Press releases

Our press release archive holds HACAN ClearSkies' press releases from 1996 to the present day. You can browse our press releases in reverse chronological order, or use the keyword search function to quickly find the specific material you are interested in. Journalists can get in touch with us via the press office.

Keywords:

Showing all Press releases.

• New Study: High Speed Rail — a real alternative to expansion at Heathrow
  27 June 2008
  A new study, published today, has found that investment in high-speed rail could be a viable alternative to the expansion of Heathrow. The study, commission by the Rail and Maritime Union (RMT), said the controversial plans to expand Heathrow would be “unnecessary” if there was serious investment in rail.

• Royal Opening of Terminal 5 ‘a Sad Day for Residents’
  13 March 2008
  ‘Not so much a sparkling new terminal, more another broken promise’ Campaign group HACAN has branded Heathrow Terminal Five, which will be opened by the Queen tomorrow, as yet ‘another broken promise’. HACAN has called it a ‘sad day for residents’.

• Terminal Five Public Inquiry Inspector Speaks out against Third Runway at Heathrow
  27 January 2008
  The Inspector who conducted the Terminal Five Inquiry has spoken out against the Government plans for a third runway at Heathrow. In a rare interview, Roy Vandermeer told BBC London (1): “At the moment I have not for my part seen enough to persuade me that I would be altering my recommendations about the 3rd runway, were I doing it now. But that’s not to guarantee I wouldn’t, but I have not seen the material that would make me convinced that I would change my mind”.

• Poll of polls reveals only 18% of people support expansion of UK airports
  30 December 2007
  62% back reduction in short-haul flights from Heathrow. 70% of people say government should take the lead in tackling climate change.

• Latest News at a Glance
  26 November 2007
  Consultation on 3rd runway and Runway Alternation Published

• Latest News at a Glance
  06 November 2007
  Consultation on 3rd runway and Runway Alternation: December 2007

• The ANASE Noise Study Summary
  06 November 2007
  The Government published its first major study for over 20 years into how people react to aircraft noise in early November. It was accused of “sneaking it out”. Certainly it tried to ensure it got as little publicity as possible by simply putting it up on the Department for Transport website on the Friday of a week when Parliament was in recess

• An Inconvenient Truth
  02 November 2007
  The Department for Transport “sneaks out” its first major national study on aircraft noise for a quarter of a century

• Biggest-Ever Coalition against Heathrow Expansion Launched
  29 October 2007
  New website marks start of high-profile campaign

• Freedom of Information Documents Reveal ‘Collusion’ between Department for Transport and BAA on Forthcoming Heathrow Expansion Consultation
  14 October 2007
  They agree to put local authorities who might oppose plans on ‘risk register’

• Future Heathrow Poll at variance with earlier polls
  09 October 2007
  Pressure Group’s connection casts doubt on poll. The opinion poll issued yesterday by the pro-Heathrow expansion group, Future Heathrow, is at variance with earlier polls

• Government sits on damning Heathrow noise report
  04 October 2007
  Biggest study for 25 years shows numbers affected by noise could be 10 times higher than admitted. Campaign groups urge Aviation Minister to ‘end the lies and the deceit and publish the report’

• Conservatives to Review Plans for 3rd Runway at Heathrow
  13 September 2007
  “The Brown Government now surrounded by a sea of green”. The Conservative Party’s aviation proposals, announced today, leave the Labour Government looking increasingly isolated, claimed Heathrow campaign group HACAN.

• "From the Mother of All Injunctions to the Mother of All Setbacks"
  07 August 2007
  Campaigners were delighted when the High Court yesterday only granted BAA a very limited injunction for a very limited period. The judge, Mrs Justice Swift, said that the injunction she was granting was “nothing like as wide-ranging as set out by the claimants.” HACAN Chair John Stewart said, “BAA came for the mother of all injunctions but left with the mother of all setbacks.”

• No Place to Hide
  15 July 2007
  Major study reveals how aircraft noise has become worse over the last decade in London “an almost constant background of aircraft noise” 15 miles from Heathrow

• Batting for the Heathrow Residents
  06 July 2007
  Shane Warne and Imran Khan to feature in charity cricket match to benefit HACAN. It will be at Ham Common (Upper Ham Road) on Saturday 14th July, 2 — 6pm. The match is organised by Zac Goldsmith.

• Big Ben to Eiffel Tower: Plane or Train — which is fastest?
  24 June 2007
  Campaigners to stage race as part of European Day of Action on Aviation Saturday 16th June, 2007, 10.30am, College Green (opposite House of Lords): Eye-Catching sending off ceremony (1)

• Eurostar beats plane by over 3 hours!
  24 June 2007
  Press Update “On Saturday the plane was Eddie the Eagle of travel — so far behind as to be out of sight.”

