greater part of the CAA’s income is derived from taxation, the CAA itself would be reclassified as part of central Government for accounting purposes. We would not however expect the outcome of this review to affect the charging structure which CAA has in place.
The Department will continue to make payments to the CAA for specific projects which it has asked them to undertake as agreed under section 16 of the Civil Aviation Act 1982.
Eagle, M – Staffing and administration costs supporting the aviation industry
5 June 2013
Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the cost to his Department was of staffing and administration of activities supporting the aviation industry in each year of the current Parliament.
Simon Burns: Aviation directorate staffing costs for the current Parliament are:
(a) 2011-12 cost £3.518 million
(b) 2012-13 cost £3.483 million
Kwarteng – Control measures on carbon emissions
6 June 2013
Kwasi Kwarteng (Conservative, Spelthorne): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the Government’s plans are for the implementation of any control measures on carbon emissions proposed by the International Civil Aviation Organization.
Simon Burns, Transport Minister: At this stage the Government does not have any specific plans on the implementation of control measures for emissions agreed in the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The Government intends to work through ICAO to secure an ambitious global agreement to address international aviation emissions at this year’s General Assembly (24 September-4 October).It would be premature to develop plans for implementation on the CO2 standard (due to be adopted at the 2016 General Assembly) and on market based measures (due to be discussed at this year’s Assembly) given the uncertainty on a number of design elements. The Government is however, actively involved in the development of these measures and is taking account of the feasibility and practicality of implementation.
House of Commons Written Questions
Dodds – Ring Fencing of Airport Slots for regional destinations
3 June 2013
Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent representations her Department has made to the European Commission about the ring fencing of airport slots for regional destinations.
Theresa Villiers MP: In the context of the European Commission’s ‘Better Airport Package’, which includes proposals to recast the EU Slot Regulation, the UK has highlighted the issue of regional connectivity and has sought the inclusion of measures to help to secure the ongoing provision of regional air services to congested London airports. However, it has proved challenging to devise a mechanism to protect commercially viable air services without seriously impairing and distorting the aviation market and competition across Europe
MacNeil – Meetings with airline executives to discuss Air Passenger Duty
6 June 2013
Angus MacNeil (Scottish National Party, Na h-Eileanan an Iar) : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what dates he met representatives of (a) Flybe and (b) EasyJet in each of the last 12 months at which the issue of air passenger duty was discussed.[158436]
Sajid Javid, Economic Secretary to the Treasury: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings and discussions with a wide variety of organisations as part of the process of policy development and delivery. The Treasury publishes a list of ministerial meetings with external organisations, available here.
House of Lords Questions
Avebury – Plans for upgrading the short-term holding facilities at Heathrow Airport
3 June 2013
Lord Avebury (Liberal Democrat Peer): To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have for upgrading the short-term holding facilities at Heathrow Airport; and what approved budgets can be used for that purpose.
Lord Taylor of Holbeach, The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office: The provision of accommodation facilities at ports of entry are provided by the port operator. At Heathrow Airport this is Heathrow Airport Limited (HAL). The Home Office has been working very closely with HAL to progress accommodation improvements to the short-term holding facilities at Heathrow Airport. Some cosmetic improvements have already been implemented. Longer-term plans for upgrading the facilities include expansion of the family holding rooms at terminal one and terminal five. Showers and a toilet lobby will be installed at terminal five and a complete expansion and upgrade of accommodation is being planned at terminal three. The family accommodation at Cayley House (a short-term holding facility used when detaining someone brought to the airport prior to removal) will be reconfigured. Improvements at the holding room at terminal four depend on securing additional space.HAL will be funding the agreed improvement works to the holding rooms at Heathrow Airport.
Media News
The Parliamentary information in this Bulletin is sourced from De Havilland Information Services plc.