Heathrow - The Future
Here is a selection of news stories wchich we hope will be of interet. Brought to you by heathrowairportcarparking.
Legal Challenge to Heathrow Airport third runway February 23 2010
The Morning Star Newspaper reports today:
"Government plans for a third runway at Heathrow airport will face a legal challenge on Tuesday by a coalition of local councils, environmental groups and residents.
The coalition's lawyers will argue at the High Court in London that the government's consultation process for Heathrow expansion was fundamentally flawed.
The coalition, which includes six local authorities, Greenpeace and the Campaign to Protect Rural England, will also say that the expansion decision is at odds with the Britain's overall climate change targets.
If the expansion goes ahead, the village of Sipson - which is right on the airport boundary - will be lost.
CPRE chief executive Shaun Spiers said: "Proceeding with the third runway would destroy not just a village and a large swathe of green belt but also tranquillity over a wider area.
"Countryside, parks and gardens in and beyond north and west London would fall under the shadow of new flight paths and the din of thousands of extra flights."
Greenpeace executive director John Sauven said: "Nearly 90 per cent of the people who responded to the consultation opposed the expansion of Heathrow.
"Yet mysteriously the government gave the go-ahead.
"This gives a clear demonstration of how little they value the views of the public.
"Now we've got the chance to submit this process to legal scrutiny. We don't expect the courts to be any more impressed with it than we were."
A Department for Transport spokesman said: "The Department stands fully behind the decisions on Heathrow announced last year and will be defending them robustly in court."
David Cameron says no to Heathrow Airport on-sea January 23 2010
Conservative leader David Cameron has said building an airport in the Thames Estuary is not among his party's plans.
Mr Cameron said if elected to government in this year's general election it would not be the policy to construct the four-runway airport.
The plan by London mayor Boris Johnson has been met with strong opposition.
Mr Cameron said: "It's not our policy."I mean we don't want to see the third runway at Heathrow and we can stop that from happening.
"We want to see instead high-speed rail and a proper rail hub at Heathrow, so that all those flights... that serve places that could be met by rail, all of those will be met by rail. That's our policy."He added: "Boris is a great mayor of London doing an excellent job, but building airports is not his responsibility."
Heathrow Airport " on sea" ? October 18 2009
PLANS to relieve congestion at Heathrow by building a sister airport in the Thames estuary have moved a step closer.
The four-runway travel hub, nicknamed “Heathrow-on-Sea”, would be connected to the existing airport by a 200mph rail line that would enable passengers to transfer between flights in 45 minutes.
The project has been declared technically feasible in a report commissioned by Boris Johnson, the London mayor. He has now appointed Sir David King, the former government chief scientist, to conduct a more detailed study.
The estuary idea has gained extra impetus because plans to cope with expanding air traffic by building a third runway and new terminal at Heathrow could be mothballed, despite being approved by the government. The Conservatives oppose it and earlier this month BAA, the airports operator, said it would not submit a planning application before the general election.
The blueprint for the estuary airport has been drawn up by Douglas Oakervee, the engineer who helped plan Hong Kong’s island airport.
King will look at the plan as part of a study into the future of airports in southeast England. “There is a fairly obvious attraction to Oakervee’s plan which is that you essentially move that enormous mess of flight paths over London into the estuary, with all of the noise and pollution that go with it,” he said.
“Is this a white elephant? I wouldn’t be taking this on if I thought there was a simple answer.”
King’s brief will include working out whether the new airport can be environmentally friendly. He will consider new wind farms and a tidal barrage, which could generate 7% of the electricity needs of England and Wales and help offset the new airport’s emissions.
King’s estuary working group will include Oakervee, the architect Sir Terry Farrell, Nick Raynsford, the former London minister, and Kit Malthouse, Johnson’s deputy.
Oakervee said: “We’ve got to stop this short-termist mentality in planning. If you do nothing to our airports by 2030, the shortfall will be massive.
“Even if you build runways at Heathrow, Stansted and Gatwick you’ll be two runways short of what is needed. Forget arguments about a third runway, by 2030 we’ll need a new airport.”
Possible financing could come from the sovereign wealth funds of China and the Gulf states. The £40 billion airport would be built on artificial islands three miles long and a mile wide in the outer estuary north of the Isle of Sheppey, Kent. It could be built by 2029.
Although Johnson has said he eventually wants to close Heathrow, Oakervee instead recommends reducing the number of flights using it and linking it to the estuary runways via high-speed rail — in effect creating a six-runway hub for northwest Europe.
A second rail link would connect the airport to cities on the continent via the existing high-speed line used by Eurostar, reducing the need for short-haul flights.
Oakervee’s report, which is to be published tomorrow, identifies “no overwhelming obstacles” to building the airport. It says concerns about bird strikes are overstated because the runways would be several miles from the coastal mudflats where thousands of migrating birds congregate, and shipping lanes would not be disturbed.
