MPs to Seek Meeting with European Commissioner “This could be the report that sinks the 3rd runway at Heathrow”
A new report launched yesterday in the House of Commons has prompted a cross-party group of MPs (1) to seek an urgent meeting in Brussels with the European Commissioner for the Environment. Continue reading “New Report: Government May Already be Acting Illegally over Air Pollution Limits at Heathrow”
Karen Buck quits weeks before controversial announcements expected on night flights and runway alternation Continue reading “Aviation Minister Resigns”
Employees at Heathrow have been issued with ‘free-post’ postcards to mail to their local councillors urging them to support the expansion of Heathrow. The move has been exposed by anti-expansion campaign group HACAN ClearSkies after it was contacted by employees who were furious at being given the postcards
The blue cards, entitled “Future Heathrow – supporting sustainable growth” (1), have been issued by IATA (the International Air Transport Association). HACAN ClearSkies revealed that British Airways has close connections with IATA. BA’s new Chief Executive, Willie Walsh, sits on its Board of Governors.
One employee told HACAN ClearSkies (2), “Many of us are spitting mad that we have been given these postcards. We are furious that the aviation industry is spending money on them when they should be investing their time and money on quieter and cleaner planes — that is the real way to guarantee a good future for the industry and the people who work in it.”
HACAN ClearSkies Chair John Stewart said, “Employees are right to be upset about these postcards. You can’t help feeling that the aviation industry is trying to use its employees. Further expansion at Heathrow will certainly increase the profits of the industry. Whether it is necessary to prevent redundancies at the airport is much more doubtful.
ENDS
(1). Text of postcard below
(2). All the employees have expressed the desire to remain anonymous.
For more information:
John Stewart on 020 7737 6641 or 07957385650
================================
The cards read:
Future Heathrow
IATA
Central House
Lampton Road
HOUNSLOW
TW3 1HY
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.
There are many thousands of us who work at Heathrow or have friends and relatives whose jobs depend on the Airport.
The Government has said that Heathrow can only have a third runway if it meets stringent noise and pollution controls. I accept that and I hope that others will too. In listening to these arguments I ask you to remember that my job depends on Heathrow’s success, which in turn depends on Heathrow being allowed to grow.
If Heathrow is not allowed to grow, it will slip from being Europe’s second largest airport in terms of number of destinations served in 1990 to Europe’s eight largest airport in 2010, causing thousands of British jobs to be exported overseas.
Heathrow can either expand or decline. It cannot stay as it is.
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.
Yours faithfully,
[Box for Name:]
[Box for Company:]
[Box for Ward/Borough:]
[Box for Address/Post Code:]
Following a budget deal agreed with Green Party members of the London Assembly, the Mayor of London has agreed to fund the fight against a third runway at Heathrow. £80,000 will be spent on projects to highlight the health, noise and economic impacts of aviation expansion. The projects were developed by campaigning groups HACAN ClearSkies and NOTRAG (No Third Runway Action Group), which are leading the efforts against Heathrow expansion
The projects include:
• Research into the damage to health caused by airport noise and air pollution;
• A report illustrating how airplane noise has become a problem over wide areas of London, as flightpaths change;
• An economic analysis challenging the justifications for a new runway and demonstrating the hidden costs (such as extra noise, pollution, traffic congestion).
The research will be carried out during the course of this year.
Darren Johnson, Green Party member of the London Assembly, commented:
“A third runway at Heathrow would have devastating impacts in terms of noise, air quality and greenhouse gas emissions. We are delighted to have secured an agreement with the Mayor to fund projects that will demonstrate the case against Heathrow expansion quite clearly.”
John Stewart, chair of HACAN ClearSkies, commented:
“This money will be hugely important in our fight against airport expansion at Heathrow. It means we can commission serious research to challenge the arguments given for more expansion.”
Geraldine Nicholson, chair of NOTRAG, commented:
“This will mean we can concentrate our efforts and funds at the grassroots level while experts carry out the important research we need to persuade the government that expansion at Heathrow is not an option now or in the future.”
Notes for Editors
ENDS
‘A lifeline for residents in West London’
HACAN ClearSkies launched its campaign to retain runway alternation this week with the publication of a short
booklet outlining the issues (1)
In a few months the Government is expected to consult on proposals to end
runway alternation and introduce ‘mixed-mode’, despite the widespread opposition it is aware this will attract from
MPs and local authorities. HACAN ClearSkies has timed the launch of its campaign to link in with major events
being staged today by campaign groups at the other airports in the South East (2).
