Aha! The cat's out of the bag

Way back in February, NNF sent the Airport Working Committee a response to Rob Hetherington's awful strategy document. And we heard nothing, until 17th June, when we were told (by Charles Hungwe, Senior Democratic Services Officer):

"At the meeting of the Overview & Scrutiny Panel on 28 May 2013, Members set up 5 task & finish groups/working parties for 2013/14. Unfortunately the Airport Working Party was not one of the five."

Quick as a flash, the reply went back to Charles Hungwe and Madeline Homer:

"The obvious question is: which part or parts of TDC now deal with the airport and related issues?"

And we heard nothing. So there was the usual annoying series of increasingly exasperated and ever-escalating requests for a reply and an answer.

Ta-dah! Having escalated the question to Leader and Chief Exec level, a reply arrived on 13th August from Madeline Homer:

"In general the airport remains part of the Economic Development and Regeneration portfolio under the Director of Community Services, including the monitoring of the s.106 agreement."

So there you have it. A mere two months after being asked, Ms Homer tells us that airport matters fall under the remit the Director of Community Services.

The Director of Community Services is Madeline Homer. I suggest it would be sensible to include her in all your correspondence regarding the airport - Madeline.Homer@thanet.gov.uk

KLM - everything's going to be fine. Really.

I flew from Manston to Schipol a couple of weeks after the service started. On the 10am flight, not the 6:30am NIGHT FLIGHT, naturally. 

The charming staff told me that the first couple of days had been "mad busy", with VIPs and bigwigs jetting back and forth - on free tickets presumably - but things had quietened down since then.

There were 16 passengers on my flight on the way out, 12 on the way back. And, yes, I do realise that one trip is no more than a snapshot and may not be representative.

It's an uncrowded, quick and convenient journey, but clearly not sustainable if the planes are flying less than a quarter full. I'll let you know what it's like the next time I go - I hope to make the most of this route before KLM pulls the plug. My guess is that KLM will tough it out for the summer season, suspend it for the winter, and then simply not restart.

---

Charles Buchanan

Manston Airport bosses confident of KLM future

Bosses at Manston Airport have said they are confident that a new passenger service to Amsterdam has a future. It comes after passengers said they had travelled on KLM planes that were less than half full.

The Dutch carrier started twice-daily flights from East Kent to Schiphol three months ago. Charles Buchanan, Manston's chief executive, told the BBC that the new service was a success:

"We have some flights that are less full than others obviously, but we've had others that are absolutely jam-packed and not a spare seat to be had. That's the normal way of aviation - you get some that are full and some that are less so. We're confident that the service has a future. This is a growing service, the forward bookings are coming in at a good rate."

KLM started running two morning flights from Manston, with one returning in mid-morning and the other in the evening, starting on 2 April.

BBC 1st Jul 2013

Aircraft noise, Council silence

A reader writes...

I don't know if you recall that I contacted NoNightFlights about being sold our house without the estate agents or anyone telling us of the low flying planes over the house?  Well, the house next door to us is being sold by the same estate agents so I thought I would put a poster in our window to alert any potential buyers. 
 
I have just been in touch with Councillor Corinna Huxley and she has suggested that I send you the times I have noted of planes recently. 

• Sunday 19th May 6.24 am
• Monday 20th May 8.35 pm
• Friday 24th May 20.33 pm
• Saturday 25th May 6.29 am
• Sunday 26th May 8.35 pm
• Tuesday 28th May 8.26 pm
• Wednesday 29th May 8.36 pm
• (away on holiday)
• Sunday 16th June 8.32 pm
• Monday 17th June 6.25 am
• Monday 17th June 8.30 pm
• Tuesday 18th June 6.30 am

I wonder if you might be able to help me with information concerning other planes I have heard flying over and around the Ramsgate area very recently.  Councillors have suggested that they are BA training flights and they are flying continually at all hours during the day and night.  It's a constant rumble. 

