BIRMINGHAM AIRPORT - AIRPORT CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE 17 MAY 2017 … · 2017. 9. 21. · Airport Company response: “Yes, spot checks undertaken – BAL ... 2017. Ryanair had launched

BIRMINGHAM AIRPORT - AIRPORT CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE 17 MAY 2017 AT 1.30 PM

accminutes170517.doc

BIRMINGHAM AIRPORT - AIRPORT CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE

17 MAY 2017 AT 1.30 PM

Present: Mr Colin Flack – Chairman

In attendance from Birmingham Airport:

David Winstanley - Chief Operating Officer

Kirstin Kane - Head of Sustainability

Andy Holding - Corporate Responsibility Manager

Tom Redfern - Environmental Specialist

Deane Arnold - Contract Manager

Richard Hardeman - Environmental Manager

Helen Taylor - Operations Analyst

In attendance from Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council:

Mr L Stevenson - Representing the ACC Secretariat

ABTA - Mrs S Foxall

Balsall Common Village Residents Association - Mr D Ellis

Balsall Parish Council - Cllr M Tattum

Berkswell Parish Council - Cllr R Lloyd

Bickenhill & Marston Green Parish Council - Cllr C Hill

Birmingham City Council - Cllr M Ward

Castle Bromwich Parish Council - Cllr J MacDonald

Catherine de Barnes Residents Association - Mr D Cuthbert

Consumers Association - Mr P Orton

Fordbridge Town Council - Cllr L A Sorrell

Hampton Society - Mr M Blomer

Hampton in Arden Parish Council - Cllr D Sandells

Kingshurst Parish Council - Cllr M Dawson

Marston Green Residents Association - Mr J W Fox

Passengers Representative and Vice-Chairman - Mrs R Tyler

Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council - Cllr T Crumpton

Sheldon Residents Association - Mrs M Kennett



Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council - Cllr D Bell

Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council - Mr D Towey

Staffordshire County Council - Cllr M Deaville

Smith’s Wood Parish Council - Cllr J Wilson

Warwick District Council - Cllr G Illingworth

Wychwood Club - Mr G A Heaps

Apologies were received on behalf of: -

Barston Parish Council - Cllr R Lyon

Birmingham City Council - Cllr R Alden

Birmingham City Council - Cllr D Donaldson

Bromford & Hodge Hill HLB - Mrs E Tarpey

Chelmsley Wood Town Council - Cllr S Tomkins

Knowle Society - Mrs E Baker

1. CHAIRMANSHIP OF ACC - 2017-2020

This item was confidential to the Committee. The Chairman, Mr C Flack, and The Airport Company were not present during the discussion. It was agreed that only the resolution would be communicated and this Minute be archived with the Secretary.

2. WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS BY THE CHAIRMAN

Introductions

The Chairman welcomed Members of the Committee and representatives from the Airport Company. All those in attendance were invited to introduce themselves to the meeting.

For the following Members in particular, this was their first meeting:

Cllr J MacDonald - Castle Bromwich Parish Council. Cllr C Hill - Bickenhill & Marston Green Parish Council.

3. MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING & MATTERS ARISING

The Minutes of the meeting of the Airport Consultative Committee, held on 15 February 2017, were submitted.

The Airport Company (Andy Holding) – drew the Committee’s attention to the following updates:

Agenda Page 8:

“Quarterly Night Flying Exemptions to be included in report”

Airport Company response: “Apologies - oversight, they are not included. The figure for this quarter is 318. Future data will be included for next and future meetings.”

Agenda Page 8:

“Improvements to signage in car parks”



Airport Company response: “Work continuing on car parking. Signage will be addressed as part of the completion of these works.”

Agenda Page 12:

“Issue of noise from A320 family aircraft on approach”

Airport Company response: “To recap, the issue is caused by the Fuel Over Press Port – a small circular vent on the underside of A230 wings through which excess fuel is vented if the wing tanks are overfilled, or over-pressurised, during refuelling on the ground. It is the flow of air over these vents which cause the noise – like blowing over a bottle top. There is a fix in place; consists of a small metal deflector or vortex generator, which is fitted just ahead of the vent to disrupt the air flow across it, eliminating the problem. The Committee asked BAL to survey operators of A320 family aircraft at Birmingham what plans they had in place to apply the fix. We have done this and essentially everyone either has fixes in place or has plans to address the issue:

Monarch – all aircraft in fleet now fitted with the vortex generator.

