UK Border Force strike may cause airport delays: BBTN

[BBTN] Airports have warned of potential delays through immigration control on Wednesday (March 20) due to a strike by Border Force staff.

“Action will start with a 24-hour strike on budget day,” said the PCS. Photo: Wikipedia

Employees, who are members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union, are due to go on a 24-hour strike designed to coincide with tomorrow’s budget from chancellor George Osborne.

UK Border Agency said in a statement: “Our top priority is minimising disruption to our public-facing services and our public offices will remain open for business. We apologise for any disruption to services which result from this industrial action.”

Heathrow warned that arriving passengers “may experience some delays at immigration” but said it was not changing any flight schedules.

“The Home Office has assured us it has contingency plans in place to minimise any disruption caused by the strike,” said the airport. “We are operating a normal flight schedule and we are not advising passengers to change their plans.”

PCS workers around the UK are taking industrial action in protest at proposed cuts to pay, pensions and working conditions. The union said the timing of the strike was designed “to put maximum pressure on ministers who are refusing to talk to us”.

“Action will start with a 24-hour strike on budget day,” said the PCS. “When the chancellor stands up to deliver his budget we’ll be protesting across the UK.”

Stansted said its flights would be operating as normal but added they may be some delays at passport control.

“UK Border Force has contingency plans in place and we will work with them to ensure any disruption to our passengers is kept to a minimum,” said the airport.

It was a similar message from Luton which advised incoming passengers to take a series of steps to ease any potential delays including the use of automatic e-Passport gates, having landing cards fully completed and staying in family groups.

For the latest updates on the strike from UKBA, CLICK HERE…..

Read the original story at Buying Business travel…..

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Buying Business Travel
19th Mar, 2013

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Stansted takeover: Manchester Airport Group pledges battle of the skies: Evening Standard

[Evening Standard] The new owners of Stansted today launched a battle of the skies as they vowed to take passengers from Heathrow and Gatwick after competing the £1.5bn purchase of the Essex airport.

Manchester Group promises flights to 40 new long-haul destinations including the US, Caribbean and the Middle East. Photo: Wikipedia

They promised to take the airport, traditionally a stronghold of budget airlines, into the premier league with flights to 40 new long-haul destinations including the US, Caribbean and the Middle East.

Owners Manchester Airport Group (MAG) pledged to double annual passenger numbers 35 million, build new stands for the A380 superjumbos and spend £40m on new shops.

But MAG insisted there were no imminent plans to build another runway at the Essex airport – even though it is being considered by mayor Boris Johnson as a site for a “super-airport” to solve the southeast’s aviation capacity crisis.

Charlie Cornish, chief executive of Manchester Airport Group (MAG) said: “If we get the right level of customer experience and the right product, which is the right airlines flying the right planes at the right price, we will start to move volume around London. Some will always go to Heathrow and Gatwick but if it’s a strong product we hope to take volume not just from the north but the south” Mr Cornish said.

MAG calculates that 50 million people live within two hours’ drive of the Essex airport.

MAG purchased Stansted after Heathrow owner BAA was forced by the regulator to sell up to create more competition in the market.

The acquisition by MAG, which also own East Midlands and Bournemouth, includes a 35 per cent stake for…..

Read the full story at The Evening Standard…..

 

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Evening Standard
Mar 1st, 2013

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• Stansted sold to Manchester Airports group for £1.5bn (itv.com)

Gatwick Boss calls to expand Sussex and Essex airports: BBC News

[BBC News] A proposal to expand Gatwick and Stansted airports so they can compete with Heathrow has been put forward by Gatwick Airport‘s chief executive.

Gatwick wants three airports to compete but campaigners want demand spread across the UK. Photo: Gatwick Airport Ltd

Stewart Wingate said both the airports in West Sussex and Essex should expand.

The plan would see three airports of a similar size competing with each other and spreading the economic benefit and environmental impact, he said.

But anti-expansion campaigners said the South East had enough air capacity and demand should be spread across the UK.

Several plans have been put forward to increase air capacity in London and the South East including expansion of Gatwick, Heathrow, and regional airports.

There are also three plans to build airports in the Thames Estuary off Kent, and a proposal to build a four-runway airport on Goodwin Sands near Deal.

Mr Wingate said: “What we’re promoting is a model which sees the airports of the South East competing with one another.

“What that means for us is a second runway going into Gatwick and subsequently a second runway going into Stansted.”

But John Byng, vice chairman of the Gatwick Area Conservation Campaign, said the prospect of a second Gatwick runway was “worrying” and added: “It will create much more noise and disturbance for local people.”

