Archives: November 2009 cargo news
The News stories below are cargo / freight related stories which made the headlines in November 2009 (other archived months are shown at the bottom of the page).
For all the latest Cargo News, click on the link on the left-hand side menu. ukimports.org
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25/11/09 - Airport cuts back expansion plans
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)A Kent airport has cut back its 25-year expansion plan because of the effects of the recession on aviation.
Kent International Airport, based at Manston, has published the final version of its master plan, which was first set out in October last year.
It has cut its forecast for passenger numbers in 2018 to 2.2 million from the previous 2.7 million and in 2033 to 4.7 million instead of 5.7 million. ukimports.org
25/11/09 - Inquiry in to rail freight plans
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)A planning inquiry has opened into three schemes for a rail freight terminal at different sites in Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire.
Developers have submitted a new scheme for Radlett Aerodrome near St Albans despite rejection of plans in 2007.
They have also tabled two alternative schemes both in Bedfordshire.
One is for Upper Sundon, near Luton, the other is near junction 12 of the M1 at Harlington on land owned by former Luton Town FC chairman Cliff Bassett.
The planning inquiry is being held at council offices in St Albans. ukimports.org
25/11/09 - Job cuts planned at airline BMI
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)The Midlands-based airline BMI has announced plans to cut around 600 jobs.
The plans are part of a restructuring plan involving a reduction in the number of aircraft and the suspension of loss-making routes.
The cuts are expected to be made in all areas of the business, the airline said, although compulsory job losses would be avoided wherever possible.
BMI blamed the impact of the recession and a downturn in demand for air travel for its decision. ukimports.org
24/11/09 - City ferry port to be demolished
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)A 24-year-old Hampshire ferry port is to be demolished next year to make way for a new £16m passenger terminal.
Portsmouth Continental Ferry Port will be torn down in January so the new steel and glass structure can be completed by the end of year. ukimports.org
24/11/09 - Counterfeit goods seized at port
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)More than £6m of counterfeit goods have been seized so far this year at Southampton container port, including handbags, sportswear and toys. ukimports.org
23/11/09 - Winds cause problems at port
- Courtesy of The Ipswich Evening Star (www.eveningstar.co.uk)CONTAINER-handling operations at Britain's biggest port were called to a halt this afternoon as gusty winds of more than 45mph buffeted the coast.
Officials at Felixstowe said there was disruption to both rail and yard work and, for safety reasons, access was being restricted to operational areas. ukimports.org
23/11/09 - Last call for Heathrow Terminal 2
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)Heathrow Airport's Terminal 2 is closing after 54 years to make way for a £1bn replacement.
The last passengers checked in to the terminal on Monday, with work due to start on the new building in 2010. It is expected to open in 2014.
BAA chief executive Colin Matthews called the redevelopment an "important moment" in Heathrow's history.
The terminal has handled 316 million passengers since its opening, with 7.5 million passing through last year.
Mr Matthews said: "The closure of Terminal 2 marks an important moment in the modernisation of Heathrow. ukimports.org
22/11/09 - Storms cause more ferry misery
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)Cross-Channel ferry services from Dover are being disrupted again because of the bad weather in the Channel.
Services with all the ferry operators to Calais, Boulogne and Dunkirk are subject to delays. ukimports.org
18/11/09 - Air France-KLM to cut 1,700 jobs
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)Air France-KLM is planning to cut 1,700 jobs next year after the airline posted a worse-than-expected quarterly loss.
The company will ask workers to take voluntary redundancy at Air France in 2010. It is already cutting 3,000 jobs in the year to 31 March 2010.
The firm made a net loss of 147m euros ($219m; £131m) between July and September, compared with 27m euros in the same period last year. ukimports.org
18/11/09 - Strong winds prompt lorry parking
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)Strong winds at the Port of Dover have delayed sailings and led to traffic disruption in Kent.
Dover Harbour Board has warned passengers that ferry crossings to France are subject to delays because of adverse weather conditions.
Kent police have brought in Operation Stack - where lorries waiting to cross the Channel park on the M20.
A statement from Dover Harbour Board said that sea conditions in the Channel were rough. ukimports.org
18/11/09 - Operation Stack is launched
- Courtesy of The Ipswich Evening Star (www.eveningstar.co.uk)FELIXSTOWE: Police have launched Operation Stack due to strong winds hitting the region.
Lorries heading for Felixstowe Port will be held back on the old A45 at Levington until the 45mph gusts die off. ukimports.org
18/11/09 - Howard opposed to lorry park plan
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)MP Michael Howard has told Kent County Council (KCC) that a lorry park to take cross-Channel freight traffic will be built "over his dead body".
The lorry park between Aldington and Sellindge is one of three planned. The aim is to stop trucks having to queue on the M20 during cross-Channel delays.
