Newcastle Airport - General Thread

[Aviador]

Newcastle airport expansion would be 'fantastic'

An expansion of Newcastle airport would bring about a huge array of benefits for the local area.

That is the opinion of councillor David Potts, leader of the Conservatives on South Tyneside Council, who has suggested that the economy would be boosted if more flights were scheduled for the northern hub.

He said: "I believe strongly that the airport expansion would be fantastic for the regional economy. We have many international businesses based here and this scheme would provide greater scope for transatlantic and other routes."

Mr Potts went on to say that in addition to benefits for passengers, the expansion could also prove very helpful for the local tourism industry.

He added: "We have a vibrant tourist economy which still has major growth potential. I am in no doubt that the hospitality industry will benefit strongly from an airport expansion."

However, he noted the importance of taking the views of local residents very seriously when debating potential work on the airport.

Source

 

[Aviador]

Former Newcastle Airport boss lands £2m pay-off

BONUS-ROW airport boss John Parkin has received an out of court settlement worth more than £2m, figures out today reveal.

The former chief executive at Newcastle International had initially pocketed a massive £6.3m payout which was linked to a multi-million pound refinancing deal.

Controversy surrounded the fat cat £8.5m package to be shared between Mr Parkin and the now-deceased airport finance director Lars Friis.

Mr Parkin quit after being suspended and legal action was launched by the airport, which is 51% owned by North East councils, to grab back the cash.

But an eleventh-hour deal was struck before the High Court hearing started and accounts out today reveal details of the settlement for the first time.

They show the airport has managed to claw back more than £4.7m of the controversial cash, but that £3.8m will still go to 54-year-old Mr Parkin, now chief executive of Leeds Bradford airport, and the estate of Mr Friis.

Mr Parkin alone will pocket more than £2m – nearly 10 times the annual salary he enjoyed at Newcastle International.

But the exact detail of how the sky-high bonus packages were sanctioned in the first place are subject to a strict confidentiality agreement.

Today Coun Nick Forbes, leader of the opposition Labour group on Newcastle City Council, said: “I am astonished that people working for an organisation, of which more than half is owned by local councils, have been able to agree bonuses of this scale. The legal case was rightly pursued and presumably it was felt it could be successfully fought.

“Therefore, if a settlement has been reached, with multi-million pound bonuses still being paid out and a large legal bill run-up in the process, the public has a right to know how and when this was allowed to happen.

“When you take into consideration the fact there are households on Tyneside surviving on less than £10,000 a year, the sums involved, even after this settlement, are staggering.”

Mr Parkin spent five years as managing director of Bristol International Airport before coming to Newcastle in June 2002, in the wake of the Twin Towers terrorist attack. He had also previously worked at P&O, Princess Cruises Europe and Thomas Cook Group.

While in charge, he oversaw the arrival of cut-price travel at the airport, including easyJet setting up a base in 2003.

He was suspended in March 2007 over what were described as “certain personal contractual issues” and resigned the following May, shortly before the legal action was revealed. In September 2007, his appointment as chief executive of Leeds Bradford was announced.

Accounts released by Companies House today for 2007 revealed the bonuses to be paid to Mr Parkin and Mr Friis were £8,547,000. By the end of 2006, payments totalling £6,297,000 had already been made.

The package related to the refinancing of the airport’s debt, which led to a dividend of £80m being paid to all the local authorities who have a shareholding.

The airport has previously confirmed the bonus payments were negotiated between the company’s remuneration committee and the individuals concerned.

The committee was made up of the non-executive directors of the airport, chaired by Rosemary Radcliffe, who has resigned from her position. The others on the panel were William Brooks, Rasmus Christiansen, Coun Iain Malcolm, of South Tyneside Council, and John Stent.

A writ was filed with the Queen’s Bench Division of the High Court and a hearing was scheduled in London for October 2008 but before it could take place, it was announced the out-of-court agreement had been reached.

South Tyneside Council is the lead authority of the so-called LA7 councils of Northumberland, Durham, Newcastle, North and South Tyneside, Gateshead and Sunderland, who hold the 51% stake. The other 49% is owned by Copenhagen Airports.

An airport spokeswoman said: “Newcastle International Airport Ltd has today published its annual report and accounts for the year ending December 31, 2008.

“We can confirm that the accounts contain the effect of the settlement reached with the former executive directors of the company.”

Source

 

[Aviador]

Fears for future of flights to Heathrow

FLIGHTS from the North-East to Heathrow could be a thing of the past within 18 months – that is the stark warning from one of the region’s airport chiefs.