He said: “There are lots of services that would be further overstretched by the expansion of Gatwick and what’s more it’s not needed.

“There is plenty of capacity in the South East for the flights that are needed. There isn’t an airport in the country that’s full except Heathrow.

Read the full story on BBC News…..

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BBC News
1st Feb, 2013

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• Stansted Airport being sold to Manchester for £1.5bn: BBC News (airportinformer.wordpress.com)

Stansted Airport being sold to Manchester for £1.5bn: BBC News

[BBC News] London’s Stansted Airport is being sold to the owner of Manchester Airport for £1.5bn, it has been announced.

Stansted’s sale had been ordered by the Competition Commission. Picture: Wikipedia

The airport is being sold by Heathrow Airport Holdings, formerly called BAA, which will continue to own London Heathrow, Southampton, Aberdeen, and Glasgow airports.

Heathrow Airport Holdings had to sell Stansted as a result of a ruling by the Competition Commission.

The sale is due to be completed next month

Heathrow Airport Holdings chief executive Colin Matthews said: “Stansted Airport and its people have been part of our company for a long time.

“We wish the new owners every success and are confident the airport will continue to flourish. We will continue to focus on improving Heathrow, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Southampton airports.”

Manchester Airport is owned by Manchester Airports Group, which is a holding company in turn owned by the 10 borough councils of Greater Manchester.

Heathrow Airport Holdings is owned by an international consortium led by Spanish infrastructure group Ferrovial.

The Competition Commission ruled in 2009 that the then BAA had to sell both Stansted and Gatwick due to concerns over a lack of competition between London’s three main airports, which, led by Heathrow, were all owned by the same company.

Read the rest of this story at BBC News…..

 

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BBC News
19th Jan, 2012

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Ryanair ordered to ‘review’ fuel policy after THREE emergency landings because planes almost ran out: Mail

[Daily Mail] Budget airline Ryanair has been ordered to ‘review’ the amount of fuel it carries after three of its planes – including one from the UK -  were forced to make ‘Mayday’ emergency landings in Spain when  they started to run out .

Ryanair was operating with a level of fuel that was ‘close to the minimum’ required in the case of a diversion. Photo: Wikipedia

The airline was operating with a level of fuel that was ‘close to the minimum’ required in the case of a diversion, they said.

Three Ryanair Boeing 737-800 aircraft heading to Madrid were forced to make emergency landings after being diverted to Valencia because of thunderstorms over the Spanish capital.

One of the three affected  planes was heading from Stansted Airport to Madrid when the diversions and emergency landings occurred at Valencia on July 26 this year.

The Irish Aviation Authority Report noted: ‘All three aircraft declared an Emergency (Mayday) when the calculated useable fuel on landing at Valencia was less than the final reserve.’

The watchdogs accept that  all three Ryanair planes left for Madrid ‘with fuel in excess of Flight plan requirements’  and also with fuel ‘in excess of the minimum diversion fuel’ required, so remained strictly  within the rules.

However, the IAA also noted: ‘Diverting with fuel  close to the minimum diversion fuel in the circumstances presented on the evening in question was likely to present challenges for the crew.’

It has also questioned whether the current fuel limit rules give passenger jets enough latitude  land safely in the event of a diversion from Madrid – and asked Spanish aviation chiefs to look at them again.

Spanish pilot union leaders have accused Ryanair of…..

Read the full story at Mail Online…..

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Mail Online
21st Sept, 2012

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Luton named UK’s ‘most unfriendly airport’: Metro

[Metro] A recent poll from travel search site Skyscanner claims Luton was rated as the most unfriendly airport with only 5.76 points out of ten.

Luton has been named the UK’s most unfriendly airport in a new survey. Photo: Wikipedia

London airports Stansted, Heathrow and Gatwick also featured towards the bottom of the list.

Meanwhile, the one airport which is getting things right is Edinburgh, earning a massive thumbs up from visitors.

ith a score of 7.41 points out of ten for friendliness it was followed closely by Newcastle (7.34) and then Manchester (6.87). Around Europe, Paris was voted the rudest airport with a score of just 4.86 points, while Moscow received 5.03 points and Istanbul was awarded 5.91 points.

The friendliest European airport, according to travellers, was shown to be Copenhagen (7.08 points).

Commenting on the results, Victoria Bailie from Skyscanner said: ‘We like to have a good moan and grumble but overall, the average scores were positives for the UK’s airports.

‘Despite the summer rush, they’ve clearly been doing a good job to help kick start our holiday on a positive note.’

