Contents

SASIG 2013/14 Meeting Dates

Regional News

Industry News

European News

Parliamentary News

Government News

House of Commons Questions

House of Lords Questions

Media News

 

SASIG 2014/15 Meeting Dates

27 June 2014

24 October 2014

13 March 2015

Meetings are held at Local Government House, Smith Square, SW1P 3HZ, location map.

 

Regional News

17 Mar 2014 – Gatwick Airport have started a consultation seeking views and suggestions on second runway options which it submitted to the Airports Commission.

The consultation will provide further information on the three options Gatwick proposed to the Commission in its initial submission last July, and will give people an opportunity to tell the airport what they think about these. People will be able to respond online via the airport website, in person at one of 16 public exhibitions, or by post.

The consultation process starts in the week beginning 24 March when a letter will be sent to homes and businesses in Sussex, Kent and Surrey with details of the consultation and the list and timings of the public exhibitions. Public exhibitions will begin on 4April. Questions within the consultation will cover a range of topics including the major environmental, economic and social considerations. The consultation findings will be published by Ipsos MORI in an independent report by this summer. The consultation will run for six-weeks.

Gatwick Airport has said that feedback from the consultation will help refine and improve the airport’s refreshed runway proposal to the Airports Commission.

The reason for consulting on all three options is to provide more detail on each, the reasons for Gatwick’s provisional order of preference and to obtain views and feedback to help refine and improve the options. Option 1 is a 585m runway south of the existing runway, Option 2 is 1,045m runway, also south of the existing runway, with one runway used for landings and the other used for take-offs. Option 3 is similar in layout to Option 2 but both runways would be used for landings and take-offs.

18 Mar 2014 – Birmingham Airport and Marketing Birmingham have become two of the first 100 companies across the UK to be awarded a new Chartermark declaring they are fit to welcome Chinese visitors. The GREAT China Welcome Charter is a new initiative from VisitBritain to make Britain the destination of choice for the rapidly-growing Chinese market. Visitors from China have doubled in the last five years and tourism bosses hope they will treble again by 2020. The new Charter will help Chinese visitors easily identify hotels, attractions, retailers and tour operators that are making themselves ‘China-ready’ by providing information in Chinese and adapting their products for the market

18 Mar 2014 – Air China will launch flights to London Gatwick Commencing on 30 March 2014. The national carrier will operate four weekly flights direct from Beijing Capital International Airport and London Gatwick Airport.

18 Mar 2014 – The Financial Times has reported that the airline operators EasyJet, Ryanair and Norwegian Air Shuttle have placed orders for new airplanes in the past two years totalling hundreds of aircraft, extending to 2021 for fulfilment.

18 Mar 2014 – The positive trend for passenger traffic at Norwich International is confirmed in the latest UK Civil Aviation Authority airport annual traffic results. The report lists Norwich International as seventh in the UK for annual traffic growth 2013 compared to 2012 (for airport with annual traffic of twenty thousand passengers or more). Total passengers are listed at 463,401 versus 396,676 being a 17 per cent increase in people from the region using the city’s airport year on year.

18 Mar 2014 – Plans have been submitted for the first hotel in Manchester’s Airport City scheme. The 350-bedroom hotel would be run by Hilton and the eight-story building would be built on the site of an existing staff car park.

18 Mar 2014 – Jet2.com and Jet2holidaysis doubling the number of flights it operates from Newcastle International to New York in time for winter 2014.

18 Mar 2014 – Cheshire East has become the third and final council to back the Manchester Airport Relief Road. Councillors at the strategic planning committee gave the £290m road the go-ahead. Stockport and Manchester councils had already approved the road earlier this year. The application will now go to the secretary of state, Eric Pickles for approval. If approved work could start on the road towards the end of the year with a completion date of summer 2017.

18 Mar 2014 – Plans to increase capacity on the M4 have been announced by the Government. The scheme will see variable speed limits and the hard shoulder converted to a traffic lane for 31 miles between the A312 at Heathrow Airport to Theale. The changes, which the Highways Agency estimates will cost between £614m and £862m, aim to reduce congestion, improve journey times and cut air pollution.