Oakervee acknowledges, however, that the project will be a “massive undertaking”. Building the two islands, measuring three miles long by one mile across, will require 17 times more spoil than will be generated by excavations from the London Crossrail project.
Reconfiguring London’s flightpaths will be complex; and a solution has yet to be found for how to remove the nearby wreck of the SS Richard Montgomery, a second world war ship loaded with explosives and deemed too dangerous to touch.
The project’s £40 billion price tag far exceeds the £9 billion cost of a third runway at Heathrow.
According to Johnson’s advisers, Gulf investors have already expressed an interest in funding the airport and Oakervee believes costs could be dramatically reduced by making the building site available as a “free dumping ground” for spoil.
Johnson’s decision to continue with the estuary project has failed to win over his party’s leadership. The Conservatives oppose expanding Heathrow, Stansted and Gatwick but have yet to say how they will cope with the expected expansion in demand for air travel.
Planning Application Put Off October 12 2009
BAA, the owners of Heathrow Airport are reported to have put off the planning application for the third runway at the Airport.
The Conservative Party has stated that if it wins the next election, it will cancel the propsed expansion.
Plans for Heathrow Airport Terminal 2 updated August 10 2009
- £1 billion terminal to house Star Alliance airlines
- Facility will use 40% less carbon than existing Terminal 2
Exciting plans for Heathrow Airport’s newest terminal are unveiled today.
The £1 billion Terminal 2 will become the new home for Star Alliance airlines and will provide an estimated 20 million passengers every year with a spacious and modern airport facility.
Mike Brown, Heathrow Airport's Chief Operating Officer, said: “These exciting plans will be a reality for millions of Heathrow's passengers, making every passenger journey a better one and underlining Heathrow's pre-eminent position at the heart of international travel and the global economy.
“The new Terminal 2 is part of a major programme of work already underway. Passengers travelling through Heathrow will be using new and extensively refurbished facilities which provide us with an excellent platform from which we can provide a better service to our customers than ever before.”
The development of Heathrow's Terminal 2 is part of a £4.8 billion investment across the airport, which will provide travellers using the UK's hub airport with new facilities and better service. The investment is provided at no cost to the taxpayer.
Passengers departing Terminal 2 will find 11,300m2 of floor space, accommodating self-service check-in machines, fast-bag drops, traditional check-in desks and 15 security search lanes.
In a two-level departure lounge, ten-metre high windows will provide excellent views of Heathrow's airfield and the nine new aircraft parking stands, a third of which are configured to accommodate a new generation of aircraft such as the A380.
Terminal 2 will produce 40 per cent less carbon than the buildings it is replacing. Large north-facing windows in the roof will flood the building with natural light, reducing the need for artificial lighting without generating uncomfortable levels of heat in the building. Solar-gathering panels on the roof will further reduce the dependency on energy supplies. Additionally a new energy centre, partially fuelled by renewable resources, will provide heating and cooling for the building.
To minimise disruption to passengers, construction is taking place in two phases. The first stage will see the creation of a terminal building with 180,000m2 of floor space on the site of the existing Terminal 2 and Queen's Building, both buildings are being demolished later this year. Construction on the first phase is due for completion in 2013.
Phase two is scheduled to run consecutively and will extend the new Terminal 2 into the existing Terminal 1 site. This phase, which also includes the construction of a second satellite building, is set to increase the capacity of Terminal 2 to 30 million passengers a year. Terminal 1 will close when phase two is complete in 2019, however it will remain open throughout construction.
Terminal 2 is one element of a £2.2bn investment on the eastern part of the airport. A satellite pier for the new terminal has been under construction since 2008. It is set to provide Heathrow with 16 additional stands and will be connected via an underground link to the main terminal building.
Steven Morgan, BAA Capital Director: “This is an exciting project, for the engineers and builders, and for our airlines and passengers. The challenges are not to be underestimated. We are constructing a significant new building in the middle of one of the world's busiest airports and ensuring the operating airport is not affected is an absolute priority.”
Initial designs were for the new terminal were devised by Foster + Partners and then developed by HETCo; a joint venture between Ferrovial Agroman and Laing O'Rourke.
Source: BAA
Heathrow – The Future June 2009
Heathrow Airport gets a tremendous amount of criticism, some of it deserved, most of it not. Politicians love to have a go, newspapers are always having a go (especially on slow news days), television channels can’t wait for some winter fog to delay flights, and everyone moans about traffic jams on the M25 and the crowded terminals.
What never makes the newspapers or the TV channels is that nearly seventy million passengers a year transit through Heathrow, the huge majority perfectly happy with their experience. Good news is of no interest to the media.
