Airspace Trial Update

Airspace Trial Update
Since 1st May, we’ve been trialling two new
routes for aircraft departing to the south.
They are known as Options 5 and 6 and
the aim is to measure the actual impact of
aircraft noise and changed flight paths,
rather than rely on theoretical modelling. In
this way we can decide which is the best
option to put forward to the Civil Aviation
Authority.
We know this is a sensitive issue and that
many people are concerned about the trial
and its outcome. It’s also a complex business, so we understand that when people hear
rumours, or receive conflicting information, they may believe the Airport is not being open and
honest with them, or even being deliberately unhelpful. However, we’re determined to be as
transparent about the whole process as we can.
That’s why we’re meeting with
local councillors and community
representatives shortly to share
with them the most up to date
information we have on the first
three months of the trial.
After this meeting, we’ll be
making
more
information
available, including regular
updates as the trial progresses.
These will answer the questions
that we’re being most frequently
asked and will address some of
the complex issues raised, so
please keep a regular check on
our web site for the latest
information.
August 2014
Birmingham says “Nǐ hǎo” to first China flight
Birmingham
Airport
has
welcomed its first direct flight
from China - the UK’s first
into a non-London airport and made first use of the
extended runway for the
aircraft’s five thousand mile
journey back to Beijing.
The China Southern A330200 aircraft, operated by one
of Chinese tour operator,
Caissa Travel Management
Co
Ltd,
arrived
into
Birmingham fully laden with
248 tourists looking forward
to exploring the UK.
"This is a historic day for Birmingham, and indeed the Midlands region. Never before has a commercial
airliner touched down on a runway outside of the Capital from China and we are enormously proud to be
the first to make this happen," said Paul Kehoe, the Airport's Chief Executive.
The runway extension was completed in May this year and provides airlines with unlimited take off
range, allowing aircraft to fly direct to China and other long-haul destinations. This puts Birmingham in
an ideal place to become an alternative gateway to the UK for long-haul air travel.
China is currently one of the fastest growing markets for the UK tourism industry, growing at a rate of
20% year-on-year over the past few years. The size of the market has tripled over the past decade, and
is forecast to continue to grow strongly. In 2012 the Chinese visitor market was worth £62 million to the
West Midlands economy and Birmingham is now the 4th most popular destination for Chinese visitors in
England.
Birmingham City Council Leader Sir Albert Bore said, “We are increasingly being seen by the Chinese
as the gateway to the rest of the UK with nearby historic sites, such as Stratford-upon-Avon and
Warwick very close and London a short train ride away. They are realising that they don’t have to fly in
to a London airport to visit the UK.”
Chinese students from local universities were on hand to assist arriving Chinese tourists through the
terminal and a few hours later the departure to Beijing carried UK tourists travelling on an organised two
week package tour, provided by Birmingham based Chinese travel agent, United Travel.
August 2014
Changes to Airport Consultative Committee
Birmingham is one of a number of airports
required to provide facilities for consultation with
local communities and other groups, where the
operation of the Airport affects their interests.
The
Birmingham
Airport
Consultative
Committee has provided the main vehicle for
achieving this for many years. Now, following a
review of the Committee's structure and
operation, we’re introducing some important
changes
In March 2013, the Department for Transport (DfT) published its Aviation Policy Framework
(APF), which includes a chapter on 'Working Together', outlining the Government's objective for
local collaboration, which is 'to encourage the aviation industry and local stakeholders to
strengthen and streamline the way in which they work together.' In light of the publication of the
APF, we commissioned the independent chair of the ACC to undertake a full review of ACC
membership and activities. The Chairman has now completed his review, and we believe it
highlights scope to make it more effective and constructive for all parties. Therefore we’re
making important changes to the structure and operation of the ACC which reflect the contents
of the Chairman's review, the APF and the DfT's Guidelines for Airport Consultative
Committees issued in April 2014.