19 Mar 2014 – Staff at Manston Airport were called to a meeting today (19 March 2014) to be told that the new owners had decided the airport did not have a long-term future and was losing money. It has been reported that the site could be redeveloped for housing. This is also reported by the BBC who understands that a ‘consultation’ process is underway with staff and unions about the future of the site. 20 Mar 2014 – Manston Airport is thought to have suffered financially after airline operator Ryanair pulled decided against running several routes from the site. In addition a planned British Airways freight contract has not materialised. 21 Mar 2014 – Chief Executive Charles Buchanan has said that the airport could close as early as 9 April 2014.

20 Mar 2014 – Cornwall Council has welcomed the Budget announcement from the Government that it will provide a financial guarantee for the full four year duration of the Public Service Obligation for the Newquay to London air link.

20 Mar 2014 – Paul Kehoe, Chief Executive of Birmingham Airport has expressed disappointment that the Government’s Regional Connectivity Fund will only apply to smaller regional airports. It was initially thought that the plan – announced by the Chancellor in the March Budget – would apply to all regional airports but a spokeswoman at the Treasury said only smaller regional airports – which carry less than three million passengers a year – would be able to apply for the fund which is available for two years

21 Mar 2014 – Almost 400 people have signed a petition calling for an end to a trial flight path sending planes over Warnham. Gatwick Airport started the trial in mid February and said the new route will allow planes to climb more quickly after take-off, reducing the overall amount of people affected by aircraft noise.

21 Mar 2014 – The deputy leader of Hounslow Council, Cllr Colin Ellar has called for the reinstatement of the M4 bus lane to help air quality. Cllr Ellar who is also Cabinet Member for Environment said it would also improve public transport accessibility for Heathrow which would make for a better airport.

21 Mar 2014 – A judge has overturned a decision to award planning permission for a freight distribution centre at Carlisle Airport. Gordon Brown, a farmer from Irthington, took Carlisle City Council to the High Court over Stobart Air’s application. The judge ruled it was not clear that the centre would be used commercially in the short to medium term. The Council said it was disappointed. Stobart Air said it planned to submit a new application.

21 Mar 2014 – As of the 21 March 2014 customers for Manston Airport have reported that they are unable to book tickets for KLM flights from the airport for after April 8.

22 Mar 2014 – Aviation Minister Robert Goodwill, has questioned the future of Durham Tees Valley Airport after a decline in passenger numbers. Responding to calls for better transport links in the area. Speaking in the House of Commons Mr Good will said that, ‘my assessment is that public transport links to Durham Tees Valley Airport are very poor’ … ‘given that the passenger numbers were 900,000 in 2006 and 161,092 in 2013, action on more than just public transport links will be required to ensure the airport’s future.’

22 Mar 2014 – Guernsey Airport has launched a consultation into noise abatement after a report into complaints of noise pollution in the area. Since summer 2013 about 60 complaints have been received from residents. In his report, the island’s Director of Civil Aviation Fergus Woods said although it was not clear what specific issues prompted the complaints, steps should be taken to reduce disruption. He has subsequently recommended changes in local flight patterns.

 

Industry News

17 Mar 2014 – The air traffic services provider NATS reported an overall rating of 23.7 for airspace efficiency in 2013. This reflected a decline against 2012 where NATS scored 23.9 – also missing the target set by its regulator, the UK Civil Aviation Authority, of 24. NATS measures the three dimensional efficiency of aircraft flying in its controlled airspace, through the use of its 3Di metric, where each flight is compared to a scale where zero represents total environmental efficiency, with most flights scoring between 15 and 35.

20 Mar 2014 – Balfour Beatty, Ferrovial Mace and Morgan Sindall have each picked up key work packages to upgrade Heathrow Airport over the next five years. The airport estate has been split into four delivery integrator contracts which will cover mainly assets replacement, in a strategic shift away from major civil engineering projects. Each package is valued around £250m with the next control period programme of work due to start next month.