• Direct Action: West London residents halt traffic outside Department for Transport Headquarters
  20 June 2007
  West London residents protesting about plans to expand Heathrow dramatically stopped traffic this morning outside the Department for Transport (DfT) offices in Central London before attempting an invasion of the building.

• Latest News at a Glance
  26 May 2007
  The news that environmentalists are planning to set up a week-long Climate Camp near Heathrow in August is a further indication that the battle for the future of Heathrow is hotting up

• Pressure mounts on BAA as Climate Camp decides to pitch its tents outside Heathrow
  24 May 2007
  The decision announced today to stage this year’s Climate Camp near Heathrow will increase pressure on BAA to drop its controversial plans to expand the airport. Last year’s Climate Camp, which took place outside Selby in Yorkshire, climaxed in a high-profile attempt to occupy Drax Power Station

• Aviation Minister Admits Flight Numbers at Heathrow Could Rise to 800,000 a Year
  22 May 2007
  For the first time a Government Minister has admitted that flight numbers at Heathrow could rise to 800,000 a year. In reply to a question from Richmond Park MP Susan Kramer (1), Aviation Minister Gillian Merron made it clear that this number could be reached if both a third runway went ahead and more use was made of the existing runways through the abolition of runway alternation.

• Planning White Paper proposals could speed up 3rd runway at Heathrow
  18 May 2007
  Residents’ rights of challenge to be restricted by “developers’ charter”

• HACAN welcomes decision of London Assembly to oppose 3rd runway at Heathrow
  26 April 2007
  Campaign group HACAN, representing residents under the Heathrow flight paths, welcomed yesterday’s decision of the London Assembly to oppose a 3rd runway at the airport. The London Assembly overwhelmingly backed the motion to oppose a 3rd runway and a 6th terminal (1). It also agreed to give “all possible support” to councils, community groups and the Mayor in opposing them.

• Latest News at a Glance
  09 April 2007
  Publication date: 9th April 2007

• 3rd runway at Heathrow to be fastracked. Local residents pledge the ‘mother of all environmental battles’
  02 April 2007
  Local residents have reacted with fury to reports that BAA Ferrovial is to fast track a 3rd runway at Heathrow (1). The reports suggest that there will be public consultation on plans for a third runway, probably in the autumn. It had originally been thought that this consultation would largely focus on proposals to end runway alternation, the practice where planes landing over West London switch runways at 3pm to give residents a half day’s relief from the noise.

• Cut in Short Haul Fights at Heathrow Needed to Help Livingstone Meet his Air Pollution Targets, Says Campaign Group
  28 February 2007
  Campaign group HACAN ClearSkies has called for a cut in short haul flights at Heathrow to improve air quality in London. It comes a day after the Mayor, Ken Livingstone, admitted that his ambitious plans to cut carbon emissions in the Capital by 60% within 20 years will be scuppered by the growth in pollution from aircraft. If Heathrow and City airports expand as the Governments wants, London’s overall emissions could only fall by 20% over the next 20 years.

• Flight Path Maps: Local authorities put the Department for Transport to shame
  30 January 2007
  Campaign group HACAN ClearSkies has praised the local authority organisation 2M (1) for publishing the likely flight paths to and from Heathrow if a third runway goes ahead (2) but has criticised the Department for Transport for refusing to produce official maps.

• Latest News at a Glance
  03 January 2007
  Publication date: 03 January 2007

• Let Battle Commence!
  14 December 2006
  Progress Report: 720 flights using Heathrow each year if a 3rd runway is built HACAN members plan further direct action training Douglas Alexander: “A young man trapped in a time-warp of his own making’

• Progress Report on Aviation White Paper Set to Confirm Government’s Desire for 3rd Runway at Heathrow
  09 December 2006
  Campaigners promise ‘mother of all battles’

• Short-Haul Flights: Clogging up Heathrow’s Runways
  05 November 2006
  The number of flights using Heathrow could be cut by around 100,000 a year if there were no flights to and from the destinations where there already is a good rail alternative, according to research released today (1) by campaign group HACAN ClearSkies

• It would be a ‘climate crime’ to expand Heathrow in light of new report, say campaigners
  29 October 2006
  Heathrow campaigners said it would be a ‘climate crime’ to expand Heathrow in the light off the new report (1) by Sir Nicholas Stern calling on the Government to take immediate action to tackle climate change. The widely-leaked report, commissioned by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, estimates that unless action to tackle climate change is taken within 10 years it will end up costing the world up to £3.68 trillion.

