Contents
SASIG 2013/14 Meeting Dates
Regional News
Industry News
Parliamentary News
Government News
Aviation related highlights from the Conservative Party Conference, Autumn 2013
Media News
Bulletin Summary
SASIG 2013/14 Meeting Dates
24 October 2013
7 March 2014
Meetings are held at Local Government House, Smith Square, SW1P 3HZ, location map.
Regional News
27 Sept – Crawley Borough Council has voted to neither support nor oppose a second runway at Gatwick Airport. Its councillors instead chose to seek more information before making a final decision. The town’s 37 councillors were given three options – to formally oppose a second runway; not to express a view until further information is available (particularly around the environmental impacts); and to agree in principle to support a second runway but to reserve the right to change their stance as further information becomes available. When a vote was held, 13 councillors voted to oppose the runway and 22 voted to seek more information. The third option, to support it, was not voted on as it was clear the second option was favoured.
27 Sept 2013 – West Yorkshire transport authority Metro is expected to approve £2.7 million to be spent on transport infrastructure projects in the area. Councils in York and West Yorkshire will join together to form a combined authority to fund the work. The package of improvements include a new park and ride scheme for Leeds and a new access road to Leeds Bradford Airport.
27 Sept 2013 – Broadland District Council has resolved to grant outline planning consent to a mixed-use development to the north east of Norwich. The new development at North Sprowston and Old Catton will provide new housing along with commercial space, retail space for a small supermarket, shops, cafes and restaurants.
27 Sept 2013 – Medway Council has invited the Mayor of London to visit north Kent to explain why he wants to build an airport in the area. The invitation comes after Daniel Moylan, the mayor’s aviation advisor visited Maidstone to talk to the Kent Economic Board about the development of a new airport in the Thames Estuary. The council said the mayor had been invited to meet residents and councillors but had refused.
27 Sept 2013 – At a Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead cabinet meeting, lead member for the environment, Cllr Carwyn Cox, delivered a report recommending the Borough actively resist proposals made by Heathrow Airport in a July 2013 submission to the Airport Commission. Members were unanimous in agreeing with the recommendations of Cllr Cox’s report. Leader of the Council, Cllr David Burbage said: ‘We will continue to object and send a letter making these points to the Davies Commission.’
27 Sept 2013 – Uttlesford Council has responded to the proposals for expansion at Stansted Airport submitted to the Airports Commission. The council not only ‘fears additional runways will have a detrimental impact upon the environment and the lives of residents’, but it also believes there is ‘no evidence which indicates additional runways are justified to meet the anticipated passenger demand in 2050’. Cllr Jackie Cheetham, deputy leader of UDC, said: ‘We are wholly opposed to the construction of additional runways at Stansted Airport. Not only will it have a dramatic impact upon the landscape and the lives of our residents living within our district, but there is also no evidence to suggest that a new super hub airport is needed to cope with predicted passenger demand’. The council believes the proposal raises a number of environmental challenges which have not been fully addressed, particularly major differences in land heights which would require significant excavation. The proposed layout would also impact on the Chelmer Valley. Uttlesford District Council is contacting the Commission to request they accompany senior members and officers from the council on a visit to the affected areas.
1 Oct 2013 – Rosemary French, executive director of the Gatwick Diamond Initiative business forum, has written to the chairman of the Airports Commission, Sir Howard Davies, on behalf of 100 individual businesses and 12 business membership organisations, representing 5,500 businesses and neighbouring areas, backing the Gatwick Airport submission. The proposal argues the South-east will be best served in the future by the region’s three airports – Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted – having two runways.
1 Oct 2013 – Flights between Newquay and Gatwick are to end after easyJet said it would not run the service next year. The move will end the far south west’s only year-round air link to London. Easyjet, which has blamed insufficient demand, took over the Gatwick slots from Flybe, but will now run summer-only flights to London Southend.
4 Oct 2013 – Investment has been secured from China for the Manchester Airport City development.
Industry News
27 Sept 2013 – The European aircraft manufacturing company, Airbus has predicted that the rise in world air travel would mean a demand for 29,000 new aircraft in the next 20 years. According to Airbus’ latest Global Market Forecast in the next 20 years (2013-2032), air traffic will grow at around 5 per cent annually requiring over 29,220 new passenger and freighter aircraft valued at nearly $4.4 trillion.
27 Sept 2013 – A submission to the Airports Commission from Heathrow Airport Ltd has challenged the claims of Gatwick Airport that it can support long-haul services to emerging markets. The submission draws attention to previous long-haul routes from Gatwick which have been cancelled over the last five years. A spokesperson from Gatwick Airport has responded to claims by saying that it serves more destinations than Heathrow and that some of the long-haul routes were cancelled when Gatwick Airport was still owned by the same company as Heathrow, then known as BAA.