 

European News

19 Mar 2014 – The European Parliament’s 71-member Environment Committee voted in Brussels against a deal brokered by European Union (EU) officials earlier this month to extend a ‘stop the clock’ emissions measure exempting intercontinental flights from regulation under the bloc’s Emissions Trading System (ETS). The vote of the cross-party body is a preliminary indication of whether the proposal can win enough support in the full 766-strong EU Parliament in early April, a step required before it can become law. Failure to get final agreement on the compromise before the end of April would be likely to increase tensions with Europe’s major trading partners, such as China and the United States.

 

Parliamentary News

17 Mar 2014 – The House of Common Transport Committee held its second and final evidence session on offshore helicopter safety on Monday 17 March 2014, at 4.05 pm. Witnesses were: Keith Conradi, Chief of Inspectors, Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB); Mark Swan, Director Safety, Airspace and Regulation Group, Civil Aviation Authority (CAA); Chester Armstrong, helicopter specialist, CAA; Trevor Woods, Approvals and Standardisation Director, European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA); Robert Goodwill , Aviation Minister; and Tricia Hayes, Director of Aviation, Department for Transport. The full evidence session is available as a videocast from Parliament TV here.

19 Mar 2014 – Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne announced in his 2014 Budget a reform of Air Passenger Duty (APD) and the development of a ‘Regional Air Connectivity Fund’. From April 1, 2015, APD on long-haul flights between 4,001 and 6,000 miles will be reduced by £16 per person, while those over 6,000 miles will be cut by £27. Passengers flying in premium economy, business class or first class will also save twice as much, and the reform is expected to save passengers and businesses traveling long-haul more than £200 million annually.

APD is currently calculated by measuring the distance between London and the final destination’s capital city, with different contributions divided into four bands. Band A covers flights of less than 2,000 miles, B those between 2,001 and 4,000 miles, C applies between 4,001 and 6,000, and D to those further than 6,000 miles. From next year, all long-haul flights will carry the same, lower, B tax rate that travellers now pay to fly to the US.

The Chancellor also announced a £20 million per year ‘Regional Air Connectivity Fund’ which will be available to regional airports to encourage airlines to start-up new routes.

 

Government News

17 Mar 2014 – The Department for Transport has updated Guidance: Aviation operating permits: procedures and application forms. This covers information about operating permits for foreign registered aircraft and changes to the administration process through the UK Civil Aviation Authority. Full details can be found here.

18 Mar 2014 – Baroness Valentine, chief executive of business lobby group London First, told New Civil Engineer magazine has called for four-tracking of the Greater Anglia railway line serving Stansted Airport to be prioritised in the next five years – ahead of any Government strategy to increase airport capacity. The Baroness said that it was vital that the Department for Transport and Network Rail consider increasing capacity on the rail connection in the next few years.

20 Mar 2014 – The Government are seeking experiences and views on the planning, performance and response of the transport network to severe weather events, with a view to identifying practical measures to improve resilience. The transport resilience review will identify practical measures to improve the resilience of our transport network to severe weather events in the short term, whilst also giving due consideration to longer term resilience of the nation’s transport infrastructure. The review will examine:

  • plans to mitigate impacts from severe weather events
  • contingency planning to manage the effects of severe weather
  • investigation of increased rates of asset degradation and the effects on asset performance and service life
  • adaptation of infrastructure to manage projected future risks

Written evidence is welcome from transport and infrastructure operators, highway and transport authorities, maintenance contractors, passenger organisations and representative groups with an interest in the resilience of the transport sector.

The call for evidence will end on 2nd May 2014. Full details are available here.

 

House of Commons Questions

 

Goldsmith (Conservative, Richmond Park) – Near misses at Heathrow Airport

19 March 2014

Zac Goldsmith (Conservative, Richmond Park): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many near-miss aircraft incidents have occurred under 7,000ft with aircraft (a) arriving at and (b) taking off from Heathrow Airport in the last five years.