According to Durham Tees Valley Airport (DTVA) boss Hugh Lang, only intervention from Government ministers will save air links between the region and the London hub.

The Teesside airport lost its daily bmi service to Heathrow last month.

And Mr Lang warned that it was only a matter of time before the viability of the British Airways service from Newcastle International Airport was questioned.

He said: “There are now only two airports in England still offering flights to Heathrow – these are Manchester and Newcastle.

“A year to 18 months and the Newcastle service could also be gone.”

Speaking at a meeting of the DTVA consultative committee yesterday, Mr Lang stressed his desire to see the Government step in to reserve landing slots at Heathrow for flights to and from the UK regions.

He said that slots were changing hands between airlines for tens of millions of pounds because capacity at Heathrow had been reached.

This meant internal flights were being discarded in favour of more profitable oversees routes, he said.

According to sources, rumours circulating in North- East business communities suggest the Peel Group is considering the future of its aviation division, Peel Airports.

Mr Lang, group airports director for Peel Airports, admitted that falling passenger numbers because of the recession, coupled with issues such as increases in airport passenger duty (APD) and proposed radio spectrum usage charges, meant business was “very difficult”.

He also revealed that a proposed law change meant the airport could soon be charged £300,000 a year for policing.

However, Mr Lang told committee members that Peel had “long-term plans” for the airport.

Although bmi is only one of several carriers to axe flights from the airport in recent months, Mr Lang said services would be found to replace them.

He said: “We take the knocks, but our long-term plan is still to continue with our investment programme and to deliver a modern airport for the region.”

His comments were last night welcomed by James Ramsbotham, chief executive of the North-East Chamber of Commerce.

He said: “Peel has made a tremendous impact on Durham Tees Valley Airport and has brought much-needed investment to pave the way for a successful future. The airport has experienced a couple of knocks recently, but we are glad to hear that this has not dented Peel’s confidence in the long-term viability of its operations there.

“DTVA is a crucial communications hub in the Tees Valley and businesses of all sizes are reliant on its future success.”

Graeme Mason, head of planning and corporate affairs for Newcastle International Airport, said that with almost half-a-million passengers travelling from Newcastle Airport to Heathrow last year, the airport was confident of the route’s resilience for the foreseeable future.

He said the biggest issue faced by the aviation industry was the planned increase of APD by the Government.

Last night, the Department for Transport said it recognised the significance of regional airports, both in terms of the employment and travel opportunities they offer local people and the part they play in the local economy.

Source

 

[Aviador]

Both DTV and LBA airports muttered so much confidence in their London services prior to loosing them. I'd say that the Newcastle and Manchester services will probably go the same way.

 

[Aviador]

No compensation over Newcastle Airport noise

LEVELS of noise pollution caused by the region’s biggest airport are today revealed for the first time.

Hundreds of people living near to Newcastle International are caused "significant annoyance" by aircraft flying in and out of the region on a daily basis.

But none of them are entitled to compensation or special insulation in their homes because the noise levels are not quite high enough for them to qualify.

The airport has prepared its first ever Noise Action Plan, in which it maps out the areas worst hit by the sound of passing planes and outlines what work is being done to reduce the impact.

As the document goes out to public consultation, Newcastle International chiefs said the airport is one of the least noise polluting in the UK.

Head of planning and corporate affairs Graeme Mason said: "We are very fortunate the level of noise impact associated with Newcastle Airport is not as great as experienced at other airports.

"We have worked tirelessly over the last 15 years to make sure that continues by managing the noise environment and making ongoing continuous improvements to operational procedures, such as flight tracks, and specific policies for things like light aircraft and helicopters to make sure the impact is minimised.

"We also have noise monitors in the local community to gauge how successful we are being with those measures."

Under the European Union’s Environmental Noise Directive, Newcastle International is required to produce a series of noise maps to detail which areas are affected by passing aircraft.

The Government requires all airport operators to offer households subjected to high levels of noise – 69 decibels or more – assistance with the cost of relocating.

Similarly, the Action Plan states: "Acoustic installation must be offered to noise sensitive buildings such as schools, hospitals and residential properties exposed to 63 decibels or more."

There are no homes exposed to either of these levels in the areas surrounding Newcastle International, with flight paths carefully planned to minimise disruption.