Lufthansa – likewise, all aircraft fitted.

Easy Jet – major fix for them – they have 197 aircraft to be retrofitted; work will be complete by March 2018.

Thomas Cook – 13 new A321’s have the component fitted; they have 8 legacy aircraft which will have the fix applied during their Winter 17/18 maintenance programme.

So positive response – looks like operators are on top of this issue.”

Agenda Page 13:

“Members were invited to relay any concerns or questions relating to the Health Action Plan directly to Rosemary Tyler”

Airport Company response: “Some feedback submitted - covered in Agenda Item 10.”

Agenda Page 17:

“Concerns over Night Flying Policy”

Airport Company response: “See from papers that letter requesting deferral was sent to Solihull MBC and we have Catherine de Barnes Residents Association presenting concerns in Agenda Item 9.”

RESOLVED

(i) The Minutes of the last meeting be agreed as a correct record and the updates from the Airport Company be welcomed and noted; and

(ii) That the “Airport Gurus” be invited to the next meeting to give a presentation on their promotion activities.

4. PRE-SUBMITTED QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE & MATTERS ARISING

In accordance with the agreed changes to meeting procedures, Members of the Committee were encouraged to submit questions prior to the meeting. The follow questions had been submitted:

QUESTIONS:

Berkswell Parish Council submitted the following question(s) detailed in italic:



“Some reports have been published recently about accidents in less developed parts of the world. One destroyed aircraft was an Antonov freighter that used to visit Birmingham. It was burnt out in Leipzig in 2013. The report draws attention to fuel leaks, poor aircraft design, bad maintenance of the APU, falsified records, defective data and voice recorders, and slow firefighting response.”

Q – “I believe the CAA makes spot-checks on foreign aircraft. Does this happen at Birmingham? Have any airworthiness concerns been detected?”

Airport Company response: “Yes, spot checks undertaken – BAL receives no pre-notification, but obviously assists and facilitates. Because it’s someone else’s aircraft, BAL has no sight of any findings until they’re published. If any serious breaches are detected then CAA has power to ground the aircraft. Cannot recall any recent incidents here.”

Q – “Please could we have a briefing on emergency procedures including practice exercises for emergencies on or near the airfield. In particular, how do the airport services coordinate with WM Fire and Rescue?”

Q - “Are there practices involving use of the emergency gates, both for access to the airfield and for airfield resources to exit?”

Q - “What systems are available to identify the location of an incident near the airfield and to relay it to all parties?”

Airport Company response: “Propose, if members are in agreement, to bring forward an agenda item at the next meeting where John McCorry, Head of BHX Fire & Rescue will provide an overview of the operation.”

Catherine de Barnes Resident’s Association submitted the following question(s) detailed in italic:

Q – “Activities Report section 5 operations para1 - think this is a very positive step.”

Airport Company response: “Refers to Parallel Loading trials at Central Search; acknowledged, will keep Committee appraised.”

Q – “Sustainability report: para 3.1 How do the ATM's reported in this graph relate to the ATM (usage to date figure) quoted in para.3.2.”

Airport Company response: “Graph shows ATMs for quarter Jan-Mar, whereas table below (3.2) shows ATMs in full Night Flying Year (Oct – Oct).”

Q – “para 3.2 can the low usage figure of 658 be explained bearing in mind it represents 6/7 months of the period.”

Airport Company response: “This is usage to date during current Night Flying Year – that is from start of current night flying year (October) to end March – ie the quietest part of the year. So we always see low usage to date at this point in the night flying year. From March onwards, usage rises and we expect that the busy summer period will take the full year figure to in excess of what you see in the table for previous years.”

Q – “para.4.1 great achievement on level of complaints - we never say well done enough do we.“

Airport Company response: “Acknowledged with thanks.”

Q – “para.5.2 these figures are not improving - is this related to runway 15 departures northbound? If not what is the reason?”

Airport Company response: “Refer to page 6 of current papers. Has been some improvement, but until R33 Airspace Change is completed, situation will remain.”



RESOLVED

That the responses to the pre-submitted questions be noted.

