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# Thursday, 29 January 2009

Boris Johnson has unveiled plans for a new airport in the Thames Estuary that have been nicknamed Heathrow on Sea by some. Under the plans a new airport would be built on two Thames islands as an alternative to expanding the current airport at Heathrow. The airport would cost around £40 billion to build and initial reports have suggested it would serve Britain better than the planned Heathrow expansion. If it were to go ahead it could be built in eight years. The airport would be split in two with four runways split across two separate islands in the mouth of the Thames. Passengers would shuttle between the islands using a tunnel below the riverbed. Underwater turbines built into the ducts running through the island would generate nearly all of the airports electricity by harnessing the tides. The two terminals would then be served by a road and rail links and connected to Crossrail and the Channel tunnel rail link taking passengers into central London in around 35 minutes. Flights would take off and land over water and so would cause little disturbance to nearby towns.

posted on Thursday, 29 January 2009 14:15:39 (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Trackback
# Wednesday, 28 January 2009

We are currently experiencing some delays to US mail sent via our USA printing station due to adverse weather conditions in the area. During this time letters sent via the US printing station may experience some delay. In addition to this it may take slightly longer than the usual 24 hours period before customers receive tracking numbers for certified mail.

posted on Wednesday, 28 January 2009 22:25:49 (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Trackback
# Friday, 23 January 2009

Ryanair have been unsuccessful in a bid for rival airline Aer Lingus.The Irish government have formally rejected Ryanair's bid saying that its bid of 748 million Euros greatly undervalues the airline. It also raised concerns that competition would suffer if the deal went ahead. Ryanair will now need to decide whether or not to make an improved offer.

posted on Friday, 23 January 2009 15:13:05 (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Trackback
# Wednesday, 21 January 2009

The new runway that has been proposed for Heathrow could be ready by 2015, five years earlier than previously expected. The government is looking to rush the planning process through as quickly as possible to try and prevent opponents from blocking the expansion. Ministers have asked BA to submit a planning application as soon as possible to try and get the runway completed by 2015. The new Infrastructure Planning Commission which is due to be appointed this year is likely to make the final decision on the expansion of the airport rather than the current practice where a planning inspector makes a recommendation to ministers. This is expected to make the planning process much shorter. The Conservative party have already said that if they win the next election they will scrap plans for the new runway. However, blocking the plans will become much more difficult once the planning process is under way.

posted on Wednesday, 21 January 2009 11:11:37 (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Trackback
# Monday, 19 January 2009

After a long consultation the government has finally given the go ahead for a third runway at Heathrow. This is despite widespread opposition against the plans by environmental campaigners and residents. The government, however, has bowed to pressure from business groups and  unions who believe a third runway is necessary for economic growth. Under the plans a sixth terminal will also be built and there will be investment is public transport including a high speed rail link. Under the plans however, the entire village of Sipson containing 700 homes will be demolished. Plans will be put into place to try and limit noise and emissions but it many residents who already live under the flight patch are likely to have a plane fly over their house as much as once every 90 seconds.

posted on Monday, 19 January 2009 12:04:48 (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Trackback
# Friday, 16 January 2009

The crash landing of a plane into the Hudson river has been called a miracle after every one of the 155 passengers survived. The plane crashed having only been in the air for four minutes after it was hit by a flock of geese shortly after take off. The pilot Chesley B Sullenberger managed to bring the plane down in the water of the Hudson and has been called a hero for managing to avoid crash landing in the city. He has been commended for his bravery and skill in handling the situation. All the passengers were later rescued safely with some suffering from minor cuts and injuries and some from hyperthermia.

posted on Friday, 16 January 2009 16:01:50 (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Trackback

It appears more people are opting to travel by Eurostar with the service seeing record ticket sales last year. The service saw a rise of 10.9% in ticket sales and carried 10.3% more passengers which amounts to 9.1 million passengers in total. The figures could have been even higher if if wasn't for a fire in the tunnel which caused disruption last September. Eurostar is optimistic about further future growth and expects more passengers now that the railways new base is at St Pancras International, making the service more accessible to the rest of the UK.

posted on Friday, 16 January 2009 15:31:08 (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Trackback
# Tuesday, 13 January 2009

Train passengers should be able to use their Oyster cards on most of the London rail network by the end of 2009. Currently the Oyster card can be used on London Overground, the London underground, buses, trams and the Docklands Light Railway. However, many suburban rail firms do not yet accept the pay as you go card. The London Mayor Boris Johnson has said that an agreement with most rail companies is near. The one exception appears to be South West Trains which currently has no plans to allow customers to use the Oyster card on its service.

posted on Tuesday, 13 January 2009 13:52:45 (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Trackback
# Thursday, 08 January 2009

Blackpool Airport have introduced a £10 flyers fee. All customers over the age of 16 will pay the fee when departing the airport. The money raised will be put towards a £2m investment project that will upgrade the runways and passenger facilities in an effort to attract new airlines. Passengers will pay the fee at a ticket machine in the main airport and proof of payment will be required to pass through the airport and into the departure lounge.

posted on Thursday, 08 January 2009 14:16:33 (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Trackback
# Wednesday, 07 January 2009

BAA have failed to meet the governments pollution targets at Heathrow despite initiatives to try and cut down on hazardous emissions. The findings mean that it likely the airport will also breach tougher European Union limits which are due to brought in next year. Data from a air pollution detector near the perimeter fence found the annual mean average level of nitrogen dioxide was 52 micrograms per cubed metre. The EU legal limit is 40 micrograms per cubed metre. Despite failing to meet the current targets BAA is still pushing for another runway and more flights but have said that they can increase the number of flights without breaching the EU's legal limits by 2020. The latest data raises questions about whether this is possible. The government has already said it intends to apply to the EU for additional time to meet the nitrogen dioxide targets. It hopes to comply with the targets by 2015.

posted on Wednesday, 07 January 2009 13:42:41 (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Trackback
# Monday, 05 January 2009

Royal Mail is to launch a campaign to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the postcode in the hope that it will stress the importance of using it. According to this article around a fifth of non business letters are sent without a full postcode. This is despite the fact that mail that includes a postcode is processed much more quickly as it can be sorted by machinery rather than by hand. At PC2Paper when we receive queries about undelivered letters we find that the majority of these have been incorrectly addressed or are missing a postcode so have not reached their destination. The message is clear, in order to help your letter reach the recipient use a full address and include a postcode.

posted on Monday, 05 January 2009 13:16:09 (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Trackback