The Folkestone and Hythe MP was speaking at a transport summit at the House of Lords organised by KCC. ukimports.org
18/11/09 - Police prepare to launch Operation Stack
- Courtesy of The Ipswich Evening Star (www.eveningstar.co.uk)FELIXSTOWE: Gusty winds over 45mph were today affecting operations at Britain's biggest container port.
The strong winds meant handling of boxes on the quayside and in the rail yards at Felixstowe was stopped shortly after 5am and by breakfast-time there was still disruption as a backlog of trucks started to build up.
With room to park 250 lorries on the port, and 1,200 spaces in haulage yards, Operation Stack had not been input in place. ukimports.org
18/11/09 - Delta offers Japan Airlines $1bn
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)Struggling Japan Airlines (JAL) has been offered a $1bn (£600m) financial lifeline from the Sky Team grouping of airlines, led by Delta Air Lines.
Delta said the funds were being offered to JAL if it switched from its current membership of the One World Alliance, which includes American Airlines.
The news comes as JAL is seeking a financial bail-out from the Japanese government, its fourth since 2001.
Delta is said to be keen to be able to expand its routes to Japan. ukimports.org
16/11/09 - Police prepare to launch Operation Stack
- Courtesy of The Ipswich Evening Star (www.eveningstar.co.uk)OPERATION Stack has been launched at the Port of Felixstowe due to high winds. ukimports.org
13/11/09 - 20 million cigarettes seized at port
- Courtesy of The Ipswich Evening Star (www.eveningstar.co.uk)AN estimated 20 million illegal and suspected counterfeit cigarettes have been seized after coming in Britain through the Port of Felixstowe, it emerged today.
A joint covert surveillance operation led to an industrial estate in Essex. The cigarettes were confiscated by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) officers yesterday evening. The potential duty lost is estimated as £3.4 million.
Acting on SOCA intelligence, HMRC investigators followed a container supposedly full of toys and games from the Port of Felixstowe to Tilbury.
The container was then driven to an industrial unit in Upminster, Essex where officers moved in and arrested four men who were in the process of unloading the smuggled cigarettes. A second container with the same delivery address and illegal load was detained at Felixstowe. ukimports.org
13/11/09 - Airport upbeat despite huge fall
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)The owners of Prestwick airport have said they were upbeat about their future prospects despite recording a huge fall in passenger numbers.
A total of 152,000 passengers flew from the airport in October, representing a 28% fall on the same month last year.
Infratil, owners of the Ayrshire airport, claimed the drop was in line with recent trends. ukimports.org
13/11/09 - Japan Airlines plunges into loss
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)Japan Airlines has reported a group net loss of 32.3bn yen ($357m; £214m) for the July to September period.
In the same period a year ago, the airline made a 40.1bn yen profit. It gave no forecasts for full-year results because of its uncertain outlook.
The carrier is urgently seeking a financial bailout from the government - its fourth since 2001.
It is struggling with $15bn of debts and a big pension deficit as well as falling passenger numbers. ukimports.org
12/11/09 - Strong winds set to disrupt port
- Courtesy of The Ipswich Evening Star (www.eveningstar.co.uk)BRITAIN'S biggest port is expecting disruption to its operations with windy weather on the way.
Bosses at Felixstowe say wind speeds could exceed 50mph on the ground - high-rise quayside cranes cannot work when gusts hit 45mph.
“There is a high probability of some disruption to rail and yard operations as a result of these adverse weather conditions,” said a port spokesman. ukimports.org
12/11/09 - (Felixstowe) Rail line closed after car crash
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)Train services between Ipswich and Felixstowe have been suspended after a car crashed through a boundary fence onto the line.
The car hit a wagon on a freight train at 1236 GMT and one set of its wheels was knocked off the line at Derby Road in Ipswich. Nobody was injured.
Buses have replaced National Express East Anglia trains and the line may be closed for the rest of the day. ukimports.org
12/11/09 - BA and Iberia hold merger talks
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)British Airways (BA) has said that it and Spanish airline Iberia are holding separate board meetings later to discuss some form of merger.
BA said in a statement that the meetings would consider a "potential transaction" between the two sides.
However, it added that no decisions had been taken and there could be no guarantee a deal would take place.
For its part, Iberia said the deal under discussion would give it 45% and BA 55% of a new merged company. ukimports.org
12/11/09 - Estuary airport 'biggest project'
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)Plans for a new airport in the Thames Estuary have been given their biggest push yet by London mayor Boris Johnson.
In a new document for senior leaders at the Greater London Authority (GLA), he says the airport could be the "single biggest... and bravest project we do". ukimports.org
11/11/09 - Air India losses more than $1bn
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)The chief executive of Belfast City Airport has said the remarks of the Aer Lingus chief were "ill informed".
