New Third Runway is Key to Prosperity

Lord Soley writes for BA News:

"...Heathrow needs more to breathe - not just for perspiring travellers, but for aircraft..."

On the Soapbox: Lord (Clive) Soley

From ABTN issue of 7 August 2006:

Lord (Clive) Soley is the former Labour MP for Hammersmith, and now campaign director for Future Heathrow, an alliance of trade unions, business groups, airlines and professional associations which support the airport’s sustainable modernisation:

The soapbox:

It’s another hot summer’s day at Heathrow. As the temperature climbs, so do the numbers packed into the airport. A record August is expected with nearly 6.5m people, mostly on well-earned holidays, tramping through the crowded corridors.

Tourism industry leaders are already urging Heathrow’s new owners, Grupo Ferrovial, to improve the airport experience for both UK travellers and visitors from overseas. Bob Cotton, chief executive of the British Hospitality Association, describes the state of our national hub as “pretty awful and deteriorating”.

What is absolutely clear is Heathrow needs more room to breathe – not just for perspiring travellers, but for aircraft.

The biggest cause of passenger complaint is delay – and the vast majority of flight delays stem from inadequate infrastructure. A congested airfield means extra minutes spent stacking in the air, being held at taxiway points on the ground, or waiting for aircraft stands to clear. Late inbound aircraft result in late outbound aircraft. And when their ‘plane finally pushes back, passengers feel their frustration rising again as they begin the long crawl along the taxiways in the queue for a take-off slot.

About a third of all Heathrow departures take off more than 15 minutes late. This is the worst record of any airport in the UK, and significantly worse than any other major European hub.

The heart of this problem is lack of runway capacity. All the other main Continental hubs have more than Heathrow’s two runways. Amsterdam has five, Paris Charles de Gaulle four, Madrid four and Frankfurt three (with a fourth on the way).

In worldwide terms, Heathrow stumbles on in the lowly two-strip bracket alongside the national hubs of Iran and Brazil. Only Mexico fares worse.

This is an alarming position. We cannot hope to maintain London’s status as a world-class business centre, supporting millions of jobs across the country, unless we provide the world-class air links that businesses need in a global economy.

At the heart of any high-quality air network is the hub airport, attracting sufficient transfer passengers to maintain routes that otherwise would be unviable. A genuine worldwide network of routes gives businesses convenient access to markets, suppliers and investors.

Shortage of runway capacity results in a shrinking network, as financial pressures force carriers to devote their scarce slots to the most profitable routes. The total of destinations served from Heathrow has fallen by 12% since 1990. Heathrow’s current tally of non-stop routes stands at 180. Amsterdam offers 222, Paris 223 and Frankfurt 262. Even Munich, Germany’s second hub, has overtaken Heathrow this summer with direct flights to 204 destinations.

Unless firm action is taken now to increase runway capacity, the once-undisputed No. 1 airport in Europe will find itself struggling to stay in the top ten.

The impact of Heathrow’s decline is felt particularly in the UK regions. The ever-tightening squeeze on slots has resulted in the disappearance of connecting flights to parts of Scotland, the North and the South West, which are desperate for the best possible transport links to attract inward investment. That is why the regional development agencies support Heathrow as the priority for runway development.

I believe Heathrow must be allowed full utilisation of its existing runways, and the addition of a third. According to the Government, a short third runway would deliver a net benefit to the national economy of at least £8bn a year – a far higher return than a runway at any other location.

Of course, environmental concerns must be addressed. As a long-term west London resident, I am fully aware of the importance of the noise and air quality issues. I am adamant that the Government should stick to its requirement that the noise contour around Heathrow should be no bigger with a third runway than it was in 2002.

I am also confident that the forthcoming EU limit on nitrogen dioxide pollution can be satisfied. Most of these emissions around Heathrow are caused by road traffic, not aircraft. As the Department for Transport’s technical report on air quality has shown, NO2 emissions have been falling steadily and are not as serious a problem for airport expansion as was first thought.

Some critics say Heathrow should not be allowed to grow because of the potential impact on climate change. There is no doubt that global warming is a very serious issue. But it demands a response that will reduce total carbon emissions from all industries and all areas of human activity across the world. Aviation’s share of global CO2 is small, and anyone who thinks they can solve global warming just by crippling aviation is deluding themselves.

Emissions trading is the best way forward for the industry as a whole, but I believe Heathrow can set an example for airports by reducing ground-level emissions to an absolute minimum. There is much more that can be done to power ground vehicles by alternative fuels and generate electricity for airport buildings from renewable sources.

The case for the sustainable expansion of Heathrow is overwhelming. I look to Heathrow’s new owners to show much-needed vigour and commitment in pursuit of the increased runway capacity that is crucial to the airport’s future. Then at last passengers will be able to look forward to the national hub they deserve.