---

This is rather worrisome

This reader's councillor said to send information to No Night Flights. Another reader explained in the comments to another post that the Deputy Leader said to send information to TDC.  

This neatly illustrates the confusion that has followed the demise of the Airport Working Party. Once upon a time, there was a single point of contact, and a concentration of experience. When the airport breaches its conditions of operation, when people's lives are being ruined, who do they now speak to? Who should they contact?

Two weeks ago, I asked Madeline Homer which part or parts of TDC now dealt with the airport and related matters. 

No reply. 

That's simply not good enough. 

Here's a suggestion: if you have any complaints or comments about the airport or aircraft, send them to Madeline Homer and  the Deputy Leader (Alan Poole) and  No Night Flights. Just copy this into the "To:" line of your email:

 Madeline.Homer@thanet.gov.uk, cllr-alan.poole@thanet.gov.uk, NoNightFlights@gmail.com

and it will go to all three, and it will help us keep track of the impact the airport is having.

No Night Flights won't publish your complaints and comments unless you add something like "For Publication" to your email. 

TDC's Airport Working Party ditched

Even their harshest critics would accept that they were better than nothing, but now the AWP has been disbanded and air-brushed from history.

Why now?

I would have thought that this would be a particularly useful time to have a single, dedicated point of contact between the airport and the Council. Consider:

• the, ahem, burgeoning passenger traffic through the airport,
• British Airways pilots circling over Thanet as they get to grips with the some of the largest passenger aircraft in the world,
• Manston branching out into hosting large open-air events like the recent air show,
• the airport is STILL for sale - even if they're not involved in (or informed of) negotiations, surely TDC would want to be ready to welcome the new owners, because of...
• the need to renegotiate the S106 agreement.

How could this have happened?

Well, fingers are being pointed at Cllr John Worrow and Cllr Mike Harrison. Both went to the Overview & Scrutiny committee meeting on 28th May, when the various working parties for the coming year were set up. As Charles Hungwe (the officer in charge of the committee) wrote to me:

At the meeting of the Overview & Scrutiny Panel on 28 May 2013, Members set up 5 task & finish groups/working parties for 2013/14. Unfortunately the Airport Working Party was not one of the five. The five that were set up are as follows:

Community Safety Partnership Working Party; Corporate Improvement Working Party; Electoral Registration Process Review Task & Finish Group; Pleasurama Site Development Review Task & Finish Group; TDC Artefacts Management Review Task & Finish Group.

The AWP wasn't overlooked, far from it. It was considered and rejected, as it says in the minutes:

Some Members of the Panel said that they were still receiving complaints from residents in their wards about noise levels for aircraft landing outside permitted times. They said that the working party should be re-constituted to continue monitoring the activities at the Manston International Airport. Members expressed the view that the Airport Working Party could review the role of the airport in the proposed Thanet Economic Growth and Regeneration Strategy. Other Members however said that the Kent International Airport Consultative Committee (KIACC) had the formal role of monitoring compliance with policies on flight times.

Councillor Gibson proposed, Councillor Huxley seconded that the Airport Working Party be re-constituted.

When put to vote the motion was LOST.

Hang on a minute

The ruling Labour group has a majority (on paper, at least) on the committee, so how could they lose a vote proposed and seconded by Labour councillors?

Cllr John Worrow (multi-Independent) had stamped out of the meeting, disgusted at the company he was expected to keep, so he wasn't there to vote. And Cllr Mike Harrison (Lab) - who has been on the AWP for years, possibly from its inception - apparently did NOT vote to support the reconstitution of the AWP.

This has infuriated the Labour bigwigs, who are now desperately casting around for some means of re-running the vote and resurrecting the AWP. Given that they made manifesto pledges and ran on a platform of making the airport "resident-friendly", or at least "resident-considerate", many people would say this is the least they can do.