Read the original story at Metro…..

 

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Metro.co.uk
21st Aug, 2012

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Airport consultation delayed by coalition tension: BBC News

[BBC News] A consultation on expanding airports in south-east England has been delayed again amid reports of tensions within the coalition over the issue.

Waiting: Planes queue for take off at London City Airport – congestion could increase air fares.

The consultation had been due to be announced later but is now unlikely to go ahead until the autumn.

The Lib Dems are opposed to expansion, and the coalition agreement rules out new airports in the region. But there is speculation that Chancellor George Osborne is warming to the idea of a third Heathrow runway.

Several Tory MPs are also openly supporting the plan, says BBC transport correspondent Richard Westcott. They have been accused of trying to delay everything until after the next election, when they believe they could be in power as a single party.

It is another delay for a consultation that was meant to start in March, then delayed until the summer, and is now likely to wait until the autumn. It was dealing with some of the thorniest issues in aviation, including whether to build a third runway at Heathrow airport in west London, or perhaps build extra runways at Stansted or Gatwick. Some concerns have been expressed about the environmental impact of a third runway at Heathrow and the potential for it to damage people’s quality of life.

Conservative MP Zac Goldsmith, a well known environmentalist, said he would not stand as a candidate for the party at the next election if it supported a third runway.

London Mayor Boris Johnson also opposes…..

Read the full story at BBC News…..

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BBC News
12 July 2012

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Boris Johnson backs new runway at Stansted: Telegraph

[Telegraph] Boris Johnson has called for a second runway to be built at Stansted as the gulf between the London Mayor and David Cameron widened on aviation.

”Boris thinks it is time that we looked at all the options around London because the Heathrow option is politically undeliverable”. Photo: Wikikpedia

Mr Johnson rounded on the Prime Minister and the Coalition which has refused to consider expanding Heathrow as well as vetoing proposals for new runways at Gatwick and Stansted.

Having earlier pushed for the building of a new airport in the Thames Estuary, Mr Johnson called for a second runway at Stansted to be built as a short term fix.

He also said that £14.8 billion Crossrail scheme, which will link the City to Heathrow, should be extended to Stansted.

“It would be a good interim solution,” he said. “A lot of money is now moving on to Stansted and the possibility of a high-speed rail link up there. You could be just as fast, if not faster, than at Heathrow.

”I think it is time that we looked at all the options around London because the Heathrow option is politically undeliverable and would be an environmental disaster.

Read the full story at The Telegraph…….

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By David Millward
6:12PM BST 18 Jun 2012

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Stansted Airport baggage handler strike begins: BBC News

[BBC News] Baggage handlers at Stansted Airport in Essex were due to begin a four-day strike over the Jubilee weekend.

Handling firm Swissport said contingency plans had been made. Photo: Wikipedia

Swissport workers were due to walk out at 05:30 BST and are not scheduled to return until 05:29 BST on Wednesday in a dispute over working patterns.

Talks to avert the action broke down on Friday. Workers also staged walk-outs in the dispute last month.

Richard Prince, general manager of Swissport Stansted, said passengers should not be disrupted.

The firm, which handles flights for Ryanair, Thomas Cook, Thomson, Atlasjet and BelleAir, said contingency plans had been made, including bringing in staff from its other bases.

Read the original story at BBC News……

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BBC News
2 June 2012

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• Stansted: Airport says it will be business as usual despite strikes – ITV News (airportinformer.wordpress.com)
• BAA told it can appeal Stansted Airport sale: SW Reporter (airportinformer.wordpress.com)

BAA told it can appeal Stansted Airport sale: SW Reporter

[Saffron Walden Reporter] Airports operator BAA has been granted a further reprieve against selling Stansted after the Court of Appeal ruled in the firm’s favour.

The Competition Commission decided that BAA must sell Stansted. Photo: Wikipedia

Today’s decision means the company can now appeal against the Competition Appeal Tribunal’s judgment on February 1 which had backed the Competition Commission’s decision that BAA must sell Stansted, Gatwick and one of its two Scottish airports, Edinburgh or Glasgow.

Gatwick was auctioned off in 2009, while the sale of Edinburgh was announced in April this year.

A BAA spokesman said: “We are pleased that permission to appeal has been granted and look forward to presenting our arguments before the Court of Appeal.”

  Read the original story at The Saffron Walden Reporter…..

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SW Reporter
Monday, May 28, 2012 

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• Long Stansted Immigration Queues Last Night, ‘Unacceptable’ Airport bosses say: BBC (airportinformer.wordpress.com)