Christoph Mueller, from Aer Lingus, which flies from Belfast International, said it did not make economic sense to have two airports in the Belfast area.
He said Belfast International, which has a longer runway, offered a better service.
Brian Ambrose said people had in "increasing numbers" chosen to fly from Belfast City.
Belfast City is planning to extend its runway. ukimports.org
11/11/09 - Air India losses more than $1bn
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)Troubled national carrier Air India has reported a net loss of 55.5bn rupees ($1.2bn; £719m) for the full-year to the end of March.
The loss was due largely to a 12% drop in revenue, from 152.5bn rupees to 134.8bn rupees, as a result of falling passenger numbers. ukimports.org
11/11/09 - Cathay in $7.6m payout to pilots
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)Eighteen former Cathay Pacific pilots have been awarded $7.6m for unfair dismissal by a Hong Kong court.
They were fired during a labour dispute eight years ago, when they started a work-to-rule campaign.
The plaintiffs said pilots were often made to fly longer than agreed hours, with not enough breaks between flights. ukimports.org
11/11/09 - China production and retail rise
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)The latest economic data from China suggests that industrial production grew year on year at a level faster than expected.
Retail sales also rose by more than analysts had predicted, while consumer prices continued to fall.
China's National Bureau of Statistics says the country's latest economic data shows it is well on track to meet its target of 8% growth this year. ukimports.org
10/11/09 - 'Drunk' pilot is held at Heathrow
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)A United Airlines pilot has been arrested on suspicion of being drunk at London's Heathrow Airport, a Scotland Yard spokesman has said.
He was arrested before he was due to board a plane at the airport on Monday. ukimports.org
10/11/09 - Proposal for a Kent freight depot
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)Kent International Gateway (KIG) is a 270-acre freight depot plan. It would transfer freight between lorries on the M20 and trains on the standard London-Ashford railway line. The depot's proposed location is between Thurnham Lane in the West and Junction 8 of the M20 in the East.
Operating 13 freight trains a day, it is expected to remove 37.3 million HGV miles from the roads each year. ukimports.org
06/11/09 - US hits China pipes with tariffs
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)The US Commerce Department has imposed anti-dumping tariffs of up to 99% on imports of Chinese tubular goods.
The department alleged China had been selling its oil well pipes at prices that were much lower than normal.
The announcement is the latest in a series of trade disputes between the US and China, which called the move an "abuse of protectionist measures".
The move comes 10 days before President Barack Obama is due to make his first visit to China since taking office.
He will be in China from 15-18 November. ukimports.org
05/11/09 - Royal Mail strikes are called off
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)The postal strikes have been called off until at least the New Year to allow for fresh talks between Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union.
TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said the decision had been made to provide "a period of calm" in which the two sides could reach a long-term deal.
He said that meant Royal Mail deliveries would be "free of any disruption" over Christmas.
However Mr Barber said that securing a final deal remained a long way away. ukimports.org
05/11/09 - China defends export restrictions
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)China has defended its export curbs on some raw materials used to make steel, aluminium and chemical products.
On Wednesday, the US, with the EU and Mexico, said they had asked the World Trade Organization to set up a dispute settlement panel on the matter.
They say China's export policy drives up world prices for the materials. ukimports.org
04/11/09 - Low-cost airline cutting 158 jobs
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)Up to 158 staff at low-cost airline bmibaby face losing their jobs under a restructuring programme.
An airport spokesperson said 54 pilot and 82 cabin crew positions at Birmingham, Manchester and Cardiff airports were "at risk of redundancy".
The airline also said it was reducing its number of aircraft from 17 to 12 next year.
Managing director Crawford Rix said the industry was experiencing record losses and action had to be taken. ukimports.org
04/11/09 - Ferry switch sees 19 redundancies
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)A ferry company is set to cut 19 jobs as it restructures its operations between the UK and France.
LD Lines is replacing its high speed ferry, Norman Arrow, on the cross-Channel Dover Boulogne route with the conventional ferry, Norman Spirit.
It said the Norman Arrow had a crew of 60, out of which 28 would move to the Norman Sprit, 13 would stay with Norman Arrow, and 19 would be made redundant.
The firm said it regretted job losses but had to increase freight capacity. ukimports.org
02/11/09 - High-value stolen vehicles seized
- Courtesy of The BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)Seventy three vehicles worth more than £2m and stolen to order have been recovered before being shipped abroad.
The eastern regional intelligence unit carried out a six-week operation at the Port of Felixstowe in Suffolk.
Officers from six police forces in the east searched 284 containers at the port and seized 73 stolen vehicles. ukimports.org
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