Runway alternation has been in place in West London since the 1970s. It is the practice where planes landing at
Heathrow switch runways at 3pm to give residents a half day’s peace and quiet. In its Aviation White Paper,
published in 2003, the Government announced that it would consult on proposals to end this practice and introduce
‘mixed-mode’ (where planes would be landing and taking off on the same runway at the same time).
John Stewart, Chair of HACAN ClearSkies, said, “The proposals to end runway alternation are just part of the
Government’s relentless determination to bring more planes into Heathrow regardless of the consequences for the
residents under the flight path. It is the half day’s peace and quiet which makes life bearable for many residents in
West London. It’s their lifeline. I’m sure they will fight tooth and nail to oppose mixed-mode.”
Stewart added, “Mixed-mode will result in well over 500,000 planes using Heathrow each year. Up from just over
470,000 last year and well in excess of the cap of 480,000 the Government put on flight numbers when it gave the
go-ahead to Terminal 5. Yet another broken promise to residents.”
Wandsworth Council leader Edward Lister said: “Another Government promise on aircraft noise looks set to be
broken. Local people will be horrified when they learn of this plan to end the 3pm turn-round.”
Richmond Council leader Tony Arbour said, “We back HACAN’S campaign all the way. If introduced, mixedmode
will dramatically worsen the existing intolerable noise levels endured by residents”.
Councillor Ruth Cadbury, the cabinet member at Hounslow Council who leads on aviation matters, said, “Local
residents are deeply disappointed that the Government hasn’t given up its obsession with expanding Heathrow for
the New Year. Instead, it is resolved in its plans to deprive hundreds of thousands of residents of their last
remaining vestige of peace. Introducing mixed mode will mean more planes, more pollution and more noise. It is
airport expansion by the back door and will bring 1,000 extra flights to Heathrow every week.”
ENDS
Notes for Editors
(1). Enclosed
(2). MPs, Peers and senior councillors from across Herts and Essex will join Stop Stansted Expansion (SSE) at a major public
meeting on Thursday 12 January (8pm) at Bishop Stortford’s Rhodes Centre to mobilise local opposition to BAA’s latest
proposals for a second Stansted runway — for more details call Carol Barbone 07775523091
An important new study into the climate change impact of Gatwick Airport is to be published this week. It shows that planes
departing from Gatwick emit the equivalent of 13 million tonnes of CO2 a year, 18 times as much climate change damage as
the whole of Crawley — industry, vans and lorries, private cars, and the heating and lighting of houses and offices — for more
details call Brendon Sewill on 01293 863369
“LADACAN (Luton and District Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise) will be addressing a public meeting at
Rothamsted Conference Centre, Harpenden, near Luton, at 19:30 and lobbying those attending, among them local MP Peter
Lilley.” — for more details call Roger Wood on 07776 153299
For further information contact:
John Stewart on 0207 737 6641 or 07957385650
Press Release dated 9th January 2006: for immediate use
Pressure group HACAN ClearSkies today revealed that over the last year Heathrow residents have built up
links with a variety of campaign groups, including the radical direct action movement Earth First!, as part
of their campaign to stop further expansion at the airport. The news comes the day after the Treasury
confirmed that Gordon Brown was looking afresh at ways of expanding Heathrow.
“We’ve stopped speaking to the Department for Transport. We’ve started speaking
to Earth First!”
Pressure group HACAN ClearSkies today revealed that over the last year Heathrow residents have built up
links with a variety of campaign groups, including the radical direct action movement Earth First!, as part
of their campaign to stop further expansion at the airport. The news comes the day after the Treasury
confirmed that Gordon Brown was looking afresh at ways of expanding Heathrow (1).
John Stewart, Chair of HACAN ClearSkies, said, “There will be the mother of all battles if the Government
tries to expand Heathrow.”
And, Stewart stressed, that this was not just empty rhetoric. He explained that over the last year local
residents have met with a large number of environmental groups, including direct action campaigners from
Earth First! and Rising Tide. Direct Action training sessions for residents have been held, with more
planned for this year.
Stewart said, “For the last two years we have systematically built up alliances across the board in
preparation for the inevitable battle that will take place if the Government decides to expand Heathrow.
The Government doesn’t seem to realise the forces lining up against it: local residents; nearly all MPs and
local authorities in West London and Berkshire; the London Mayor; environmental groups shocked at the
implications for global warming; and activists who want a showdown with the aviation industry.”
“The actions in which HACAN members participated in 2005, such as blasting loud music into the home of
retiring BA Chief Rod Eddington at 5am on the morning of British Airway’s AGM or jeering at delegates
to an international aviation conference when they arrived for their gala dinner on Tower Bridge last month,
were just a taster of what is to come if the Government doesn’t withdraw it expansion plans. We’ve
stopped speaking to the Department for Transport. We’ve started speaking to Earth First!”
