CAA rule that Heathrow not met key criteria of Airspace Change

The CAA has this week (30th October) ruled that Heathrow’s airspace change proposals cannot progress to the next stage (of the CAP1616 process) because they took a different approach to the one they’d engaged on and stakeholders were not given an opportunity to provide feedback!

Heathrow will be able to resubmit their proposals for approval to the next stage once they can satisfy the criteria. However, this is likely to add a further delay to the progress being made with a public consultation on flight path options not expected until 2025.

HACAN media appearances speaking about Night Flights (April 2023)

Following the DfT launch of their consultation on a new night noise objective HACAN appeared on BBC Radio Surrey and BBC Radio Berkshire on 12th April 2023 to share our views on the impact of night flights.

CAA accepts Iteration 2 of the Airspace Change Masterplan

The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has today published its decision to accept the latest iteration of the airspace change masterplan, developed by the Airspace Change Organising Group (ACOG), into its Airspace Modernisation Strategy (AMS). This is a significant milestone towards modernising the UKs airspace to deliver quicker, quieter, and cleaner journeys.

The purpose of the airspace change masterplan is to identify which UK airspace design changes need to be developed to achieve the benefits of airspace modernisation and then set out a single coordinated implementation plan to deliver those benefits. ACOG is taking an iterative approach to developing the masterplan and will be undertaking public engagement exercises this year. You can find out more about ACOG and its plans on its website at www.acog.aero.
 
This iteration of the masterplan identifies which airspace change proposals (ACPs) that are part of the masterplan will need to move forward together in a co-ordinated manner. It also describes the nature of potential interactions between those different ACPs. The masterplan does not contain the details of specific proposals or proposed flightpaths.
 
The airspace changes identified within the masterplan will have to be considered through the CAA’s separate evidence based and engagement led airspace change process, known as CAP 1616. The acceptance of the second iteration means that relevant airspace change sponsors can now progress towards a CAP1616 Stage 2 gateway assessment, where the CAA must be satisfied that sponsors have followed the process correctly before they can move to the next stage in the process.

MPs and Peers lament abolition of ICCAN

Following the announcement by the Secretary of State for Transport that ICCAN was to be abolished, a cross-party group of 13 MPs and Peers have written to Grant Shapps setting out the continued need for a strong independent voice to reflect community concerns about aviation noise.

You can read the letter in full here below.

A successful AGM

It was pleasure to welcome over 50 members to our in-person AGM this past Thursday.

We were delighted to be joined by Sarah Olney MP who provided an excellent speech highlighting her thoughts on the next steps in the campaign against Heathrow expansion, her recent Parliamentary activities on aviation and her commitment to ensuring that the Government take meaningful action on aircraft noise following the abolition of ICCAN.

It was also fitting for members to finally be able to say thank you to our former Chair John Stewart for his efforts over the previous 20 years.

Campaigners say UK airport expansion plans must be suspended amid new climate goals

HACAN has joined 15 national and community campaign groups calling on the Government to place a moratorium on airport expansion.

Together we have written to the Transport Secretary and the Communities, Housing and Local Government Secretary. You can see the letter in full here.

The letter has been picked up by the Guardian and HACAN have issued a press release here.

Covid Impact on Heathrow

Post-Covid Heathrow is in a very different place. It held its Community Noise Forum online yesterday. A useful report was given by the airport on the current state of play.  Below are the main points:

  • Heathrow passenger numbers are down 82% on where they were last year.
  • Heathrow is losing £5m a day (that is the amount its costs exceed the revenue coming in)
  • It doesn’t expect passenger numbers to be back to their 2019 levels until around 2025
  • Senior management staff levels have had to be reduced by a third (involving around 400 compulsory redundancies)
  • All expenditure, except for that needed to keep the airport operating, has been paused
  • Heathrow remains committed to community engagement but will review the form it will take in the light of its financial circumstances.
  • Its commitment to minimising the impact of noise has not changed.
  • The holding stacks are not required to be used just now because of the big fall in the number of flights
  • Some more direct routes are being used
  • As expected, with far fewer flights, the number of late-running planes (those arriving or taking off after 23.30) has been reduced significantly.