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News from GATCOM this week (17/05/19)
LIVE’ CONSULTATIONS
- Aviation 2050 – The Future of UK Aviation (DfT Green paper) – Consultation close extended to 20 June 2019 (For Legislative Airspace Change Proposals – consultation closed)
Click here to see the consultation summary / Click here to see the consultation
- CAA Consultation: Decision-Making Process for PPR Proposals – Consultation closes 7 July 2019
Click here to see consultation website / Click here to see consultation document
For comments that you would like GATCOM to consider please forward them to the Secretariat by no later than close of play today (7 June)
- ICCAN's first Corporate Strategy 2019-21 – Consultation closes 16 June 2019
Click here to see consultation document
For comments that you would like GATCOM to consider please forward to the Secretariat by no later than close of play today (7 June)
NEWS HEADLINES
- Boeing finds new 737 fault – Buying Business Travel 04.06.19
Boeing has warned operators of its 737 family of aircraft of a potential fault with the planes’ wings, including on the 737 Max that has been grounded since March following two crashes. The aircraft manufacturer is advising airlines to inspect the slat tracks on all 737s after it identified more than 300 planes likely to have faulty parts. The track guides slats located on the leading edge of the aircraft’s wings, which helps reduce drag on take-off and landing. Boeing says affected parts may be susceptible to premature fault or cracks resulting from an “improper manufacturing process” carried out by one of Boeing’s suppliers, according to the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Read More
- British Airways angers environmentalists by using jumbo jets for half-hour flights – The Independent 05.06.19
British Airways is angering environmentalists with a plan to deploy Jumbo jets on six domestic flights in August, with fares costing more than £400 for a 30-minute flight. The airline is selling tickets for the Boeing 747 flights at fares above £3 per mile. On Sunday 25 August, BA is marking its 100th anniversary by allocating Boeing 747s, otherwise known as Jumbo jets, to one rotation – a return trip – from Heathrow to each of Manchester, Newcastle and Glasgow. Even though there are around twice as many seats available as on the usual Airbus A320, BA’s website is currently selling seats at its maximum fares, normally charged for very late-notice purchases. Read More
- Extinction Rebellion plans Heathrow drone attacks – Buying Business Travel 31.05.19
Climate activist group Extinction Rebellion has announced plans to cause a “pause” in flights at Heathrow airport in June and July through “nonviolent direct action” using drones. The group is demanding the UK government act on its declaration of a climate and environmental emergency by cancelling Heathrow expansion. Extinction Rebellion says a “pause” in flights would raise awareness of the “genocidal impact of high-carbon activities”. If the government does not cancel plans to build a third runway at Heathrow, the group says it will “act to shut down the airport” for up to ten days from 1 July. Read More
- Ryanair's claims of being Europe's greenest airline dismissed – Travelmole 05.06.19
The founder and CEO of Responsible Travel has dismissed claims by Ryanair that it is the greenest airline in Europe. Ryanair issued figures today claiming it delivers the lowest CO2 per passenger/km in the EU airline industry, thanks to it having the highest passenger load factor (96%) and one of the youngest fleets. It said its CO2 per pax/km of 67g p.a is substantially lower than its EU competitors said it was committed to reducing this further to under 60g per pax/km by 2030. It claimed competitors such as Lufthansa, British Airways and Air France KLM currently generate over 120g per pax/km. But the claims have been dismissed by Justin Francis, founder of Responsible Travel, a travel company which is campaigning for a Green Flying Duty. Read More
- Heathrow buys scanners so liquids can be left in bags – Travelmole 06.06.19
Passengers travelling through Heathrow airport will be able to keep their liquids and laptops inside their bags once new security equipment is installed. The airport is investing £50m in the computer tomography (CT) security scanners, to be rolled out over the next three years, which will be able to provide a clear picture of a bag's contents. Heathrow first began testing the CT scanners, which are similar to those used in hospitals, in 2017 and it plans to complete the roll out by 2022. Passengers have been banned from carrying containers holding more than 100ml of liquid in their hand luggage since August 2006 and, at the moment, smaller bottles of gels and liquid must be placed in clear plastic bags at security. Read More
- Boeing 737 Max: Regulators seek co-operation over plane safety – BBC News 02.06.19
