Editorial
Monthly Highlights
Forthcoming Events (SASIG Meetings & External Conferences)
Parliamentary News
London & South East News
Regional News
National & Other Industry News
European News
SASIG Website Additions (August)
EDITORIAL
Not unexpectedly, August has been a quiet month in terms of public aviation policy and regulation announcements as the European Commission, the Civil Service and I suspect many of you, prioritise vacation time during the school holiday period. With Parliament in recess, there is also none of the usual Hansard output to report. However, this apparent lack of activity should not be taken to mean there has been none: The new Secretary of State for Transport has been holding round-table meetings with aviation industry leaders on Brexit while the new Brexit unit in DfT has been informally seeking submissions on what the Government’s approach should be as both the Commission and Government use the summer try to work out what Brexit means and develop their respective negotiating positions.
Work is also understood to be continuing apace on reaching a decision about South East runway capacity, with strong rumours continuing that an October decision is being targeted. SASIG will take any last minute opportunities that offer themselves to influence that debate (e.g. the Chair’s speaking slot at the Westminster Conference event on 5 September – to be reported separately from this Newsletter; and the Head of Secretariat’s evidence to AoA’s Sustainable Noise Working Group on 13 September), and will respond when and if a decision is made, but for now SASIG’s focus is turning to other, but crucially important policy agendas such as the review of the Airport Policy Framework, the impending formal Night Noise Consultation and the on-going airspace change agenda being led by CAA and DfT.
Our collective work on these will be taken forward through the three Technical Working Groups which are meeting in September/October, and will again in November/December as we move towards the medium term objective of producing policy position papers for discussion with, and then formal submission to, DfT on: surface access; airspace environment and planning; and city and regional economic impacts.
Chris Cain,
Head of Secretariat
Events
A calendar of planned open public consultations has been published on ‘Your voice in Europe’. The direct link to the calendar is: http://ec.europa.eu/yourvoice/consultations/docs/planned-consultations-2016_en.pdf
Please note for September – Targeted review of the General Block Exemption Regulation (State Aid): extension to ports and airports.
17th October: RAeS Greener by Design Conference (Head of Secretariat speaking for SASIG)
SASIG FUTURE MEETINGS
8th September – Next TWG-Surface Access, LGA, London
22nd September – Next TWG-Environment, Planning & Airspace, LGA, London
6th October – Next TWG-Airports, Cities & Economic Growth, LGA, London (following CAG meeting)
4th November – Full SASIG Meeting – LGA, London
EXTERNAL MEETINGS & CONFERENCES
5th Sept 2016: Implementing Airport Expansion in the South East – Westminster Energy, Environment and Transport Forum. SASIG Chair has been invited to speak at this keynote seminar.
26th September 2016: Runways UK 2016, London. (Please note this event has been cancelled).
24th-27th September 2016: The 22nd World Route Development Forum, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China. In 2016 World Routes will return to China, hosted by Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport.
17th-18th November 2016: 5th European Aviation Conference: Istanbul, Turkey. Changing Hub Dynamics: New Models and Airlines Evolution. This conference investigates the changing dynamics of hubs, both from airport and airline points of view.
21st-22nd November 2016: AOA Annual Conference 2016: Hilton Metropole, London.
23rd November 2016: Meeting the UK’s Infrastructure Needs – De Vere Venues, London. This conference will explore in-depth the direct impact of Brexit on UK infrastructure funding and what this means including the impact on airport expansion in the South East decision. Speakers include both Gatwick and Heathrow Airports.
PARLIAMENTARY NEWS
(Please note: Recess from 21st July to 5th September. Any questions asked but remaining unanswered due to the recess, will be published with corresponding answers in next month’s edition).
LONDON AND SOUTH EAST NEWS
1st August – Ryanair is to cut the number of its services between Derry and Stansted. It plans to cut its weekly service to London from 7 down to 6. The change will come into effect from 30 October and is down to the airline’s financial results and growth plans.
2nd August – New figures confirm Heathrow is vital for exports in a post-Brexit. New figures show Heathrow handled 29% of all non-EU exports by value last year and Heathrow export volumes outside the EU have grown 9.5% over five years.
