runway

Heathrow Airport will be allowed to charge airlines more for its services to recover money spent on the early stages of its third runway project.

The aviation regulator is permitting the airport to claw back up to £320m through higher airport charges to airlines for each passenger, which is likely to end up being added to ticket prices.

A bidder which unsuccessfully put forward a rival design involving a shorter runway, Arora Group’s Heathrow West, will also be allowed to recover £4.1m pounds in costs.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and Heathrow said safeguards would be put in place to protect consumers from unjustified costs.

At this stage, the costs being recovered are only for the early planning and design of the runway during 2025 and 2026.

Tim Johnson, the CAA’s director of consumers and markets, told the BBC: “We’ve announced that the first tranche of costs, which is to help with the planning of this, can be recovered from passengers. That’s up to a maximum of £320m.”

Heathrow airport will also be able to collect Heathrow West’s costs up to November last year by adding to its airport charges.

The CAA said allowing these costs to be recouped will result in the maximum airport charge per passenger increasing by around 15 pence in 2028, rising to an estimated 30 pence in the following years.

In November, the government announced it preferred the £33bn scheme put forward by the airport over Arora’s alternative plan.

At the time, the Department for Transport said Heathrow’s own proposal offered the most deliverable option, and the “greatest likelihood” of getting a decision on planning approval within this parliament.

The CAA’s director of consumers and markets, Tim Johnson, said today’s decision “strikes a balance between supporting the delivery of benefits to consumers through timely progress on Heathrow expansion, whilst also protecting them from undue increases in costs”.

The regulator said “safeguards” designed to monitor cost efficiency would include transparency and cost reporting requirements, and assurance by independent experts.

Airlines often complain that Heathrow is the world’s most most expensive hub airport, and have repeatedly voiced concern that the airport’s expansion plans will make it pricier.

The government hopes for a planning decision by 2029.

Plans for a third runway stretch back decades, with the government backing the plans in 2003.

However, the idea has also long faced opposition from climate campaigners, many local residents, and several politicians.

They worry an additional runway will increase air pollution, noise pollution, and breach the government’s legally binding climate commitments.

EVER looked at an airport runway and thought how cool it would be to walk it?

Well, now you can as later this summer an abandoned airport in the UK will be hosting a huge music festival, that you can even camp at.

Love on the Runway music festival will take place across two days between August 29 and 31 at Manston Airport in Ramsgate, Kent.

There will be house, techno and DnB music across two stages for guests to enjoy.

The festival will also have food and drink stalls, for when you need a bite to eat or drink between dancing.

To add some fun, there will also be a fairground ideal for families.

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Other features of the festival include chill out zones and a number of VIP areas.

Little other details have been revealed about the festival yet.

Visitors can book camping passes for £103, which allow for a pitch with up to 10 people (so £10.30 per person) or a camper van.

And with each camping pass, one weekend festival pass is included (so other guests camping at the pitch will need to purchase their own festival ticket).

A regular weekend pass costs from £37 per person or you can get four for £112.50.

If you fancy heading to the festival for just one day, you can do so for £22 and kids go free.

And the festival will have a cheap shuttle bus from Thanet Parkway Station if travelling to the festival via train.

Manston Airport closed back in 2014 and was used as a former RAF base and a regional hub, flying Brits abroad from the 1960s.

Airlines that used the airport included Monarch Airlines, KLM and Flybe.

However, there are current talks to see if the airport could reopen, with the return of flights scheduled for 2029 – however this will be for cargo aircraft only.

Initially, the airport planned to reopen in 2025, but this has been pushed back.

Closed since 2014, the airport was briefly brought back into use as a lorry park during the pandemic, but the reopening plans have hit a snag after the local council raised concerns

An abandoned airport boasting the UK’s 11th-longest civilian runway has hit a significant obstacle ahead of its long-anticipated reopening. Plans to restore Manston Airport, near Ramsgate in Kent, back to full operation have been in motion since 2019, with the project anticipated to cost somewhere between £500m and £750m.

The site has stood idle since 2014 but was given a new lease of life during the Covid-19 pandemic as a lorry park. Current owner RiverOak Strategic Partners Ltd (RSP) is aiming to relaunch the airport as a global air freight hub, alongside offering commercial flights by 2029.

In March, RSP launched a public consultation on the proposals. Its director, Tony Freudmann, invited people to “provide any feedback they might have to help shape our plans”.

At that point, the firm anticipated construction work beginning early next year. However, in May, Ramsgate Town Council announced it would raise concerns over proposed changes to flight paths and airspace as part of the Stage 3 consultation.

Shuttered since 2014, the site was temporarily repurposed as a lorry park during the Covid-19 pandemic. RSP acquired Manston in 2019, with the Development Consent Order (DCO) granting approval for the reopening signed off in 2020.

This faced legal challenges, though an updated DCO was approved in 2022. Ramsgate Town Council contended that the proposed flight paths would result in aircraft passing over heavily populated areas of Ramsgate at low altitudes.

It was noted in the proposals that the airport could see up to 14,000 air traffic movements a year by 2038—about 38 flights a day. The council highlighted the potential impact this could have on residents.

RTC highlighted potential adverse health consequences stemming from noise exposure, as outlined in the proposal. These include disrupted sleep, a heightened risk of strokes and heart attacks, loss of amenity and possible links to dementia.

In fact, the applicant’s own plans put the potential cost of noise-related health conditions at more than £20.8 million over 10 years. RTC said it had further concerns, too.

It argued that the size of the intended operations is much larger in scale compared to past levels. RTC also suggested that there was a lack of evidence regarding secured funds or operators.

Also, it claimed demand had not been independently verified. In addition, the council didn’t believe that the consultation was enough for the size of the proposal, citing a limited number of engagement events.

RTC chairperson Cllr Steve Albon told The Isle of Thanet News: “Ramsgate Town Council recognises the importance of this issue to residents and is committed to ensuring that local concerns are clearly and professionally represented.

“The council will continue to engage with relevant authorities and stakeholders to try to ensure that any decisions relating to Manston Airport fully consider the impact on Ramsgate’s community.”

An investigation into the incident has been launched

A plane reportedly containing more than 130 people veered off the runway during take-off before skidding across grass and crashing through airport signs. Shocking footage shows the Croatia Airlines Airbus A220-300 swerving to the left before eventually grinding to a halt.

The drama unfolded at Split Airport in Croatia on Saturday, May 16 at 1.35pm local time. An investigation has been launched, with no injuries reported among the 130 passengers and five crew members.

Passengers and crew were evacuated from the plane, which reportedly sustained damage to the front landing gear and left-hand engine.

Darko Petrin, chief investigator at Croatia’s Air, Maritime and Railway Accident Investigation Agency, said the investigation is still in its early stages.

“It is known that the aircraft, for reasons still undetermined, drifted to the left during takeoff, left the asphalt part of the runway and ended up on the grassy surface next to the runway,” Mr Petrin said.

It is understood that the black boxes on the plane have been taken for analysis. It is thought the investigation into events could take months. The plane – which was flying to Frankfurt – was thought to be travelling at around 130knots (150mph) when pilots aborted the take-off for reasons which are still not yet clear.

The jet itself was delivered less than a year ago to Croatia Airlines. Split Airport was closed for a number of hours after the incident.