No To Domestic Flights Demo See's Strong Cross Party Support

The Campaign Against Climate Change (CCC) demo 'No to Domestic Flights' got off to a wonderful start at London City Airport yesterday where speakers spoke out against the expansion of City Airport, domestic flights and the impact on residents lives and the environment. 

Speakers present:Murad Qureshi, Greater London Authority, Darren Johnson, Greater London Authority, Phil Thornhill, Co-ordinator of CCC, John Stewart of HACAN, Anne-Marie Griffin of Fight the Flights, Josh from Plane Stupid and Food Not Fuel.  In addition, Baroness Sarah Ludford, MEP for London also sent a letter of support of the demonstration and of Fight the Flights campaign which was read out at the event. 

This was the first time that cross party politicians and campaigners had stood together on London City Airport turf with their message against expansion, against domestic flights. It was a significant day.

Protesters then boarded an open top bus to Euston Station, taking the message of train not  plane for those domestic trips, through London before boarding the train to Manchester to join the Stop the Expansion of Manchester Airport group. 

Further photos and coverage of the event may be seen here and here.

Fight the Flights would like to thank the Campaign Against Climate Change team, and all the speakers for their outstanding contribution and efforts which made for such a successful event.

GLA: London City Airport - Mayor's Worst Planning Decision Award

In a week that you probably thought it just couldn't get any worse for aviation expansion, and more encouraging for anti expansion campaigners, well it did.

Will Boris Johnson,Mayor of London reconsider his position on the expansion? We'll just have to wait to see.

Extract of the News from Darren Johnson: 

Ground control to Mayor Johnson: your worst planning decision award for 2010

25 MARCH 2010

Abstract: Expansion of flights at City Airport was 2009’s most damaging planning decision in London, according to Darren Johnson.

Doubling the number of flights through City Airport has won Boris Johnson the coveted 2010 “worst planning decision” award. London Assembly member Darren Johnson makes the award each year for the planning decision he considers to be the most damaging, in parallel to the Mayor’s London Planning Awards. The trophy is an inscribed breeze-block.

Darren Johnson commented:

“Despite his bluster about sweetening the air the Mayor has waved through a massive expansion in noisy polluting flights that will blight much of the capital. Local residents are fighting a legal challenge, neighbouring boroughs never got a say and environmental groups have made an overwhelming case against it.

“If the Mayor pushed businesses to follow his own staff in managing travel demand he could have stopped this expansion in its tracks.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

Darren Johnson is available for comment.

Each planning case passed the Mayor’s desk, and decisions were made by the Mayor or subsequently by the local planning authority in 2009. Details of each of the short listed schemes can be found at the following links.

London City Airport

http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor/planning_decisions/strategic_dev/2008/20080909/london_city_airport_report.pdf

http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor/planning_decisions/strategic_dev/2008/20080909/london_city_airport_decision_letter.pdf

Ian Wingrove, Press Officer for the London Assembly Green Group: 020 7983 4424