• Are the UK’s aviation and climate change policies impossible bed-fellows?
  17 October 2006
  A report launched today by the University of Oxford presents new evidence, which shows to what extent the Government’s policies on aviation fly in the face of policies on climate change. It says that by 2050, carbon dioxide emissions from UK aviation could be four to ten times higher than 1990 levels, representing up to two thirds of the government’s total emission target for that year.

• Living Under a Sky of Sound
  17 October 2006
  Lack of Alternation Leaves West London Reeling

• AIRPORT DEMO: 25 IN COURT
  09 October 2006
  By Nadeem Hanif Leicester Mercury - 10:15 - 07 October 2006

• Government Consultation on Runway Alternation Postponed for a Second Time
  09 October 2006
  The Government has postponed for a second time the consultation on its controversial plans to end runway alternation in West London (1). The Department has admitted that ‘ministers have yet to reach final decisions’ on the consultation, which was originally expected in March and then scheduled for October.

• Public Back Call by Environmental Audit Committee to Increase Taxes on Aviation
  07 August 2006
  A MORI Poll has revealed that the public would back calls for higher taxes on aviation. The poll, conducted over the summer, found that over 70% people would back higher taxes if the money went to improve the environment.

• Government Admits Defeat on Key Night Flights Issue
  25 July 2006
  The Government has admitted defeat on its battle to do away with a movements limit on night flights at Heathrow, Stansted and Gatwick. Aviation Minister Gillian Merron broke the news in a letter to Conservation Transport Spokesman Chris Grayling, dated 20th July

• Call for Government Aviation Policy to be Scrapped — Hacan Clearskies Joins National Campaign
  27 June 2006
  Local campaigners have joined a national AirportWatch campaign (1) calling for the Government’s aviation policy to be scrapped. The campaign, launched today with a series national newspaper adverts and based around ten key demands (2), aims to get tens of thousands of people to write or e-mail Transport Secretary Douglas Alexander to call for a major aviation policy rethink (3).

• "Driven to distraction by noise — the real legacy of Heathrow"
  01 June 2006
  4th June: BAA celebrates Heathrow’s 60th Birthday 6th June: Play opens in London theatre about life under the Heathrow flight path

• Thursday 18th May: A380, the world’s biggest aircraft, lands at Heathrow for the first time
  18 May 2006
  The A380, the world’s biggest aircraft, made its long-awaited debut at Heathrow on Thursday. It flew in as part of a series of trials before its first commercial flight, expected later this year, when Singapore Airlines will fly from Heathrow to Sydney via Singapore

• Thursday 18th May: A380, the world’s biggest airline, to land at Heathrow for the first time
  15 May 2006
  The A380, the world’s biggest airline, will make its long-awaited debut at Heathrow on Thursday (1). It is flying in as part of a series of trials before its first commercial flight, expected later this year, when Singapore Airlines will fly from Heathrow to Sydney via Singapore.

• Government Concedes: No Increase in Heathrow Night Flights for Six Years
  09 May 2006
  The Government climbed down over its plans to increase night flights at Heathrow in order to avoid defeat over key clauses of its Civil Aviation Bill in the House of Commons last night (1). Transport Minister Derek Twigg announced that the number of night flights between 11.30pm and 6am will remain at 16 per night for the next six years (2).

• Future Heathrow’s Arguments Flounder in Face of Chamber of Commerce Survey
  23 April 2006
  78% of firms oppose expansion at Heathrow

• First arrests in new wave of direct action against airport expansion
  03 April 2006
  9.55am Update — The first arrests have been made in a new wave of direct action against airport expansion. Six environmental activists were this morning arrested for aggravated trespass when they chained themselves across the entrance to BAA’s Heathrow Head office, preventing employees from entering. The action was to coincide with Heathrow airports 60th Birthday.

• Minister Announces Heathrow Runway Alternation Consultation Postponed until the Autumn
  17 March 2006
  Transport Minister Derek Twigg announced today (1) that the Government consultation on its plans to end runway alternation at Heathrow, originally expected this month, has been postponed until the Autumn.