EU transport officials say they will work with other regulators on approving new software for the Boeing 737 Max. But they say they reserve the right to take their own decision on when to return the jet to service. It was grounded globally in March after two crashes led to concerns over its new anti-stall MCAS sotfware. Global airlines are worried that splits between regulators over the plane's safety could further damage the industry and hit passenger confidence. The decision by the European Union, China, and others to ground the Max - before the US did so - created an unusual split in the global regulatory system. Read More
GATWICK NEWS
- Gatwick aircraft noise ‘cut by 7% in a year’ – Travelweekly 05.06.19
Aircraft noise at Gatwick was cut by 7% last year but the airport needs to do more to further reduce its impact on local communities. The airport cited improved operational procedures – including smoother descents that reduce drag and use less power – the phasing out of the noisiest aircraft and the introduction of new, quieter aircraft for cutting its noise footprint over 2017 levels. Cumulatively, 900 people have been taken out of Gatwick’s noise footprint as it shrank 11% over the last two years. The next generation of aircraft – including the Airbus A320neo, A321neo and A350; and Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner – are up to 50% quieter than their predecessors. Read More
- Gatwick Airport: Man armed with kitchen knives arrested – BBC News 03.06.19
A man armed with two kitchen knives has been arrested at Gatwick Airport. The 30-year-old tried to pass through a staff search area in the South Terminal just before 02:00 BST openly carrying a knife in each hand, police said. The area was secured and he was challenged by armed police officers who used a Taser to detain him. He was arrested on suspicion of possessing offensive weapons and making threats to kill, and has been detained under the Mental Health Act. Police said it was not being treated as terrorist-related and that the man, from Crawley, West Sussex, was not a travelling passenger. Read More
- Gatwick doubles up – BTNews 27.05.19
Travellers to and from East Anglia and North East London to Gatwick are quickly benefiting as Govia Thameslink doubles its services from Cambridge via Peterborough to two per hour. On weekdays there are now eight Thameslink trains an hour from the airport to London Bridge. At St Pancras passengers from the intermediate Luton and Stevenage services can change on the same platform. This is in addition to the 10 Gatwick Express and Southern services each hour to/from Victoria, Govia Thameslink now operate more than 400 extra services a day than the start of May last year. Read More
OTHER NEWS
- Norwegian carryings stall due to 737 Max grounding – Travelweekly 06.06.19
The grounding of Boeing 737 Max aircraft hit passenger carryings by low-cost carrier Norwegian in May. Monthly numbers fell by more than 59,000 due to 18 of the airline’s new generation 737 Max aircraft being affected by a global grounding of the type following fatal crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia. The 737 Max has been grounded since March after the two crashes in five months in which 346 people died. Norwegian carried almost 3.4 million passengers in May, down by 59,047 over the same month last year. Chief executive Bjorn Kjos said: “With 18 Boeing 737 Max grounded, we carried fewer passengers in May compared to the same month last year. Read More
- Heathrow summer strike threat lifted – Travelweekly 05.06.19
A summer strike threat at Heathrow has been lifted after hundreds of baggage handlers and check-in staff won a new pay deal. The workers employed by GH London – formally Azzurra – secured a 9.1% pay rise after they backed strike action in a dispute over low wages, according to the Unite union. More than 300 workers at Heathrow Terminal 2 and 4 voted by 99.2% in April to take strike action following a series of pay freezes. But industrial action was avoided after “constructive negotiations” concluded with an agreement to award workers a 9.1% increase, including 6.1% for 2017 and 2018 on top of a 3% increase for 2019. Read More
- Security guards start 49-day Luton airport strike – Travelweekly 05.06.19
Luton airport faces a 49-day strike by security guards from Wednesday, until July 23. The walkout – the fourth period of industrial action by Unite union members – is the result of a dispute over changes to working time. Unite is due to meet the airport with the conciliation service Acas next Wednesday (June 12) to try to resolve the dispute. The union claims that the airport is imposing a new shift pattern affecting around 120 security guards, resulting in them working an extra 15 days a year. A majority – 95% – of the workers who took part in the ballot voted for strike action. Unite regional officer Jeff Hodge said: “Security guards are determined to fight back against Luton airport’s heavy-handed and antisocial shift changes. Read More
