Quarterly Meeting 2nd December
There were 19 members of the Committee and Airport Company staff present, with 4 apologies.
The minutes of the previous meeting were approved. There were no major matters arising.
The Terminal Duty Manager, Trish Bromley, gave a presentation on Customer Satisfaction showing recent results and future training planned for all Airport Company staff. Key areas included cleanliness and baggage handling. She explained the new Goal and Guiding Principles that have been adopted by the airport. The Goal is to be the most welcoming Airport in the UK.
She also advised members that service agreements with the handling companies require that baggage from incoming flights should be on the carousel within 30 minutes of the aeroplane being on the stand.
Members were also advised of the new lower parking charges at the Drop off/Pick up point.
In answer to a question, Graeme Mason, Head of Planning and Corporate Affairs informed the Committee that a runway extension was unlikely in the foreseeable future. He also said that the Airport Company had supported development of a third runway at Heathrow, so long as landing slots from regional airports were maintained.
The Airport Company Report highlighted a number of factors currently affecting operations. Passenger numbers are down, with the demise of Excel, and operations more difficult due to the economic situation, but scheduled services remain strong with Emirates showing growth year on year. The Company continues to work to attract new routes, with New York a major objective. Security queue times were getting shorter – a difficulty is predicting the number of passengers who will check-in on line in advance.
Work on the new hotel was progressing well and the work on the filling station would commence in early 2009. Members were reassured that there would be no conflict between airport and filling station traffic. Noise complaints remain at very low levels but continue to be fully investigated. The bad weather had caused a number of aircraft to be off their flight path close to the Airport. The main charity to be supported by the airport in 2009 will be the NSPCC, with a number of money raising events planned.
Members were told a new edition of the Airport magazine, Horizon, is to be distributed shortly. It was suggested that it would be helpful to have a section within it for passengers with reduced mobility, which could highlight the need for passengers to inform the Airport of their needs in advance of travel. Mr Mason said this was an excellent idea for future editions.
The next meeting is scheduled for 3rd March 2009 at 2.00pm in the Boardroom.