Recent Media
Here are some links to recent stories about developments at Heathrow and other airports.
Britain is stealing the US crown of No 1 climate villain
If it fails to stand up to BAA on Heathrow, Labour will be cast as the enemy in the environmental battle of the decade. This is a truly shaming moment for Gordon Brown's government. On Monday ministers were once more accused of failing to fully assess the environmental impact of a third runway at Heathrow. The Conservative MP for Putney, Justine Greening, argued that the airport operator, BAA, had been too closely involved with the expansion plans, alleging that government collusion had resulted in environmental concerns being ignored. With Ruth Kelly and the Department for Transport seemingly determined to bust the UK's climate-change targets, it now falls to the likes of Greenpeace and Plane Stupid to try to defend them.
Ministers have acknowledged repeatedly that climate change is the greatest threat facing the globe. Gordon Brown himself gave a speech on November 19 last year in which he stated clearly that the ongoing rise in global temperatures should be kept to less than two degrees, and that, in order to achieve this, global emissions would need to start falling within 10 to 15 years. Yet Brown seems to see no inconsistency in demanding global action on climate change while simultaneously expanding the most polluting form of mass transport known to humanity.
View original article - Mark Lynas - The Guardian - 12/3/08
How to escape Heathrow hell
Protesters are lining up on all sides to oppose the expansion of Heathrow airport.
The answer is to be bold and build a new airport to the east, fit for the 21st
century.
The world’s biggest passenger jet will swoop into Heathrow for the first
time on March 18, heralding a new era in air travel. The Airbus A380 is a double-decker
“super-jumbo” ready to fly you to the future – but it will
be landing at an airport mired in the past.
Heathrow, the busiest international airport on the planet, has become a byword for misery and chaos. Last month it was found to have the highest number of flight delays in Europe, with more than a third of aircraft suffering problems.
View original article - The Sunday Times - 2/3/08
Defy the flying monster for once, Brown, and stop this runway
The prime minister should summon his relevant ministers and decide not to proceed with Heathrow’s third runway. As protesters were festooning the Palace of Westminster with banners on Wednesday, Gordon Brown rightly told the Commons that decisions on such matters should be taken in the house and not on its roof.
But he knows that the House of Commons does not take decisions; the government does. His government has acquired a dreadful reputation for not taking them or fudging them or reversing them or just umming and ahing. Now he has an opportunity to bang the table and say, no runway.
View original article - The Sunday Times - 2/3/08
Posh protesters: How the anti-Heathrow Commons invaders included a Baronet's granddaughter and an MP's grandson
Perhaps it was not the most riotous way to celebrate what, in their view, had been a highly successful protest.
Following their release from police custody in the small hours of Thursday morning there was a quiet debriefing drink together, but by mid-afternoon yesterday it was largely back to the day jobs for the "Commons Five" - the group who were arrested after climbing on to the roof of the Palace of Westminster on Wednesday to protest about plans to build a third runway at Heathrow Airport.
But then this new breed of protester is a world away from the likes of the infamous Swampy, and the usual raggle-taggle of jobless drop-outs that are so often associated with the eco-warrior cause.
View original article - The Daily Mail - 1/3/08
In doomed Heathrow village, activists await fight
Sitting in a wood-beamed pub that would be buried under London Heathrow's proposed
third runway, locals Geraldine Nicholson and Linda McCutcheon say they do not
intend to give up their homes without a fight.
Britain's government, business leaders and airport operator BAA say the world's
busiest international airport must expand or lose out to continental rivals,
damaging the country's economy.
A consultation on the proposed expansion concludes on Wednesday. The government
says the decision to build a third runway has been made in principle and the
consultation relates primarily to the environmental impact.
View original article - The Guardian - 29/2/08
Protesters scale Parliament roof in anti-runway demo
Protesters sparked an embarrassing security alert at the House of Commons by staging a rooftop protest against the expansion of Heathrow airport.
