Contents
SASIG 2013/14 Meeting Dates
Regional News
Industry News
European News
Government News
House of Commons Questions
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
21 July 2014 – Heathrow Airport has launched a new public consultation to help shape the proposed compensation scheme as part of the updated proposals for a third runway at the Airport. The consultation provides an opportunity for local residents and businesses to give their views on the principles behind compensation proposals. Heathrow Airport have announced that £300m would go towards compensating householders whose land was needed for the new runway, with the remainder used to improve noise insulation for those living under the flight paths. The consultation runs for 12 weeks. The airport is holding a series of public exhibitions across west London, between September 2 and October 9, at which people can have their say. Full details of the consultation can be found here.
21 July 2014 – The Department for Transport has launched new rail services between Cambridge and Stansted airport. The new services, which were unveiled by rail minister Claire Perry, will double the number of off-peak trains running between Cambridge and Stansted and provide 1,700 seats a day.
21 July 2014 – More than 2,000 villagers living near Birmingham Airport have signed a petition calling for a change to flight paths following complaints over noise levels. The petition, backed by Member of Parliament for Meriden Caroline Spelman, will be submitted to Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin – it calls on the Government to order a rethink by the UK Civil Aviation Authority.
22 July 2014 – The first plane has taken off from Birmingham Airport’s new £40m extended runway. A China Southern Airlines flight to Beijing departed at around 13:10 BST after a short delay. Work to add an extra 400m to the existing runway began in November 2012.
22 July 2013 – The Airports Commission has said it will consult with Surrey residents about infrastructure ahead of making any recommendations regarding a second runway at Gatwick Airport. The announcement was made during a meeting hosted by West Sussex County Council. The consultation, due to start in the Autumn and last three months, will ask councils, business groups and residents for feedback on issues such as roads, trains, housing, healthcare and schools.
23 July 2014 – Thorley Lane Bridge over the M56 near Manchester Airport will be demolished over the first weekend in August with a full closure of the motorway in both directions. The Highways Agency is replacing the bridge, just west of junction 5 of the motorway.
26 July 2014 – American Investment company RiverOak has said it sought to be Thanet’s commercial partner through a compulsory purchase order (CPO) process. The information came to light after campaigners obtained a copy of a letter from RiverOak chief Stephan DeNardo to council leader Iris Johnston. Thanet council has been considering whether to issue a CPO for the airport.
Industry News
24 July 2014 – The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) have announced the consultation, ‘NERL oceanic charge: 2015 to 2019 charge cap’. The consultation seeks views on proposals for a charge cap on NATS En Route plc Oceanic services between 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2019. The CAA currently regulates the maximum that NERL can charge users for Oceanic services by means of a condition in the NERL En Route Licence issued under the Transport Act 2000 and the current charge was set in December 2010. Full details of the consultation can be found here.
26 July 2014 – Aena Aeropuertos, the Spanish state-backed airports operator, has appointed a roster of investment banks to oversee a landmark privatisation of Luton Airport scheduled for the Autumn. A total of five banks have been selected to oversee the listing of a company that is the largest airport operator in the world.
European News
23 July 2014 – Airline operator Ryanair has been ordered to repay about 10 million euros in illegal state aid it received from France for operating at three regional airports. The European Commission said the French support, which consisted of contractual rebates and airport and marketing deals, gave the airline an ‘unfair advantage’. Ryanair said it would appeal the ‘erroneous’ decision.
23 July 2014 – The European Commission has adopted six decisions concerning public support granted to airports and airlines in France and Germany. The decisions are based on the Commission’s new guidelines on state aid to airports and airlines (see IP/14/172) adopted in February 2014 as part of its State Aid Modernisation (SAM) strategy. The Commission has approved the state aid granted to the airports of Dortmund, Leipzig Halle, Niederrhein-Weeze, Pau, Angoulême and Nîmes, and found it to be in line with the Commission’s guidelines.
