Press Release - 9 October 2006

Over the last three days (7-9 October) environmental campaigners have broken new ground with a broadside against the aviation industry and Government policy through Sir Montgomery Cecil, President of SPURT, fearless spokesman for the industry and the star of a nationwide newspaper blitz, website and video.

This hard-hitting parody campaign fixes the spotlight firmly on aviation growth and climate change.

SPURT, the “real” voice of the aviation industry in all its unhinged, profit chasing, mouth-frothing glory has been creating a splash over an intensive newspaper campaign, supported by online communications and viral media.

Full page press ads in the Daily and Sunday Telegraph, Guardian, Independent, Observer, and the Times, turn environmental campaigning upside down, as SPURT tells the “climate doom mongers” to “get stuffed”.

Sir Montgomery Cecil reassures the British public that aviation is good for the environment and, anyway, “Nobody wants to hear about climate change, flooding or people dying in Africa.”

The newspaper advertising will drive readers to www.unlimited-spurt.org where Sir Monty fronts a short but mad-as-a-bucket-of-frogs video. Only at the video's end is the full message revealed with people asked to email the Department for Transport and support the AirportWatch Rethink! campaign.

Jeff Gazzard, AirportWatch spokesman, said: “We hope this campaign will be impossible to ignore - and the Man from Spurt does just that. Sir Monty is clearly bonkers but the serious point is that the real madness lies in our Government's approach to aviation. We need to get people to see and understand the worrying impact of aviation growth on climate change and help us tell the Government to start controlling and reducing aviation's damaging greenhouse gas emissions right now!”

Jeff Gazzard added: "Aviation emissions, left unchecked, will be using up all our nation's available carbon budget by 2030. If the Government is serious about the UK's 2050 climate change target to reduce CO2 emissions by 60%, it can only make the maths add up by cancelling its crazy airport expansion plans.”

Carol Barbone, Campaign Director, Stop Stansted Expansion, said: “Airports like Stansted are literally where aviation's CO2 emissions start and finish as aircraft fill up their tanks, load their passengers and circle the globe trailing greenhouse gases in their wake. Climate change is not an abstract concept any longer Stop Stansted Expansion's members will be emailing the Minister too, demanding action and tough cuts in aviation's emissions.”

ENDS

For more information and interviews/comments please contact:
Jeff Gazzard, AirportWatch spokesman, on: 01565 653561 or 07748 197412 anytime
Carol Barbone, SSE Campaign Director, on: 0777 552 3091
For comment Monday 9th October only: Greenpeace Press Office on 0207 865 8255 or John Sauven, Greenpeace Campaign's Director, on 07929 638296

NOTE TO EDITORS:
AirportWatch is a broad alliance of UK environmental organisations and community groups concerned and threatened by the Government's planned unrestrained expansion of the UK air transport industry www.airportwatch.org.uk

For broadcast quality footage of the SPURT video, please contact:
Eve Conboy or Joshua Blackburn at PROVOKATEUR on 0207 435 7070 or 07815 968224

Media schedule:  full page black and white ads have appeared in:
Daily Telegraph, Saturday 7th October
Sunday Telegraph and The Observer, Sunday 8th October
The Guardian, The Independent and The Times, Monday 9th October
(The press ad can be viewed online here)

SPURT video:
www.unlimited-spurt.org

AirportWatch is administered by the Aviation Enviroment Federation, Broken Wharf House, 2 Broken Wharf, LONDON EC4V 3DT Tel: 0207 248 2223