2nd August – Passengers flying through London Luton Airport (LLA) can now enjoy complimentary Wi-Fi for up to 4 hours. The service means that LLA passengers can access complimentary internet access for significantly longer than Stansted (60 minutes) and Gatwick (90 minutes), and as long as Heathrow.
2nd August – Why Heathrow must woo P.M.’s neighbours particularly in Windsor, Slough and Maidenhead if it wants new runway. Winning over these constituents will be vital particularly as the UK needs to send a post-Brexit message that it is open for business.
2nd August – New research released today by CAGNE (Communities Against Gatwick Noise Emissions). Says that Gatwick’s expansion proposals violates Government policy on airport noise by failing to incorporate measures, which would reduce noise.
4th August – Gatwick claims its expansion would generate 28,000 additional jobs. New report published today also says that expansion would stimulate 120,000 jobs across UK.
4th August – Gatwick Area Conservation Campaign (GACC) write to new Transport Secretary. In a letter sent today they warn that if the Government decide on a new runway at Gatwick for reasons of ‘political expediency’, they would consider seeking judicial review.
4th August – St Albans MP calls for Luton Airport action over plane noise complaints. With complaints leaping by 78% between January and March 2016 compared to the first quarter in 2015, Anne Main says she has written twice to the aviation minister, “and has been in constant contact with Luton”.
9th August – New runway would push up air fares due to carbon emissions. A new report for the Campaign for Better Transport has analysed the Airports Commission’s backing for a new runway in relation to carbon emissions, and says the necessary carbon pricing would end low-cost flights by 2050.
9th August – Backer of Heathrow Hub concept is revealed. One of London’s most successful multi-millionaire hedge fund managers has been named as a key investor in an alternative Heathrow expansion plan that avoids building a new runway.
9th August – Legal & General set to offer millions to build Gatwick runway. The boss of giant insurer Legal & General blew open Britain’s airport war as it backed a new runway at Gatwick and pledged to pump millions into Government infrastructure projects.
10th August – Police investigate Heathrow Airport security pass scam. Scotland Yard is investigating an alleged scam involving airside security passes for Heathrow Airport and two young women, thought to be airport workers, have been arrested.
10th August – London Mayor calls on Prime Minister to back Gatwick for second runway. Sadiq Khan has written to Theresa May to urge her to make the decision a top priority for the Government, and agree in favour of a second runway at Gatwick Airport.
10th August – BA release video showing flight approach into London City. British Airways has released a cockpit video of an approach into London City Airport to celebrate the airline’s business-class only service completing 25 million miles.
11th August – Gatwick achieves biggest-ever month in its 80 year history. The airport has achieved the busiest single month in its history as 4.6m passengers travelled through in July, +6.9% on the same month last year.
11th August – New record set for daily Heathrow passenger numbers. Heathrow saw the busiest single day in its history on July 31 as the airport handled 258,028 passengers.
12th August – Passenger growth continues at London Luton Airport. The number of passengers using Luton passed 1.5 million in July; an increase of 15.4% on the previous year.
15th August – Majority of residents in local constituencies support Heathrow expansion. Populus polling released today shows support for expansion remains strong. Over half of residents in the 12 constituencies closest to Heathrow support its expansion, and almost 60% feel positive about the airport overall.
15th August – Gatwick Airport today announced the formation of the new Gatwick Growth Board (GGB). It will examine the wider economic and social impacts of the airport’s future growth and expansion plans on the local area, the South East region, and on the economy of the UK as a whole.
15th August – Poll shows half of Royal Borough residents back Gatwick expansion. The 10-day telephone poll, which finished on August 1, also found that 13 per cent of the 1000+ people polled, opposed expansion at Gatwick while 34 per cent had no preference.
16th August – PM is coming under pressure from her local council to block Heathrow expansion. Windsor and Maidenhead council criticised the “unacceptable impact” that flights had on households in the borough and said that residents backed expansion of Gatwick instead.
16th August – Heathrow commits to becoming world’s first dementia friendly airport. It is working with Alzheimer’s Society and has pledged to make all 76,000 people that work at the airport dementia aware through training sessions and online resources.