At the end of this year the Government is committed to reviewing its controversial 2003 Aviation White
Paper. It is under heavy pressure from the aviation industry, and particularly from British Airways, to give
the green light to a third runway at Heathrow. This Spring, it is expected to consult on plans to make more
use of the existing runways, by proposing the end of runway alternation, the system where planes landing
over London use one runway until 3pm before switching to the other, thus giving a lot of people a half day
of relative peace and quiet. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has estimated that, with a third runway in
place and runway alternation at an end, flight numbers could exceed 700,000 each year at Heathrow (2).
Last year there were just over 470,000.
ENDS
Notes for Editors
(1). The story appeared in the Observer 1/1/06
(2). The report was by DF Rhodes for the CAA
For further information contact:
John Stewart on 0207 737 6641 or 07957385650
This Press Release dated 1/1/06
Residents campaigning against airport expansion will link up with radical environmental
Earth First! activists in a colourful protest against an international, three-day aviation
conference being held in London at the end of November (1)
The protest will be staged on
Tower Bridge on the evening of Tuesday 29th November to coincide with a gala dinner being
laid on for the delegates in a function suite on the bridge (2).
The peaceful protest will bring together local residents with environmental activists from a
number of organisations (3). It is expected to be a colourful event. It is planned to float a
boat, full of people dressed as pirates, underneath the bridge, whilst others will be in fancy
dress on the bridge. Some people on the bridge will be in formal evening wear having been
briefed to “bring business cards and prepare to network.”
John Stewart, Chair of the Heathrow residents group HACAN ClearSkies, said, “Although
this will be a fun event, it has a serious purpose. The top people from the aviation industry
across the world are meeting together for three days to talk about expanding their industry
without a thought being given to the consequences for the environment or people living under
the flight paths. We want to send them a clear message that this is not acceptable. In fact
they are being ‘plane stupid’.”
One environmental activist, Joss Garman, explained, “Aviation is the fastest growing cause of
climate change, and things cannot go on as they are. Through direct action we dramatically
altered the Government’s road programme in the 1990s, and we stopped the
commercialisation of GM crops. We are gathering on the bridge to send a message to the
airline bosses — they are our next target.”
ENDS
Note for Editors
(1). The Conference, The Future of Air Transport, is being held in the Waldorf Hilton Hotel
in the Aldwych on 28th, 29th and 30th November. It is being organised by the Institute of
Economic Affairs and is expected to be attended by over 300 senior representatives from the
aviation industry from across the world. Speakers include representatives of British Airways
and BAA. For further details of the Conference go to www.marketforce.eu.com
(2). Protestors will gather on Tower Bridge from about 6.00pm on Tuesday 29th November.
The gala dinner is being held in one of the function suites in the rooms above the bridge.
(3). The event has been put together by a range of individuals. HACAN ClearSkies is not
the organiser of the event.
(4). Pictures of the event will be available on Wednesday morning.
For further information contact:
John Stewart on 0207 737 6641 or 07957385650
Press Release issued Monday 28th November 2005
A new study just published questions many of the key claims made by the aviation industry about the contribution of aviation to the economy. The study was carried out by the respected Dutch consultancy CE Delft
A new study just published questions many of the key claims made by the aviation industry about the contribution of aviation to the economy. The study, carried out by the respected Dutch consultancy CE Delft (1), was commissioned by a number of organisations from around Europe concerned about the levels of airport expansion which are being proposed across the continent (2). The study is being launched this week in advance of a major three-day international aviation industry conference being held in London starting on Monday 28th November (3).
CE Delft assessed the methodology used in three key studies which the aviation industry has used in recent
years to make claims about its contribution of aviation to the economy (4). One of the studies assessed by
CE Delft was The Contribution of Aviation to the UK Economy, which formed the basis of the 2003 Aviation
White Paper. The Department for Transport commissioned consultants Oxford Economic Forecasting (OEF)
to carry out the study, but it was largely paid for by the aviation industry.
CE Delft identifies key flaws in the methodology which were common to all the studies they assessed:
• The studies fail to carry out a full cost-benefit analysis of impact of airport expansion. The OEF study, for example, did not factor in the costs of the impact on the environment. CE Delft comments: “this makes any comparisons between investment costs and the impact on GDP nonsensical.”
• The studies are wrong to imply the number of jobs which might be created by investment in the aviation industry is a reliable indicator of the industry’s contribution to the economy or its impact on Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The reason for this is that it is incorrect to assume that all these people would become unemployed if activity in the aviation sector did not grow. The economy would develop in different ways:
budgets and investment may well be spent elsewhere, leading to employment and contributions to GDP in
other areas of the economy.