These changes are intended to achieve a fairer and more equitable representation of local
community interests, increased representation for passengers and other airport users and more
involvement of the regional business community
In addition, a new Community Consultative Group (CCG) is being formed to focus on issues
which affect local communities. It will report to the full ACC through an elected chairperson,
who will sit on the full ACC. This new group will have the time and the expertise to focus in
more depth on the issues which particularly affect local people, including aircraft noise and
track-keeping, communications, community investment, employment issues and transport
accessibility. It will be made up of representatives from communities stretching from Minworth
in the north to Balsall Common in the south.
It’s fair to say that not everyone has welcomed these changes, but we believe they will make
ACC fairer and more effective. We’ll report on how the new ACC is working once it’s up and
running, but in the meantime, check our web site for regular updates.
August 2014
Maps showing the number of ACC
representatives for each ward pre
review (above) and post review
(below), clearly showing the
disproportionate spread of
representation between communities
to the north and south of the airfield.
No Representative
1 Representative
2 Representatives
3 Representatives
4 Representatives
August 2014
From Tile Cross to Stratford on Avon
It’s probably fair to say that keeping a bunch
of nine year olds up until ten-thirty at night,
showing them drunken revelry in a pub,
robbery, plotting and ultimately murder on
the battlefield, might not be regarded as
good for their education. But when it’s
Shakespeare, it’s OK. And when it all takes
place in the inspiring surroundings of
Stratford’s Royal Shakespeare Theatre, it’s
positively to be encouraged.
Thanks to the Airport’s sponsorship of the
Royal Shakespeare Company, from time to
time we get the opportunity to take a group
of pupils from schools we support to Stratford to see the latest production. A few weeks ago,
twenty year nines from Shirestone Academy in Tile Cross excitedly took their front row seats to
watch a performance of Henry IV Part 1.
With its comedy, larger than life characters and all that sword fighting at the end, this is a play
that is accessible for children of primary age and they loved it – though a few just could not stay
awake. Even with the Battle of Shrewsbury raging a few feet away, it was way past their
bedtime, after all. At the end of the play, once the theatre was cleared, the children were
invited onto the stage where they met the actors playing two of the lead roles – Prince Hal and
Hotspur. It was clear from their questions that the children had not only been excited by the
spectacle but had followed the plot pretty well. They also wanted to know what it was like to be
an actor and were fascinated when ‘Hotspur’ answered their questions in his native Canadian
accent and not the northern tones they had heard him speaking in on stage. There was one
complaint; some of the children in the front row could not see the end of the final act because
there was a ‘body’ lying on stage right in front of them!
Shirestone is part of a group of schools just to the north of the airfield who are members of The
Pilot Partnership, a Community Interest Company which delivers a range of additional activities
and training for pupils and staff in East Birmingham schools, serving communities suffering high
levels of deprivation. We have supported the Partnership for some time because they fulfil a
vital role in raising levels of attainment and aspiration in these disadvantaged communities. A
big thank you to the RSC for providing the children with an experience they will remember for a
very long time – and who knows, it might just have planted a seed in a young mind….
Photo by Kwame Lestrade © RSC
August 2014
Happy 75th Birthday BHX
Back in July, we celebrated our 75th
birthday. The airport was officially
opened on a rainy Saturday on the
8th July 1939 by HRH The Duchess
of Kent, but just two months later,
with the outbreak of the Second
World War, it was requisitioned by
the Air Ministry and all civil flying was
stopped.
During the war years, ‘Elmdon’
operated as an Elementary Flying
Training School and as a test strip for
Stirling Bombers built in a factory on
what is now the Elmdon Trading
Estate (you can still see the brick
piers for the concrete bridge across
the railway, over which the aircraft were towed onto the airfield, just after you pull out of
Birmingham International Station). It wasn’t until Monday 8th July 1946, exactly seven years
after the airport’s official opening, that the airfield was reopened for civil flying and over the next
seven and a half decades more than 200 million passengers have flown from its runways.
Originally operating from the ‘Elmdon’ terminal, which still stands proudly on the western side of
the airfield, the rapid growth in air travel in the 70s meant that a new facility was needed, and
on the 30th May 1984 a new terminal was opened by HRH The Queen. Although now twice the
size, this remains the site for Birmingham Airport’s operation, which today sees more than nine
million passengers pas through every year.
