B O L
As an ex fireman I thought you would understand how the AFS works, obviousely not.
The AFS has to maintain a certain category and can only be depleted by one category. If the category is depleted to attend an incident in the terminal then certain a/c cannot land. It is the same scenario as a fire outside the airfield boundary. The AFS are only allowed to attend if Air Traffic Control deem it necessary, or there is a danger to human life and only until the local fire brigade is in attendance. Unfortunately if there was an aircraft emergency at the same time then the AFS would stay put.
I'm sure all the airlines (not) will accept go arounds and unecessary holding because the fire category was depleted due to attending a small incident within the terminal. Do not get me wrong I am not undermining the danger of fire (remembering the terminal incident in Germany), but I think it is up to the local councils to increase response times to cope with such incidents and not up to BAA to reduce the safety cover.
The next thing the controllers will be doing delegeted paperwork whilst in tower or radar. Why not ask the tower controller to take a hand held VHF transmitter and do a runway inspection.
I'm going to ask my boss if I can use my laptop whilst in the cruise to do my monthly bidding, even to do any company paperwork which he hasn't managed to complete.
I'm sure the flying public will love all these safety reductions in the aviaton business.
The only reason it is safe is due to the system the way it is now. It should not deterioate in any way.
On my last trip I hope my final announcement is on the lines of the following:-
Hello Ladies and Gentlemen this is the Captain. I'm sorry but we cannot depart in time as the Airport Fire Service is attending a minor incident in the airport terminal.
30 minutes later.
Hello Ladies and Gentlemen this is the Captain again, the good news is that Fire Service is now back on the airfield. But I'm sorry to say we have missed our slot and waiting for a new one. I'll keep you updated as soon as I know anything.
20 Minutes later.
Hello Ladies and Gentlemen this is the Captain. I'm sorry to say that due to a new flow restriction over Belgium we have now incurred a delay of 2 hours. If we get an improvement I'll let you know.
20 Minutes later.
Hello Ladies and Gentlemen this is the Captain. Again another apology. There is no improvement of the slot time and because of this myself and the first officer will have to be replaced by another crew due to our hourly restrictions.
Rather than:-
Hello Ladies and Gentlemen this is the Captain. I'm sorry we have to Gatwick due to etc etc etc.
Anything can happen in aviation and will do but come on BAA lets do our best not to let it. (don't always listen to the accountants)
Rgds
ILS 119.5
should be divert to gatwick
Taken from another thread
A spokesman for BAA said: "Today\'s incident underlines the importance of having an effective firefighting presence at the airport on the airfield among the aircraft."
Shoot yourself in the foot or what!!