16th August – You Gov poll published today says two thirds of London councillors support Gatwick expansion. 63% support Gatwick compared to 44% for Heathrow with 50% saying the certainty a runway scheme can be delivered has become more important since Brexit.
17th August – 50 new noise monitors installed around Heathrow. The action, one of 10 practical steps set out in the latest version of Heathrow’s Blueprint for Noise Reduction published today, is the direct result of engagement with resident groups through the Heathrow Community Noise Forum.
19th August – Heathrow CEO says PM won’t snub China twice after Hinkley nuclear delay. Theresa May’s decision to delay a new nuclear plant backed by China makes it more likely that expansion at Heathrow, which also has Chinese investors, will win U.K. government backing, Chief Executive Officer John Holland-Kaye said.
24th August – Two cabin staff removed from Easyjet flight because of ‘spat’. Flight from Gatwick to Belfast delayed by 90 minutes while the two staff involved were replaced.
24th August – Theresa May to chair Heathrow third runway committee. PM is to take personal charge of cabinet group and push for decision on airport plan by October.
24th August – Heathrow Airport tops laser attack table. Heathrow saw the highest laser attacks of any UK airport last year as the head of the CAA said people found carrying laser pointers should be arrested.
25th August – August Bank Holiday will see 2 million Brits travel abroad says ABTA. Heathrow is expecting 248,000 people to fly out on Friday alone, Gatwick expecting 311,000 departing passengers over the entire weekend and 150,000 leaving from Stansted.
30th August – London City Airport’s decision to concentrate all its flights paths earlier this year, with changes from 4th February, has resulted in complaints. HACAN East, which speaks for residents under the flight paths, has launched a short report outlining some of the complaints they received in just one month.
31st August – Ryanair calls for 1 new runway each at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted. Ryanair Holdings PLC on Wednesday said it will add new routes and flights to its London summer 2017 schedule, as it called on the UK government to approve three new runways for the capital.
31st August – London/New York is still the world’s busiest long haul route. Route is stable with just over 4 million annual passengers and over 30 daily flights in each direction between London Gatwick, Heathrow, Luton and London City and two New York airports (JFK and Newark).
(Note: In this section of the July issue of the newsletter, a story from a well-established news source, regarding Luton Airport, was published. Some of this information, in particular regarding ownership of the airport, was incorrect. The news source has been advised and the newsletter on the website has been amended accordingly).
REGIONAL NEWS
1st August – Passengers flying between London and Newquay threaten to boycott Flybe following months of delayed flights. On some occasions, passengers have been left waiting nearly three hours for the 45 minute flight to Cornwall.
2nd August – Kids fly free from Norwich. Flybe franchise partner, Loganair is offering a ‘kids fly free’ deal to Manchester or Edinburgh from Norwich this summer.
2nd August – Shannon Airport has a positive first half to 2016. Passenger numbers released today show that UK market, including London services, was up by 9% from January to the end of June compared to the same period last year.
4th August – Passenger numbers continue to soar from Newquay. The airport handled over 50,000 passengers in July – a massive 63% increase on the same month last year, cementing the Airport’s position as the fastest growing in the UK.
5th August – Edinburgh Airport chief lobbies against Heathrow expansion. Gordon Dewar urges PM to approve a new runway for Gatwick airport instead claiming it would deliver far more economic benefit for Scotland.
6th August – Glasgow Airport welcomes first flight from South Korea to Scotland. It secured Scotland’s only direct service from Seoul after flag carrier Korean Air and tour operator Hanjin Travel confirmed earlier this year they would introduce a summer charter service.
7th August – Council commissions study into the future for Manston Airport. Aviation consultants have been commissioned by Thanet council to undertake the study, which is expected to run into September and will cost up to £50,000.
8th August – Flybe and airberlin codeshire agreement will promote Wales. Under the agreement, airberlin will place its marketing code on Flybe routes connecting Cardiff to Dusseldorf, Munich and Berlin.
9th August – Dublin is Europe’s fastest growing major airport this year. Dublin Airport was the fastest growing major airport in Europe in the first six months of this year, according to new data from ACI Europe, the trade association for European airports.
