Contents
SASIG 2013/14 Meeting Dates
Regional News
Industry News
European News
Parliamentary News
Government News
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
6 October 2014 – Councillors from Stockton Council have stressed the importance of reinstating Teesside’s air link with London to Durham Tees Valley Airport.
6 October 2014 – Small airports are joining forces to make a case for their future by forming the Regional and Business Airport Group. John Spooner, Chief Executive of the Regional and City Airports Management Group called on the government to offer more support to regional airport.
6 October 2014 – A business consortium has bought Manston Airport in Kent, with £1 billion plans for its regeneration into a mixed-use site for commercial units and housing development. US investment firm RiverOak had made a £7 million pledging to retain the airport, which was rejected on the grounds that its use there was no firm economic plan in place. The group behind the successful bid for the site has been influential in regenerating the former Pfizer medical research centre at Sandwich in East Kent.
7 October 2014 – Member of Parliament for Windsor Adam Afriyie has praised residents across the borough for their efforts to stop the current airspace trials from Heathrow Airport.
7 October 2014 – Work on the £1.4 million scheme to upgrade the access road to Exeter International Airport is progressing well, according to Devon County Council. Devon County Council Chairman, Councillor George Gribble, was joined by representatives from Exeter Airport, the airline operator Flybe, Exeter & East Devon Growth Point, and East Devon District Council on a site visit on Tuesday 7 October where they received an update from contractor South West Highways. Work on the scheme to increase the width of the B3184 to Exeter Airport, started in August. As well as site clearance, work is on-going on installing drainage and building a retaining wall. Temporary two way traffic lights are currently in operation during this first phase of the project.
8 October 2014 – Gatwick Airport has launched a series of regional road shows at Chambers of Commerce throughout the UK, it says will outline why plans for a second runway would ‘offer a bigger economic boost and greater connections for businesses’. Over the next six weeks, representatives from Gatwick Airport will visit nine regions throughout England, Scotland and Wales to discuss the airports capacity debate and the key issues for UK businesses.
8 October 2014 – Representatives of Stansted Airport are in South Korea this week to attract new freight operations to the region. The delegation is attending the International Air Cargo Forum in Seoul to highlight the airport’s cargo facilities and raise its profile internationally.
9 October 2014 – The airline operator Eastern Airways have introduced larger aircraft on their routes from Southampton to Bradford and Aberdeen airports. It is anticipated that the new aircraft will add an extra 600 seats a month to the routes.
10 October 2014 – Leeds City Council leaders have pledged a package of support to help Leeds Bradford International Airport. The council’s cabinet will soon agree a new policy, which promises to help grow the airport’s route network, create better local and regional transport links, implement a clear land-use strategy and create jobs.
11 October 2014 – Gatwick Airport have said that they will be offering residents £3,000 towards the cost of insulation and double glazing. The initiative was announced as part of its updated noise mitigation guidelines approved by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The grant is available to residents living nearest the airport in the areas covered by its noise contour map.
12 October 2014 – Luton Airport has submitted proposals for a new flight path for departing planes to the UK Civil Aviation Authority for approval. Currently, flights leaving the airport to the west follow the same path and are supposed to stay within a Noise Preferential Route corridor designed to minimise noise for those below. However, the airport said this did not always happen as planes sometimes stray outside this corridor and go over densely populated northern parts of Hemel Hempstead and St Albans. It is hoped the new navigation technology will solve this by helping aircraft follow the route’s centreline more closely and take them away from densely populated areas. The new flight path passes between Markyate and Flamstead, Redbourn and Hemel Hempstead, as well as St Albans and Harpenden.
Blackpool Airport
1 October 2014 – Member of Parliament for Blackpool North and Cleveleys has said that he would like talks with the owners of the airport Blackpool Airport about the closure.
7 October 2014 – Blackpool International Airport has announced it will close on 15 October after a buyer was not found. A statement on the airport website said, ‘Unfortunately there is no option for the company other than to close’. Owners Balfour Beatty announced last week it had set 7 October as a deadline for any sale to be completed. ‘This is a very sad day for the airport which has a proud aviation history and a loyal, appreciative customer following’, the statement added.
