Originally Posted by
cj241101
Having examined the taxiway B extension from the mid-term car park yesterday, does anyone know the reason why it isn't going all the way to the turning circle?
The reason claimed by the airport in their planning application is that as the rest of the redevelopment has a maximum capacity of 18 million passengers there was no point in giving the runway a higher capacity at a greater expense as that extra capacity could not be used.
Other plans over the years have shown high speed turn offs, full length taxiways and taxiways that joined the runway from the east and the west so giving the runway starter strips thus increasing the take off run but this was the cheapest option so yes it is all about saving money.
Also worth noting that while putting in a full length taxiway at the 08 end is straightforward the 26 end would need more of the ground building up. I have no idea if the existing stockpile of soil gathered from the existing redevelopment for the planned 26 taxiway extension would be enough for a full length taxiway.
It will be interesting to see once the taxiways are in place how many aircraft still need to backtrack. A couple of days ago in the still air quiet a few aircraft were requesting the full length including EasyJet. Makes me wonder how they cope with Southend's short runway which is shorter than an intersection takeoff from 26.