Third runway passes pollution test

From the Times:

A NEW runway at Heathrow is a more likely prospect after a government study found the air pollution problem around the airport was less serious than had been feared and could be overcome.

Department for Transport research had found previously that a third runway would expose 35,000 people living in the area to excessive levels of nitrogen dioxide. It is emitted by aircraft and vehicle engines and can cause fatal lung damage.

...

The new study contains results from 18 monitoring sites around Heathrow and shows that all but two were within EU limits in 2004. It also reports a small but significant downward trend in levels of nitrogen dioxide and says that nitrogen oxides and particulates are either falling rapidly or are already too low to present a problem.

The study, conducted by a panel of senior scientists, establishes a more accurate method of predicting how levels of air pollutants will change under various scenarios. The department will use the research to make recommendations on how nitrogen dioxide can be reduced sufficiently to allow a third runway to be built.

...

Ian Poll, Professor of Aerospace Engineering at Cranfield University, who was appointed to check the validity of the study, said: "The problem of air pollution is manageable and the continued expansion of Heathrow is desirable and technologically feasible.

"This report gives us a far better understanding of air quality issues and will stand up to the toughest scrutiny."

...

Lord Soley, chairman of Future Heathrow, which campaigns for the airport’s expansion, said that the main source of nitrogen dioxide around the airport was from cars on the M4 and the airport’s access roads.

HEATHROW AT SIXTY – TIME TO RETIRE?

Press release from Future Heathrow:

Heathrow airport turns 60 this week and faces a declining old age unless it is allowed to expand, according to a new study published today.

Figures released by Future Heathrow show that the airport’s lack of runway capacity has left the UK close to the bottom of the world league of national air hubs.

Heathrow celebrates its birthday [Wednesday] with the same number of operational runways as when it opened for its first commercial flight on May 31, 1946.

Many of today’s leading global airports did not exist in 1946. But now their development has leapfrogged Heathrow’s, and many overseas hubs are implementing plans for further expansion.

The Future Heathrow analysis shows that of the 20 largest national economies in the world, the UK ranks almost last in terms of hub airport runways.
...
Lord Soley, campaign director of Future Heathrow, said: “These figures demonstrate how far the UK has slipped behind not just Europe, but the rest of the world.

“A high-capacity hub airport with a comprehensive long and short haul network is absolutely essential for success in the modern global economy.”

He added: “Heathrow cannot fulfil this role for the UK and the travelling public with the same number of runways it used 60 years ago to cater for the tiniest fraction of the volume of flights that operate today.

Go ahead for new Berlin airport

Presentation of the Latest Plans for the Capital’s New BBI Airport

The mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit, the state premier of the state of Brandenburg, Matthias Platzeck, German federal transport minister, Wolfgang Tiefensee, and the managers of Berlin Airports presented the latest plans for the capital’s new BBI Airport at a joint press conference on Monday.
...
Berlin’s mayor, Klaus Wowereit, had this to say about the BBI plans: “Berlin will take a huge step forwards with BBI. We are expecting new intercontinental flights to come here and we believe that passenger numbers will continue to rise over the next few years.”

Matthias Platzeck, the state premier of Brandenburg, said he believed that BBI was the key project for the Ber-lin/Brandenburg region. “BBI is extremely important for the domestic economy. I am sticking to my guns: it will enable us to take off into the future...It will also play its part in giving our region a new face.”

German federal transport minister Wolfgang Tiefensee stressed the importance of the airport for Germany as a whole: “In BBI, the German capital is obtaining an airport that can hold its own in the face of international services and competition. This will also set a clear signal for the regeneration of eastern Germany. BBI will not only stimu-late the employment market in the region around the capital, but it will also further reinforce the economic power of eastern Germany. We will also tackle the steps needed to provide excellent transport connections quickly, so that BBI can enter service as planned in 2011.”

BBI will provide the urgently needed airport for the region around the German capital to cover the volume of air traffic in the next few decades. Once the airport opens at the start of the 2011/2012 winter timetable with a capac-ity to handle 22 – 25 million passengers per annum, it will be possible to expand BBI in modules to handle as many as 40 million passengers, depending on the way that the market develops.

“Berlin Airports are already growing faster than the mar-ket at the moment. We will continue this success story with BBI. We are placing BBI on the market as an airport at the heart of Europe with a strong focus on European and intercontinental point-to-point traffic,” the CEO of Berlin Airports, Dieter Johannsen-Roth, said in summa-rising the marketing strategy.

Schiphol Amsterdam to increase flights

Heathrow will fall further behind without the ability to expand.

