Ruth Kelly gave the clearest hint so far the Government will give the green light to a third runway at Heathrow.
The Transport Secretary said the expansion of the airport was "vital" for maintaining Britain's international competitiveness and securing jobs.
Her comments came as the aviation minister Jim Fitzpatrick promised an investigation into the breaching of night flight limits at Heathrow.
Return to the This Is Longford website
Friday, September 28, 2007
Monday, September 17, 2007
BAA calls for long runway at Heathrow
BAA has begun lobbying for a full-length new runway at Heathrow ahead of the expected launch next month of a consultation document on expansion of the London airport.
The move represents a switch for BAA, which has in the past advocated only a short extra runway, suitable for the small aircraft used on short-haul flights.
A full-length strip (Heathrow’s existing runways are full-size at about 4,000 metres) would allow more flights by larger, long-haul aircraft.
BAA declined to comment, but industry sources confirmed the change in policy. “They are pushing hard on a full-length runway which I find difficult to understand. I think it is because they think, possibly rightly, that getting any new runway at Heathrow is going to be a monumental battle, so they may as well go the whole way,” said one executive.
The government is expected to publish a consultation document on the expansion of Heathrow next month. This will cover proposals for more flights on the airport’s two present runways, and for a third runway.
Both plans are expected to be bitterly opposed by local residents and environmental groups. Heathrow was last month the scene of a “climate camp” at which green campaigners gathered to protest against aviation’s contribution to global warming.
The consultation is the result of a government white paper on the future of air transport issued four years ago. It said that while there was an economic case for expanding Heathrow, it could not proceed until local air-pollution issues were addressed. Stansted was chosen as the location for the southeast’s first new runway.
Return to the This Is Longford website
The move represents a switch for BAA, which has in the past advocated only a short extra runway, suitable for the small aircraft used on short-haul flights.
A full-length strip (Heathrow’s existing runways are full-size at about 4,000 metres) would allow more flights by larger, long-haul aircraft.
BAA declined to comment, but industry sources confirmed the change in policy. “They are pushing hard on a full-length runway which I find difficult to understand. I think it is because they think, possibly rightly, that getting any new runway at Heathrow is going to be a monumental battle, so they may as well go the whole way,” said one executive.
The government is expected to publish a consultation document on the expansion of Heathrow next month. This will cover proposals for more flights on the airport’s two present runways, and for a third runway.
Both plans are expected to be bitterly opposed by local residents and environmental groups. Heathrow was last month the scene of a “climate camp” at which green campaigners gathered to protest against aviation’s contribution to global warming.
The consultation is the result of a government white paper on the future of air transport issued four years ago. It said that while there was an economic case for expanding Heathrow, it could not proceed until local air-pollution issues were addressed. Stansted was chosen as the location for the southeast’s first new runway.
Return to the This Is Longford website
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Officials help ‘rig’ Heathrow runway air quality
From the Gulf Times website
Published: Tuesday, 11 September, 2007, 06:03 AM Doha Time LONDON: The department for Transport (Dft) is working with Heathrow’s owners to “rig” the way air quality is monitored at Heathrow in order to pave the way for a third runway, the Evening Standard revealed.Documents show that officials discussed moving the monitors at the airport away from the runways so they could record lower pollution readings - a highly controversial proposal as the expansion of the airport is dependent on its meeting strict environmental criteria. The Standard revealed last month that officials at the department were holding three meetings a month with BAA to shape the forthcoming consultation on expansion. At a meeting on March 28 this year, they talked about moving the “source” of the pollution - aircraft and road traffic - away from “the receptor” or monitoring equipment. According to the minutes of the meeting, the DfT’s Michael Jackson says this would be “the most effective” way of “mitigating” the problem of increased nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels. In its aviation White Paper in 2003, the government supported a third runway to come into use between 2015 and 2020, provided it met EU environmental emissions criteria, including one on NO2. If given the go-ahead it would allow 500 more flights a day over London and double the number of airport passengers to 115mn. But the documents reveal how the DfT and BAA are looking to ensure the expanded airport meets its environmental targets. At another meeting, it was suggested they would only use the least polluting cars as the basis for the figures used in the consultation. “This would mean a significant reduction in their NO2 emissions (around 23%),” say the minutes, dated April 4 this year. One of the justifications for expanding Heathrow is that the new Boeing 747 and the A380 Airbus would be cleaner but documents show they will have “10% more take-off roll NO2”. Critics say the consultation is a sham. The process has already been tainted by the disclosure that BAA has received environmental data denied to opposition MPs. – London Evening Standard
Return to the This Is Longford website
Published: Tuesday, 11 September, 2007, 06:03 AM Doha Time LONDON: The department for Transport (Dft) is working with Heathrow’s owners to “rig” the way air quality is monitored at Heathrow in order to pave the way for a third runway, the Evening Standard revealed.Documents show that officials discussed moving the monitors at the airport away from the runways so they could record lower pollution readings - a highly controversial proposal as the expansion of the airport is dependent on its meeting strict environmental criteria. The Standard revealed last month that officials at the department were holding three meetings a month with BAA to shape the forthcoming consultation on expansion. At a meeting on March 28 this year, they talked about moving the “source” of the pollution - aircraft and road traffic - away from “the receptor” or monitoring equipment. According to the minutes of the meeting, the DfT’s Michael Jackson says this would be “the most effective” way of “mitigating” the problem of increased nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels. In its aviation White Paper in 2003, the government supported a third runway to come into use between 2015 and 2020, provided it met EU environmental emissions criteria, including one on NO2. If given the go-ahead it would allow 500 more flights a day over London and double the number of airport passengers to 115mn. But the documents reveal how the DfT and BAA are looking to ensure the expanded airport meets its environmental targets. At another meeting, it was suggested they would only use the least polluting cars as the basis for the figures used in the consultation. “This would mean a significant reduction in their NO2 emissions (around 23%),” say the minutes, dated April 4 this year. One of the justifications for expanding Heathrow is that the new Boeing 747 and the A380 Airbus would be cleaner but documents show they will have “10% more take-off roll NO2”. Critics say the consultation is a sham. The process has already been tainted by the disclosure that BAA has received environmental data denied to opposition MPs. – London Evening Standard
Return to the This Is Longford website
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
