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13 December 2004 Richard Samuel Esq., Dear Richard KENT INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT-MANSTON: SCHEDULED PASSENGER OPERATIONS 1. We are writing to inform you of our plans to support EUjet's summer schedule of operations for the period April- September 2005 and, in the context of the extant Section 106 Agreement between us, to explain the measures we have already taken and intend taking to mitigate any adverse noise impact on residents. 2. Over the first thirteen weeks of its operation EUjet has flown some 71,000 passengers and taken bookings of 151,000 seats. In relation to the target of some 800,000 passengers in the first full year of operation these sales figures are most promising. But without the ability to intensify the use of its current aircraft fleet and in so doing to offer additional destinations in response to passenger demand for additional leisure and business destinations, EUjet risks the ability to capitalise on its early successes and achieve the growth essential for long-term sustainability. 3. It is against that background that EUjet will this Wednesday publish its schedule for Summer 2005. The new schedule (copy attached) will include routes to a range of Spanish destinations, including Seville and Valencia; to Budapest and, in support of the business needs of Kent & Medway, flights to Newcastle, Belfast and Cologne. Securing slots for these new routes has not been without difficulty but EUjet has done exceptionally well and is to be commended on having made every effort to contain as many as possible of these flights within the established operating patterns of Kent International Airport. But it has not been possible to accommodate the entire schedule within the Airport's normal operating hours. And it is to that subject that we are writing well in advance of the actual operation of the Summer 2005 schedule to explain the effects of the new changes. 4. The key effect of these changes is that certain flights will arrive home at Manston after 2300 hours. Specifically, they are:
With four exceptions these late arrivals should have landed before midnight. 5. In deciding whether or not to support EUjet's Summer 2005 schedule we have given careful consideration to the terms of the extant S106 Agreement and to the scenarios that were envisaged when it was drafted. At that time the potential for arrivals and departures at night centred on the use of the Airport by dedicated cargo aircraft with a Quota Count of 4 or more. In addition the S 106 catered for irregular night flights. Throughout, the presumption was that night flights would be by comparatively noisy cargo aircraft as evidenced by paragraphs 1.1 to 1.3 of the Agreement where the emphasis throughout is on only permitting use by aircraft with a Quota Count less than 4. 6. The commercial imperatives and operating circumstances that have prompted EUjet to seek our support for out of hours flying are we believe justified given the overall long-term benefits to the region of securing a successful scheduled passenger operation from Manston. In the context of our noise management policy we know that EUjet has stripped out of its schedule all but essential flights in order to maximise efficiency and limit the impact of noise disturbance to local residents. The fact that the Fokker 100 aircraft operated by EUjet has a Quota Count of 0.5 also means that the actual noise disturbance to residents is at the absolute minimum of any noise disturbance scale; indeed since the introduction of EUjet's operation in September and the withdrawal of MK Airljnes we have clear evidence of a significant reduction in the average Lmax dB(A) (see attached). And, importantly, EUjet's operating ethos assumes that its aircraft fleet is based overnight at Manston, the Summer 2005 schedule envisages no departures from Manston between the hours of 2030 (local) and 0600 (local). 7. We must emphasise: that none of this represents the first step towards 24 hour flight operations at Manston. There is no public demand for night flying, and even if there were, the cost of staffing the airport throughout the night would make the whole operation totally uneconomic. In formal terms, and using the language of the Second Schedule of the Section 106 Agreement, we are consulting the Council on the following very limited night-time flying policy:
8. We very much regret that the full six month consultation period is being curtailed. Here we are the victim of the airline industry's slot allocations cycle. S106 for summer schedules are allocated in at an international conference in November. Airlines' full scheduling exercise cannot be completed until this has happened. In EUjet's case this process ended last week and we are therefore bringing it to you at the first opportunity. 9. As part of the consultation process we now intend to take the following steps, the outcomes ofwhich will be published at the first opportunity:
The results of this work will be available for full scrutiny and we are happy that they also be available to inform the consultation process. We are writing in identical terms to Sir Alistair Hunter as Chairman of the Manston Airport Consultative Committee, who has kindly agreed to allow us to make a presentation to the meeting of the Manston Consultative Committee on 15 December. We should now be grateful if you would ensure that copies of this letter and its attachments are provided to Cabinet Members at the earliest opportunity. Yours sincerely |