So where does all this leave us? As Charles Hungwe wrote to me, copying Madeline Homer:

You may wish to contact your Ward Councillor and/or Madeline Homer, Director of Community Services, if there are any issues of concern relating to the airport activities that you feel are urgent and require the attention of Council.

So I did. I replied to Charles and Madeline: 

View fullsize

but have received no reply.

Over to you

Dear Reader, perhaps you might be luckier. Drop Madeline a line - see if you can find out how TDC is proposing to manage its increasingly complex relationship with the airport during this time of uncertainty and transition.

You may also want to write to Cllr Jo Gideon to ask how she thinks TDC will manage without the committee she so ably chaired.

Infratil STILL trying to flog a dead airport

Infratil's year-end report is out, and it seems they're having more trouble scraping Manston off the sole of their shoe than they expected:

The Infratil Airports Europe segment comprising Glasgow Prestwick and Manston Airports is presented as a disposal group held for sale following the decision of the Group to sell these businesses and the subsequent sales programme. The Group remains committed to the sale process, and it is the expectation of the Group that a sale will be completed within the next financial year.

You can download the full report HERE, but the only page that mentions Manston is reproduced below.

View fullsize

click it to big it

Manston air show had its problems, but is this the way forward?

More people went to Manston than on any day for years. There were lots of businesses, big and small, from near and far, out there making money.   

With a bit of practice, they could probably manage to get the traffic management more or less right. Manston could become the new Kent County showground. They have the space to run massive open air shows. Perhaps if they started with boot fairs, and then gradually scaled up...

---

Thousands of people were unable to get into Manston Airport and were only able to view the aircraft from their cars as they waited in traffic on surrounding roads.

Organisers of the South East Air Show in Kent have been criticised after thousands of people trying to reach it were stuck in long queues of traffic. It was the first time in 20 years that Manston Airport had hosted the event but many motorists said they had to turn round and return home on Saturday.

Nine-mile tailbacks on Thanet Way meant journeys took more than four hours. Organiser Chris Yates said the air show was more popular than expected and the road infrastructure could not cope: 

"An awful lot of people [were] trying to come down some very small roads that come into Manston Airport - a classic dual carriageway two-into-one scenario."

John Turp, who took four hours to travel from the Monkton roundabout to the airport - a distance of two miles - said it had to be "one of the most shambolic events ever staged. The day was ruined for tens of thousands of people by the inept organisation."

Others trying to get to the air show vented their anger on social media websites.

Paul Blair said he left Maidstone at 09:40 BST and did not arrive at the airport until 16:20:

"The stewards organising the event parking didn't have a clue and were turning people around and sending them back the other way. A complete waste of time and money and I had one very disappointed and upset little boy who missed it all."

The event featured a display of aircraft, old and new, from the last Vulcan bomber still flying to the Apache helicopter. Mr Yates said initial news that it would be one of the last flights of the Vulcan had attracted a lot of people to the show, but this was not now the case as it had since been announced that it would be around for two more years.

He added that lessons would be learned from the issues and there would be "plenty to debrief on".

"We'll learn about the car parks and we'll learn about the timings of peoples' arrival and bigger car parks," he said.

In a statement on Sunday, Heritage Events apologised to people who experienced long delays and were unable to attend the event.

"We would ask for people to email their views and their personal experiences to enquiry@heritage-events.co.uk so we can respond appropriately to each person individually."

BBC 23rd Jun 2013

Infratil aims to offload loss-making UK airports

Infratil says it is still trying to sell two airports in Britain, despite passenger numbers improving. The company has been trying to sell Glasgow Prestwick and Kent International airports, which last year lost $10 million, for more than a year.

Latest figures show passenger numbers at Glasgow increased 14% in May with more than 118,000 passengers passing through, and the budget airline Ryanair plans to add more flights in July.

Infratil chief executive Tim Brown says the airports have attracted lots of potential suitors but have not yet found a buyer. Talks with several interested parties are ongoing.

