Noise and transport consultations, and interest in aviation biofuels

15th August, 2011

With parliament closed for the summer and several staff taking leave, the past few weeks have been quiet at AEF so this update covers a month.

As we prepare our response to the Government’s aviation scoping document, we have submitted comments to the Labour Party’s transport policy review, and to a BAA consultation on Heathrow noise. Other new items on the website have included comment on the final recommendations of the South East Airports Task Force, in which AEF participated, and an AirportWatch report on aviation and climate change. The Government’s response to the 2009 report by the Committee on Climate Change, due by the end of July, has been delayed and will not now be published before mid-August.

Recent inquiries have included questions about the safety of General Aviation, and journalist queries about the EU ETS (how states could exempt their airlines by taking ‘equivalent measures’) and about the role that biofuels are likely to play in tackling aviation emissions. With Thomson Airways hoping to become the first UK airline to introduce a biofuel blend in some commercial flights (despite problems with sourcing the fuel), interest in aviation biofuels has been increasing and AEF hosted a meeting for aviation campaigners to consider our response.

Finally, our latest intern has been working on some improvements to the website that we hope will go live in the coming weeks.