7 October 2014 – Blackpool Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport Councillor John Jones, has spoken about the closure of Blackpool Airport. In a statement he said, ‘this is a very sad day for Blackpool, Blackpool Airport and, most importantly, the staff who work there. My thoughts are with all of those who are affected by this announcement, both directly and indirectly. We will, of course, offer any help we can to them. This does not necessarily mean the end of the line for aviation at Squires Gate and we are aware that interest remains in the airfield and the site. As a passenger-led airport it has lost money throughout its tenure, has not delivered inbound tourism and the jobs growth one would expect for the size of the site and neither Balfour Beatty or any other company appears to be able or minded to save it on that basis. The site undoubtedly does, however, have significant potential to deliver quality jobs, growth and, equally importantly, profit as a commercial airfield and helipad as other similar ventures around the country have. We continue to work and try to make that possible and will continue to be as open and frank as we can with the public as we have from the outset’.
8 October 2014 – The airline operator Jet2.com is to move its flights from Blackpool Airport to Manchester Airport, following the closure of the Flyde site .
9 October 2014 – The owners of Blackpool Airport, Balfour Beatty have said that they are working with independent aviation businesses to see if they can stay at the site in the long term. Blackpool Council is exploring the potential for turning it into an enterprise zone.
9 October 2014 – The union United have called on the owners of Blackpool Airport to reconsider their decision to shut the airport next week with the loss of up to 120 jobs. United regional officer Dave Kennedy said the union was ‘shocked and very disappointed’ at the news announced.
Industry News
6 October 2014 – Luton Airport has appointed Mr Nick Barton as its new Chief Executive. Mr Barton is currently Chief Executive of a leading property asset management company based in central London having previously worked for eight years at Stansted Airport including as its Managing Director.
6 October 2014 – Virgin Atlantic has said it will stop running ‘Little Red’ – its UK flight network launched in 2013, next year. The flights between London Heathrow and Manchester airports will stop in March, while those between Heathrow and Edinburgh and Aberdeen will end in September.
8 October 2014 – Heathrow Airport have announced that they have raised a £250 million bond. The company plans to use the proceeds of the bond to repay an £85 million loan and for unspecified ‘general corporate’ purposes.
8 October 2014 – The airline operator Etihad Airways has launched a new brand that envelops Etihad and five of its partner airlines in a group that will synchronize schedules and frequent flyer benefits in a similar way to the three global alliances. Etihad Airways Partners will initially include Etihad Airways, airberlin, Air Serbia, Air Seychelles, India’s Jet Airways and Darwin Airline, Etihad announced Wednesday.
8 October 2014 – Moody’s Investors Service has affirmed the Ba1 corporate family rating and Ba2-PD probability of default rating of Heathrow Finance plc and the Ba3 ratings of HF’s £325m 7.125 per cent due 2017 and £275m 5.375 per cent due 2019 senior secured notes. The only asset of Heathrow Finance plc (‘HF’) is its shares in Heathrow Limited (‘HSP’). HSP is a holding company which owns the company that owns London Heathrow Airport. Concurrently, Moody’s has today also assigned a provisional (P)Ba3 rating to £250 million of new notes to be issued by HF, which are expected to mature in March 2025. The outlook on all ratings is rated as ‘stable’.
European News
6 October 2014 – The European Commission has adopted seven decisions in regards to public support granted to airports and airlines in Belgium, Germany, Italy and Sweden. The commission has concluded Zweibrücken Airport and Charleroi Airport received state aid, which was ‘incompatible with EU rules and must now be recovered’.
8 October 2014 – A major European research project has found that small changes to flight routings and altitudes on North Atlantic air traffic, can reduce climate impact by up to 25 per cent. Scientists from environmental, meteorological and aerospace research institutions investigated transatlantic air traffic for one specific winter day and using modelling tools analysed routing changes required to achieve reductions in CO2 emissions and non-CO2 climate impacts from air traffic.
Parliamentary News
7 October 2014 – The House of Commons Library have published the Standard Note, SN06144, ‘Aviation: Mayor of London’s proposals for a Thames Estuary airport, 2008’. This note deals only with the proposals put forward by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson for a new hub airport located on an artificial island in the Thames estuary. For information on the historical background to the idea of building a new airport at or in the Thames estuary, as well as the proposals for the Isle of Grain site, see SN4920. It includes the history of the concept through to the recent decision (September 2014) by the Airports Commission not to short-list the site as an area for potential development.
9 October 2014 – The Energy and Climate Change Committee will take evidence on linking emissions trading systems on Tuesday 14 October 2014 in the Grimond Room, Portcullis House. Witnesses will be: Panel 1, at 9:30am: President and CEO, International Emissions Trading Association, Dirk Forrister, and Senior Dahrendorf Research Fellow, Grantham Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, London School of Economics, Dr Luca Taschini. Panel 2, at 10:30am will be: CEO, Carbon Markets Industry Association Miles Austin, Director of Energy and Climate Change, Mineral Products Association Dr Richard Leese, and Managing Director of Wholesale, SSE Martin Pibworth. The session explores a range of issues, including: Issues around linking the EU ETS to other emissions trading systems; the potential for a global deal to facilitate linking; and the importance of China’s emissions trading systems.