Post meeting note: Barston Parish Council had submitted the following question(s) detailed in italic on the day of the meeting which, unfortunately, had not been received in sufficient time to formulate a detailed answer:

Q – “Having undertaken independent noise monitoring last summer it is a fact that the noise in Barston far exceeds yours and CAA's predictions for maximum noise levels as detailed in the airspace change proposal. Do you intend to do anything about that? Obviously the noise varies hugely depending on how low the planes are. So are there any noise abatement procedures you could/would consider that would mean the planes take off earlier along the runway so they are higher by the time they reach our communities? This is something that Cllr B Sleigh was keen to see happen a long time ago.”

5. AIRPORT ACTIVITIES REPORT

The Airport Company (David Winstanley) - presented the Airport Activities report for the period January to March 2017. The report set out updates on the following matters:

Aircraft & Passenger Statistics. Aviation Development. Marketing. Commercial Development. Operations. Planning, Development & Transportation.

In presenting the report, Mr Winstanley drew particular attention to:

Growth forecasts were being out-performed which was now causing some infrastructure issues.

Security queuing issues had arisen on 12 May due to staffing problems, technical faults and a high demand for service owing to the success of the new self-check-in area.

Improvement works had necessitated the un-planned closure of the “drop and go” car park on safety grounds with the provision for that facility being displaced to Car Park 1 for the remaining period of the works.

Birmingham Airport had broken through the 12 million passenger mark for the first time. The record was between 18 April 2016 and 17 April 2017.

British Airways was back flying again from Birmingham Airport with four new summer only routes; the first time since 2007.

Jet2 celebrated their first flights and holidays departing from Birmingham on 30 March.

Emirates were cancelling one of its Middle East services out of Birmingham. The firm was stopping one of its three daily services between Birmingham and Dubai from the autumn following a review of its operations. It will still leave twice daily services by Emirates between the two destinations.

Monarch had added four new routes to its network for summer 2017.

Qatar Airways had celebrated one year of operations from Birmingham on 30 March 2017.

Ryanair had launched its Birmingham winter schedule with 21 routes in total.



The Airport Gurus continued to be busy promoting the Airport and airline services to corporate partners and the wider travel trade.

Discussion Points

Consumers Association (Mr P Orton) – sought further information on the Emirates decision to cancel one of its Middle East services out of Birmingham. The Airport Company (David Winstanley) added that the decision, based on load factors, was a “temporary suspension” of service rather than a permanent termination.

Mr Orton also stated that his perception of passenger processing through security and baggage was taking too long and he enquired whether the Airport Company undertook any analysis of throughput times. His concern was that if passenger processing took too long, this would be seen as poor customer service causing travellers to choose other airports instead. The Airport Company (David Winstanley) advised the Committee that a KPI was in place which set out that passengers would not queue for more than 20 minutes, although he acknowledged that this target had not consistently been met. Mr Winstanley also added that queue time performance data was captured and could be presented and operational, “dash-board” data could also be shared to give the Committee a feel for real-time performance.

Mr Orton further enquired about UK Border Force performance and was advised that Birmingham Airport had implemented its own performance monitoring system which gave live data on actual queue times. Mr Winstanley advised that sample queue time performance data could be provided. The concept of a fast-track product for inbound flights was also being considered which was likely to be a “pre-book” option at the point of sale for the flight itself.

Balsall Common Village Residents Association (Mr D Ellis) – highlighted that families having to stand in lengthy queues with children was not ideal. The Airport Company (David Winstanley) advised the Committee that family friendly lanes were currently being trialled.

ABTA (Mrs S Foxall) – highlighted that as Car Park 1 was being used as the temporary “drop and go” facility, some temporary seating for elderly travellers would be beneficial whilst waiting for taxis at that location. The Airport Company (David Winstanley) advised the Committee that the car park development was due for completion on 25 May 2017. A further problem was then highlighted whereby some taxis were attempting to use the Emirates set-down lane. The Airport Company noted this for further investigation.

Mrs Foxall then recalled a poor recent personal experience when she had landed at Birmingham Airport off a Monarch flight. A lift in the arrivals terminal had been closed and passenger throughput had been slow and problematic with overall customer service well below standard in her view. The Airport Company (David Winstanley) advised the Committee that he would investigate all the issues that had been raised by Mrs Foxall.