10th August – Newcastle to New York/Newark route to finish. United Airlines have confirmed that following two summer seasons of operation, their service from Newcastle to New York/Newark will not be returning in 2017.
10th August – Over half million passengers flew from East Midlands Airport in July. The airport saw a 6.3 percent increase on the same period last year.
10th August – Two women removed from plane at City of Derry airport. They were removed from a Ryanair flight arriving from Stansted and arrested on suspicion of endangering an aircraft.
11th August – Police hunt person who flew a drone alongside plane landing at Newquay Airport. The scheduled flight with 62 passengers was at 900 feet and about two miles from the Cornish airport, on its final approach, when the drone flew alongside it.
11th August – Birmingham Airport is on course for a record breaking summer. The airport has again welcomed over a million passengers in a single month (July) through its terminal.
11th August – Passenger numbers soaring at Edinburgh and Glasgow. The annual summer getaway saw passenger numbers top one million at Edinburgh and Glasgow airports in July.
11th August – Manchester Airport reports its busiest July ever. UK’s third busiest airport saw 2,821,641 passengers travel through last month, an increase of 10% on July 2015.
12th August – Passenger figures down 16% at Aberdeen Airport in July. It means the airport has gone through 18 consecutive months of year-on-year decline.
12th August – Bailout agreed to save Belfast to New York United Airlines flights. According to the BBC, a massive package of £9m is being agreed to secure Northern Ireland’s only international link. It’s been reported most of the money is coming from Stormont.
13th August – MSP calls for Aberdeen Airport cash boost. Liam Kerr has called for a cash boost from Scottish Government chiefs to boost passenger numbers at Aberdeen Airport. New figures have shown it lags behind all others in Scotland in terms of public funding.
15th August – Manchester City plane evacuated after ‘smoke filled cabin’. Passengers were evacuated and emergency services called to the scene as the aircraft was preparing to depart Manchester airport bound for Romania ahead of City’s clash with Steaua Bucharest.
16th August – Norwich Airport announces appointment of new Managing Director. He is Richard Pace formerly the airport General Manager since April 2015.
18th August – Flybe launches new Doncaster to Dublin route. Flybe is launching a new six-times-a-week route from Doncaster Sheffield airport to Dublin on October 30.
18th August – East Midlands Airport is to close for 7 consecutive weekends. The airport will completely close to all air traffic to allow a huge runway resurfacing operation to take place on Saturdays and Sundays between November 5th and December19th.
19th August – Passenger numbers at Cardiff Airport are increasing again. For the last 12 months passenger numbers have reached just over 1.3 million, an increase of 29.3% over the 12 prior months.
19th August – Flybe plane lands safely at Belfast after emergency services called. Flybe confirmed a flight landed without incident after the captain reported a suspected minor technical fault just prior to approaching the Airport.
20th August – Call for compensation as Edinburgh Airport flight path row deepens. Kinghorn residents could be in line for compensation amid fears their lives will be blighted once Edinburgh Airport ramps up landings to a plane every minute.
21st August – Trains from Bristol take 3 times as long and cost 4 times as much as planes. The Bristol Post newspaper compared train, bus and plane journey times and costs for long distance travelling in the UK from the city.
22nd August – Birmingham Airport records busiest year in history. Airport officials say it’s due to airlines increasing their capacity and launching new services to and from the airport.
24th August – Airline backs plans to reopen airport in a boost for Plymouth. FlyBe are pressuring the Government into re-opening RAF Northolt in London for commercial flights, which aviation experts believe would “put Plymouth back on the world map”.
24th August – Over 90 aircraft have been targeted by high powered lasers at Manchester Airport. Last year, there were 93 complaints of laser beams being trained on craft coming in and out of Manchester Airport, according to the CAA.
25th August – New access road is to ease chronic congestion at Edinburgh Airport. The fast-growing airport said it would contribute millions of pounds to the project to end traffic jams stretching back onto the A8.
25th August – Belfast Airport adopts new low visibility landing system. The new system – the work was carried out by NATS – is to assist pilots when they are unable see the runway.