Robert Goodwill, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport, Aviation Minister (Conservative, Scarborough and Whitby): The independent UK Airprox Board, which is responsible for investigating all reported near miss incidents by pilots and controllers in UK airspace, has provided the following relevant information:

 

Date of incident: 27 July 2009

Aircraft types involved: Boeing 777 and Cessna 525

 

Date of incident: 19 November 2009

Aircraft types involved: Airbus A320 and Boeing 737

 

Date of incident: 4 January 2011

Aircraft types involved: Airbus A319 and Bell 206 Jet Ranger

 

Date of incident: 8 September 2013

Aircraft types involved: Embraer 190 and unknown paraglider

 

Date of incident: 21 November 2013

Aircraft types involved: Boeing 747 and Cessna 750

 

The first three incidents listed were all assessed to be non risk-bearing airproxes. The last two incidents have yet to be assessed.

 

Goldsmith – Number of aircraft forced to land at Heathrow Airport in the last five years

19 March 2014

Zac Goldsmith (Conservative, Richmond Park): To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many aircraft have had to land due to (a) engine problems, (b) fuel shortages and (c) other technical problems at Heathrow Airport in the last five years.

Robert Goodwill: The number of events where an aircraft landed at Heathrow for (a) engine related problems (b) instances of low fuel and (c) other technical problems, are shown in the following table. The source of these data is the Civil Aviation Authority:

 

2009

(a) Engine: 8

(b) Fuel: 3

(c) Other Technical: 52

 

2010

(a) Engine: 9

(b) Fuel: 6

(c) Other Technical: 60

 

2011

(a) Engine: 8

(b) Fuel: 2

(c) Other Technical: 52

 

2012

(a) Engine: 5

(b) Fuel: 2

(c) Other Technical: 38

 

2013

(a) Engine: 4

(b) Fuel: 3

(c) Other Technical: 48

 

House of Lords Questions

 

Countess of Mar – Fume incident from contaminated bleed air

18 March 2014

The Countess of Mar (Crossbench peer): To ask Her Majesty’s Government how air crew and passengers in commercial airlines without filtration or detection systems are warned, protected and informed in the event of a fume incident from contaminated bleed air.

The Countess of Mar: My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper. In doing so, I declare my interest as patron of the GCAQE.

Baroness Kramer, The Minister of State for The Department for Transport (Liberal Democrat peer): My Lords, operators are required to include detailed instructions to crew on procedures to be followed when contamination of cabin air is present or suspected. Any passenger who became unwell would be given first aid by the crew and, if necessary, referred for further medical assessment and care after landing. There is no national or international legislation requiring air crew or passengers to be informed of fume events.

The Countess of Mar: My Lords, it is almost 60 years since the danger of fumes seeping into cabin air was first reported. With the notable exception of the Boeing 787, virtually all passenger jets still have flawed and potentially dangerous bleed air systems, a design that leaks pyrolised oil into the air supply. Does the Minister agree that most shocking of all is the fact that airlines fail to inform passengers that they have been exposed, which—and I have chosen my words very carefully—must be a breach of passengers’ rights and casts a dark reflection on the aviation industry? What solutions does the Minister have?

Baroness Kramer: My Lords, on most commercial aircraft the cabin air supply is provided by engine bleed air, which is drawn from the compressor stage of the engine. Contamination, known as a fume event, may occur when oil or hydraulic fluid is released into the bleed air—for example, as a result of an oil seal failure—resulting in the formation of a fleeting odour or mist in the aircraft cabin. Most fume events last less than a minute or two.

Many investigations have been carried out by the department, of which the noble Countess will be well aware. The committee on toxicity concluded that there was no evidence for pollutants occurring in cabin at levels exceeding available health and safety standards and guidelines and, as most levels observed were comparable to those typically experienced in domestic settings, there is appropriately no requirement for passengers to be informed. There are many steps to be taken if there is an assessment that there is any endangerment to any passengers or to the flight.

