A NEW operational procedure to cut
the amount of time aircraft circle in ‘holding stacks’ at London Heathrow
Airport has begun.
Traditionally NATS, the UK’s air
traffic service provider, has been able to influence an arriving aircraft’s
approach to Heathrow only once it enters UK airspace … sometimes only 80 miles
from the airport. This limits the opportunity to manage the flow of traffic and
can result in additional time spent in the holding stacks.
Now, if delays in the Heathrow
holding stacks begin to build, air traffic controllers in the Netherlands,
France, Scotland and Ireland will be asked to slow down aircraft up to 350
miles away from London to help minimise delays on arrival.
The trial is being led by NATS with
the aim of cutting average holding times by at least a quarter from the current
time of just under eight minutes.
Martin Rolfe, managing director,
operations at NATS, commented: ‘We expect the trial to be a significant benefit
to airlines in terms of fuel savings. Slowing aircraft down during the en-route
phase of flight when they are much higher will save fuel and CO2 emissions,
while reducing the impact of noise for those living under the holding stacks in
the south east of England.’
The trial will run until the end of
2014.
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