T5 @ Heathrow, any impact in number of aircraft movements?
 

Hi there, don´t know if this is the best forum to post the question in but figured that you guys that are handling the airport knows best.
Will/has the new terminal lead to an increase in aircraft movements or is it just a matter of stuffing more pax into the tubes in shorter time?
On a similar note, is there much free capacity left to cram more movements to/from Heathrow? I recently visited the Stockholm Arlanda tower and learned that the biggest issue there is gate availability for certain types of flights such as Schengen/US.

Cheers!

All statements issued so far indicate no extra aircraft movements, just the capability to handle more pax more efficiently and in greater comfort (for BA anyway).
There is no spare capacity at Heathrow. Its generally 44 arrivals per hour maximum, and there is no possibility to increase that.

Thanks, suspected as much.

Heathrow is scheduled to 98% of its capacity, itself about 10% more than is desirable, as such a high scheduling places great service pressure on the system that operates it (NATS). Not much headwind reduces capacity to the extent that Heathrow quickly becomes oversubscribed and robustness of service deteriorates accordingly.

In my view, this degree of scheduling puts inappropriate levels of pressure on the Final director to achieve minimum spacing in all conditions, on a near saturated r/t frequency, with a high proportion of foreign operators, using an airspace system that was not designed for this level of traffic - and which currently does not build in a vertical safeguard when traffic is turning in towards each other form opposite sides. Under such circumstances there is little time or, most importantly, ATCO & r/t capacity, to correct errors of judgement and as a result spacing errors often get left uncorrected. NATS' own wake vortex separation figures conclusively prove this.

This situation is the direct result of the interpretation of the government's policy of "...best use..." to mean maximum use. There is no more room at Heathrow; T5 is principally a service improver, with some additional capacity available if a decision is made to increase runway capacity.

.4

I understood that next year there will be 3 less stands available than there is currently. Awaiting Heathrow East to provide more stands. If thats correct then there is a dependancy on increasing runway capacity AND parking.

BD

Agreed. What we actually need, it seems to me, is some joined up thinking on this whole issue.

.4

Isn't GMC 3 to begin when T5 opens? I heard that T5 will mean more movements in the central area between the runways so might make things on ground a bit more difficult.