Airport sustainability, contrails, and planning permission at small airfields

13th June, 2011

In the past fortnight, we’ve been working with airport operators, scientists and campaigners. Tim presented at the web launch of a new guidance document on how airport operators should report on their sustainability performance. The guidance was produced by the Global Reporting Initiative and Tim was an active member of the working group that developed the airport sector guidelines. Looking at the national picture, our intern, Dan, has been starting to build up a database of environmental information about the UK’s airports, which we aim to make available through our website.

Tim presented at the AGM of the Ealing Aircraft Noise Action Group to discuss AEF’s work on noise, and was a panellist at an event at the Royal Society on the latest science surrounding aircraft contrails and their links to cirrus clouds. Increased cloudiness as a result of aviation is thought to increase the sector’s climate impact. Nic, meanwhile, has been gathering information to inform an AEF response to the government’s consultation on reform of Air Passenger Duty.

Inquiries in the past fortnight have included questions about to identify the source of helicopter noise (often linked to police operations), how to tackle noisy aircraft in Berkshire, and whether a wartime airfield can continue to claim the right to unrestricted operation based on a Certificate of Lawful Use from the 1940s.