Lord Tyler (Liberal Democrat peer): My Lords, is my noble friend aware of the work undertaken by the all-party parliamentary organophosphate group, of which the noble Countess and I were both members? Can she in particular tell us whether there is continuous monitoring of incidents and potential risks, following the Cranfield study some years ago? It is my impression that there is no continuing monitoring—I do not think that there has been any recent report on this—of incidence in a global sense, even if there is one for UK operators.

Baroness Kramer: My Lords, as your Lordships will be aware, for six years the department carried out significant research into these issues, and quite appropriately so. That research led to four studies, the main one of which was the Cranfield study published in May 2011. All four reports were sent to the committee on toxicity, which also peer-reviewed other international data and came to the conclusion that I just discussed: that cabin air at levels exceeding available health and safety standards and guidelines was not evident in any of those studies. Going forward, I think it therefore becomes an international issue and it is a matter for the European Aviation Safety Agency or the International Civil Aviation Organisation to consider whether more research should be done. At this point, I am not aware of any concerns that they have for ongoing monitoring or further research.

Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru peer): But does the Minister not accept that there is genuine concern about the lack of information about concentrations of pollutants during major fume events? These have not been adequately collated or analysed and, given the Government’s responsibility in these matters, can she instigate some research that could try to get to the bottom of this?

Baroness Kramer: My Lords, the studies which were carried out over a period of nearly six years—the investigations by the department, including the four independent research studies that I described a few moments ago—and the work of the committee on toxicity have led the department to conclude that there is no further direction to pursue in terms of research on this issue for UK aviation. If there is to be further research, it will be at international levels. As I say, there is no indication of a sufficient concern or basis for research being recognised by those international organisations.

Lord Elton (Conservative peer): Could my noble friend complete her answer to my noble friend Lord Tyler by telling us whether there is a requirement on airlines to report incidences when there has been a fume event exceeding the parameters which she has already described?

Baroness Kramer: Incidents on aircraft flights, including any fume event which in the opinion of the airline, any member thereof or any passenger, “endangers or which, if not corrected, would endanger an aircraft, its occupants or any other person”, are required to be reported under the mandatory occurrence reporting scheme, known as MORS, which is run by the UK’s independent aviation regulator, the CAA. An investigation carried out by the operator would then typically follow. If the CAA was not satisfied with that investigation, it could ask for further work to be undertaken. It is a CAA responsibility to monitor for trends and unrecognised safety threats.

Lord Davies of Oldham (Labour peer): My Lords, I have some sympathy with the Minister as I have on occasions from that Dispatch Box also produced responses that did not satisfy the noble Countess, Lady Mar, nor many other Members of the House. I therefore ask the Minister this question. If she is able to give the degree of reassurance that she has given about the monitoring that we carry out, but if the issue is a great deal wider than that—she made no reference at all to how other countries attack this or to the European position in general—will the Government at least push the authorities into examining this matter further? The consequences of getting it wrong would be quite disastrous.

Baroness Kramer: My Lords, the noble Lord will be very well aware that the CAA, which is responsible for monitoring and safety, keeps not just this issue but many others under review. I feel confident that if the CAA had sufficient concern that it felt that there needed to be urgent research, it would inform the department of that and would be pushing on those issues. As I said, there has been very substantial research in this country and in other countries which has led to firm conclusions. Given that, it is hard to see what direction additional research could possibly go in.

 

Media News

21 Mar 2014 – A new report by the Freight Transport Association entitled ‘Sky-high value’ argues that the transit of air freight is an important component of the UK economy. The report asserts that air freight accounts for around 40 per cent of UK imports and exports by value. The majority of freight (around 95 per cent) carried through Heathrow Airport travels in the belly-hold of passenger aircraft, not on dedicated cargo flights. The report illustrates that 86 per cent of UK belly-hold air freight passes through Heathrow Airport and attributes this to the range of destinations served from the site. The report concludes by suggesting that nearly 40 thousand UK jobs are supported by air freight, the majority of which are clustered around Heathrow.

 

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The Parliamentary information in this Bulletin is sourced from De Havilland Information Services plc