• New Report: Government May Already be Acting Illegally over Air Pollution Limits at Heathrow
  16 March 2006
  MPs to Seek Meeting with European Commissioner “This could be the report that sinks the 3rd runway at Heathrow”

• The Two Faces of BAA - A Devastating Indictment of BAA
  27 February 2006
  A major new report, published today by AirportWatch (2), reveals the harsh reality behind the responsible and green image that BAA tries to cultivate. The launch of the report coincides with an international aviation conference BAA is hosting in London (3) and with the release of the annual results from Ferrovial, the Spanish company rumoured to be considering a takeover bid for BAA (4). Note for Scottish media (1)

• Aviation Minister Resigns
  25 February 2006
  Karen Buck quits weeks before controversial announcements expected on night flights and runway alternation

• HACAN ClearSkies Exposes Aviation Industry Third Runway Post Card Campaign
  10 February 2006
  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

• Greens win funding from Mayor to fight third runway
  24 January 2006
  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

• Campaign to Retain Runway Alternation Launched
  09 January 2006
  ‘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)

• Campaigners Build New Alliances to Stop Plans to Expand Heathrow
  01 January 2006
  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.

• Residents to link up with Earth First! activists in Tower Bridge Protest
  28 November 2005
  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)

• New Research Questions Key Economic Claims Made by the Aviation Industry
  21 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

• Over 40 Leading Politicians Set To Address Night Flights Rally
  17 October 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).

• Night Flight Campaigners Take Their Fight To Europe
  13 September 2005
  On Tuesday 20th September a new study will be launched in Brussels which questions the need for night flights (1).

• Kew Gardens Stays Silent on Heathrow Expansion
  16 August 2005
  Kew Gardens Stays Silent on Heathrow Expansion at a time key BAA and BA figures play a leading role in its management

• Angry residents give Rod Eddington a taste of his own medicine
  19 July 2005
  5am: his home blasted by aircraft noise

• Government proposes to increase night flight numbers at Heathrow
  11 June 2005
  Night flights at Heathrow could reach 6,420 by 2011

• A decade of blight
  06 June 2005
  Over 150,000 people face a decade of blight because of the uncertainty over the expansion of Heathrow Airport

• Alistair Darling ‘pied’ at Future Heathrow launch
  23 May 2005
  Environmental protestor makes their point with carrot cake and cream

• Demo and Report challenge rationale for future expansion of Heathrow
  23 May 2005
  A demonstration will take place outside the CBI headquarters in London on 23rd May…

• Green Party report ‘nails the lie’ that Heathrow noise levels have improved
  01 April 2005
  36,000 more flights using Heathrow this year than in 1997

• Appointment of BA chief to advise ministers "cements links between the aviation industry and government"
  17 March 2005
  Pressure group HACAN ClearSkies, which represents residents under the Heathrow flight path, has claimed that the appointment of BA chief Rod Eddington as a special adviser on transport to ministers cements links betwen the aviation industry and government.”

• Judicial Review Judgment on Aviation White Paper ‘Setback’ for Government
  18 February 2005
  White Paper, ‘once the jewel in the Government’s crown’, now ‘limping along like a battered old ram’.

• Blair to attend launch of A380 - The Reality Behind the Myth
  13 January 2005
  “Behind the glamour and glitz of the launch ceremony is the reality for residents. This plane will be one of the noisiest beasts in the sky.”

• Double trouble for Government on aviation
  07 December 2004
  High Court, Monday 13th December: Judicial Review of Aviation White Paper High Court, Tuesday 14th December: Judicial Review Night Flight Consultation

• Over 1,000 people threaten to resist airport expansion
  18 November 2004
  Over a thousand people have signed a nationwide pledge to resist airport expansion…

• Generous but Cynical
  22 September 2004
  Beware BAA Bearing Gifts, Cautions Pressure Group

• New guide challenges the need for night flights at Heathrow
  20 September 2004
  New research “destroys the myth that planes would need to leave America or Asia at unsociable hours if night flights were banned at Heathrow”

• BAA Back Away From 480,000 Limit at Heathrow
  22 July 2004
  A senior BAA manager has admitted for the first time that the company would be prepared to break the cap on the number of flights

• Night Flight Consultation Offers No Hope for Residents
  22 July 2004
  Ban on night flights at Heathrow already ruled out

• Judicial Review of Aviation White Paper Given Go-Ahead
  12 June 2004
  High Court is expected to hear the case within the next three or four months

• Heathrow comes to North London
  14 May 2004
  Official: 50% of all flights are routed over Finsbury Park, Stoke Newington and Highbury

• MEPs fail to back night flight ban
  27 April 2004
  Proposal receives the backing of just ten British MEPs

• CAA Official Report released…
  12 April 2004
  Over 700,000 Flights Could Use Heathrow

• Aviation White Paper faces court challenge
  01 March 2004
  Groups set to mount a Judicial Review

• Campaigners to Stage ‘Sleep-In’ outside Government Night Flight Conference
  23 February 2004
  Europe-wide campaign against night flights to be launched

