LUTON
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Snow is forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday, it wasn’t that many years ago that snow fell between Christmas and New Year and brought 3 days of chaos to the airport. Day 1 was spent ploughing the airport but once open there was only one serviceable aircraft de-icer for the whole airport for the next 2 days. Hope they have a spare this year!
Whilst it's certainly valid to observe that although LLAO has spent hundreds of thousands of pounds on new snow clearing equipment, they still park it all out in the open (a rather strange ethos inherited from the previous operators, Luton Council!) under the direction of one of LLAO's directors (a US guy who was the FAA's man at Anchorage for a time) LTN's snow plan is significantly more effective and better organised than it was back in the late nineties and up to about 2002.
But remember that being at 500 feet on the Chilterns, LTN has its own 'micro-climate' which gives it an equivalent latitude (and local weather) to the likes of East Midlands, etc.
Last edited by ebenezer; 25th Dec 2005 at 19:08.
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There was only one serviceable aircraft de-icer for the whole airport for the next 2 days. Hope they have a spare this year!
Aircraft de-icing is totally within the remit of the handling agents and/or aircraft operators/airlines.
At LTN, these are primarily Aviance, Servisair-GlobeGround and (for corporate/GA) the two corporate FBOs Harrods Business Aviation and Signature Flight Support.
Therefore, if the aircraft de-icing facilities at LTN prove inadequate, no doubt the aircraft operators/airlines who pay for handling services will take issue with their handling agents - not LLAO.
Suggest that you guys stop keep taking a poke at LTN or if you really must indulge yourselves, then get your facts right before posting!!
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FYI, aircraft de-icing equipment is absolutely NOTHING to do with the airport company at LTN (or at other larger airports).
Suggest that you guys stop keep taking a poke at LTN or if you really must indulge yourselves, then get your facts right before posting!!
Hang on, who said that it was the airports fault. Aircraft de-icing was then done exclusively by Reed Aviation. With their single working rig and a hard frost they were de-icing just 4 aircraft an hour. By around 9:00 the wait for de-icing was around 3 hours.
After that disaster Easyjet bought their own rigs. Not sure what the arrangement is this year.
Last edited by LTNman; 25th Dec 2005 at 21:05.
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I quote: "But remember that being at 500 feet on the Chilterns, LTN has its own 'micro-climate' which gives it an equivalent latitude (and local weather) to the likes of East Midlands, etc."
Totally correct......The fog that afflicts Luton (and my zoo) is unlike any airport (or zoo) in the UK and as such, makes the ability to land under, or should that be above Cat 1, obligatory? The only bears happy on the Chiltern's are those darned Polars!
Ever tried to find your frozen dinner in the Chiltern Hill's fog? Meals here are served from buckets of frozen fish! I sometimes think that a certain low cost airline from Finland was named after Buster.......Blue1! Well certain parts of me anyway...HeHe!
Merry Christmas to you all!
Totally correct......The fog that afflicts Luton (and my zoo) is unlike any airport (or zoo) in the UK and as such, makes the ability to land under, or should that be above Cat 1, obligatory? The only bears happy on the Chiltern's are those darned Polars!
Ever tried to find your frozen dinner in the Chiltern Hill's fog? Meals here are served from buckets of frozen fish! I sometimes think that a certain low cost airline from Finland was named after Buster.......Blue1! Well certain parts of me anyway...HeHe!
Merry Christmas to you all!
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Well you're all very smug but just tell me which Ryanair flights diverted because they were not CAT 3 capable?
That easyjet divert which was only CAT 1 approved was I believe due to one of the flight deck not yet being CAT 3 rated. The aircraft required 550m from the 26 end but as runway 08 was in use they needed 700m as Luton does not have a full set of approach lights on 08 due to the road and railway line. It didn’t make any difference at the end of the day as the RVR was down to 275m.
With Luton going CAT 1 for around 6 months next year while the runway is resurfaced a think some coach operators will do very well. I can remember when Luton was handling under 2m a year and the airport was only Cat 1 that Seamark coaches were regular visitors to the airport when the mist came down. Not even sure they are still operating now.
Last edited by King Pong; 26th Dec 2005 at 07:45.
Hang on, who said that it was the airports fault. Aircraft de-icing was then done exclusively by Reed Aviation.
No it wasn't, Reed had no de-icing at all, theirs had been subcontracted to Servisair. easyjet knew about this in the preceding August.
After that disaster Easyjet bought their own rigs.
No, they didn't.
No it wasn't, Reed had no de-icing at all, theirs had been subcontracted to Servisair. easyjet knew about this in the preceding August.
