The Anonymous Widower

Squeezing More Airport Capacity For London

It is reported in the Sunday Times under the headline, Steeper descents to cut jet noise, that the National Air Traffic Service are looking at getting aircraft to fly steeper descents into London’s airports, to reduce noise. They already fly into London City airport at a angle of 5.5% as opposed to  the 3% at all other airports. As a former pilot, who used to be an avid reader of the aviation press, I seem to remember too that the separation at US airports, was less than that in the rest of the world.

As planes these days are effectively very accurately flown by computer with the pilot only there to push the buttons and if anything goes wrong, surely we could squeeze more flights into an airport like Heathrow.

The problem is that you might get nearly twice the flights over your house, but the total noise you’d experience would be the same or slightly less.

How people would react I do not know. I don’t get many flights over my house, but on a clear day, I notice most of them! Not that they are particularly annoying.

December 9, 2012 - Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Airports, Flying, Heathrow Airport