RESOLVED

That the contents of the Airport Activities Report for the period January to March 2017 be noted.

6. SUSTAINABILITY REPORT

The Airport Company (Kirstin Kane) presented the Sustainability Report for the period January to March 2017. As agreed previously, there was no detailed Airport Company presentation on the data graphs which allowed the Committee more time for discussion and questions. The contents of the report, on the following topics, were taken as read:

Sustainability Update. Noise Violations. Night Flying Policy.



Engine Ground Running. Air Traffic. Aircraft Activity Complaints. Air Quality. Waste (Recycled). Energy.

Discussion Points

Balsall Common Village Residents Association (Mr D Ellis) – asked if the Post Implementation Review would relate to only the southbound SID’s or whether it would also apply to the northbound turn. The Airport Company (Kirstin Kane) confirmed that it would only apply to southbound as the northbound turn was not yet finalised. Flight validation/simulator work was still ongoing and yet to be completed.

Hampton in Arden Parish Council (Cllr D Sandells) – enquired as to the progress made for the Airspace Change consultation roadshows as mentioned in the report. The Airport Company (Andy Holding) explained that venues would be confirmed by the end of the month and the roadshows themselves were due to commence from 19 June.

Catherine de Barnes Residents Association (Mr D Cuthbert) – highlighted that important data was now being presented by the Airport Company for different audiences and on some occasions this gave rise to confusion. The Airport Company acknowledged that the data presented for ACC should not be difficult to correlate to avoid misinterpretation and this would be noted for all future reports and presentations.

RESOLVED

That the contents of the Sustainability Report for the period January to March 2017 be noted.

7. ANNUAL COMPLAINTS REPORT

The Airport Company (Tom Redfern) presented the Annual Complaints Report which set out some key data sets for 2016.

The contents of the report, on the following topics, were taken as read:

Overview of Complaints Management. Summary of Trends for 2016. Trends in Correspondents, Contacts, Events and Concerns. Contribution by Correspondent. Types of Concern.

Discussion Points

Balsall Common Village Residents Association (Mr D Ellis) – took the opportunity to highlight the apparent improvement in the overflying of Balsall Common. The Airport Company (Andy Holding) welcomed the feedback.

Balsall Parish Council (Cllr M Tattum) – sought assurances from the Airport Company that they understood, as a business, the underlying causes of the problems and disturbances that gave rise to complaints. The Chairman acknowledged this and undertook to follow this up at the forthcoming UKACCS Annual Meeting on 8 June 2017, to gauge whether any national themes were evident.

RESOLVED

That the contents of the 2016 Annual Complaints Report be noted.



8. PASSENGER SERVICES REPORT

The Airport Company (Deane Arnold and Andy Holding) – presented the Passenger Services Report for the period January to March 2017. The report set out updates on the following matters:

Oracle RightNow (CRM System). Operational Performance. Cleaning Audit Scores. PRM’s. Security Queue Time Performance.

Discussion Points

Passengers Representative and Vice-Chairman (Mrs R Tyler) – sought clarification that Premiere and Swissport were still the only two handling agents operating at the Airport. The Airport Company (Deane Arnold) confirmed that they were, but discussions were currently progressing in an attempt to secure a third handling agent. The Committee agreed that handling agent performance was important as this directly reflected on the service performance of airport itself from the consumer perspective. (Passengers experiencing poor baggage handling services were obviously unlikely to apportion blame directly to the contractor involved.)

RESOLVED

That the contents of the Passenger Services Report for the period January to March 2017 be noted.

9. NIGHT FLYING – COMMUNITY CONCERNS

Catherine de Barnes Residents Association (Mr D Cuthbert) – presented a number of community concerns surrounding the Night Flying Policy Review. The Chairman and the Airport Company thanked Mr Cuthbert and all those that had contributed to the submission.