30 Sept 2013 – Ryanair has agreed to provide contact points for its customers on its website. The airline operator had been in breach of legislation for not providing an email address where people with inquiries can get in contact. Companies providing electronic commerce services must provide consumers with an email address under law, the National Consumer Agency said.
2 Oct 2013 – Analysis by Anna.aero shows that no European capital airport connects to all 27 other EU capitals – Amsterdam Airport Schiphol comes closest with 26, followed by Vienna with 25, and Brussels, Copenhagen and Paris (Charles De Gaulle) all tied on 24. London Heathrow and Leonardo da Vinci di Fiumicino Airport Rome, follow these on 23. Although London Heathrow is connected non-stop to only 23 of the 27 other EU capitals, 21 of these are served by British Airways, the highest by any single airline.
2 Oct 2013 – Delegates to the International Civil Aviation Organisation are meeting in Montreal to try to agree on a path toward creating a global market-based mechanism by 2020 that would help limit growing carbon emissions in the sector. At the meeting European countries expressed support for an ‘imperfect’ compromise to curb global aviation emissions but still face pressure to drop a key demand – to be able to apply the EU’s carbon trading scheme to foreign air carriers.
Parliamentary News
4 Oct 2013 – Transport Minister Simon Burns has resigned from the government to run for the position of deputy Commons Speaker. The MP for Chelmsford has been responsible for the High Speed 2 rail link during the past year, having previously been a health minister.
Government News
30 Sept 2013 – The UK Civil Aviation Authority has announced details of a series of seminars designed to inform flight training schools of the transition process they will need to follow to achieve ‘Approved Training Organisation’ status. Those training schools currently referred to as Registered Training Facilities; have to become Approved Training Organisations over the next two years to be able to continue providing flying lessons – as part of a package of Europe-wide changes in the aviation pilot training industry.
3 Oct 2013 – The Civil Aviation Authority has announced its proposal that Heathrow Airport would be able to raise charges annually by the rate of inflation, as measured by the retail prices index (RPI), from 2014 to 2019. Heathrow currently charges £20.71 per passenger. Airlines including British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have criticised the decision as the CAA had originally proposed that Heathrow would only be able to charge fees at the rate of RPI minus 1.3 per cent. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the British Air Transport Association (BATA) have also criticised the proposals. A BBC ‘Fast Track’ travel programme reports on the issue (contains video).
4 Oct 2013 – Serious Airprox incidents involving general aviation (GA) aircraft fell in 2012, figures released today reveal. The overall number of incidents with GA involvement, of all levels of severity, also continued a steady decade-long downward trend, data published by the UK Airprox Board shows. Throughout 2012 there were 13 incidents involving a GA aircraft assessed as ‘Category A’, the most serious classification. In 2011 there had been 19 incidents. Although there was a slight increase in incidents between two GA aircraft – 59 in 2012 compare to 55 the previous year, the number of Airprox incidents involving a GA and a military aircraft declined significantly – 33 in 2012 as opposed to 46 in 2011.
Aviation related highlights from the Conservative Party conference, Autumn 2013
Transport Hub at Conference: The Big Transport Interview with Transport Minister Stephen Hammond
29 Sept 2013 – Opening his remarks, Mr Hammond said that ‘it would be a disaster to scrap’ High Speed 2 (HS2). Mr Hammond argued that HS2 would not take funds away from other transport schemes, pointing to the links between Manchester and Leeds. On the challenge of balancing a drive for economic growth with environmental concerns, he stated that HS2 and the electrification of the line to Liverpool would help to create a central economic hub in the north, comprising Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool.
Stephen Hammond speaking on Aviation
Mr Hammond noted that he had opposed a third runway at Heathrow as a Wimbledon MP at the last General Election. His position was that a third runway would not address the additional capacity needs of the UK, he explained, suggesting that the real question was whether to support a fourth or fifth runway.
If an increase in aviation capacity was to be delivered, cross-party support was essential, Mr Hammond said, arguing that this had been crucial in the early stages of the HS2 project, and was evident in the political make-up of the Davies Commission panel. Mr Hammond said that he suspected that the Commission’s initial report in December ‘will rule a number of ideas in’, such as the third runway at Heathrow, and ‘rule a number ideas out such as the Mayor of London’s proposed new airport development in the Outer Thames Estuary.