However, the Government states 57 decibels is the degree of daytime noise that marks "the onset of significant community annoyance" and the Action Plan reveals there are pockets of people living in neighbourhoods that experience levels of more than 60 decibels. It states that over the course of a 24 hour period, an estimated 700 dwellings occupied by 1,400 people are affected in areas such as Hazelrigg, Heddon on the Wall and Darras Hall.

Average noise levels vary during the course of the day, depending on the number of flights during that period. The report states that between 7am-7pm there are 46 departures and 41 arrivals, with 900 household – and 1,800 people - experiencing sounds over the 57 decibel threshold.

Between 7-11pm, there are five departures and 14 arrivals, with 800 dwellings affected by these levels and 850 around 50 affected between 11pm-7am, when there are 14 departures and 10 arrivals.

A number of measures are taken to mitigate the impact of noise on surrounding areas.

The consultation period will end on October 21 and the final Noise Action Plan will be submitted to the Secretary of State by November 30. It will be reviewed every five years.

David Laws, chief executive of Newcastle International, said: "We welcome the opportunity to produce a Noise Action Plan. This will further allow the company to demonstrate the environmental work we are doing and identify new challenges, to ensure continual improvement."

For the rest of the article view the source.

To read the rest of this article view the source

 

[Aviador]

[textarea]Newcastle Airport – Toronto flights confirmed again

Weekly flights from Newcastle Airport to Toronto in Canada will be operated again next summer - for the 17th year running. The flights, which will be operated by Air Transat in association with Canadian Affair, will run between May and September 2010.

Graeme Mason, head of corporate affairs at Newcastle Airport, said: ‘This prestigious service linking Newcastle with Toronto is important for our region, which is why we are continuing to support and work closely with our partners at Canadian Affair to make it a success.’

Source[/textarea]

 

[Galaxy]

Hi all, am going to be spending a week in Newcastle shortly, any recommendations for good filming locations near the airport? Bare in mind I'll be on public transport. Thanks.

 

[Aviador]

Around by the old Gill Air offices used to good but I don't know if they still allow access. Also from what I understand the old terrace at the terminal itself has now been closed. If Bigman doesn't read this, try sending him a PM or E-Mail because I'm sure he will know where's best to go.

 

[Seasider]

There is a superb spot on the southside of the approach to 25 at grid ref:215719 on the OS landranger 88 map Tyneside and Durham area. Sorry to be precise but if you have the OS map you will know where I mean. I have always gone by car but there is a regular bus that runs from Dinnington to Blyth (I think) that runs past this spot. I am afraid it's a long walk from the terminal.

 

[News Guru]

[textarea]Volcano crisis cost Newcastle Airport £1m

The ash cloud crisis cost Newcastle Airport around £1m. Its chief executive, David Laws, told the Journal the problems caused by the Icelandic volcano eruption were the worst he has experienced in his three decades with the business.

Mr Laws told the newspaper: ‘It is fair to say that in the 32 years I have been here, I have never seen the airport brought to its knees, for want of a better phrase, in the way that it was. I was here for 9/11 and that was difficult but we still operated throughout the period, but with this one it was a case of everything being brought to a complete standstill.'

‘We had to deal with the challenge, in terms of our customers and making sure they were catered for and looked after to the best of our abilities. But their contract is with the airlines, rather than with us. However, I made a decision early on that anyone who had left their car here would be let out without any extra charge, so that they didn’t come home to a huge extra expense for airport parking.’

Newcastle Airport was affected for six-and-a-half days during the ash cloud crisis, which saw 780 flights cancelled and caused problems for more than 75,000 people. Mr Laws added: ‘It has been publicised that it was costing us £100,000 a day I but believe that by the time all the flights were back up and running, it cost us the thick end of £1m.’

Source[/textarea]

 

[News Guru]

[textarea]Leaked report shows falling value of Newcastle Airport

A North- East council could miss out on more than £2m because of delays in reaching agreement on the sale of its stake in Newcastle Airport, the Northern Echo reports. The leaked documents obtained by the newspaper show that the airport’s main owners intend to offer Darlington Borough Council between £300,000 and £500,000 for its share of the facility. Four years ago, the stake was valued at up to £2.9m, indicating a massive decline in the airport's value.

In 2006, the airport’s main owners, Newcastle Airport Local Authority Holding Group (LA7) and Copenhagen Airport, agreed to try to buy Darlington Council’s shareholding in the airport. It was then valued at between £2.6m and £2.9m. A fresh valuation at the beginning of 2008 estimated the shareholding to be worth between £1.5m and £1.8m because of money taken out during a refinancing.