Mr Cuthbert’s deputation to the Committee is reproduced below in full for future record:

“Firstly, thank you for opportunity to discuss the topic. I am speaking on behalf of 8 community groups

represented on the ACC:

Balsall Common RA

Balsall Common PC

Berkswell PC

Hampton in Arden PC

Hampton Society

Knowle Society

Catherine de Barnes RA

Marston Green RA

Can I remind the Committee that the s106 was established to mitigate the effects of increased levels of traffic as

a result of the runway extension. The 5 basic s106 conditions are:

Limit of 5%

Quota count/quota limit and quota exemptions

Night time 85dba

Night time period

Taxi way lima/tango usage exemption at night



Background

Following the last 2 review attempts, we felt the need to get together to discuss the events. It looks like the

review process will not be put to bed before Sept 2017; over 12 months since it was bought to the ACC in Aug

2016. Both reviews asking for different conditions -what will the 3rd bring??. We think the process has proved to

be flawed. Had there been a mechanism for prior discussion with perhaps reps from the ACC before the

formulation of the reports, we believe the experience of the last 6 months and what will be 12 months could

have been avoided.

We ask the ACC to recommend to Birmingham Airport Limited that the process be reviewed perhaps on the

lines suggested. Following the last ACC, Birmingham Airport Limited were asked to consider a downward

review of the night time noise limit of 85dB(A) and are pleased to see that this has been acknowledged and will

be included in the next review. Potential night time ATM projections – below are possible night ATM

movements:

NIGHT TIME FLYING REVIEW ATM PROJECTIONS

Annual

ATM's 5% 4.50% 4% 3.50%

000's

100 5000 4500 4000

110 5500 4950 4400

120 6000 5400 4800

130 6500 5850 5200

140 7000 6300 5600

#148 7400 6600 5920 5180

182 9100 8190 7280 6370

205 10250 9225 8200 7175

*YEAR

OCT/OCT

ATM

LIMITS

USAGE TO

DATE

2013/2014 5222 3031

2014/2015 5111 3026

2015/2016 5111 3111

2016/2017 4817 285

* DATA FROM SUSTAINABILITY REPORT OCT-DEC2016

# BAL projections taken from paper to Davies Commission

This shows % into numbers - % to outsiders mean little. Current ATM’s (calendar 2016) 113k which could mean

2017 could be 125k-127k (10-12 1/2% growth). We could see 6500 movements are possible at 5%. Compared

with 2015/2016 actuals that is a 108% increase and even at 4% represents 67% increase.

Quota’s + quota limit of 4000 has not changed for 17 years despite planes getting much quieter over this period.

Over the last 3 years 65%, 62% and 64% of the quota limit of 4000 has been unused – this year up to the last

ACC report 97% has been unused. We understand there is a consultation underway which could result in

currently exempt planes being bought into the figures. Using figures quoted in the last draft review there would

have been extra 204 movements in Oct 15 –Oct 16 which would have only reduced the unused element down

from 64% to 62%.

We feel there are grounds to substantially reduce the annual quota count down from 4000 in the current review

and ask the Committee to support this request.

Last but not least, the “changing the basis for calculation”. We were a little dismayed that this was not referred

to in the Birmingham Airport Limited‘s recent letter to SMBC (a copy of which is included in this meeting pack).

This letter also advised that the review commenced in 30th October 2016, whereas in fact the process had

stated prior to Aug 16 when it was first presented at that ACC.



We understand that the night flying limit calculated on the proposed basis was more likely to be more accurate

(based on CAT 3 status) but the probable effect in the first year is a double whammy in increased numbers.

Based on all current forecast this years/next years figures are going to up 10% at least on those of the max of

the last 5 years. This would significantly increase the ATM limit applied and certainly not in the spirit of the s106

conditions on mitigating nuisance. The (above) figures show night time ATM movements based on a series of

percentages starting at 5% down to 3.5%. The ATM figures in red are annual ATM figures taken from a BAL

report to the Davies Commission and you can see how the ATM figures ramp up at 5%.

Should BAL insist on changing the calculation, perhaps a way of mitigating the effect would be to reduce the 5%

limit down to 4.5% or even lower - you can calculate the effect using the figures above discussed earlier – we

would ask the committee to support this scenario in principle.

The continuing success of BAL and its contribution to the WM economy is beyond question – but it is a fact also

that low cost carriers take revenue, in substantial amounts, out of the UK economy but this seems not to be

mentioned very often.

In 2009, SMBC in agreement with BAL as mitigation towards increased levels of air traffic resulting from the

runway extension instigated the s106 agreement as a balancing mechanism :( economy – local environment

)and hope that this remains at the front of the minds of those considering and coming to a decision about

BAL’s final night flying review.