- Stansted named worst UK airport for delays – Buying Business Travel 28.05.19
Analysis of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) data has found that Stansted was the worst UK airport for delays in 2018. According to research by the Press Association, passengers at the country’s fourth-busiest hub experienced average delays of 25 minutes. Stansted has blamed “adverse weather and air traffic control issues”. The data revealed that Belfast City airport had the best performance, with an average delay of eight minutes, followed closely by Liverpool at ten minutes. Doncaster Sheffield, Exeter and Bournemouth all had delays of 12 minutes. Birmingham and Luton were the joint second-worst hubs with average delays of 19 minutes. Read More
- European airports have a 33 billion euro environmental cost – The Brussels Times 03.06.19
The environmental cost of 33 European airports is 33 billion euros, according to European Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc quoting a recent study in La Libre and Le Soir. The figures were disclosed to airlines management at the summit of the International Air Transport Association in Seoul last weekend. The environmental costs are due to noise, CO2 emissions and the impact on climate change of 33 airports examined in the study. “I have to be honest with you, we thought this figure would be far lower,” the commissioner told La Libre Belgique. Bulc stresses that “the price paid by passengers on planes almost covers infrastructure costs, but not the environmental costs. Read More
- Luggage tracker for IATA – BTNews 27.05.19
BTN will be testing “Hanno the Navigator” a luggage tracker to and from Seoul later in the week. Unfortunately editor in chief Malcolm Ginsberg is taking a direct Korean Air flight from Heathrow and so no connecting problems. For over six years airlines and leading luggage manufacturers have been struggling to develop an advanced luggage tracker, the prohibition on lithium battery powered “smart” bags in late 2017 banning a number of suppliers making the situation looking bleak for travellers. “Hanno the Navigator” is the most advanced GPS, 2G/3G, Bluetooth, and wi-fi enabled precision tracking product, designed for tracking checked-in bags and other valuable assets. Read More
- A new approach to managing air traffic in Europe – The Parliament Magazine 03.06.19
The role of air navigation services is to ensure that airspace users can fly from point A to point B safely, efficiently, and cost-effectively, using the optimal route and altitude and without delays. This might seem simple enough but there are many challenges to overcome – growing air traffic, congestion in some areas, and too many EU Member States taking a national, rather than pan-European approach to air traffic management (ATM). In 2018 traffic grew between three and thirteen percent in individual European countries. This presents a challenge to an industry where significantly increasing capacity can take a number of years, due to the long time needed to train air traffic controllers. Read More
GAL Press Releases Events & Updates
Gatwick noise footprint shrinks by 7% in 2018
04/06/2019
- Gatwick welcomes reduction but recognises that more must be done to reduce noise further
- New aircraft are up to 50% quieter than the aircraft they replace and are set to become the new ‘workhorses’ of Gatwick’s fleet
- This 7% noise footprint reduction builds on a 4% fall in 2017 (54dBA Leq)
Improved operational procedures - including smoother descents that reduce drag and use less power - the phasing out of the noisiest aircraft and the introduction of new, quieter aircraft reduced the size of Gatwick’s noise footprint (54dBA Leq) by 7% in 2018 - compared to the previous year - according to the annual noise exposure contour analysis1 carried out by the Civil Aviation Authority.
Using the nationally recognised standard measurement (54dBA Leq), Gatwick’s noise footprint shrank from 82.7 Km2 to 77.1 Km2 in 2018 – compared to 2017 – with the number of people living within this noise contour also falling to 10,200 from 10,950. Cumulatively, over the last two years, 900 people have been taken out of this noise footprint as it shrank 11% - reducing in area from 86.5km2 in 2016 to 77.1Km2 in 2018.
Year Area Reduction Residents
2018 77.1 Km2 7% 10,200
2017 82.7 Km2 4% 10,950
2016 86.5km2 11,100
Gatwick’s noise footprint has reduced by 48% over the last 20 years and by 14.5% over the last decade2.
In terms of future noise reductions, the next generation of aircraft - including the Airbus A320neo, A321neo and A350; and Boeing’s 787 (Dreamliner) - are up to 50% quieter than their predecessors3. In the future the airline fleets that operate from Gatwick will be dominated by these quieter aircraft, with forecasts showing that this type of next generation aircraft will make up 86% of Gatwick’s aircraft fleet by 2032/33, up from 3% in 2017/18.