Five members of the anti-aviation group Plane Crazy were arrested after gaining access to the roof of the Palace of Westminster where they unfurled banners attacking the plans for a third runway at the airport.
The protesters said they entered the palace as visitors, and walked on to the roof through an outside door, raising the prospect that a passholder helped them reach sensitive parts of the palace and guided them through the warren of corridors in the building.
View original article - The Independent - 28/2/08
Objectors unite on Heathrow plan
Some 3,000 people attended the rally at Methodist Central Hall. Thousands of residents, politicians and environmentalists have pledged to resist plans to extend Heathrow. Organisers said 3,000 people attended a meeting at Methodist Central Hall in Westminster.
Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg was among the speakers from all three major political parties who voiced their opposition. He said "no, no, no" to plans for a third runway and a sixth terminal. Earlier, Greenpeace activists staged a protest at the airport.
View original article - The BBC - 26/2/08
Mayor protests against Heathrow Airport expansion
Mayor of London Ken Livingstone has said there is no case to be made for expanding Heathrow or any other airport in London or the south east and new runways and more planes would cause more carbon emissions, increasing the threat of catastrophic climate change.
The Mayor spoke while attending a protest at Sipson village in Hillingdon, which would be bulldozed if plans for a third runway are approved. Other protestors included Geraldine Nicholson, chair of the No Third Runway Action Group, Linda McCutcheon from the Harmondsworth and Sipson Residents Association, John Stewart, chair of HACAN ClearSkies and Sipson village residents. Ken Livingstone said: "It is vital that all airport expansion in London and the south east, including Heathrow is halted now as it is completely contrary to the growing evidence on the role of aviation in contributing towards catastrophic climate change.
View original article - Transport Briefing - 19/2/08
Heathrow economic analysis ‘seriously flawed’
Opponents of plans to build a third runway at Heathrow airport claimed on Thursday that the government had based its support for the project on “seriously flawed” economic analysis. A report published by CE Delft, the Dutch consultants, cast doubts on the government estimates that expansion would bring economic benefits totalling £5bn ($9.8bn).
View original article - The Financial Times - 15/2/08
Echo of Concorde heard in fight to justify third Heathrow runway.
The ghost of Concorde has been enlisted to help to justify a third runway at Heathrow and an extra 500 flights a day over London. This will make it much easier to approve the new runway because Concorde was by far the loudest aircraft operating out of Heathrow. One Concorde flight produced as much noise disturbance as 120 Boeing 757s, according to the DfT’s method of calculating noise.
View original article - The Times - 9/11/07
London just doesn’t need a third Heathrow runway.
So why is the Government pushing ahead with a policy that is deeply unpopular with a large section of the capital and which conflicts with its own climate-change commitments? The answer must be that it has failed to do the calculations; that, or it has been bullied by vested interests.
View original article - The Eveing Standard - 14/11/07
Aircraft noise from Heathrow annoys far more residents than previously thought, an independent study has found.
Environmental and residents groups campaigning against the expansion of Heathrow airport claimed on Friday that research commissioned by the government had shown that millions more people were affected by aircraft noise than previously admitted. The number of respondents at least "very annoyed" generally increases in areas above 43 decibels, the study for the Department of Transport found. With current noise restrictions at 57 decibels, noise disturbs two million more people than previously estimated. But aviation minister Jim Fitzpatrick said the figures were not "robust" enough to lead to a change in policy.
View original article - The BBC - 3/11/07
View original article - The Financial Times - 3/11/07
Two more departures from BAA
Top media men follow clutch of senior managers quitting the Spanish-owned British airports operator. BAA's corporate affairs director and his right-hand man have resigned from the embattled airports operator in protest at the daily interference by the company's controlling shareholder, Spanish construction group Ferrovial.