A representative of the Airport Operators Association said that ‘doing nothing was not an option’, and asked what the Conservatives were doing to build a consensus with the Labour Party. Replying, Mr Hammond said that the make-up of the Davies Commission was ‘more Catholic than you might expect’, with senior Labour transport figures as members. A Guardian journalist cited rumours that the DfT was prepared to ‘kick the delivery of short-term measures’ (recommended by the Davies Commission in its initial December report) ‘into the long-grass’. Mr Hammond rejected this, stating that it would be ‘absurd’ for the Department to reject proposals before it had seen them.
Conservative Conference – Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin’s speech to Conference
30 Sept 2013 – In his speech at the Conservative Party Conference Mr McLoughlin stated that transport continued to play a significant part in the UKs economic recovery. He referenced the announcement of investment in 15 transport infrastructure schemes, and noted international investment in major port projects. Mr McLoughlin affirmed his support for HS2.
Business Is Good For Britain: How can we encourage private investment and exports?
30 Sept 2013 – Conservative Leader of the House of Commons Andrew Lansley said that ‘manufacturing was increasingly a technology sector, and added that businesses in manufacturing were more likely to be in export markets than those in services’. Mr Lansley was speaking at a Conservative Party Conference fringe event hosted by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), supported by Heathrow Airport; entitled Business is Good for Britain: How can we encourage private investment and exports? alongside John Longworth, Director-General, British Chamber of Commerce (BCC); and John Holland-Kaye, Development Director, Heathrow Airport Ltd. The event was chaired by Sky News Business Presenter Joel Hills.
Solving the Aviation Conundrum: a simple and affordable plan for Heathrow
30 Sept 2013 – Greater private sector investment was needed to create a ‘boom’ in UK infrastructure, Steve Baker Conservative MP said today. Mr Baker was speaking at the event ‘Solving the Aviation Conundrum: A simple and affordable plan for Heathrow’ hosted by the Centre for Policy Studies and Runway Innovations Ltd at the Conservative Party Conference. Also speaking was: Allister Heath, City A.M. Editor; William ‘Jock’ Lowe, Director, Runway Innovations Ltd.; and Graeme Leach, Chief Economist and Director of Policy, Institute of Directors. The event was chaired by Tim Knox, Director, Centre for Policy Studies.
Air Tax, Visas, Connectivity: Does the UK have an aviation policy for growth?
1 Oct 2013 – Daniel Moylan Aviation Advisor to Mayor of London, said ‘the Heathrow expansion was a political failure and undeliverable’ He was speaking at a Conservative Party fringe event, hosted by the Transport Hub and its partners Airport Operators Association (AOA) and The Travel Association (ABTA) entitled Air Tax, Visas, Connectivity: Does the UK have an aviation policy for growth? Also speaking were: Stephen D’Alfonso, Senior Public Affairs and Research Manager, Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA); and John Longworth, Director-General, British Chamber of Commerce. The event was chaired by Darren Caplan, Chief Executive, Airport Operators Association (AOA).
A fuller report of the aviation related events at the Conservative Party Conference, Autumn 2013, is available in the ‘Latest News’ section.
Media News
27 Sept 2013 – The British Airline Pilots Association released findings of a survey of 500 commercial pilots which found that over half (56 per cent) admitted to having fallen asleep on the flight deck, with nearly a third (29 per cent) having woken to find their co- pilot asleep. The vast majority, 84 per cent, said they believed their abilities had been compromised by tiredness in the past six months.
27 Sept 2013 – A report published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has called the evidence for climate change ‘unequivocal’ and for the first time said humans are ‘extremely likely’ to be the dominant cause of climate change. The IPCC is convened by the United Nations to give periodic updates on the state of climate science as well as future projections and likely impacts.
28 Sept 2013 – The Spectator considers the lack of domestic flights between London and Manchester.
30 Sept 2013 – Transport for London have published its review of submissions to the Airports Commission on long, medium and short term proposals. 1 Oct 2013 – Paul Kehoe, Chief Executive of Birmingham Airport, (whose submission was included) responded by welcoming the report.
30 Sept 2013 – A report by Manchester Metropolitan University estimates that if the aviation industry were to achieve its goal of carbon neutral growth from 2020, its climate impacts would only be reduced by 21 per cent. The report asserts that a much stricter target than carbon neutral growth is necessary for the aviation industry to tackle its climate change responsibilities.
Bulletin Summary
SASIG Regional & IndustryNews Bulletin 27 September – 4 October
SASIG ParliamentaryNews Bulletin 27 September – 4 October
The Parliamentary and Party Conference information in this Bulletin is sourced from De Havilland Information Services plc.