25th August – Liverpool Airport bus service relaunches with extended route and lower fares. The 500 route, which shuttles back and forth from the city centre to Liverpool John Lennon Airport, will stop at Liverpool South Parkway station in both directions from September 4.
26th August – Chinese aviation giant lines up investment deal for Prestwick Airport. The HNA Group, who part-own China’s fourth largest airline, has entered talks over a “wide range of potential partnership and investment opportunities into the airport”. Both parties signed a deal in London last night allowing preliminary discussions to proceed.
26th August – Newly created Tees Valley Combined Authority is closely scrutinising Peel’s ‘master plan’ for future of Durham Tees Valley Airport. The owners of Durham Tees Valley Airport should be “held to account” for “missed opportunities”, said a new governing body.
26th August – A busy road used to get to Bristol Airport will close for 4 weeks for repairs. Work on resurfacing Downside Road in Backwell will start on September 5 and the road will be closed each weekday from 8am to 8pm.
27th August – Southampton Airport’s new £1 drop-off fee starts from 1st September. The charge will apply at new “priority drop-off and pick-up area” as part of a revamp of parking facilities at the airport.
30th August – Flight makes emergency landing at Birmingham Airport after tyre bursts mid-air. The incident occurred on an Amsterdam to Manchester Flybe flight and the burst tyre was spotted by passengers on board the aircraft.
31st August – 16 people injured as plane makes emergency landing in Ireland. United Airlines flight bound for London has made an emergency landing at Shannon Airport in Ireland after severe turbulence that left 16 passengers needing hospital treatment.
NATIONAL AND OTHER INDUSTRY NEWS
1st August – Thames Valley Police warn misuse of drones can be a criminal offence. The force has said summer weather increases popularity of the unmanned aerial vehicles and has released guidelines for their use.
1st August – Scottish plans to abolish APD met with concerns. The Scottish government has published responses to a 3-month consultation on proposals to cut and replace APD from 2018. Almost half of responses expressed concerns – majority over environmental issues.
1st August – Brexit sees British Airways owner IAG stocks bought up by Qatar Airways taking stake to 20%. Shares of IAG, which also owns Spanish airline Iberia and Irish carrier Aer Lingus, have dropped 23% since the UK voted for Brexit.
3rd August – Wales leads the way with UK air ambulance with 4th rotorcraft. Wales Air Ambulance is set to have what it claims is the biggest air ambulance operation in the UK when it puts its 4th helicopter into service in August from a new base at Cardiff Heliport.
3rd August – Ryanair sets new airline record. It claims it has become the first airline to carry more than 11 million passengers in a single month.
3rd August – Cabinet member responsible for tourism in the Arun district in West Sussex warns the aviation industry could be seriously damaged by the EU referendum. Paul Dendle, who founded EasyJet pre-runner Avro, says “The established operators are under duress and a lot of independents will go out of business this year.”
4th August – IATA Global says demand for air travel rose 5.2 percent in June. This represents a slowdown from growth rates seen earlier in the year as attacks weigh on bookings.
4th August – British Airways has completed refit of all 18 of its older B747s. The refit has been going on for 12 months and the final refurbished B747 went back into commercial service today on the Heathrow to JFK route.
4th August – Jet 2 bans alcohol sales on morning flights from today. The airline is banning the sale of alcohol on board its morning flights in its latest bid to tackle a rise in disruptive and abusive behaviour among passengers.
7th August – Serious Fraud Office opens Airbus ‘fraud, bribery and corruption’ investigation. The allegations relate to irregularities concerning 3rd party consultants. The France-based aircraft manufacturer says it’s co-operating with the probe, which was launched last month.
8th August – UK bound flights see post-referendum boost. Flight bookings to the UK were boosted by 7.1% after the Brexit vote, new industry data reveals.
8th August – Air passengers urged to claim compensation for flight delays. Over 900,000 people could be entitled to compensation for delayed flights, as new figures from consumer group Which? show that about 43 million passengers suffered delays in the UK last year.
9th August – Woman dies in what is possibly the first ever drone-related accidental death. Scotland Yard said they were investigating reports of a drone being flown near Wandsworth Prison when the crash occurred.
