Southend Airport

[frostbite]

is my local airport and has current ambitions to considerably increase commercial traffic.

Hope it happens, but, as far as I know it has no secondary radar and only one ILS direction.

Would this be considered acceptable ?

[r3500vdp]

Not sure about secondary radar. Always thought the church was the main problem. From
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southend_Airport

"..The airport's ambition to restart offering passenger flights of use to the local population dovetails with Government aims outlined in the White Paper on airport development and the Thames Gateway development. A minority of the local population have objections to this. In 2002/3 a debate centered on the idea of relocating a church further away from the side of the main runway. This would enable passenger aircraft, of a size already regularly seen at the airport, to offer passenger flights to points further into Europe. Aircraft arriving empty for maintenance are not required to have the same CAA/ICAO standards as passenger carrying flights, so at present these can operate without the required CAA/ICAO requirements. However, a compromise scheme that sees the church remain where it is, has been worked out.."

On a personal note, always like going to SEN. Lot's to see and photograph and hope the plans work out.

[frostbite]

The 'church problem' was sorted by some sort of land manoeuvre which I didn't really understand.

Since the runway is immediately adjacent to a road at one end and a railway at t'other I'm fairly sure it hasn't been extended.

[timzsta]

Correct no secondary radar. They have primary only, and its quite an old set (in fact it was a prototype).

If you ask at the right time ATC are usually quite accomodating to pilots wanting to visit the tower. Well worth going up and having a look around.

[TopBunk]

The primary radar may be old but they used to be able to do SRA's to 0.5nm (about Cat 1 ILS limits) which was better than most - don't know what they offer nowadays. Not sure if that was to 06&24 or just 24......

[KitKatPacificuk]

Did an SRA the other day, They offer down to 2nm.

[tilewood]

Details of Southend Airport's Master Plan has been
published today on it's website at www. southendairport.net.

[HZ123]

RAL seem to be holding back as far as I can see. This plan has been in existence for about 2 years and yesterday's press release says no more than that which most locals seem to know. It is fine to state what the projected ideal for 2015 is but when do RAL intend to actually start doing something. if they do not get on witb it soon there will be little or no business left as no one can predict what aviation will be like in 2015. Finally from several sources I have been told that they do not have the mnoney anyway and clearly the longer this is drawn out the more difficult loans etc will become. Already most airports in the SE plead poverty only surviving from sales & marketing. Does anyone have some postive info.

[tilewood]

HZ123

I don;t think funding will pose a problem for RAL. Southend's development is considered a high priority within the massive
Thames Gateway regeneration, it is just a matter of when not if.

The reason that you have yet to see any concrete evidence of change is because the CAA introduced the RESA ( Runway End
Safety Area) requirement with which Southend had to comply.
That has now been resolved and the airport is fully licenced
for commercial passenger traffic.

I understand that a number of new scheduled services are planned for 2006 to be operated from an upgraded existing terminal whilst the new facility and rail station are being constructed.

You should hear some positive news in the next few months!!