In late 2008, a further valuation estimated Darlington’s share to be worth between £500,000 to £800,000. However, an alternative valuation based on the airport’s 2009 budget figures suggested Darlington’s shareholding was worth just £300,000 to £500,000.

Source[/textarea]

 

[News Guru]

[textarea]Spotters to benefit from Newcastle Airport’s 75th birthday

Newcastle Airport is set to celebrating its 75th birthday on Monday, with plane spotters and aviation enthusiasts set to benefit from a one off event. On Monday 26 July, for one day only, there will be a viewing platform for people to visit the airport to watch plans take off and land.

Costing just £35,000 to build, it opened on 26 July, 1935 and incorporated a clubhouse, hangar, workshops, garage and a grass runway. Since then the airport has changed location, size and, most significantly, the number of passengers.

The size of the airport is the most noticeable change since it first opened with its ‘wooden huts and grass strip’. In the 1960s passenger numbers increased with the introduction of package holidays and a new runway was built, along with a new air traffic control tower. These were officially opened by Harold Wilson - the prime minister at the time.

Source[/textarea]

 

[lbaspotter]

Hi

Live Update 18:20 24/11/10

Looks like the snow is falling heavy up in Newcastle this evening. The Airport is currently SNOW Closed for the snow clearing of the runway. Next update due at 18:40

Check the Delays Diversions & Cancellations thread.

 

[Aviador]

Looks like the forecasters have got the weather right again.

 

[News Guru]

[textarea]MP calls for police probe on cash deal

A TYNESIDE politician today called for a police probe into a major airport refinancing deal which could land the region in huge debt.

Newcastle East MP Nick Brown spoke out after details emerged of how three senior public officials allowed two airport bosses to be paid sky-high bonuses for simply taking out a loan.

John Parkin and Lard Friis, former executive directors of Newcastle International Airport Ltd (NIAL), which is partly-owned by the region’s seven councils, pocketed £8.5m between them after brokering a seven-year £377m mortgage with the Royal Bank of Scotland in 2006.

But the pair ensured it was written into their contracts that they received a percentage of the loan amount as a bonus.

Former chief executive Mr Parkin received 2% of the mortgage and former finance director Mr Friis received 1%.

The decision to allow the bonuses was decided by a remuneration committee of five people – three of which were leading North East public figures. The airport company is now suing Eversheds, the legal firm which drafted the contract.

Fears are growing it will be left to the region’s seven local authorities, known as LA7, to clear much of the airport debt, believed to be around £325m, before it refinances again in 2013.

Mr Brown said: “I don’t understand how the committee can allow the two directors to take a percentage of what they borrowed considering public money is involved.

“I will be calling for the evidence to be passed over to the police because there could be potential for serious misconduct in the public office.”

Mr Parkin, now chief executive of Leeds Bradford Airport, was suspended in March 2007 after details emerged of the controversial package paid to him and the now-deceased Mr Friis.

NIAL then launched legal action against the pair but an out-of-court settlement was reached at the 11th hour in October 2008 and all parties entered a confidentiality agreement.

The Tyne & Wear district councils, Newcastle, Sunderland, Gateshead, North Tyneside and South Tyneside, and the county councils of Northumberland and Durham, own 51% of the airport’s shares. The rest are owned by Copenhagen Airports.

A spokesman for LA7 said: “In agreeing the contracts of airport executives, the remuneration committee - made up of representatives from the LA7 authorities and Copenhagen Airports – relied heavily on external professional advice.

“When the scale of the bonus payments became known, it was apparent that the remuneration committee had been poorly advised. The LA7 authorities, through the airport board, acted swiftly and robustly in the interests of taxpayers to initiate legal action which led to proceedings to halt the payments and recover the money through the High Court.”

A spokesman for Eversheds said: “We have acted properly and in accordance with instructions received from the company in all matters pertaining to our work for NIAL.” Mr Parkin did not wish to comment.

Read More Source[/textarea]

 

[lbaspotter]

Well I dont really know if this is good news or bad news for the North East Aviation enthuisists but it looks like the For Sale sign will be going up at Newcastle Int'l Airport very shortly if its current owners have anything to say about it. This artical has appeared in todays daily email update from the Travel Trade Gazzet.

Source: http://ttg.ubm-info.com/c/1GE0FQOl7P9kprut2uP

Newcastle airport 'to be put up for sale'
Monday, April 18, 2011

Chris Gray

Newcastle airport is being put up for sale as the local authorities that own it try to reduce debts, according to a report.