Go Ahead Given For Schiphol Airport Expansion

April 21, 2006
Amsterdam Airport operator Schiphol Group may increase its number of flights and expand further if it meets noise-level conditions, the Dutch cabinet decided on Friday.

"In the first place the cabinet wants to maintain Schiphol's position as one of the most important hubs in northwest Europe," the traffic ministry said in a statement.

Schiphol may increase its number of flights to 520,000 from 400,000 currently, news agency ANP reported. The traffic ministry said it would disclose the exact number of flights and other details of the decision early next week.

The cabinet also announced measures to limit the nuisance caused by air traffic to people living in fly zones such as changing fly routes, discouraging or fining operators using noisy aircraft and measuring aircraft noise.

The cabinet said these measures would permit Schiphol Group, which also holds stakes in Brisbane Airport and Terminal 4 of New York's JFK Airport, to develop in its current location for the next 10 to 20 years.

It expects the limits to growth to be reached by the beginning or the end of that period depending on the speed of air traffic growth. It also asked Schiphol to make plans for expansion both for the short and long term.

The cabinet said it would use these plans to review the need of a possible further expansion of the airport or moving air traffic to other airports.

Air France-KLM welcomed the decision, but said any expansion of Schiphol depended on how the details were hammered out and warned against drawing conclusions early.

(Reuters)

Future Heathrow - postcard campaign

Staff from bmi, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic supporting the Future Heathrow "My job, my future" campaign. (Photo couretesy of Skyport)

Munich over Heathrow

Heathrow will slip further down the league table of European airports when the summer schedules are unveiled this week.

Telegraph article on Munich overtaking Heathrow.

Munich overtakes Heathrow - "wake-up call"

Future Heathrow release:

LONDON Heathrow will slip further down the European airport rankings this week when the airline summer schedules come into effect.

Official figures show that the UK’s national hub will be overtaken by Munich, Germany’s second airport, in terms of size of route network.

In the new schedules, which start on March 26, Munich adds six direct routes immediately and another 25 by August. Its August total will be 204 scheduled routes, compared with 180 at Heathrow.

...

Sir Digby Jones, CBI Director-General, said: “Good air links are essential for companies to succeed in today’s fiercely competitive global economy and every time Heathrow loses a route the ability of business to compete takes a blow.

“Every effort must be made to ensure Heathrow – and Britain more widely – can deliver the best possible service. If we don’t, Heathrow will be left floundering in its rivals’ slipstream and the UK’s competitiveness will have one more nail in its coffin.”

Brendan Barber, TUC general secretary, said: "Although Heathrow remains one of Europe's busiest airports, with some 67 million people passing through the four terminals in 2004, it won't remain as popular with air travellers if the number of destinations that can be flown to from west London continues to fall.

"The importance of Heathrow to the UK economy cannot be underestimated. The airport provides 70,000 jobs directly and is responsible for another 250,000 across the UK. Further sustainable development at Heathrow is necessary if the airport is to remain one of Europe's leading air terminals."

Lord Soley, campaign director of Future Heathrow, said: “This milestone for Munich represents a deafening wake-up call. Germany, one of our major economic competitors, now has two airports with better global links than the UK’s national hub.

“Madrid, Rome and Milan are also catching up fast. Other countries recognise that hub capacity is a critical component of national economic competitiveness. There is no way Heathrow can maintain its global position while operating with the same runway capacity it had 60 years ago.

“Local residents are understandably concerned about noise and air quality and that is why expansion and modernisation must go hand in hand with environmental improvements,” added Lord Soley, the former west London MP.

“Speaking as a local resident of over 30 years I know the airport cannot stay as it is. It must either expand or continue to decline. The consequences of continuing decline for Britain are very serious. For the Heathrow region they would be catastrophic.”

A different view on aviation and the environment

Provocative article on aviation and the environment by Anatole Kaletsky

the debate on air travel suggests that many people in Britain, including most of the media and large parts of the political elite, still see the world through a Marxist prism

Not necessarily the view of Future Heathrow members!

Heathrow's new control tower - from an artistic perspective

...there is much to be admired in Heathrow's new tower, which looks like a giant eye on a stick, tethered to its spot by massive steel cables bolted to blocks of concrete...

Alain de Botton in Saturday's Guardian


Again, not necessarily the view of Future Heathrow members!

Heathrow Fast Facts

From the Heathrow Fast Facts document.

A Third Runway will ... according to the government, deliver a net economic benefit to the UK of £7.8 Billion and...