Government News
9 October 2014 – The Office for National Statistics have released the statistical data set, ‘Overseas Travel and Tourism – Quarterly Release – Q2 2014’. Latest trends from the dataset include:
- The growth in visits to the UK by overseas residents continued in Quarter 2 2014 rising by 7.2 per cent compared with the same period a year ago. The length of stay in the UK also continued to increase, with the number of nights spent in the UK rising by 17.8 per cent. Despite the number of visits to the UK increasing during quarter 2 2014, compared with the same quarter in 2013, the estimated earnings from these visits fell by 3.0 per cent.
- Visits abroad by UK residents continued to grow in quarter 2 2014, compared with a year ago. Although the number of visits abroad rose by 5.1 per cent, the total number of nights spent abroad was very similar, to quarter 2 2013, rising by only 0.8 per cent and expenditure during these visits fell by 20.2 per cent.
Media News
6 October 2014 – Former Chief Economist at British Airways DeAnne Julius, has given an interview setting out her views on airport capacity in the UK.
7 October 2014 – The Guild of Travel Management Companies is urging airlines to cut fuel surcharges as an incentive for businesses to ‘travel further and grow faster’ -its Chief Executive Paul Wait said following the recent announcement by three of the leading supermarkets that they will be cutting fuel prices, airlines should follow suit.
7 October 2014 – The Liberal Democrat Party have rejected a bid to allow possible expansion at Gatwick Airport, following a debate at their party conference. After the vote, Business Minister Jo Swinson said of the result, ‘we are a party of democracy’. She spoke to Andrew Neil about the debate and the issues raised including climate change, noise and air pollution, economic issues, and the planned HS2 rail line from London to the Midlands and northern England.
7 October 2014 – The Liberal Democrat Conference has voted against any airport expansion in the UK.
9 October 2014 – London TravelWatch has published a report calling for improvements in surface access transportation to London’s Airports. The Chair of TravelWatch, Stephen Locke, said, ‘travel by air is a stressful experience for many people and a difficult journey to the airport will only exacerbate this. Poor access to some airports also makes it much harder for consumers to take full advantage of the competition that has built up in the air travel market’. A full copy of the report is available from the London TravelWatch website here.
9 October 2014 – Guernsey’s Commerce and Employment Department have released the results of an air route survey conducted during May and June 2014 that enabled it to gather information regarding air movement behaviour by business travellers and the general public. The survey aimed to understand the reasoning behind the reasons for travel and also provides information to help consider opportunities for the development of new or enhanced air route links in the future. The main findings of the survey were:
- The most popular destinations for Leisure travellers, in terms of the total number of trips made, were Gatwick Airport (38 per cent), Southampton Airport (18) and Jersey Airport (11) Not surprisingly these airports were also viewed as the most important by survey respondents.
- For business travellers, London Gatwick Airport accounted for nearly half of total trips made (47 per cent), the importance of this airport for the business community. The next most popular airport was Jersey (as a final destination) at 25 per cent of total business trips.
- Jersey Airport as an en-route destination is popular both for leisure and business travellers.
- For those travelling onwards to further destinations, Heathrow airport was the most popular UK destination both for leisure travellers and business travellers. For leisure travellers, Geneva, Paris and Zurich were the most popular European onward destinations. For business travellers, the most popular were Amsterdam, Zurich and Paris.
- For those travelling to onward destinations (both in the UK and further afield), London Gatwick Airport and Southampton Airport were the popular choices.
- Price, convenient flight times and a choice of flights were considered either very important or critical to most leisure travellers in terms of their choice of airport. For business travellers, price was less important, whereas convenient flight times and choice of flights were.
- Leisure travellers are more sensitive to price increases in airfares than business travellers.
10 October 2014 – A poll of Wandsworth Borough Council residents has found that a majority support expansion at Gatwick airport rather than Heathrow Airport. Of the people questioned, 57 per cent said they would support a new runway at Gatwick compared to 16 per cent who said they favoured a new runway at Heathrow. Twenty four per cent of respondents said they preferred no expansion at either airport and the remainder (3 per cent) were unsure.
SASIG Regional&IndustryNews Bulletin 6 October – 12 October
SASIG ParliamentaryNews Bulletin 6 October – 12 October
The Parliamentary information in this Bulletin is sourced from De Havilland Information Services plc .