LHR mixed mode ops given green light

[Vanilla Fudge]

London Heathrow airport is to be allowed mixed mode operations when services are severely disrupted following a final report commissioned by the UK government.
Air Traffic Management : Strategy, Technology and Management for the world's most global industry (http://www.airtrafficmanagement.net/view_news.asp?ID=3552)

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

I thought those arrangements had existed for yonks?

[eastern wiseguy]

Is this something you guys would practice in TRUCE?

[Not Long Now]

Practiced every day, no need for truce surely?

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

Precisely.

[eastern wiseguy]

Well forgive me for asking the question.:p If that is the case why the "announcement"?

[Geffen]

Simultaneous departures are not an everyday occurrence. The words in the official documentation indicate that tactically enhanced departures will be the trial opposed to TEAM which happens everyday.

[Gonzo]

Yay!

More meetings! :cool:

[Doug E Style]

Yay! Less holding and start-up delays! Perhaps.

[Geffen]

Gonzo,

Aren't meetings a way of life for you? :)

[Roffa]

As they continue to try to find more ways to shovel aeroplanes through the airport (record broken a couple of days ago as it happens) it would be nice if approach had a decent amount of airspace to do it in.

The RMA is too small as it is.

[heathrow, easy life]

When you are getting towards 100 movements an hour it really does not matter which way the runways are used. However TEAM is one of the most disliked procedures used equally by pilots and controllers alike. One inbound on the landing runway can take anything up to 4 departure slots if not got quite right. Agreed more airspace needed.

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

<<One inbound on the landing runway can take anything up to 4 departure slots if not got quite right. >>

I'm taken aback!!!!

[timelapse]

Taken aback?

If a TEAM A380 gets a landing clearance at say, 3 miles, then you'll easily lose 4 minutes worth of departures by the time it finally gets itself off the runway.

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

OK timelapes... thanks for that. Forgot about the big fella!

[irishpilot1990]

What is TEAM, for us non ATC??

[anotherthing]

Tactical Enhanced Arrival Mode

Landing aircraft on the departure runway.

Heathrow easy life, bit of a sweeping statement regarding it being hated by pilots and controllers. It is a big help to TC. Might stuff you up in the tower a tiny bit but the idea is about distributing delays.

If it is that bad, why does the tower agree to it so often during the day when it does not have to? Used correctly it aids the tower and TC.

Mixed Mode will help even more when start up delays exceed inbound delays... though any thoughts that it will bring huge increases in movements is laughable. The RMA might be a little bit small, but the whole TMA is under pressure.

[Crazy Voyager]

Roffa, do you have the numbers for the new record? I have to update the papers I got during my visit ;)

Sorry for the off topic:oh:

[Geffen]

1386 is the new record.

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

Fantastic work guys and gals....

[25check]

The total included at least 12 non sched/GA movements which shows that there is still spare capacity at times... ;)

[Flightman]

Just to add that Operational Freedoms is not Mixed Mode.

Mixed mode is planned ops on both runways. Operational Freedoms allows the airport to arrive and/or depart on both runways in periods of disruption. LHR cannot plan to do it.

Although quite what happens if the airport is aware of upcoming disruption, ie snow in 3 days, I'm not entirely sure!

[soaringhigh650]

it would be nice if approach had a decent amount of airspace to do it in.

I think Europe has enough. It's just not being used efficiently.

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

Interesting comment from across the pond. I showed some US controllers round Heathrow long ago and, given the amount of space we had, they thought we worked miracles. I visited a TRACON and commented that the controllers must be good "Not as good as the London guys" one of them said. 'nuff said.

[Roffa]

soaringhigh,

I think Europe has enough. It's just not being used efficiently.

I apologise if we can't accommodate you and your C152 as you'd like :rolleyes: