Does anyone who is familiar with Gatwick know why straight pushbacks from that stand appear to be SOP ?
Pushing back to face north/south on taxiway centreline is incredibly congesting to all the other stands along that pier
and only going to get worse when easyJet move their whole operation to North at the end of the month
It is so we can push multiple A/C together, also you may turn either way to taxi, left via R or right via Q. Sounds plausible? Will there now be a review? Personally, I think the risks are minimal. But at LGW a knee-jerk reaction seems to be the norm.
That is exactly why. All pushbacks seem to be facing north or south now.
Might seem a knee-jerk reaction, however think a review was needed anyway as there is also a ditch the entire length of the taxiway just behind the grass where the aircraft got 'stuck'. The consequences of the pushback pushing the a/c further into the grass could have resulted in the aircraft falling into the ditch!