View original article - The Telegraph - 22/8/07
Thousands more homes face life in shadow of the flightpath
The campaign to halt the expansion of Heathrow will intensify dramatically after it emerged that thousands of homes will be blighted by new flight paths to handle a massive increase in traffic from the airport. As the week of climate change protests reached a climax yesterday with a blockade of the headquarters of the airport operator, BAA, a coalition of 12 communities - two million people - unveiled a new battle over noise pollution in London and the home counties, which will be the inevitable outcome from a planned third runway at Heathrow.
View original article - The Independent - 21/7/07
Beneath Heathrow's pall of misery, a new political movement is born
It was not flawless, but the climate camp was still the most democratic and best organised protest I've witnessed. There are plenty of people at the Heathrow climate camp who say they are campaigning on behalf of their children. But when Alf Pereira spoke on Sunday outside the church in Harmondsworth, we knew he meant it. His daughter died of bronchial problems caused, he believes, by pollution from the airport. She was buried in the graveyard behind us. He fears that if a third runway is built, the developers will disinter her.
View original article - The Guardian - 21/8/07
Secret plans showing how Britain's biggest airport is set for a massive expansion have been leaked to the Mirror.
Thousands of houses will be bulldozed to make way for another terminal and runway at Heathrow, the document reveals. Detailed drawings never previously published show the land earmarked for the expansion. It would mean the demolition of 700 homes, a primary school and a 900-year-old church. The revelation comes in the midst of a series of public protests against the West London airport's fifth terminal, now being built. The secret plans are for a mammoth sixth terminal and a third runway to be the same size as the two strips already there.
View original article - The Mirror - 19/8/07
Heathrow besieged by militants in tents
By Robert Shrimsley
Thousands of people are on Thursday expected to descend on Heathrow in what BAA, its operator, fears could lead to a day of chaos and disruption at London’s busiest airport. BAA has already gone to court in an attempt to stop the militant group, known as “passengers”, from reaching the terminals. It says the smooth functioning of the airport will be badly jeopardised if the passengers are allowed anywhere near the sites. A spokesman says the airport runs like clockwork when the travellers are kept away but when they arrive the scene rapidly descends into chaos. Intelligence sources say many will be bringing luggage which has to be screened and which they expect to find at the other end of their journey. There is a growing fear of direct action which would see thousands more arriving, armed with tickets, which they intend to present to the check-in counters in a move operators say would bring the terminals to a standstill.
View original article - The Financial Times - 16/8/07
Grounded: Another victory in battle to curb airport growth
A dramatic grassroots fightback is under way against the massive expansion plans of Britain's airports which, despite grave concerns about effects on the environment, are aiming to treble flights and vastly increase passenger numbers within 20 years. In an unexpected triumph for campaigners yesterday, Manchester airport's plans to expand on to green belt land which it owns in Cheshire were rejected by a government planning inspector, who supported the objections of Macclesfield Borough Council. The decision follows a similar triumph for Warwick District Council, whose opposition to ambitious development plans at Coventry airport have halted plans to double passenger numbers.
View original article - The Times - 16/8/07
‘Secret pact’ over Heathrow’s third runway
The Government is facing calls for an investigation into allegations that it is colluding with BAA, the airport operator, over plans to build a third runway at Heathrow and allow an extra 500 flights a day over London. The Department for Transport has secretly passed key information supporting the expansion to the Spanish-owned company six months before it is due to be published in a consultation document. The department has also allowed senior BAA officials to influence a series of tests designed to show whether the third runway would breach limits on air pollution and noise.
View original article - The Times - 6/6/07
Britain's small, regional airports have big ambitions to expand and cash in on rising passenger demand - all with the government's blessing
From Newquay to Aberdeen, Belfast to Bournemouth, the steady flow of passengers checking in for cheap holidays is turning into a flood. Attention has focused on plans for new runways at Stansted and Heathrow, but regional airports have been busy building capacity to cater for the seemingly insatiable public appetite for foreign travel.
MP calls for domestic flight ban
Tim Yeo wants Britain to set an example for other governments. Conservative MP Tim Yeo says he wants to see "virtually no" UK domestic flights within a decade.