Infratil shares rose 3.5 cents yesterday to close at $2.23.

Radio New Zealand 14th Jun 2013

Airbus A380 for training at Manston for three weeks

Manston Airport is due to welcome the world’s largest commercial passenger aircraft for a critical crew training programme.

British Airways’ first Airbus A380, a double-decked four Rolls Royce engine jet, will arrive at the Thanet terminal for a period of training in preparation for its launch into service later in the year.

Once the A380 training is complete, the airline’s new Boeing 787 Dreamliner will also make its way to Manston for part of its “entry into service” programme. Charles Buchanan, chief executive of Manston Airport, said:

“We are thrilled that the UK’s leading airline chose Manston as the place to carry out its entry into service programme. Essentially, this means that training for both the pilots and cabin crew will be taking place over three weeks with the aircraft departing from here once or twice a day and also staying overnight.”

Dave Thomas, British Airways’ head of flight technical and training, added:

“With one of the longest runways in the UK, Manston offers ideal facilities for our programme. We are looking forward to working with the staff who have been very helpful throughout the preparation period.”

British Airways has 12 A380s on order with flights due to start between London and Los Angeles in October. The manufacturer claims it has the lowest cost per seat and the lowest emissions per passenger of any large aircraft. Despite having almost 50% more floor space and 60% more headroom than the Boeing 747-400, it is claimed to be 50% quieter on take off.

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines recently launched a twice-daily service from Manston to Schiphol, linking Kent with 130 destinations worldwide. There will be no interruption to this service by the A380 training programme.

kentonline 12th Jun 2013
   

Heathrow closes - TWO planes diverted to Manston

Flights have been diverted via Manston Airport from Heathrow today after a plane was forced to make an emergency landing.

Both runways were closed when the British Airways plane caught fire in mid-air shortly after taking off this morning. Two diverted British Airways A320 aircraft - en route to Heathrow from Helsinki and Budapest - landed at Manston.

Both flights will return to Heathrow when permission is granted by London Air Traffic Control. Manston Airport chief executive Charles Buchanan said:

"We were pleased to help, and even more pleased that the incident ended safely for all concerned. I'd just like to thank all the team at Manston who handled these two flights, as well as the passengers arriving and departing on the scheduled KLM service to and from Schiphol, Amsterdam this morning."

All passengers and crew from Heathrow flight were safely evacuated and the fire brigade said the blaze has been put out. Heathrow's two runways were closed before one re-opened later in the morning. Other flights were diverted via Stansted and Cardiff. A statement from British Airways said:

"The BA762, Heathrow to Oslo service, returned back to Heathrow shortly after take-off due to a technical fault. The Airbus A319 aircraft was carrying 75 customers. The aircraft landed safely and emergency slides were deployed and we are currently caring for our customers. Emergency services attended the aircraft. We will be carrying out a full investigation into the incident."

kentonline 24th May 2013

Airports write-down lead to Infratil profits plunge

The plunging value of for-sale Prestwick airport contributed to a nose dive in its New Zealand owners’ profits, Infratil reported today.

The firm said the Ayrshire airport and its sister at Manston in Kent were now together worth £11.4 million compared to £38 million a year ago. They had been valued at £44m in 2011.

Infratil said the write-down had been the biggest element of its net profits falling from £28m to £1.8m in the year to March. The company admitted it was struggling to offload the airports. Its results statement said:

“The state of European markets has made the sale of the airports unpredictable and difficult. The two UK airports have not yet been sold and have been written down further. The decrease in value of Infratil Airports Europe [Prestwick and Manston] reflects a negative revaluation of airport assets during the year.”

Prestwick, which has been on sale since March last year, suffered the loss of Wizz Air’s two routes to Glasgow this year.

However, Ryanair - the airport’s sole remaining passenger airline - has increased its flights from there, and chief executive Michael O’Leary has said the firm had an “unbreakable commitment” to Prestwick.

Scotsman.com 15th May 2013