Demo This Saturday: End Domestic Flights Now!

Start: 04 Sep 2010, 11:00 am 

Where: London to Manchester

FTF MEETS THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE

Demonstrations in London and Manchester, Saturday 4th September

You can come to the London demonstration - or the one in Manchester - or, for just a fiver, join us in our special carriage on the train (see here) for a full fun day of aviation activism!

Timetable:

11.00 am Demonstration outside City Airport, London. (take the DLR at Bank to get to the ‘London City Airport’ stop on the Woolwich line)

12.15 pm “Train-not-plane” party board the big red (open top double decker) ‘End Domestic Flights’ bus which takes the message through the streets of London to Euston station.
1.40 pm "Train-not-plane" brigade boards the Manchester train at Euston.

3.49 pm “Train-not-plane” party arrives at Manchester Piccadilly station

4.30 - 5.45 pm Demonstration at Manchester Airport at Terminal 3 . More info info[at]stopmanchesterairport.org.uk

6.30 pm - Tea and coffee, followed by a Party for aviation activists : food, drink and live music from ceilidh band "The Fig Band". This will be at Hasty Lane near Manchester airport - in a street threatened by airport expansion - a short bus ride, or 25 minuite walk, from Terminal 3. Accommodation will be organised for those staying overnight.

Join us on the special "Train-not plane" carriage on the 1.40pm train! Take the big red bus from the City Airport demo to Euston station and then join our special “train-not-plane” carriage on the 1.40 train to Manchester. A fiver will get you to Manchester Airport taking our special carriage – first come first served for available seats. To book a ticket click here.

But remember, you need to get back from Manchester! The sooner you book the cheaper the return to London! You can return from Manchester Saturday night or party in Manchester and return Sunday morning. Return to London by train is £11.50 if booked well enough in advance, or around £5.50 on Megabus. The last trains back from Manchester to London on Saturday leave Manchester Piccadilly at 19.37 and 20.35.

Any queries? E-mail enddomesticflights@campaigncc.org

Find out about the local London City Airport anti expansion group “Fight the Flights” at www.fighttheflights.com
Find out about SEMA, the “Stop Expansion at Manchester Airport” group at www.stopmanchesterairport.org.uk

Download a flier to publicise the demo from our leaflets page.

Put this date in your diary now! This will be the time to take the agenda forward on aviation, and insist that at this time of climate emergency we cannot afford to be using high-emission forms of transport where viable alternatives exist. And that aviation will need to bear the burden of emissions reductions along with other sectors.

"End Domestic Flights" is one of the 'Climate Emergency Demands' - see here.

We asked people their thoughts on banning domestic flights and made a video of their responses, you can watch it here.

Victory Against All The Odds

It is fitting that as FTF nears it's 3rd anniversary, and the legal challenge in November moves nearer that we consider how campaigns work, what makes them successful, the strategies, and most of all the amazing people behind them.  We've always been united with our fellow campaigners and always will be, celebrating the successes, and  sharing the challenges.

John Stewart, Chair of HACAN and a colleague of ours, has written a book on the work which led to the victory of the Heathrow Campaign to stop the third runway.  We'd like to invite you to read it: it reveals the commitment, sacrifices and bravery of those that worked so hard for their victory.  

You can read the inspiring and fascinating book here.

Press released 20/08/10

Victory Against All The Odds

New book describing how the Heathrow campaign was won released to mark official celebration of the victory

A book outlining the successful campaign to stop the expansion of Heathrow has been released to mark the official celebration of the event on Saturday 28^th August (1). Victory Against All The Odds has been written by John Stewart, the Chair of HACAN, one of the main organisations in the coalition of groups which successfully fought the plans to expand the airport.

The illustrated book outlines the 10 year struggle to stop expansion. It describes the methods used and highlights the key individuals and organisations involved 

It puts success down to three main things: the building up of what it calls the largest and most diverse coalition ever to oppose expansion of an airport in the UK; a willingness to challenge the economic case for expansion; and a determination by the campaigners to set the agenda.

Stewart said: “The victory was no fluke. It wasn’t a question of luck. It was the result of a clear strategy, a radical approach, daring tactics and an utter refusal by the campaigners to believe that we wouldn’t win.”

Notes:

(1). The celebration, organised by Hillingdon Council in conjunction with NoTRAG (The No Third Runway Action Group), will take place on Saturday 28^th August, from 2 – 7pm in Sipson Recreation Ground, Sipson Way (off Sipson Road). More details: www.hillingdon.gov.uk

Coming Soon: Greenwich Council and it's failure to understand noise pollution

CAA Update on Post Implementation Review of LCY New Flightpath

The Civil Aviation Authority have kindly updated FTF on the following in relation to the new London City Airport flightpath (Standard Instrument Departure) which was introduced in May 2009.  The shift of this particular flight path on departures taking off into the west and banking over Bow, Leyton and Wanstead was a controversial move, and has resulted in an increase in complaints from residents in the areas affected.

I am writing to update you on the progress of the CAA’s Post Implementation Review of the changes to the London City Airport Standard Instrument Departure (SID) routes introduced on 9 May 2009.

The Review was initiated in May 2010 when the change sponsor, NATS, was requested to provide operational data concerning the traffic distribution associated with the revised SIDs covering the 12 months since implementation.  NATS have provided the data and our initial analysis has now led us to request further technical data from NATS, which will take time to assemble and analyse.  Consequently, the target date for the publication of the Post Implementation Review will now be 31 October 2010

FTF would advise any resident who has found themselves to have been negatively affected by the change of this flight path to submit their feedback to the CAA in regard to the change experienced since last May, and how it has impacted upon your area.

You can submit your comments to the CAA:

Mr J. Walker, Business Coordinator

Directorate of Airspace Policy

CAA House45-59 Kingsway

London

WC2B 6TE

'Why we should end domestic flights: aviation in the era of climate emergency"

Article from the Campaign Against Climate Change

Where:

SOAS, School of Oriental and African Studies, Thornhaugh St, off Russell Square

Public Meeting, Wednesday 11th August

Around 40 people enjoyed an evening of discussion in SOAS.

John Stewart (chair of AirportWatch) kicked the evening off by stressing the importance of the Heathrow third runway victory to national airport expansion policy.

Dan Glass (Plane Stupid) then followed with a speech and PowerPoint presentation explaining the attractions of non-violent direct action and charting the history of the Plane Stupid campaign including his sticky meeting with Gordon Brown and multiple runway occupations.

Alan Haughton (Fight The Flights) gave us a passionate look into the plight of the people living in the area around City Airport and especially how unviable aviation would be if it were not for government subsidies.

Phil Thornhill (national co-ordinator) applauded the triumphs made at Heathrow, Stansted, and Gatwick, but also expressed the critical need for anti-expansion groups to triumph on a principal instead of individual expansionary proposals. He also noted the importance of direct action whilst highlighting the necessity of legal and inclusive public protests so as to render an argument of ‘illegitimacy’ or ‘marginal extremism’ moot.

The evening concluded with a lively Q&A session covering subjects such as freight transport, a just transition for aviation workers to a low carbon economy, and the need to address long-haul flights in addition to short-haul flights.