Welcome to our autumn edition of the Airport Operator. Many of you have commented on the new look and feel of the magazine and we are pleased that the journal continues to move forward and remain relevant to the needs of our members.
With the airport masterplan process now well under way or completed at airports across the country, attention has been moving towards some the detailed arguments for and against airport expansion.
Back in 2000, the AOA published its first Environmental Guidance Manual for Airports. This was a paper document covering 11 operating areas, as well as developments in policy and legislation.It was endorsed by the Environment Agency and established as a major resource for airport environmental management at the time.
Thanks to the support of the AOA and the incredible generosity of its members and guests, £7,898 was raised for international blindness charity ORBIS at the AOA’s Annual Dinner held in March 2006.
Skills Minister Phil Hope spent an afternoon shadowing Penauille Servisair’s ground handling apprentices at Gatwick on a recent visit facilitated by GoSkills, the Sector Skills Council for Passenger Transport. He gained first-hand experience of what workplace training involves and also how employers contribute to the development of their young people on apprenticeship programmes.
Sumburgh’s £10 million runway extension means it can now handle a full BAe146-200 in almost all weather conditions. The benefits are already being seen – Atlantic Airways has launched a twice-weekly service to London Stansted – the first-ever direct link between Shetland and London.
New services have been launched this year to Dublin, Leeds Bradford and Newcastle and airport manager James Walton is now setting his sights further afield. The news comes at a time of expansion, with additional aircraft parking space, local radar service and a new car park.