• The studies, in any case, over-estimate the number of jobs that expansion of aviation would create. This
is because they include direct, indirect and induced jobs that might be created. Induced jobs are those
created as a result of workers in aviation spending their money — for example, jobs in a furniture store when
aviation workers spend money on buying new furniture. But, as CE Delft makes clear, this is double
counting. If all industries made the same claims, the number of jobs created would exceed the total
workforce!
John Stewart, Chair of HACAN ClearSkies, which represents residents under the Heathrow flight paths and
which was one of the organisations which sponsored the CE Delft Report, said, “This report from
independent consultants should make government ministers look very hard at the claims made by the
aviation industry. Behind the industry’s glossy literature is the stark reality: aviation is much less important
to the economy than the industry claims.”
ENDS
Notes for Editors:
(1). CE Delft is based in the Netherlands. It provides advice to business and government and does work for
the European Commission. www.ce.nl
(2). The organisations which commissioned and funded this study were Milieudefensie (Netherlands),
UECNA (European Union Against Aircraft Noise), Friends of the Earth, Transport & Environment
(Brussels-based lobbying organisation), Bundesverein gegen Fluglarm, HACAN ClearSkies, Bruxelles Air
Libre, Schipol Region Citizens Platforms, Dublin Uproar, Gatwick Area Conservation Campaign, Dutch
Society for Nature and Environment, Citizens Platform Wezernbeek.
(3). The Conference, The Future of Air Transport, is being held in the Waldorf Hilton Hotel in the Aldwych
on 28th, 29th and 30th November. It is being organised by the Institute of Economic Affairs and is expected to
be attended by over 300 senior representatives from the aviation industry from across the world.
(4). The three aviation industry studies assessed were:
Vluchten kan niet meer; Avies over de toekomst van de luchtvaart in Nederland (Nowhere to turn, nowhere
to fly. Advice on the future of aviation in the Netherlands), by the Dutch Advisory Council for Transport,
Public Works and Water Management, 2005.
Assessing the economic costs of night flight restrictions, by MPD Group Limited in association with ERM,
February 2005, commissioned by the European Commission.
The contribution of the aviation industry to the UK economy; Final report, By Oxford Economic Forecasting
(OEF), November 1999.
For further information contact
John Stewart on 0207 737 6641 or 07957385650
Press Release dated: 21st November 2005
Monday 24th October
Central Halls, Westminster
7.00 — 8.30pm
Over 40 politicians from all political parties are expected to address a major rally calling for action
on night flights to be held in Central London on 24th October (1).
The speakers will include
Shadow Transport Secretary Alan Duncan and Liberal Democrat Transport Spokesman Tom Brake
(2). The rally, organised by HACAN ClearSkies in association with the campaign groups from
Stansted and Gatwick airports, comes just over a month after the Government’s consultation closed
into its plans for night flights at the three airports for the period 2006 — 2012 (3).
John Stewart, Chair of HACAN ClearSkies, which represents residents under the Heathrow flight
path, said: “This rally sends the strongest message yet to government about the need to tackle the
hated night flights.”
The recent consultation on night flights proposed an extra 620 flights a year between 11.30pm and
6am at Heathrow by 2012 and a 41% increase in flights at Stansted. At Gatwick, where the
Government proposed to keep the number of flights much as they are at present, local people have
been enraged by the efforts of BAA and the airlines to secure an increase in flight numbers.
ENDS
Notes for Editors:
(1). The rally will be held in the media room of Central Halls, Westminster, Storey’s Gate, SW1. It will run from
7.00pm — 8.30pm. Alan Duncan will address the rally shortly after 7.00pm. Other politicians will be slotted in as and
when they arrive.