Government News
15 July 2014 – The Department of Transport has welcomed two new Ministers in the latest Government reshuffle. Joining the department are: former Assistant Whip Claire Perry (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport. The minister is responsible for: rail franchising; rail commercial; rail fares; rail major projects (including Crossrail); freight and logistics; transport agencies; and corporate and better regulation; and former Minister without Portfolio John Hayes (Minister of State for Transport). The minister is responsible for: national roads; Highways Agency reform; Infrastructure Bill; maritime; and Commons spokesman on bus policy. Stephen Hammond, Junior transport minister leaves the department.
22 July2014 – The Department of Transport have published their transport resilience review – an independent study of all modes of transport and their ability to function in a wide range of extreme weather events. This review was commissioned by the Secretary of State for Transport in response to the extreme weather experienced during the winter of 2013 and 2014. It was conducted by a panel of experts and sought evidence from across the transport community. The report:
- sets out the context in which it was conducted
- gives an overview of the weather events of 2013 and 2014
- provides commentary on the expected severity and frequency of such events in the future
The report covers the following transport modes:
- Road – the Strategic Road Network (Highways Agency) and local roads (Local Highway Authorities);
- Rail – the national rail infrastructure network (Network Rail) and train and freight operating companies;
- Aviation – airports of economic and strategic importance;
- Maritime and ports – ports of economic and strategic importance;
- London – transport within the remit of Transport for London.
A summary of the main findings for airports are:
Airports also face a more specific set of extreme weather risks. The main hazard is high winds (snow and freezing conditions being out of scope of the Review), with aircraft not being able to land or take off when cross winds are above certain strength. However this is a regularly encountered event, with well-rehearsed procedures.
As the events at Gatwick Airport on 23rd December showed, flooding is an increasing risk, particularly from intense rainfall and flooding from nearby watercourses. The report recommends that airports need to review their exposure to flood risks, and ensure that all critical infrastructure is protected. Airports and airline operations are also vulnerable to fog and thunderstorms, which disrupt aircraft movements on the approaches to airports as well as on the ground. The report states that ‘more granularity of forecasting these events, in terms of their location and timing, would be of benefit in reducing disruption, as would some changes to air traffic control arrangements’.
23 July 2014 – UK National Statistics has published ‘Air Passenger Duty Bulletin June 2014’. The dataset incorporates ‘Monthly statistics on Air Passenger Duty receipts and passenger numbers for the UK’. Data can be downloaded as an Excel spreadsheet.
23 July 2014 – The Department for Transport has published the dataset, ‘Public experiences of and attitudes towards air travel, 2014’. These results are based on a set of questions included in the Office for National Statistics Opinions and Lifestyle Survey in March 2014. The main findings include:
- just under half (48%) of adults surveyed had flown at least once in the last 12 months and 10% had made 4 or more flights
- passengers rated most aspects of service quality on their last flight highly
- at least nine out of ten respondents were very or fairly satisfied with flight information, timeliness of flight, check-in and journey to the airport
- respondents were least satisfied with the number of destinations served by their nearest airport, information on goods you can bring back into the UK and the cost of flights
- the proportion of respondents who agree that “air travel harms the environment” has fallen from 70% in 2006 to 59% in 2014
- the results suggest an increase in support for airport expansion since the 2010 survey, with over half of respondents now agreeing that:
- “….people should be able to travel by plane as much as they want to; even if new terminals and runways need to be built” (59%)
- “…. in order to boost the economy, new terminals and runways should be built” (57%)
- in terms of their local airport, 47% said they would support expansion and 20% opposed it
Article 2 inserts two new articles into the ANO 2009. Article 246A confirms the ability of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to grant exemptions in unforeseen urgent operational circumstances or where there are operational needs lasting up to two months. In the case of repetitive exemptions or exemptions which will exceed two months the CAA may only grant such exemptions with the consent of the Secretary of State. Article 246B allows the CAA to authorise pilots to fly aircraft within the United Kingdom in certain meteorological conditions before they have complied with all the requirements of an instrument rating.
