Stink over landing??
The pilot of a Qantas jumbo jet caused alarm at Heathrow at the weekend by refusing to land on the only open runway because its radar was out of order.
Inspectors from the civil aviation authority yesterday began investigating the incident, which pilots claimed was further evidence of the need for an extra runway at Britain's busiest airport.
The Australian airline's Boeing 747, coming from Singapore, surprised air traffic controllers by approaching the airport at 4am on Saturday - almost an hour early.
Heathrow's main southerly runway was still closed for overnight maintenance. The only available runway was in the north of the airport but its electronic guidance system was being replaced.
The pilot told controllers he was not prepared to risk a manual landing, because there was too much cloud obscuring his view, with visibility down to 5,000 metres. He turned down an alternative offer to land from the other end of the runway because there were insufficient approach lights.
In the end, airport staff had to scramble to reopen the airport's main southerly runway, moving vehicles off the tarmac and sweeping the surface. By the time the plane landed at 4.50am, a queue of other long-haul aircraft were banked up behind it, including British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Virgin Atlantic incoming flights.
One airline source said: "The whole thing stinks - it was all down to runway pressures at Heathrow."
Heathrow's main runway had been scheduled to open at 4.30am. But insiders said staff had to take urgent steps to clear it on time, with air traffic controllers pressuring them to hurry.
The CAA confirmed it was examining the incident. A spokesman said: "We have received a report. We do not believe there are any safety implications, but we are looking into it."
Airlines complain that Heathrow's two alternating runways are inadequate to cope with demand. The airport handles 64m passengers a year, travelling on 90 airlines to 170 destinations.
In a consultation paper last week, the transport secretary, Alistair Darling, sought views on the possibility of building an extra runway at the airport. But local residents are vehemently opposed.
John Stewart, chairman of the anti-noise coalition, Hacan Clear Skies, said: "The problem at Heathrow is that there are just too many planes flying in for the basic facilities that are there.
"Pilots argue that a third runway is the solution. But we would argue that the environmental and social downsides are too great. We would put a limit on the number of flights coming in."
Other options for additional airport capacity around London include extra runways at Stansted in Essex, a new international airport on the Thames estuary in north Kent, and a new airport for low cost airlines at Alconbury, Cambridgeshire.
A spokesman for Heathrow played down Saturday's incident: "The fact remains that in our view, there was no safety issue at stake."
Some aviation sources expressed surprise that the Qantas plane had arrived so early, as airlines face stiff fines for breaking rules on night flights at Heathrow.
But pilots say that their journeys are often unwittingly accelerated by strong tailwinds en route.
(from "Guardian")