The independent Noise Management Board at Gatwick was formed in 2016 and brings the local community and the aviation industry together within a formalised structure and is considered to be an industry-leading approach to managing noise issues at a local level.
Andy Sinclair, Gatwick’s Head of Airspace, said:
“We are making good progress against our objective of reducing the impact that aircraft noise has on our local communities, but we recognise that more must be done. We are delighted with the work of the Noise Management Board and we hope that it continues its strong influence in decision making at the airport. We will continue to challenge ourselves and our industry partners and will be introducing a range of new initiatives to reduce noise further in coming years.”
“Over time, aircraft noise has dramatically reduced at Gatwick and in the next few years I expect to see further improvements as more next generation aircraft are introduced in significant numbers. The large-scale redesign of airspace across South East England is also underway and has the potential to significantly reduce noise impacts around the airport.”
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Here Comes the Fun: Gatwick launches unique family festival to get summer holidays off to flying start
04/06/2019
- Back for a second year, Gatwick’s ‘Summer Festival’ will run until 30 September
- £10,000 worth of vouchers will be given away to passengers across the summer and live festival entertainment will be staged throughout the airport’s terminals
- Younger passengers will have the chance to meet their favourite book characters – while an exclusive gin and pale ale are on offer for the adults
The 15.3 million passengers due to travel through London Gatwick this summer will enjoy live entertainment, special edition retail products, and shopping voucher giveaways, as the airport has today launched its Summer Festival for 2019.
The event will take over Gatwick’s North and South terminals, which have both been adorned with festival-themed branding and decorations, until 30 September. With 12.1% more children travelling through Gatwick during August compared with November, the airport’s Summer Festival has adopted a clear family focus.
WHSmith Gatwick will bring some of the world’s most recognisable children’s literature characters to the terminal for the event. Peter Rabbit and Mog the Cat are just two of the many beloved characters that passengers will meet at exclusive book readings in the airport’s kids zones throughout the summer.
Plus, a Trinidadian steel band and interactive street theatre group will be swapping Glastonbury for Gatwick and joining a diverse line-up of family entertainers performing live in the airport’s terminals during the festival. In its biggest free giveaway ever, Gatwick is also gifting £10,000 worth of vouchers, as well as 3,000 beach balls, to passengers as they head off on their summer breaks.
To celebrate the launch of the Summer Festival, now in its second year, Gatwick’s World Duty Free stores are offering two brand new flavours of Edinburgh Gin – Rhubarb & Ginger and Watermelon & Lime, the latter of which is exclusive to World Duty Free and unavailable to buy anywhere else.
The airport has also collaborated with two local suppliers, the Westerham Brewery Company and Fudge Kitchen, both based in nearby Kent, to offer bespoke products for Gatwick passengers during the Summer Festival. It will be the only airport in the world to stock Westerham’s zesty extra pale ale – brewed just 12 miles from the airport – and Fudge Kitchen’s sweet treats.
With holiday season now in full swing at Gatwick, the airport’s top long-haul destinations for the summer are Orlando, Dubai and New York – while Doha and Buenos Aires are among the destinations with the highest year-on-year growth, up +38% and +31% respectively.
Rachel Bulford, Head of Retail, Gatwick Airport said:
“Last year’s inaugural Summer Festival was a big success for Gatwick, so we’re delighted to launch this airport-wide celebration once again and put families right at the heart of the action. It’s great that our retail partners have joined us in getting into the festival spirit, with WHSmith bringing our younger passengers’ literary heroes to the airport, and World Duty Free offering some fantastic Gatwick exclusives across drinks, beauty and fashion. As an airport which values strong relationships with our local community, it’s particularly exciting for us to be partnering with two local suppliers from Kent to bring their delicious products to millions of Gatwick passengers from across the globe.”
Davene Stirling, Commercial Director, World Duty Free said:
“Summer has officially begun with World Duty Free at Gatwick and we’re delighted to be staging our second Summer Festival campaign. Our aim is to provide passengers with unique and memorable experiences when they visit our stores. The Summer Festival provides the perfect platform to showcase new and exclusive products for summer that will appeal to the Gatwick Airport customer and we’re confident that this year’s event will be another great success.”
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