![]() ![]() Train speed restrictions have also been introduced to protect railway tracks. Meanwhile, both Network Rail and Transport for London (TfL) have advised passengers against travel on Monday and Tuesday, unless for “essential journeys,” because of the hot weather. This means there is no impact on RAF operations,” the statement said. “During this period of extreme temperature flight safety remains the RAF’s top priority, so aircraft are using alternative airfields in line with a long-established plan. The UK Ministry of Defence tweeted a statement on flights at Brize Norton on Monday afternoon. Luton Airport’s announcement came hours after the Royal Air Force (RAF) paused all flights to and from Brize Norton, its biggest air base, in Oxfordshire after a report from Sky News suggested that the runway had “melted.” London Luton Airport announced the situation via Twitter and updated its status when the airport resumed operations on Monday evening.Īn “essential runway repair” was required “after high surface temperatures caused a small section to lift,” the airport said on Twitter.įull operations resumed just after 6 p.m. ![]() Temperatures soared up to 37 degrees Celsius (about 99 degrees Fahrenheit) in some parts of the country. “The impact of Covid-19 on aviation passenger demand will continue to be monitored by the Department and it is intended that medium to long-term forecasts will be produced as and when the data is available, and the outlook is more certain.”Īccording to polling by the Independent, major UK airports broadly expected just 20-40% of their usual passenger numbers during July and August.One of the United Kingdom’s largest airports suspended flights on Monday after high temperatures damaged a runway. “It is too soon to be able to determine what the effect of the pandemic will be on the longer-term aviation demand upon which the ANPS is predicated,” the letter states. Shapps has also cited the Covid-19 pandemic as a cause for delaying a potential review to the ANPS. We are currently conducting an internal review on the project and will able to give an update later this year.' The third runway would boost the airport’s capacity by 50, allowing it to handle up to 280,000 extra flights a year. Green groups have criticised the Government’s decision not to put a block on airport expansion through the Strategy, which was published in July as part of the Transport Decarbonisation Plan. A Heathrow Airport spokesperson said: 'Our expansion project remains in pause. The consultation closes on Friday (10 September) and results are expected in late 2021 at the earliest. ![]() The letter adds that a review of the ANPS may be undertaken if the Government is compelled to revise its ‘Jet Zero Strategy’ as a result of consultation findings. The letter argues – in contrast to the research of the Government’s own advisors at the Climate Change Committee (CCC) – that the Government’s existing approach is aligned with its long-term climate commitments, including net-zero by 2050 and the Sixth Carbon Budget, which commits the UK to reducing emissions by 78% by 2035, against a 1990 baseline. Notably, it was developed before the UK updated the Climate Change Act to enshrine its 2050 net-zero target in law.īut Shapps has argued that it “is not appropriate to review the ANPS on the basis of climate change or carbon policy at this time”. The APNS was published in 2018 under Theresa May’s government and states that Heathrow would be the preferred location for adding airport capacity in the UK. The letter concerns not only the Government’s standalone decision on Heathrow, but the broader Airports National Policy Statement (APNS). The airport, as a corporate, still needs to submit planning applications, complete a public inquiry and secure the backing of Parliament. The Government’s decision does not mean, in and of itself, that the third runway at Heathrow will be built. ![]() In a letter, published on the Department for Transport (DfT) website, Shapps dismissed concerns over noise, air quality, health impacts, climate impacts and other issues raised by various environmental and community groups. With MPs officially returning from summer recess on Monday (6 September), Shapps responded to mounting calls from green groups, urging a reconsideration of the Government’s position on the Heathrow expansion. The UK Government’s decision to support the third runway was ruled unlawful on climate grounds by the Court of Appeal in early 2020, but that ruling was quashed by the Supreme Court in December 2020. The new runway would see Heathrow Airport go from overseeing 480 ![]()
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