NATS delay flightpath changes
19.10.10
Plans to queue aircraft in the skies above Huntingdonshire and also over Norfolk have been shelved because passenger numbers have not increased as expected due to the recession. National Air Traffic Service (NATS) wanted to allow planes waiting to land at Luton Airport to enter a stacking system above Huntingdonshire and South Cambridgeshire, and those waiting to land at Stansted to stack over Norfolk. However, the urgent need for change to the flight paths caused by ever-growing passenger numbers disappeared when the number of people taking flights failed to increase as predicted, and has in fact fallen.
A four-month consultation into the plans in 2008 resulted in over 15,000 responses, many objecting to the moving of Luton and Stansted’s holds. Following the consultation NATS said it was looking at revising the proposals and would publish those revised plans in 2009. However, the work was delayed and now the plans have been put back to become part of a wider review in 2013 / 14.
Alex Bristol, NATS development director, said the review will still go ahead. He said: ‘While the downturn in air traffic means we can take longer to ensure we have the best solution, we have always been clear that doing nothing is not a long term option.'
NATS will review a wider area of airspace over southern England for 2013 / 14, when passenger levels are expected to return to pre-recession highs. In particular, the company wants to keep planes higher in the skies for longer on more direct routes so they can save fuel and have less of an environmental impact. That could also mean less noise for those on the ground.
Mr Bristol said: ‘This is a very large and complex area of airspace with many interactions. As traffic levels pick up, changes will be necessary to ensure continued safety and reduced delay. The work we have done so far, and the feedback we have from the 2008 consultation, will be very much part of our plans.’
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