I'll recycle but I won't give up my long-haul holidays, says Blair
Tony Blair recycles his rubbish in Downing Street but will not give up his foreign holidays to save the planet.
Climate minister told to cool off
A government minister who called Ryanair the “irresponsible face of capitalism” was given a sharp dressing down by David Miliband, the Environment Secretary.
Rise of low-cost flights comes at high price
The government's aggressive language about the aviation industry's failure to get to grips with cutting pollution reflects growing frustration that its emissions are undermining Britain's strategy on climate change.
Ministers know emissions trading is a red herring and won't work
Inter-industry carbon shuffling and optimistic figures mask the true extent of envionmental damage caused by flying.
'Greenwash' claim as runway expansion plans confirmed
The government was accused of a "greenwash" yesterday as it confirmed plans for an increase in airport capacity, including new runways at Heathrow and Stansted.
Progress Report on Aviation White Paper Set to Confirm Government’s Desire for 3rd Runway at Heathrow. Campaigners promise ‘mother of all battles’
The Government is expected to confirm its desire to see a 3rd runway built at Heathrow when it issues its ‘Progress Report’ on its 2003 Aviation White Paper next week. But it will hold back from giving the green light to an additional runway until 2007 when it publishes its report into future levels of air pollution at Heathrow.
I live under the Heathrow flight path. Interview with Jean Bland.
I've lived with my husband in our house near Richmond, south-west London, for 19 years. The area is pretty and so convenient, but we have friends who've said, "Love the house, love the area... but I'd never buy a house where you live." Very soon after we moved in, the noise seemed to get worse and worse. We suffer most in the early morning and late at night.
Airport demo: 25 in court
Protesters arrested at a demonstration on an airport runway have said they are the last generation that could prevent climate change. Twenty four protesters are accused of breaching security at Nottingham East Midlands Airport on September 24. They are part of environmental group Plane Stupid and all appeared at Loughborough Magistrates' Court. They are all charged with aggravated trespass, causing a public nuisance and entering a restricted area of an airport without permission.
Airport demo protesters arrested
The taxiway protest was led by the Rev Malcolm Carroll. Police have arrested
24 protesters who broke through a security gate at Nottingham East Midlands
Airport.
Members of an environmental campaign group used cutters to gain access through
a fence. The airport said six outbound flights were delayed. The group, which
called itself Plane Stupid, had claimed the number of short-haul flights from
the airport was affecting climate change.
Britain 'must act now to cut carbon emissions or pay the price later'
Britain has four years to put in place a "road map" to ensure a low-carbon economy where petrol stations would be redundant and wind turbines would be a feature of every home by 2050. The first comprehensive account of the measures needed to ensure Britain does its bit to avoid dangerous climate change is published today with a warning that failure to act now will only require more drastic action at a later date.
View original article - The Independent - 15/9/06
We're all heading for the fiery furnace if we go on taking these cheap flights
JET TRAVEL is a sin, says the Bishop of London, and of course he is right. How can it not be a mortal sin to contribute actively to the end of the world?
View original article - The Times - 26/7/06
Air fares 'to double' as Europe votes for green tax
Air passengers will be charged up to £40 extra for a return ticket within Europe to pay for the environmental impact of their journeys, under plans approved by the European Parliament yesterday. They also accepted a recommendation for a special emissions trading scheme for the aviation industry, which would see airlines buying permits to cover their output of carbon dioxide. Aviation is the fastest growing source of greenhouse gases, and flights within Europe are on course to double by 2020 and triple by 2030.
View original article - The Times - 5/7/06
BAA is putting profits before communities
Last Monday we opened up a new front in the fight against climate change when six of us chained ourselves to the doors of the British Airport Authority's (BAA) offices in protest against the company's plans for a third runway at Heathrow airport. Two days later, Mike Clasper, the chief executive of BAA, which owns Heathrow, Gatwick and five other UK airports, tried to provide some "reassurance on aviation and climate change" when he wrote in these pages.
View original article - The Guardian - 12/4/06
