Heathrow gets go ahead for third runway – Greenpeace not happy

by Scott Carmichael on

London Heathrow airport is in desperate need of a third runway.

Despite being one of the busiest airports in the world, all 481,000 yearly aircraft movements take place on just 2 runways.

Anyone who has arrived or departed from Heathrow has probably spent a decent chunk of time waiting in line for a take off slot, or received a complimentary 45 minute sightseeing trip making circles over London waiting for permission to land.

The UK government has been working on a proposal for a third runway for years, and finally agreed to grant building permission for it yesterday.

Of course, nothing airport related ever goes without some major opposition, and this one is no different.

Greenpeace is so strongly opposed to the expansion plans, that they purchased a chunk of land right in the village of Sipson. Sipson is one of the communities destined to become extinct when construction on the runway begins.

Their plan is to break the land up into smaller chunks, and sell it to as many people as possible, making it harder for the government to claim ownership.

Greenpeace argues that the third runway is not necessary, and they have a long list of reasons for being against this expansion.

Of course, environmental clubs like Greenpeace have a long history in trying to prevent new runways from being built, but very little history in actually stopping the construction.

A similar situation happened in the Netherlands in the mid 90’s when a local environmental protection club purchased a small plot of land just outside Schiphol airport and planted it full of trees. It delayed things a bit, but the runway was still built.

At the end of the day these actions just cost massive amounts of taxpayer money and clog up our legal systems, but it’s a noble cause and I don’t think anyone denies Greenpeace a little publicity stunt.

British Airport Authority told to sell Gatwick, Stansted and Edinburgh airports

by Josh Lew on

England’s British Airports Authority (BAA) was told by the country’s Competition Committee that it has to sell Gatwick, Stansted, and Edinburgh airports. The watchdog group has pointed to a lack of competition as the reason for advising the sales. “Under separate ownership, the airport operators including BAA, will have a much greater incentive to be far more responsive to their customers, both airlines and passengers.”

BAA was bought by Spanish company Ferrovial two years ago. The Competition Committee’s criticism of BAA might look like a bid to bring ownership back to the U.K. However, that is not likely to happen. BAA put Gatwick on the market in August. The top bidders thus far are German and Australian companies. Virgin Atlantic is also trying to organize a consortium of investors to make a bid.

The Scottish airports and Stansted remain in BAA’s hands for now. The organization responded to the watchdog’s report by saying that there was no compelling evidence proving that the airports, especially Stansted, should be sold.

United Airlines Pilot Arrested at Heathrow on Suspicion of Being Drunk

by Josh Lew on

A 44-year-old United Airlines pilot was arrested at London Heathrow this morning on suspicion of being drunk. The man’s name has not yet been released. He was arrested under Britain’s transportation safety laws, which include a strict limit on the alcohol levels of pilots.

United made a statement about the arrest:

“United Airlines’ alcohol policy is among the strictest in the industry and we have absolutely no tolerance for abuse or violation of this well-established policy. Safety is our No. 1 priority and the pilot has been removed from service while we are co-operating with authorities and conducting a full investigation.”

The man was scheduled to act as first officer on a United flight from Heathrow to San Francisco. He was arrested as the plane sat at the gate in Terminal One. He was bailed out of Heathrow’s police station soon after his arrest but will have to return on January 16th of next year to face an inquiry.

Heathrow’s New VIP Lounge is Juvenile

by Josh Lew on

The presence of kids in the fast-paced world of airline travel can evoke as much controversy as McCain versus Obama. The harried business traveler not only has to worry about getting slowed up or annoyed by the incessant whining (real or imagined) of youthful travelers, they also have to be concerned about accidentally thumping a child on the head with a briefcase as they try to hurry to their gate.

In a nod to traveling tots, London Heathrow has created a VIP lounge specifically for families. It’s not the first, but definitely sounds the coolest. That’s right mom and dad, no need to put up with the icy glances of laptop jockeys in the regular first-class and business-class lounges. In fact, the kids’ lounge in Heathrow’s Terminal 5 doesn’t even require a business class ticket. Known as KidZone, it has an ample buffet, computers and whimsical decorations. Entrance costs $27 per trip and is also included in the membership perks of clubs like Priority Pass. Virgin Atlantic has a similar lounge at Heathrow, while some state-side airports like JFK and LAX boast child-friendly facilities as well. American Airlines will continue the trend by opening no less than 9 KidZone-like lounges at major airports in the US. Food you can eat with your hands, no worries about making noise, and I bet they have Legos too. Sounds better than the regular VIP to me. I wonder if they let you in even if you are not traveling with kids.

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Climate activists arrested at Heathrow

by Anna Brones on

With all the talk of biofuels and climate change in the airline industry, environmental activists have taken to airports as their protesting grounds. Last week in Sweden activists dressed up as polar bears at a Stockholm airport. This week the site of protesting is Heathrow Airport, where today four Greenpeace activists, who climbed on top of an airplane, were arrested.

Part of a larger group that was gathering in Westminster to oppose plans to expand Heathrow, the Greenpeace protesters hung a banner that said “Climate Emergency – No Third Runway” on a British Airways Airbus A320.

Although the environmental group saw their actions as necessary, the BAA, the British airport company, called the act “unlawful and irresponsible.” I wonder if they’ll ever be allowed to fly British Airways again.