• allow Heathrow to compete more effectively with other rival hubs such as Paris, Amsterdam and Frankfurt
• provide an opportunity to add 75-80 additional services to new destinations
• restore flights to the UK regions. Since 1995 the number of British regional airports served from Heathrow has fallen from 21 to 9 while Amsterdam now serves 21 British airports and Paris serves 17. (Routes lost from Heathrow include Norwich,Plymouth, Birmingham, Liverpool, Carlisle, Dundee, Isle of Man, Jersey, Newquay, Guernsey, Humberside and East Midlands)
• only be given the go-ahead if strict environmental challenges can be met including new EU air quality limits that come into force in 2010
  

“Doing nothing is not an option”

Westminster Hall debate - Greater Reading transport

Extracts from the debate held on 11 January.

Mr. Rob Wilson (Reading, East) (Con):

When questioned, the largest companies in the area say that they have located in Reading because of its proximity to the airport. Visitors to Reading are therefore astonished to find that we have no direct rail link to Heathrow. We have direct links to Gatwick and Stansted airports, and Heathrow has three links from the west. If Crossrail comes about, there will be a fourth link.

We could easily have a link to Heathrow if we were to build what rail people call a collar at the point on the Great Western railway known as Heathrow junction. That would cost only £56 million. The benefits to Reading and the region would be huge. It would add to the region's selling points, and it would reduce car travel as well as improving access to the airport. Reading would then become a hub for international travellers from the west of the UK.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Ms Karen Buck), in reply:

On the issue of access to Heathrow, the hon. Gentleman is right to say that at present the connection from the west is not direct. However, there is a recently introduced stopping service to the airport, which means that passengers from Reading can interchange at Hayes and Harlington without having to travel all the way into Paddington and back out again. The hon. Gentleman may also be aware of Airtrack, an alternative proposal to serve Heathrow from the west that would provide two trains per hour from Reading and Guildford to the new terminal 5 at Heathrow and to London Waterloo. The Department is working on the specification for the new south-western franchise. We are considering the inclusion of Airtrack services as a priced option within the new franchise so that those services could be provided if third party funding can subsequently provide for the infrastructure changes required. We are also continuing to discuss the scheme with BAA in the context of improved surface access to the airport.

Local news roundup

Disappointing and inaccurate reporting in the Richmond & Twickenham Times.

POSTAGE paid cards were handed out last week to Heathrow workers to mail to their local councillors urging them to support the airport expansion.

The blue cards called Future Heathrow Supporting Sustainable Growth, were issued by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

In fact, the cards were paid for by the Future Heathrow campaign group which includes, amongst others, the trade unions representing many Heathrow workers. Some 70,000 people work at Heathrow. Those that work at the airport, many of whom also live around Heathrow, have the right to have their voice heard.

The action group also pointed out that IATA has close connections with British Airways.

...as does Virgin Atlantic, bmi and over 200 airlines. IATA is the global airline trade association and is a member of Future Heathrow. The coalition also includes business groups such as Thames Valley Economic Partnership, West London Business and the CBI.

Printed on the blue cards was a letter which stated: "Dear councillor, I know that some of your constituents complain about noise and pollution from Heathrow. I accept that is a problem and it affects me as much as other residents but please think of the jobs and prosperity that will go if Heathrow does not continue to be a success.

"The decline of Heathrow would be very damaging for employment and the local economy and as one of the key decision makers I would ask to take this into account when deciding your policy towards the Airport."

Blank spaces were left at the bottom of the letter for employees to fill in.

Correct. But, then it doesn't take much to copy and paste.

One Heathrow employee said: "We are furious the aviation industry is spending money on these postcards when they should be investing its time and money on quieter and cleaner planes."

Airlines do not build aircraft. Nevertheless, the aerospace industry invests £billions in new technology producing cleaner and quieter aircraft. CO2 emissions from aircraft have been cut by 15% over the last 5 years; 70% since the 1960s.Further environmental facts here. The Civil Aviation Bill, currently going through Parliament also strengthens measures to deal with aircraft noise and local emissions from aircraft. Further details here.

Hacan's chairman John Stewart said: "You can't help feeling that the aviation industry is trying to use its employees."

Participation is voluntary.

£80,000 to protest groups

Mayor of London promises £80,000 in council tax funding to HACAN ClearSkies and No Third Runway Action Group (NOTRAG).

John Stewart (HACAN chair):

residents have built up links with a variety of campaign groups, including the radical direct action movement Earth First!, as part of their campaign.

Direct Action training sessions for residents have been held, with more planned for this year.

More on Madrid airport

from ABTN:

MADRID BARAJAS Airport’s new Terminal 4, opened by King Juan Carlos just a couple of weeks ago, is stunning. It sets standards which even T5 at Heathrow will have difficulty in beating.

from World Airport Guides:

Capacity at Madrid International Airport was doubled in early 2006 with the addition of the new Terminal 4 and two extra runways.

Whichever you put, Heathrow falls behind another European hub airport.