• M4 needs to be put in tunnel…
  19 February 2004
  M4 would need to be put in tunnel if Heathrow is to meet EU pollution standards, claims Government Report

• Number of aircraft over London set to soar
  14 January 2004
  West London will become ‘the noise capital of the world’, claims pressure group

• Darling leaves Heathrow ‘up in the air’ claims HACAN ClearSkies
  16 December 2003
  White Paper condemns London and the Thames Valley to ‘years of uncertainty’

• Direct action protesters disrupt work on Terminal 5 site
  14 November 2003
  Protestors block key road leading to the site

• Mayoral Candidate Stephen Norris joins Politicians across London…
  07 November 2003
  Conservative mayoral candidate Stephen Norris has come out against a 3rd runway at Heathrow.

• BAA Water Quality Strategy an admission of past failures, claims pressure group
  21 October 2003
  “This must rank as one of the longest guilty pleas in history”

• Concorde’s last flight
  21 October 2003
  Residents ‘won’t lose any sleep’ over the end of Concorde

• Crane protestors get conditional discharge
  17 October 2003
  Campaigners turn up at Magistrates Court to support direct action crane protesters

• A show of solidarity
  15 October 2003
  Campaigners to turn up at Magistrates Court to support direct action crane protestors

• Anti third runway campaigners hit the streets of Hounslow
  06 October 2003
  Campaigners bring Road Show to the Borough of Hounslow

• Aviation campaigners prepare for direct action
  24 September 2003
  Campaigners from Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted meet with direct-action experts

• Profits before safety
  26 July 2003
  HACAN ClearSkies claims that airports are putting profits before the safety and security of their passengers

• 3rd Runway Protesters to Demonstrate Outside BA AGM in Colourful Stunt
  10 July 2003
  ‘British Airways reputation as a responsible company is in tatters’

• Night Flights Ruling
  08 July 2003
  Residents vow to fight to win

• 3rd Runway at Heathrow would be full by 2015
  22 June 2003
  Research raises fears amongst residents

• Mayoral Candidates Unite to Oppose any Further Expansion of Heathrow
  27 May 2003
  Announcement made on National Noise Action Day

• Dennis v. Ministry of Defence — RAF Wittering
  16 April 2003
  High Court says residents are not expected to put up with the ‘fearsome’ noise of Harrier training

• New Report Accuses Government of Bias in the Way it Measures Aircraft Noise
  15 March 2003
  Department for Transport accused of a Del Boy approach to noise measurement

• New freedom to fly campaign an ‘industry front’…
  12 January 2003
  Residents would prefer the ‘freedom to sleep’

• 3rd Runway Home Demolitions
  01 September 2002
  Pressure group accuses government of burying the true number of homes that might be demolished to make way for 3rd runway at Heathrow

• Government should come clean on its intentions
  09 July 2002
  Heathrow Residents’ Group Calls on the Government to Come Clean on its Plans for the Airport

• HACAN ClearSkies condemns government decision to appeal…
  19 December 2001
  ‘a kick in the teeth for residents under the flight path’

• Public inquiry inspector’s tough conditions…
  27 September 2001
  Public inquiry inspector’s tough conditions may mean Terminal 5 will never be built

• Over 90 MPs join all-party coalition
  16 April 2001
  Over 90 MPs join all-party coalition to limit flights at Heathrow

• HACAN ClearSkies calls for Heathrow health study
  02 April 2001
  Government should commission an independent study into the health effects of Heathrow

• Green MEP to address HACAN ClearSkies’ AGM
  01 March 2001
  Green MEP, Champion of Environmental Charges and Tighter Aviation Noise Controls, to address HACAN ClearSkies’ AGM

• Skies over London busiest in the world
  13 October 2000
  New research shows London way ahead of its rivals

• London’s parks blighted by aircraft noise
  02 October 2000
  New report to be launched by Darren Johnson, Mayor’s Environment Adviser

• A letter to Tony Blair
  21 September 2000
  HACAN ClearSkies wrote to the Prime Minister and the press released the letter.

• Heathrow Flight Numbers Reach BAA’s Terminal 5 Forecast 13 Years Early
  01 August 2000
  BAA had greatly underestimated the number of planes that would use Heathrow.

• BAA’s Magic Solution to Airport Pollution Shown to be an Illusion
  10 December 1996
  The world’s first airport without any planes

• Latest facts and figures on overwhelming opposition to T5
  10 December 1996
  Democratic consultation reveals depth of public opposition to Terminal 5

• Market pricing solution to pressure on Heathrow
  10 September 1996
  Who owns the slots at Heathrow?

© HACAN ClearSkies 2006 | Contact us

news