Farnborough

[wrecker]

Farnborough Airport Sold30th September 2019It has been announced publicly today that Farnborough Airport has been sold to MacQuarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA). MIRA owns a majority percentage of AGS, a group that owns a number of airports including Southampton Airport.The sale follows very closely behind the CAA’s controversial decision to grant large areas of controlled airspace to Farnborough airport.This development raises serious questions about TAG Farnborough’s motivation to seek controlled airspace.

[TheOddOne]

Are we thinking this might be London's runway capacity solution?

ASDA 06 2590M, 24 2440M, CAT I only at the moment. Looking at the type 'A' chart, seems like CATII/III might not be feasible for 06. Runway undulates a bit but is 46M wide, so presumably good up to A321 etc. Needs a full-length parallel taxiway further away than the existing - does the aerodrome boundary get in the way if this on the North side? £30million for airfield enhancements and Terminal building?

There's no other sufficiently big aerodrome close enough to London that will tolerate the disruption every 2 years for a commercial aviation event of the size we've seen in the past. Perhaps we'll just leave it to Paris?

TOO

[chevvron]

I did a study of this before I retired in 2008.
Runway 24 needs upgraded lighting (ie barrettes and TDZ plus centreline); the GP could be lowered to 3 deg; we were told this in 2001 but decided the locals would be up in arms at the prospect of aircraft flying a few feet lower over the houses so kept it at 3.5 deg.

When initially flight checked, the checkers said that the LLZ was accurate enough for Cat 111.
Taxiway lighting would need green C/L for complete distance; at present only sections of it are installed along with interlocked stop bars.

I didn't bother looking at 06 because of the hill bordering Long Valley; you wouldn't get the necessary level area before the threshold for the radalt to work with this there.
Runway 24 can already be used to lower than Cat 1 minima by suitably equipped and approved aircraft.

Room for a terminal building on East Apron now that 'A' Shed has been demolished; dunno about long term car parking though.
New maintenance facility already has planning permission to be built on the south side just south west of South Apron 2.

[Paul Lupp]

Are we thinking this might be London's runway capacity solution?

ASDA 06 2590M, 24 2440M, CAT I only at the moment.

TOO

Landing in the ASDA car park is not an option! It may be walking distance away but......

As to the capacity thing, my late father was convinced that a deal was done many years ago by HMG when Farnborough expanded and opened up to more private flights that they would take all the "private jet" trafffic from Heathrow to allow LHR to increase its capacity for civil aircraft. I recall when a kid that when we used to drive past LHR, on the south side where I believe the cargo centres now is (or maybe it's where T4 is), the biz jets used to be parked up, and operate from there

[chevvron]

'ASDA' refers to 'Accelerate/Stop Distance Available'.
It's different in the two directions because 06 has a 150m reduced width starter extension (to enable a minimum TORA of 2,000m in both directions) but being reduced width it cannot be included in the ASDA or LDA for 24.
As originally envisaged, the third runway at Heathrow was originally to be only about 2,000m to just cater for domestic flights so Farnborough's runway would have been an ideal alternative but Heathrow's proposed new runway has apparently now been upgraded to be similar in dimensions to the other 2 runways.

[Marchettiman]

Look at this link: https://www.rushmoor.gov.uk/article/2564/Farnborough-airports-planning-history and the links to the exact details of Farnborough's planning permission.

If I want, and could afford, to book a flight from Farnborough to virtually anywhere in the world .I could do so without being asked whether it was for a business reason, and those types of flight are probably a daily occurrence. That seems to me to be Commercial air traffic, not business aviation (which the planning permission restricts use of Farnborough to).

Has anyone brought this to the attention of the local planners?

.

[chevvron]

Only Inclusive Tour charter flights and scheduled flights operating for public transport are banned in the planning conditions as are bulk freight flights, (I wrote the entry in the AIP which notifies that) and TAG takes great measures to ensure they comply with this so what's the problem?
Anyone can 'book' a flight to anywhere (Gulfstream 5s can and have done Tokyo - Farnborough and vice/versa non stop in about 12 hours) only if they are in a 'fractional ownership' scheme