EXCESSIVE FUEL WASTAGE..
Once again this morning we were treated to the spectre of a British registered heavy jet asking to hold in one of the London TMA inner stacks (OCK) for nearly 15 minutes apparently because his stand wasn't available. No, not at 5.30am... but a couple of hours later and well outside "curfew" time.
We gathered from the pilot that as Heathrow was on easterlies he was not allowed to land as he was some 20 minutes ahead of his scheduled time. We spent some time trying to pin down the exact reason prior... the airline denied that they placed any restriction on crews landing early.. we checked with the airport authority - absolutely no problem with a/c landing before a stand is available. We checked with Heathrow Tower regarding possible congestion on the ground - absolutely NO problem in finding a place for traffic to hold for a stand.
So.. at this time of major airline problems and aviation cut-backs world-wide can someone please explain the reasoning behind this bizarre procedure? Apart from the severe problems it could cause by holding in a busy piece of airspace for no good reason, the fuel burned would probably keep my aged Ford Escort going for ten years... I know little about the technical aspects of flying heavy jets but would it not be cheaper to sit on the ground for ten minutes with two engines off?