Originally Posted by
Bristol_Traveller
BRS is now a Level 3 slot co-ordinated airport but only in the summer and then only between 2300 and 0700.
This is to address the increasing challenge of the airport's night time movements limit and night time noise quota.
Both restrictions are broken down by season - summer and winter - but the seasonal limits are disproportionate, being overused or nearly so in summer but underused in winter.
Night time (2330-0600) summer movements must not exceed 3,000 take-offs and landings and winter must not exceed 1,000. There are far fewer landings in winter during the night time period and no timetabled take-offs that I can recall, unlike summer with its numerous landings and a handful of take-offs each week (Thomas Cook was involved with some of the pre-0600 take-offs and post-2330 landings). In addition, the total number of take-offs and landings between 0600 and 0700 and between 2300 and 2330 must not exceed 10,500 in any calendar year.
The most recent summer total was 2,975, slightly down on the previous year's 2,991, with both years just under the 3,000 limit. Winter by contrast has only been between 232 and 353 over the past five years, little more than a third of its 1,000 limit.
The night noise quota also covers the 2330-0600 period (there is also a blanket ban on the noisiest types of aircraft between 2300 and 0700 but that is largely academic these days). Each aircraft type is given a quota count. The summer (BST) maximum total quota count for the airport is 1,260 and the winter (GMT) is 900.
There is a system in place where overruns can be borrowed from a previous season or set aganst the next season although quota limit penalties exist in such circumstances re the season after that. The most recent summer usage figure was 1,490 (above the limit of 1,260) which was achieved by borrowing from the underused winter quota whereas wnter was 152, less than 20% of its 900 limit.
BRS has applied to have the seasonality removed but not the overall annual noise quota count. Neither has there been a request for the quota count limit to be raised.
It remains to be seen what easyJet actually does with the Thomas Cook slot pairs it has purchased. We ought to learn more on 19 November when easyJet is due to make an announcement.