Editor’s Highlights
A short newsletter this month because election purdah eliminated parliamentary activity although the three party manifestos mentioned aviation.
The election result will be an important milestone, not only in terms of the direction of policy, but also the likely timescale for the delivery of a much needed new Aviation Strategy.
Chris Cain
Head of Secretariat
Events, Meetings and Conferences
SASIG Meetings
- 26th February 2020: 11am-1pm: SASIG full meeting (Venue: LGA, Smith Square, London)
- 17th July 2020: 11am-1pm: SASIG full meeting (Venue: LGA, Smith Square, London)
External Conferences
- 2nd-3rd December 2019: CAPA-Aviation Week Network Airline Operations, Leaders’ Summit: Seville, Spain.
- 25th-26th March 2020: British Tourism & Travel Show: NEC, Birmingham.
- 27th-29th April 2020: Routes Europe: Bergen, Norway.
- 9th-10th June: British-Irish Airports EXPO: New venue will be ExCel, London.
- 11th-13th June 2020: AeroExpo UK: The UK’s festival of aviation. Wycombe Air Park.
Parliamentary and Government News
3rd November – Labour signals it may scrap Heathrow expansion if it wins the Election. It would come under plans to make the UK carbon neutral by 2030.
4th November – Labour explores plans to ban private jets from UK airports from 2025. They say billionaire users of private fossil fuel aircraft are damaging the climate.
25th November – Conservative manifesto reveals no more public funding for Heathrow expansion. It will receive no state funding if the Conservatives win the next general election.
28th November – Both main political parties accused of ‘hostility’ towards airports. There are concerns over whether Heathrow expansion will go ahead under the next government.
Transport Questions: House of Commons:
There were no transport questions in the House of Commons this month.
Transport Questions: House of Lords
There were no transport questions in the House of Lords this month.
Parliamentary Questions:
There were no Parliamentary Questions this month.
National and Regional News
1st November – Manchester Airport is to open Aerozone to connect with local communities. Aerozones are already operational at Stansted and East Midlands Airports.
4th November – Bristol Airport’s air traffic has tripled since 2001. Some 7.1 million passengers flew to/from airport in the first 8 months of 2019 according to data from CAA.
5th November – Heathrow will link offsite hubs with a tracking system. The hubs will be used to keep the number of site workers required at Heathrow down to around 10,000.
6th November – Luton Airport opens a second new taxi-way and de-icing facility. This is part of its £160 million transformation programme.
6th November – Councils tell government to review Heathrow expansion following climate change developments.They say the case for a 3rd runway should be reviewed urgently.
8th November – Birmingham Airport is to cut carbon emissions to net zero by 2033. It will place more focus on zero-carbon airport operations and reducing carbon offsets.
9th November – Heathrow says expansion will exist within legal limits and that it can work with councils that oppose its expansion. Further details may be seen here.
9th November – An article about Exeter Airport achieving its one millionth passenger and outlining a bit about its history can be seen here.
10th November – A survey lists the UK airports with the longest security waiting times. Further details can be seen here in Woman & Home magazine.
11th November – MAG is confident that expansion at Stansted Airport will go ahead. They hope it will be forthcoming by the end of this month.
13th November – Virgin Atlantic director says Heathrow expansion will provide massive benefits to the UK’s North-west area. Further details may be seen here.
14th November – £10.5m Southampton Airport Business centre is to be built. The project is led by Southend Council and will create 230 jobs.
14th November – Bristol Airport expansion plans decision delayed until next year. It had submitted proposals to boost passenger numbers to 12 million a year by the mid-2020s and to expand its on-site infrastructure.
14th November – 4,300 jobs in South Yorkshire to be created with new logistics hub at Doncaster Sheffield Airport.Doncaster Council has approved its construction.
15th November – Space agency will give Virgin Orbit more than £7million for Cornish spaceport. This will enable the horizontal launch of small satellites from Spaceport Cornwall at Cornwall Airport Newquay.
15th November – New cargo night flights from Southend Airport causing complaints. Some nearby residents are complaining about noise through the night.
15th November – Villagers living near Stansted Airport are unhappy about car parking. They are being hit by ‘fly-parking’ – the act of leaving your car in an area that isn’t a car park to avoid parking charges.
16th November – Stansted Airport denies plans to expand to 50 million passengers per year. 43mppa limit applied for in 2018 planning application is still under consideration.
16th November – Southend Airport reveals expansion plans and 20m passengers a year ambition. The proposals were revealed in a Stobart “future growth” presentation.
18th November – Building work to increase the size of East Midlands Airport arrivals hall begins. The work is set to double the size of the hall which includes passport control.
19th November – Birmingham Airport publishes its Sustainability Strategy. Further details may be seen here.
20th November – First Heathrow Airport expansion work is set to be approved. The CAA is set to decide today whether to approve a £3.3 billion spend on initial work.
20th November – Carlisle Airport bids for freeport status. Carlisle City Council is supporting the bid by airport owner Stobart Group.