The problem with Heathrow is that it is too successful. Heathrow is the main European hub for transatlantic flights, and by far the largest airport in Great Britain. It is also very close to central London,easily reached by road and rail. Passengers can get from their central London hotel to the airport in less than an hour. Unfortunately, Heathrow is full. It currently operated at nearly 100% of capacity. There is no further room to expand, as the airport is currently has just two runways. Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris has four runways, Amsterdam five, and neither operates at anything approaching full capacity. Dubai is building a new airport with no less than six runways.
A new airport has been mooted for London,on and off, for decades but nothing ever came of it. The latest plan is to build a third runway at Heathrow, and thereby expand capacity. Proponents of the expansion claim that an additional 60,000 plus British jobs will be created, that the airport carbon emission levels are manageable, and that additional airport capacity is being added all over the world. Great Britain, they say, cannot stand still as the world moves on.
Will this ever happen? It seems highly unlikely. Opposition to a third runway is intense. Politicians, local residents, the Greens, Climate change activists, and, of course, the usual clutch of “celebrity” actors and personalities, are vehemently opposed. Planning enquiries are mandatory, which in this country can take years, if not decades. Opponents will ensure that any statutory consultations last for as long as possible, many years, not months.
Opponents claim that the proposed increase in the number of flights at Heathrow following the construction of the third runway will result in Heathrow airport becoming the largest single source of greenhouse gasses in Great Britain.
The Conservative party is also against the idea, and as all the signs point to them forming the next Government, the plan will probably be killed off fairly quickly.
So, where does this leave Heathrow airport? Amsterdam and Paris would jump at the opportunity to replace Heathrow as the main transatlantic hub. With no expansion, Heathrow's position will be gradually eroded.
However, there may well be a solution. Enter Boris Johnson, Mayor of London. He is implacably opposed to any further expansion of Heathrow, and has commissioned a feasibility study to look at the viability of an airport in the Thames Estuary. This idea, by the way, has been around for more than 25 years.
Perhaps Boris is right, and a Thames Estuary airport is the only answer. What are the alternatives?
· expand Gatwick, no chance,
· expand Stansted, no chance
· reduce the number of short haul flights by building a British and European network of high speed railway lines and trains based on Heathrow. You must be joking. It took more than a decade to complete the West Coast upgrade from London to Manchester and Scotland. Based on previous experience, to build a new high speed railway network centred on Heathrow could take decades to complety.
Being British, we will no doubt muddle though. Perhaps Boris is the only person with a sensible plan. Time will tell. The great think about the British attitude is that everyone wants to enjoy the benefits of air travel, but we don't want new airports built, or existing ones expanded.
So don’t worry. Continue to book your flights from Heathrow, and, most important, don’t forget to book through us at heathrow airport car parking.
BAA is looking to appoint a team to produce a ‘comprehensive masterplan to examine the potential expansion of Heathrow Airport’ - including a third runway and a new sixth terminal.
A tender notice was issued on behalf of airport owner BAA. Released as an open competition, the tender is divided into three lots: masterplan and lead design, civil engineering, and airport facilities planning.The contract could be awarded to one organisation, or three, a source close to the project said.
Among the architects expected to throw their hats into the ring include Foster + Partners, Pascall and Watson, and 3DReid - which has already drawn up masterplans for Glasgow, Edinburgh and Stanstead airports.
Heathrow Airport bid a last farewell to one of its oldest landmarks as work on the demolition of the Queens Building began in earnest. September 30 2009
BAA chairman, Sir Nigel Rudd, was on hand to bring the curtain down on the structure, which is to make way for the airport's new Terminal 2. Set to be the home of the Star Alliance members serving Heathow, the reconstructed Terminal 2 is anticipated to cost £1 billion.
Sir Nigel Rudd said: "The Queens Building has long sat at the heart of Heathrow, but the past must make way for the future, as we prepare to construct a new home for the Star Alliance member airlines serving Heathrow.
"We are proud to be rebuilding Heathrow and investing in what is undoubtedly one of the UK's most important assets. In a few years' time, Heathrow will be largely new, and passengers and airlines will be using bright, modern and practical facilities which allow us to deliver higher standards of service."
Lee Hock Lye, vice president product and services for Star Alliance, said: "Today marks a significant step forward in our endeavour to have a home under one roof for all our member carriers at Heathrow, which will finally allow us to operate from one of the world's largest aviation hubs on at least an equal footing with others."
The new Terminal 2 will provide higher standards of facilities and customer service, and will be one of the world's most sustainable airport buildings. Large north-facing windows will flood the terminal with natural light, while solar panels on the roof with further reduce energy consumption.
The current terminal is to close at the end of 2009 for demolition, during which time Star Alliance member carriers will continue operating from Terminals 1 and 3.