These functions are to be exercised by the CAA, as regards Article 246A, in accordance with Regulation (EC) No. 216/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 February 2008 on common rules in the field of civil aviation and establishing a European Aviation Safety Agency, and repealing Council Directive 91/670/EEC, Regulation (EC) No. 1592/2002 and Directive 2004/36/EC.
As regards Article 246B, these functions will be exercised in accordance with Commission Regulation (EU) No. 1178/2011 of 3 November 2011 laying down technical requirements and administrative procedures related to civil aviation aircrew pursuant to Regulation (EC) No. 216/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council.
A full regulatory impact assessment has not been produced for this order as no impact on the private or voluntary sectors is foreseen. An Explanatory Memorandum is available alongside the instrument on the website here.
House of Commons Questions
22 July 2014
Ivan Lewis, Shadow International Development Secretary (Labour, Bury South): To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the direct financial benefit of the abolition of air passenger duty bands C and D to airports in Northern Ireland.
Priti Patel, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury (Conservative, Witham): The abolition of Air Passenger Duty bands C and D cuts up to £52 per passenger off the cost of a journey originating in Northern Ireland, including connecting flights.
Media News
23 July 2014 – A report published by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) highlights the environmental costs of creating new habitats for migratory birds if an Inner Thames Estuary Airport were to be built. According to the BTO, large numbers of birds would ‘most likely die out’ if their habitat was lost, even if alternative areas were created elsewhere. The report goes on to say that while many birds would be able to relocate, suitable replacement habitat would be extremely difficult to find and could take decades to provide sufficient food and shelter for the migratory birds currently using the estuary. Under European environmental directives, the estuary airport could only go ahead if planners could demonstrate there were no alternative locations elsewhere, and that suitable replacement habitats could be created. The full report by the BTO is available here.
23 July 2014 – London Assembly member Steve O’ Connell has said that the expansion of Gatwick Airport would act as a ‘catalyst’ for growth in the area. Mr O’Connell believes that a second runway at Gatwick would have ‘huge economic benefits but less environmental impact than the other plans put forward’. He added, ‘huge infrastructure projects create wider economic growth, and an expanded Gatwick would deliver these benefits where they are needed most: in the south east’.
24 July2014 – Lord John Shipley of Gosforth has been appointed as the independent chair of the National Connectivity Task Force, which was first announced by Heathrow in its May submission to the Airports Commission. The announcement coincides with Heathrow’s latest submission to the Airports Commission on its Discussion Paper on Utilisation of the UK’s Existing Airport Capacity. Members from business, academia and industry experts from across the UK will be invited to make up the 15-strong Task Force whose purpose is to develop policy proposals and recommendations for improving regional access to an expanded Heathrow. They will report their findings to Heathrow by the end of 2014.
24 July 2014 – A new report argues how Gatwick Airport say they will ‘Connect Britain to the Future, Faster’ along with a series of new local schemes. The pledges follow Gatwick Airport’s public consultation held throughout April and May, and have been designed to address the areas raised at those events, including jobs, housing, noise and transport. The pledges include:
- £46.5m to help local authorities deliver essential community infrastructure.
- A £3.75m fund to help create 2,500 new apprenticeships for local people.
- A series of noise initiatives including £45m for Gatwick’s unique council tax initiative and £5m for noise insulation measures.
- Improvements to local transport links and a commitment to a £10m local highway development fund in place to meet any additional works.
- For the small number of homes that would need to be compulsorily purchased, a £131m Property Support Bond will offer homeowners 25 per cent above market value.
- A new Engagement Charter to help local landowners & businesses affected by Gatwick expansion.
SASIG Regional&IndustryNews Bulletin 21 July – 27 July
SASIG ParliamentaryNews Bulletin 21 July – 27 July
The Parliamentary information in this Bulletin is sourced from De Havilland Information Services plc