Seven councils, which own 51% of the airport, have appointed KPMG to advise them ahead of a 2013 deadline to repay a £320m loan, according to the Sunday Times.

Newcastle airport could not be reached for comment this morning. But the paper claimed that accounts for the firm that controls the councils’ stake was £4.2m in the red in 2009 after paying our almost £22m in interest.

The councils are said to need a new equity investor to put cash into the business or they will have to sell their own stake.

The authorities are Durham, Gateshead, City of Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside and City of Sunderland.

Anyone like to buy??

 

[TheLocalYokel]

It looks as though it's more to do with councils reducing debt in these straitened times where they are all desperate to to trim budgets on government diktat, rather than a de facto concern about the airport's financial future.

Some of Maquaries' cash-hungry funds sold their share in Bristol Airport when the cash-flow from the airport slowed down as the recession bit. A Macquarie infrastructure fund together with a major Canadian pension fund now own the airport in a way that sees increasing the value of this capital asset an important consideration; that's not to say that cash generated by their investment is not welcome or even important because it certainly is.

Newcastle might be a tempting target for investors intent on increasing capital values.

 

[Aviador]

There was an article posted here some time ago saying one of the councils was concerned the airport was loosing value so they might be keen to offload the airport if they fear the value is going to drop further.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I had in mind investors intent on improving the value of their investment by creating value in the form of enhancements, expansion - the idea of speculating to accumulate.

There are signs though that the future of the industry may not be as certain as it looked, say, five years ago with rail increasingly competitive with air on many domestic (particularly) routes, the increasing cost of oil and economies generally looking to cut back.

However, it's usually the case that the best-prepared organisations (in any field) take most advantage of upturns when they come.

The snag with local authority-owned airports is that though their ownership is vested in separate companies they still find raising cash a strain, especially in times of severe restraint.

It will be interesting, and instructive, to see who shows interest in buying NCL.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

[textarea]Newcastle Airport bosses in Big Apple link talks

Newcastle Airport bosses will fly out to the United States next month for fresh talks on the possibility of securing a direct service to New York.

Airport chief executive David Laws believes he can pull off his dream of securing a scheduled transatlantic service from Newcastle after the success of Emirates’ daily service to Dubai.

In an interview with nebusiness magazine, published free with The Journal tomorrow, Mr Laws reveals that talks with an unnamed American airline are scheduled for next month.

And he remains optimistic that a deal can be done – despite the recent decision by Continental Airlines to axe its service from Bristol to New York.

Mr Laws admits the high price of oil and uncertainty surrounding the Government’s plans for Air Passenger Duty have made the economic case for the route more difficult.

He said: “We’ve been close on New York (in the past) to the extent the airline has filed for slots, but then we had the economic downturn and the slots were taken away.

“That was the right decision because to try to start a route up in those circumstances, you don’t want it to crash and burn. When we go for it, you get one chance at this. If you get it wrong, there’s no way back.”

He added: “We need a strong pound against the dollar and we need fuel to be at a reasonable level. If fuel is $80 a barrel you’ve got a realistic chance, but if it’s hovering at $120 it’s difficult.”

Mr Laws said he was not too discouraged by the decision to axe the Bristol-New York service because the North East is far more geographically remote than the South West city where passengers can drive to Heathrow for a range of transatlantic routes.

And he said he was buoyed by the success of the Emirates’ service which ran at around 96% of capacity during July and is averaging around 83% for the year to date. He is hopeful such a performance will encourage the airline to grow capacity on the route by replacing the current aircraft with a new Boeing 777.

“I’d like to see it here within the next 12 months, but it might come quicker,” he said.

In the interview, Mr Laws talks at length about the challenges the airport has faced over recent years as a result of the economic downturn, the ash cloud from Iceland and several extended periods of bad weather. He also reveals plans to improve the immigration area to speed up the processing of international arrivals and his hopes to make further improvements to the security process, possibly including new body scanner technology.[/textarea]
http://www.nebusiness.co.uk/business-ne ... page.html##

They were closer to a New York service than an airline filing for slots.

In 2005 American Airlines actually announced a Newcastle-JFK route using Boeing 188-seat 757s. The route was scheduled to start on 1 May 2006.

AA230 was due to leave JFK 1945 and arrive Newcastle 0730 the following morning, with the return flight AA231 departing NCL at 1100 and arriving JFK 1335.

Then some time after the route's announcement American Airlines pulled the plug long before the service began.