After that disaster Easyjet bought their own rigs.
No, they didn't.
Last edited by jumpseater; 26th Dec 2005 at 11:39.
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History lesson
After that disaster Easyjet bought their own rigs.
No, they didn't.
Last edited by LTNman; 26th Dec 2005 at 09:40.
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The aircraft required 550m from the 26 end but as runway 08 was in use they needed 700m as Luton does not have a full set of approach lights on 08 due to the road and railway line.
Undoubtedly, if the visibility falls below 700 metres and/or there's a cloud ceiling at or below 200 feet there will be significant distruption to arrivals (in a visibility below 350 metres, also for departures), whilst Luton's lighting can only meet JAR-OPS Cat. 1 requirements although the ILS will be radiating to Cat. 3 (whenever the Runway is open) throughout the period of re-surfacing works.
Still, this has happended elsewhere during runway re-surfacing (e.g. Birmingham, Stansted) and there are plenty of airports that remain either Cat. 1 (e.g. Coventry, Exeter, Bournemouth), uncategorised (e.g. Southampton, London/City) or totally non-precision (Gatwick 26R/08L).
History lesson
Not so much as fading memory as incorrect knowledge.
Reeds handled easyJet. They were the nominated handlers at the time of the fiasco. easyjet much later on started their handling company so they would not be subject to the vagaries in perfomance of the handling agents in all areas, not just de-icing.
They subsequently decided it was too expensive to run in house and the BOHC went into a partnership.
Reeds handled easyJet. They were the nominated handlers at the time of the fiasco. easyjet much later on started their handling company so they would not be subject to the vagaries in perfomance of the handling agents in all areas, not just de-icing.
They subsequently decided it was too expensive to run in house and the BOHC went into a partnership.
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Direct flights to Sofia from LTN should be possible from the second quarter of 2006, as LTN is one of four destinations expected to be announced by Wizz, when the airline opens a new base at Sofia.
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It would seem that the BAA marketing dept have scored another goal! Blue1 will launch a twice daily RJ85 service from Helsinki to Essex!
This is the type of business our Spanish friends should be enticing!
Grand plans are meaningless if you cannot compete equally with the BAA?
This is the type of business our Spanish friends should be enticing!
Grand plans are meaningless if you cannot compete equally with the BAA?
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Then it's a good reason not to overly concern yourself (given the timing accuracy of many aerodrome forecasts for LTN, nowadays...)
Valid from: Tuesday 27 December, 2005 at 18:00
Expires on: Wednesday 28 December, 2005 at 10:00
Heavy Snow Affecting Bedfordshire
Snow showers will continue to affect many areas with accumulations of between 3 and 6cm, but with up to 12cm possible in a few places.
----------------------------------------
This is the second warning for the great British public today that mentions Bedfordshire and Luton in particular. The warning up to 18.00 was for between 2 and 10 cm of snow. What have we got so far? Bugger all. My £60 all in one weather station says tonight will be mainly dry with clear periods. I have to say I have more faith in my weather station. Its readings at 23.00 are temp -1.4C, humidity 96% air pressure 1015mb
Last edited by King Pong; 28th Dec 2005 at 04:40.
Paxing All Over The World
Looks like the winds were more Southerly and Kent got it all. Currently at the SAS Raddisson at S <Doh!> I nearly mentioned another airport to the East of dear Lutonia ...
There was only a smattering 1 or 2cm on parked cars when I arrived here at 18:15. Not much more since then. Although my room does not have an outside window. Overall, everything in Herts looks peachy.
There was only a smattering 1 or 2cm on parked cars when I arrived here at 18:15. Not much more since then. Although my room does not have an outside window. Overall, everything in Herts looks peachy.
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Snow closed
Not sure what time the light snow shower fell in the night but it is enough to close the airport. This will be the first time the airports new mega brushes will be used in anger. I think they are actually second hand from a foreign airport but who cares if they do the job.
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Grand plans are meaningless if you cannot compete equally with the BAA?
Passengers intending to use the short-term car park at Luton should be recommended to take their own stepladders so they can climb out of the potholes. At Stansted they have something called tarmac in their car parks.
Passengers arriving by train not only have to contend with the tailbacks but also are packed like sardines into low capacity busses. I wonder sometimes whether these busses are officially overloaded and legal.
No doubt Luton will get there by 2012 with its major overhaul but while Stansted can still accept new airlines the marketing department are fighting a loosing battle.
As a side note when the popular information desk was closed the staff became floorwalkers but they all seem to have disappeared now. Were they made redundant?
Last edited by LTNman; 28th Dec 2005 at 06:28.