It's in the post, Bella

By Ben on 31/10/2007
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Back in September the Lib Dem conference was blessed by the attendance of Michelle Di Leo from Flying Shatters.

For the purposes of clandestine operations against aviation activists, Michelle now goes by the nom de guerre 'Bella Regazza'. Honestly, I'm not kidding. She imagines herself, perhaps, as a soldier of fortune marching through the jungle of our 24/7 media, a duty free RyanAir gift tie knotted around her forehead as she slices down hippies with her sharpened machete of corporate truth.

A loophole big enough to fly a jumbo jet through

By Calvin on 31/10/2007
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As you're probably aware, Labour is deadly serious about climate change. They're seriously thinking about possibly making a start.

Their latest attempt comes in the form of the Climate Bill, a serious piece of legislation which will set a series of legally binding carbon budget periods lasting five years each. Unfortunately the draft target for 2050 is inadequate: a 60% reduction on 1990 levels, and more pertinently, the bill excludes Aviation - the fastest growing source of greenhouse gasses in the UK. The draft bill - before consultation - had a built-in loophole you could fly a jumbo through, and everyone knew it.

Good news on domestic aviation?

By Chris on 30/10/2007

Here at Plane Stupid Towers we're usually full of gloomy, cynical predictions, jaded as we are by the outrageous behaviour of the aviation industry. So it's a real treat to relay some good news for once.

Passengers numbers on domestic UK flights have fallen for virtually the first time since domestic aviation began. Okay - so they've only fallen 0.8%, and to put this in perspective numbers of passengers on internal flights mushroomed over 60% in the last ten years alone.

Government responds to Stern Review and Eddington

By Richard on 30/10/2007
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In a shocking move, the Government has called for an end to all new road building and runway expansion.

Responding to the Stern Review and Eddington Report, Secretary of State for Transport Ruth Kelly said "For too long we've been forced to pretend we can have sustainable transport growth - a policy that's lead to more driving, more flying, more emissions."

"Well those days are over. It's time for a radical rethink of aviation expansion. For the sake of the planet, we're hitting the emergency stop button."

Of course she didn't really say any of that - it's business as usual!

Ryanair could face advertising sanctions for "misleading the public"

By Joss on 29/10/2007
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Ryanair has now been warned it could face advertising sanctions for "misleading the public" and betraying consumer trust as well as bringing "advertising into disrepute."

The boss of the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) - Christopher Graham - told the Guardian:

"Ryanair has been given every opportunity to work with the ASA and get its advertising right. It faces the real threat of formal sanctions, which includes a referral to the Office of Fair Trading under the Control of Misleading Advertisements Regulations 1988."

Brown: Not so much James Bond as Dr. No

By Joss on 28/10/2007
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Well that didn't take long, did it? Rather like the moment Timothy Dalton first stepped onto our screens and arched an eyebrow as James Bond, it has taken very little time to realise that Gordon Brown is, quite simply, the wrong man for the job.

As scientists warn us in increasingly desperate terms that we have just 100 months to stabilise emissions of greenhouse gases, we look to Downing Street for a super-hero armed with the latest cutting edge technology to save the world. Instead we are presented with a man who is utterly unconvincing in the role.