20th November – Heathrow’s loudest and most polluting airlines ranked from worst to best are announced. Further details may be seen here.
20th November – Former MP is not happy over delay to Stansted Airport planning application. The airport had applied to increase passenger numbers to 43 million.
21st November – Plans for multi-storey car park at Stansted may not proceed. The second phase of planning permission for the airport to expand has not been granted yet.
21st November – An article in the ‘Star & Crescent’ opposing expansion at Southampton Airport may be seen here.
23rd November – Luton Airport expansion proposals raise concerns about noise and climate impact. Claims made that nearly 200 extra households will be affected.
25th November – Bournemouth Airport appoints new Operations Director. Airport owner Regional & City Airports has appointed a former Wing Commander in the Royal Air Force.
25th November – Conservative manifesto reveals no more public funding for Heathrow expansion. It will receive no state funding if the Conservatives win the next general election.
26th November – Work starts on £7m hangar the size of two Boeing 737s at Norwich Airport. It’s being built to accommodate the expansion of KLM UK engineering group.
27th November – There are calls for a proposed link road to Leeds Bradford Airport to be scrapped. Environmental concerns are cited.
28th November – Hertfordshire County Council votes to oppose Luton Airport expansion. They say it will cause ‘unacceptable’ harm to the environment.
30th November – An article in the Isle of Wight County Press suggesting reasons why the island should have airport can be seen here.
Other Aviation Industry News
1st November – Planning appeal could force demolition of €22m Dublin airport facility. Residents’ group lodges appeal over Terminal 2 ‘South Gates’ boarding facility.
4th November – Coventry-based manufacturer will trial a fleet of driverless baggage vehicles at Heathrow in what is believed to be a world first. Further details can be seen here.
5th November – Drone and model aircraft registration becomes live. Further details may be seen here.
5th November – UK Space Agency confirms £7.35 million funding to support small satellite launch from Cornwall Airport Newquay. Further details may be seen here.
6th November – City of Derry Airport needs nearly £6m to keep it open. The figure emerged at Derry & Strabane DC’s governance and strategic planning committee yesterday.
6th November – ACI World Director General says that aviation industry collaboration is crucial to accommodating demand. Further details may be seen here.
8th November – New fleet of coaches boosts Glasgow link to Edinburgh Airport. The fleet has been upgraded to double-deckers with more legroom and baggage space.
8th November – Edinburgh Airport second access road plans to be handed over amid calls for public transport to be prioritised. Details may be seen here.
7th November – An interview with Richard Hill, London City Airport in Flight Global titled: ‘Overseeing strategy at London City airport’ can be seen here.
10th November – Dublin Airport noise report backs change to zones. Proposed variation to County Development Plan would incorporate revised airport noise zones.
13th November – A solar farm is to be installed on Cardiff Airport site. It’ll supply the business with electricity via a private wire with any surplus energy going to the national grid.
14th November – Chief of Wizz Air airline calls for ban on business class on short haul flights. He said it would help to reduce the carbon footprint of aviation.
14th November – An article in Airport World looking at new technologies on the horizon and if they may be commonplace at airports in 10 to 15 years’ time, can be seen here.
19th November – Easyjet is to have carbon neutral flights with £25m annual investment in environmental projects. It wants to be first major airline to operate net-zero carbon flights.
19th November – Scottish Government is to consider options if Prestwick Airport sale talks collapse. Transport Secretary says sale of the airport to the private sector may fall through.
19th November – An article in EU Reporter titled ‘Airports’ license to invest is a prerequisite for de-carbonization’ can be seen here.
20th November – British Airways is trialling AI at Heathrow T5 to minimise delays. This is part of the airlines’ £6.5bn investment plan to improve the customer experience.
26th November – An article in Architects Journal titled “Climate crisis: should architects still be designing airports?” can be seen here.
26th November – Cork Airport switches to 100% green electricity. The deal will supply 8 million kwh a year as passenger numbers are expected to increase by over 8% this year.
27th November – An article in Airport Technology titled “Airport anxiety: a look at passenger stress points” may be seen here.
27th November – State will pay €2.75m for Connemara airport. Ministers have approved the decision to buy the airport.
28th November – ACI’s Airport Carbon Accreditation programme has released the annual results of the collective carbon management delivered by accredited airports in its tenth consecutive year. Further details may be seen here.
28th November – An article in ‘Airline Economics’ highlighting the top 20 risks facing airports shows that climate change is the major concern. Further details may be seen here.
SASIG Library Additions
Sam Hartley, Secretary, Independent Commission on Civil Aviation Noise (ICCAN) was guest speaker at the SASIG members’ meeting on 7 November 2019. His presentation can be seen here.
Dr Pauleen Lane, Professional Lead (National Infrastructure), the Planning Inspectorate was guest speaker at the SASIG members’ workshop following the main meeting on 7 November 2019. Her presentation can be seen here along with a biography here.