(2). The full list of politicians who are expected to address the rally is:
Alan Duncan, Conservative Transport Spokesman
Tom Brake, Liberal Democrat Transport Spokesperson
Julian Brazier, Conservative Aviation Spokesman
MPs from the Heathrow area:
Adam Afriyie, Con, Windsor
Vincent Cable, Lib Dem, Twickenham
Lynne Featherstone, Lib Dem, Hornsey and Wood Green
Justine Greening, Con, Putney
Greg Hands, Con, Hammersmith & Fulham
Kate Hoey, Lab, Vauxhall
Alan Keen, Lab, Feltham & Heston
Susan Kramer, Lib Dem, Richmond Park
Martin Linton, Lab, Battersea
John McDonnell, Lab, Hayes & Harlington
John Randall, Con, Uxbridge
Andrew Slaughter, Lab, Ealing, Acton & Shepherd’s Bush
MPs from the Stansted area:
Oliver Heald, Con, NE Herts
Mark Prisk, Con, Hertford & Stortford
Brooks Newmark, Con, Braintree
Peers:
Lord Patrick Jenkin
MPs from the Gatwick area:
Peter Ainsworth, Con, East Surrey
Crispin Blunt, Con, Reigate
From the Greater London Authority:
Baroness Sally Hamwee, Lib Dem, Chair GLA
Darren Johnson, Green, Chair GLA Environment Committee
Roger Evans, Con, Chair GLA Transport Committee
Richard Barnes, Con, member for Hillingdon & Ealing
Elizabeth Howell, Con, member for Wandsworth & Merton
From the local authorities:
Representatives from the London boroughs of Hounslow, Wandsworth and Richmond will address the meeting. Also
from the district councils in the Stansted area: Uttlesford and Aintree.
(3). Every 5/6 years the Government draws up an agreement with the airlines about the number of flights permitted at
the countries three ‘designated’ airports: Heathrow, Stansted and Gatwick. The next agreement is due to come into
force in 2006 for the period between 2006 and 2012.
For further information contact:
John Stewart, Chairman, HACAN ClearSkies: T 0207 737 6641 or M 07957 385650, jdm.stewart@virgin.net
Carol Barbone, Campaign Director, Stop Stansted Expansion: M 0777 552 3091 cbarbone@mxc.co.uk
Brendon Sewill, Chairman, Gatwick Area Conservation Campaign: 01293 863 369, gacc@btconnect.com
Press Release dated 17th October 2005
On Tuesday 20th September a new study will be
launched in Brussels which questions the need for night flights (1).
The launch will mark the start of a major Europe-wide
campaign to get rid of night flights. It comes just days after the end of the UK Government’s consultation on its plans to
increase night flights at Heathrow (2).
The new study (3) questions the value of night flights to Europe’s economy. It also argues there are no strong operational
reasons for night flights to continue. It calls on European countries to implement within 5 years the World Health
Organisation’s (WHO) recommended noise levels for night flights, which they have all signed up to (4).
The campaign is being backed by protest groups around airports right across Europe. Over the next two years they will use the
study — published in the form of attractively-produced briefing sheets — to lobby their national governments, MEPs and key
members of the European Commission for an end to night flights. Their aim is to persuade the European Commission, when it
publishes it revised Noise Directive in 2007, to require member states to put into practice the WHO guidelines on night flights
(5).
John Stewart, the Chair of the Heathrow pressure group HACAN ClearSkies and the author of the study, said “Over three and
a half million people across Europe are exposed to night flights. This campaign brings together protest groups from virtually
every country in Europe. Our study shows just how weak the arguments put forward for night flights actually are. Our aim is
to persuade European governments to put people’s health before the self-serving interests of the aviation industry.”
Caroline Lucas MEP, who will be hosting the launch in the European Parliament, said, “This campaign is built on solid
foundations. It is now clear that the economic importance of night flights has been greatly over-stated. It is also clear that
there are no overwhelming operational reasons why planes need to fly at night. I will be working with my colleagues of all
political persuasions in the European Parliament to make the case for applying WHO standards to night flights.”
ENDS
Notes for Editors:
(1). The launch will take place in Room ASP 8F388 of the European Parliament on Tuesday 20th September from 13.15 —
14.15.
(2). The consultation ends on 16th September. Every 5/6 years the Government enters into an agreement with the airlines on
the number of flights permitted between 11.30pm and 6am at Heathrow, Stansted and Gatwick. The current agreement will
run until 2006. After that the Government is proposing to increase flights numbers at Heathrow so that by 2011/12 there will
be 620 more a year between 11.30pm and 6am than there are at present.
(3). Summary enclosed
(4). The World Health Organisation guidelines recommend that no single outdoor event at night should exceed 60 decibels at
night (45 indoors) and that the average noise over an eight hour night period should not exceed 45 decibels outside (30
indoors). 59 countries across the world, including all EU countries, have signed up to the guidelines, but there is no agreed
timetable as to when they should come into force.
(5). The EU Noise Directive was published in 2002. It required member states to draw up noise maps and produce noise
action plans, but it did not specify any required noise levels. Over the next two years the European Commission will be
revising the Directive, with a revised proposals being ready for Spring 2007.
For further information contact:
John Stewart on 44 (0)207 737 6641 or 07957385650
Caroline Lucas on 32 2 284 5153
Press Release dated 13/09/05