9th August – New CAA report rates airports on quality of assistance for passengers with a disability or reduced mobility. Report shows that overall UK airports provide a high quality of assistance.
10th August – ‘Flying Bum’ emerges from hangar. The Airlander 10, known in Britain as ‘the flying bum’ because of its unique structure, has emerged from a hangar in central England ahead of its debut flight as a civilian aircraft.
11th August – Brexit has had no apparent impact on travel giant TUI’s summer 2016 bookings. Releasing its 3rd quarter results today, TUI said the UK revenue and bookings were up 6% and there was no apparent slowdown as a result of the EU referendum.
11th August – CAA-approved complaint bodies now available to help passengers with airline disputes. Around 20 major airlines, with more expected to follow – have now signed up to Civil Aviation Authority approved Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) bodies, who will provide passengers who are dissatisfied with the way their airline has dealt with their case with a legally-binding decision on their complaint, instead of going to court.
12th August – Airbus and Boeing rack up orders at Farnborough. However, even with both companies taking significant orders at the show, their respective manufacturing facilities still had to deliver confirmed units from previous events like Farnborough.
15th August – Most delayed hotspots in UK revealed by BBC. Air passengers using Gatwick face the most flight delays in the UK. The BBC England data unit analysed CAA data from January 2015 to March 2016.
17th August – Maiden flight takes place of the longest aircraft, the Airlander 10. The £25m aircraft measures 302ft long and is about 50ft longer than the biggest passenger jets.
17th August – Wizz Air scales back UK growth after Brexit. The airline, which celebrates carrying 30 million passengers on its UK routes today, had planned to grow its UK capacity by 30% but has reduced this to 15% over fears about the impact of the vote to leave the EU.
19th August – Think tank backs SNP to scrap Air Passenger Duty. Reform Scotland has published a briefing paper reinforcing the Scottish Government’s pledge to cut and then scrap APD once it is devolved.
22nd August – Delta and Virgin will fully co-locate to Terminal 3 at Heathrow next month. The move means both airlines will now operate from the same terminal making it easier for customers to manage their travel plans including any last-minute flight changes.
24th August – Airlander 10 crashes during test flight. The huge ship – nicknamed “The Flying Bum” because of its pert, round back – crashed as it landed at its base at Cardington Airfield at the end of its second attempt to fly.
26th August – Engine problems force ANA Dreamliner cancellations. Japan’s All Nippon Airlines (ANA) has the world’s largest fleet of Dreamliners and accounts for 30% of those using Rolls Royce Trent 1000 engines in which the problems have been discovered.
30th August – BA and easyJet passengers will be charged £25 if their flight delay case is ‘unsuccessful’. The CAA used to mediate between passenger and airline when the former was not satisfied with dispute resolution. However due to a scaling back of services, it will now only get involved with those airlines not registered with an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) scheme.
EUROPEAN NEWS
1st August – Flybe begins its first intra-European services. It celebrated the launch of two new routes from Hannover to Lyon and Milan. Flybe’s Chief Revenue Officer said it marked the beginning of providing mainland Europeans with the “same regional connectivity and choice of high frequency time-saving travel as currently provided throughout the UK.”
1st August – House of Lords could delay Brexit decision says Tory peer. The House of Lords could halt or delay an attempt to activate Article 50 and enact Brexit says Baroness Wheatcroft who also sad she felt it was “imperative” to not activate Article 50.
9th August – ACI EUROPE today released its airport traffic report for June, Q2 and the first half of 2016. Figures record that passenger traffic in Europe’s airports grew on average by 4.9% in tumultuous first half of this year.
18th August – Ryanair gives away flights to mark Italy investment boost. Ryanair is giving away 100,000 flights for just €8 for trips to major European destinations from airports across Italy. The Irish airline announced the flight sale to celebrate plans to invest a record $1 billion (€883 million) in Italy next year.
SASIG LIBRARY ADDITIONS
Published this month:
The ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) Environmental Report 2016 presents the work of the Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP), which involves more than 600 internationally recognised experts, in areas such as noise, air quality, climate change but also aircraft end-of-life and recycling and climate change adaptation. The Report can be downloaded here.