I would ask the Committee to support the proposals bought forward in this presentation.”

Discussion Points

The Airport Company (Kirstin Kane) – suggested that the Committee might wish to establish a Working Group to examine the detail of the submission and the matters it raised therein. This option was supported by the Committee

Balsall Common Village Residents Association (Mr D Ellis) – highlighted that the Night Flying Policy Review would affect communities to the north of the airfield, although that may not be apparent to them at this point in time. The Airport Company (David Winstanley) stated that lessons could be learnt from dialogues with residents to the south of the Airport which would help inform similar issues that would become evident for residents living to the north of the Airport, given time.

The Chairman (Colin Flack) – acknowledged the overall heighted levels of community concerns and the local insight that the community submission brought to the Committee.

Hampton in Arden Parish Council (Cllr D Sandells) – emphasised the need for an open and transparent process and highlighted that airport growth had been greater than expected.

Berkswell Parish Council (Cllr R Lloyd) – highlighted that the Night Noise Guidelines stated that the max noise to avoid sleep disturbance would be 60 dB, which was a long way from the current violation limit of 85 dB and, probably, unachievable in the near future. However, Cllr Lloyd considered that we should be working toward it and a significant reduction in the violation limit would help offset the increase in flight numbers. The Chairman acknowledged this and indicated that this issue should be deferred to the Working Group for consideration.

RESOLVED

(i) That the contents of the community concerns submission be received and noted at this stage;

(ii) That a Working Group be established to consider the submission in detail and report back to ACC in August 2017; and

(iii) That the following ACC Members be appointed to that Working Group:



Mr D Cuthbert Mr D Ellis Cllr M Tattum Cllr R Lloyd Cllr C Hill Cllr D Sandells Cllr J Fox

10. HEALTH ACTION PLAN

Passengers Representative and Vice-Chairman (Mrs R Tyler) – presented to the Committee, the Health Action Plan (HAP). The Plan had been developed over the course of 2014/15, through engagement with the Airport Health Group. Its objective was to record the existing and further agreed health and wellbeing initiatives put forward by the Airport Health Group.

The contents of the Plan were taken as read and Mrs Tyler commended the report to the Committee.

Discussion Points

Berkswell Parish Council (Cllr R Lloyd) – highlighted that there appeared to be some minor typographical errors in the version before the Committee. The Airport Company (Andy Holding) acknowledged this and highlighted that a later edit of the Plan was available which addressed those points.

The Chairman (Mr C Flack) – sought clarification on the timings of the future annual reports. The Airport Company (Kirstin Kane) stated that following the publication of the HAP, the annual report would be presented to the Committee one year from now, or thereabouts.

RESOLVED

(i) That the contents of the report be noted; and

(ii) That approval be given to the publication of the Health Action Plan.

11. AIR QUALITY REPORT

The Airport Company (Richard Hardeman) – presented the Air Quality Concerns Report. He reminded the Committee that the Section 106 agreement required The Airport Company to prepare a Health Action Plan and establish a Health Forum. The objective of that group was to bring together health professionals to discuss specific health issues and opportunities arising from the Airport and its use; and also to support the development and iterative refinement of the Airport Health Action Plan.

A Member had previously queried the content of the draft Health Action Plan and expressed air quality concerns regarding the exceedance of daily hourly mean O3 (Ozone) concentrations; and commented upon a requirement for PM2.5 monitoring being undertaken at the Airport and/or within Solihull MBC.

The report outlined the concern expressed previously and provided a response and additional information to explain how it was addressed through operational procedures and to set the potential risk into context. It was further noted that the report had been developed by the Airport Sustainability Team, with input from Dr Andrew Buroni (RPS HIA Practice Leader), and had also been reviewed by the Airport Health Group.

The remaining contents of the report were taken as read.



Discussion Points

Hampton in Arden Parish Council (Cllr D Sandells) – sought clarification from the Airport Company insofar as the presentation of the report seemed to imply that that Airport Company was “not” an ozone producer.

The Chairman (Mr C Flack) – suggested that the overall presentation of the report should be interpreted in that the Airport Company was not a “significant” ozone producer.

