Originally Posted by
Nimmer
Not wishing to dampen everyone's enusiasism for the brilliance of Heathrow controllers, a 3rd runway will present a few problems for an already congested TMA.
How do Heathrow envisage using the runways, there is talk of mixed mode, or will it be compass departures of the north and south with landings in the middle?
Discussions to take place at a later date.
Staffing, we don't have enough at the moment. Another GMP position, another air controller, is the tower big enough? TMA? South West deps and willo are struggling now, more sectors required, a different TMA layout maybe, a change to SIDS and STARS? more TMA staff needed.
AC, same as above I am sure.
New routes means consultation to ensure the people whose houses are effected will have chance to complain and protest, and on we go. Public consultation could take years.
Finally, all the above is solved and we have a 3rd runway at Heathrow which will be at 98% capacity almost immediately. Gatwick will still be running its only runway at 98% as will Stansted and Luton, we lose a runway at Heathrow, where do the planes divert to? Thus will Gatwick get a 2nd runway also, thus creating an even busier and more complex TMA???
Interesting times for ATC over the next few years, however which Governement will have the backbone to build extra runways. Everybody wants to fly, but nobody wants planes over there town,city, farm, school etc etc. More aircraft noise is a vote loser, and political suicide!!!!
Just what PPRuNe needs - yet another thread on Heathrow expansion.
Pretty well all of your points have been extensively discussed in previous threads, as a forum search would have shown.
How do Heathrow envisage using the runways, there is talk of mixed mode, or will it be compass departures of the north and south with landings in the middle?
The published plan shows a rotation scheme with one or other of the outer runways being used in mixed mode at any given time and the other two operating in segregated mode as per current practice.
In other words, equal capacity for landings and takeoffs (1½ runways each), for obvious reasons.
Finally, all the above is solved and we have a 3rd runway at Heathrow which will be at 98% capacity almost immediately. Gatwick will still be running its only runway at 98% as will Stansted and Luton, we lose a runway at Heathrow, where do the planes divert to? Thus will Gatwick get a 2nd runway also, thus creating an even busier and more complex TMA???
No, there is no scenario that features new runways at both LHR and LGW.
Gatwick are keen to build a second runway, but only if LHR R3 isn't going to go ahead. Heathrow, despite their claim to be indifferent, would be much happier investing in a third runway in the knowledge that Gatwick is still going to be capacity-constrained. And no government is going to want the additional pain that would result in giving the green light for expansion at both airports.