Commenting on the milestone and the launch of a commemorative logo to use throughout the
year, Paul Kehoe, Chief Executive of the Airport, said: “Birmingham Airport has played an
important role in the success of the region for 75 years. It was built with the aim of creating jobs
and stimulating industry; and that it has certainly done. Back in the early years, only the
privileged could enjoy the luxury of flying but as it became more accessible to the masses,
more and more people took to the skies from Birmingham to experience the wonder of air travel
and seek new adventures overseas. “Today, Birmingham Airport continues to bring people
together, delivers goods to global destinations and connects industry with opportunities around
the world - reliably, safely and speedily.”
This spring, we extended our runway which allows airlines to fly further than ever before from
Birmingham, including to the Far East, The Americas and South Africa. The last time the
runway was extended was back in 1966 - by 300ft - which attracted new tour operators using
jet flights allowing Birmingham Airport to thrive.
Other key milestones over the last 75 years have included:
August 2014
1949
1955
1959
1960
1966
1978
1980
1984
1989
1991
1998
2000
2002
2003
2009
2014
The first post war scheduled service takes off for Paris, operated by a BEA Dakota.
A record 110,000 passengers uses the airport during this year.
800ft runway extension opened and name changed to Birmingham Airport.
New ‘International Building’ opened at Elmdon to cope with more passengers
A further 300ft extension to the runway is built.
The magic one million passenger mark is reached.
Concorde flies from Birmingham for the first time, to Paris.
New airport opened by HRH The Queen and operations move to the present site.
3.5 million passengers travel through the new airport.
British Airways’ Eurohub opens
President Clinton and other world leaders land at Birmingham for the G8 Summit.
HRH The Queen opens the new Millennium Link terminal extension.
Passenger numbers reach 8m.
The new Air Rail link people mover system opens, connecting the airport with
Birmingham International station, replacing the original ‘Maglev’
New £45m International Pier opens.
400m runway extension becomes operational.
The commemorative logo is in-keeping with our
corporate brand and symbolises the 75 years,
from 1939 to 2014, using aircraft icons to signify
global flight. It will be used throughout the year
by the airport.
August 2014
Preparing the next generation for the World of Work
The Airport’s support for local
schools is one of the most
important ways we can help build
sustainable communities and with
many young people struggling to
find employment, the more we can
do to equip them with the skills
they will need in the modern
workplace,
the
better
their
chances will be.
The ability to deliver great
customer service is crucial to the
success of every business. It’s
something we know here at the
Airport and something we devote
a great deal of time and effort into getting right. Recently we had the opportunity to pass on our
collective experience to a new generation of potential airport employees when Arden School in
Knowle visited Flight School to see how we do it.
Thirty Travel and Tourism students from
Arden spent a day at the Airport with the
aim of understanding Customer Service
and developing their own techniques and
skills.
The day was led by Alison Delaney of
Little Bird, a Birmingham-based People
Development business providing Soft
Skills Training and Coaching to unlock
potential and maximise performance, with
whom we work very closely. Together,
we assembled a team to immerse the
students in an intensive day of activities.
Airline & Travel Trade Relationship
Manager Mandy Haque set them the
challenge of responding to a customer complaint in writing. Press and Social Media Officer
David Lavender took them through how we make growing use of Twitter and other Social
Media platforms, while Airport Manager Jonathan Birnie ran a series of workshops on
presentation skills in preparation for them bringing all their experiences together and presenting
to the whole group at the end of the day. Throughout the day, Alison put them through their
paces with some role play and then by getting them to put into practice what they’d learned by
meeting passengers in the terminal and talking to them about Skyzone, our interactive family
play experience
August 2014
Teacher Deb Hull was delighted with how the day went: “The group got so much from their day.
I feel that the pupils learned such a lot and the trip will be a highlight of their time at school. We
are really grateful for all of your time and for making sure that the day went so well.”
So, more satisfied customers! And the good news is, at least some of what they learned ‘stuck’,
as proved by this tweet: “ @bhx-official Arden Academy had a fantastic day yesterday. Thanks
Alison and great staff!! ”
August 2014