Catherine de Barnes Residents Association (Mr D Cuthbert) – highlighted that the Airport was the only air quality monitoring station in Solihull. Mr Cuthbert expressed further concerns regarding particulate matter (PM) and questioned whether those airborne materials should be measured. Mr Cuthbert stated that he was disappointed that neither the Airport Company nor Local Authority appeared to be measuring for PM2.5.

Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council (Mr D Towey) - advised the Committee that the Local Authority were looking to recommence carrying out monitoring for air quality and as part of that were investigating the possibility of measuring for particulates which might include PM2.5, but the cost of monitoring for that was quite expensive.

RESOLVED


(ii) That the conclusions and recommendations as set out in the report be supported.

12. PASSENGERS WITH REDUCED MOBILITY (PRESENTATION)

The Airport Company (Helen Taylor and Dean Arnold) – gave a detailed presentation which set out the Special Assistance Process (SAP) for passengers.

The contents of the presentation were taken as read.

Discussion Points

Castle Bromwich Parish Council (Cllr J MacDonald) – asked how SAP was funded and was advised by the Airport Company that the airlines covered the operating costs of the scheme. There were no usage costs made to passengers.

Passengers Representative and Vice-Chairman (Mrs R Tyler) – highlighted to the Committee that it was recommended that SAP should be pre-booked when making a holiday booking. This would avoid any service demand issues at peak times. Mrs Tyler also suggested that pre-booked SAP’s could be given a priority service and the Airport Company might wish to consider this. A greater selection of wheelchairs was also suggested and the Committee welcomed the fact that several types of chair were now available for passengers with reduced mobility.

ABTA (Mrs S Foxall) – gave several examples to the Committee of poor passenger customer service. This was noted by the Airport Company.

Passengers Representative and Vice-Chairman (Mrs R Tyler) – recalled her recent visit to India and gave several examples of excellent customer service. Mrs Tyler said that, ideally, airlines should make greater financial investment to the passenger experience.

Kingshurst Parish Council (Cllr M Dawson) – reiterated the benefits of pre-booking SAP and the Monarch booking system was cited as a good example of a system that openly highlighted the availability of SAP.

RESOLVED

That the contents of the presentation be noted.



13. ACC WEB UPDATE

The Committee was signposted to the Airport Company’s web site which would now host all the key information, agendas and minutes for the ACC.

https://www.birminghamairport.co.uk/about-us/community-and-environment/airport-consultative-committee/

RESOLVED

That the update on the ACC web pages be noted.

14. ANY OTHER BUSINESS

Bickenhill Village Noise Monitoring – the Airport Company (Andy Holding) drew the Committee’s attention to a letter that had been written to Cllr Bunce, the Chairman of Bickenhill and Marston Green Parish Council concerning increased noise from the airport and asking if the Airport Company could consider installing a noise monitor in the Village. The request also sought to establish when was the last time that noise and pollution levels were monitored in Bickenhill Village.

In considering the request, the Committee supported a new period of monitoring. Historical data held by the Airport Company appeared to point to the fact that it was at least 20 years (circa 1996) since monitoring had been undertaken in that location. Several Members considered that such data would now be out of date and it would be useful to obtain current baseline data. Members also highlighted that by agreeing to undertake new monitoring, this should not raise any expectations once the monitoring had taken place.

UKACC’s Annual Meeting – the Chairman drew attention to the forthcoming Annual Meeting for UKACC’s that would take place on 7th and 8th June 2017 at Glasgow Airport. The Chairman invited the Committee to draw to his attention in time for that meeting, any local or national matters that Members might wish to be raised on our Committee’s behalf.

NHS Cyber Attack – in light of the recent cyber-attack on NHS computer systems, the Committee sought reassurances that airport operations were not exposed to any similar risks. Such reassurances were given by the Airport Company.

RESOLVED


(ii) That the Airport Company undertakes a new period of noise monitoring in Bickenhill Village.

15. DATES OF FUTURE MEETING

The Committee noted that the next scheduled meeting would be on 16 August 2017 at 1.30pm, at Diamond House, Birmingham Airport.

(Post meeting note - future meeting dates: 15 November 2017 and 14 February 2018).

RESOLVED

That the contents of the report be noted.



Documents

BIRMINGHAM AIRPORT - AIRPORT CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE 17 MAY 2017 … · 2017. 9. 21. · Airport Company response: “Yes, spot checks undertaken – BAL ... 2017. Ryanair had launched