Heathrow landing question
 

I know that Heathrow prefers westerly landings and they switch departure and arrival runways (27L & 27R) each day at 15.00. I also know that the old Cranford Agreement kept traffic landing only on 09L while departures were done on 09R when easterly operations were needed. My question is, now that the Cranford Agreement has ended, does traffic ever land on 09R?

I appreciate your answers.

Cheers!

One for the ATc'ers I'm sure but as an "end user" :hmm: I've certainly landed on 09R in daylight hours, so to speak, even before the end of the agreement, and I've seen it used for landing on several occasions fairly recently.

The real question should be does traffic ever depart from 09L?

Due to limited taxi way access and it being isolated in the north west of the airfield I doubt this.

I've never worked at Heathrow, but as far as I'm aware, Heathrow Ops have the final say on runway in use, and ATC have to ask their permission if they wish otherwise.
I was once told they use 09R for landings only rarely because of traffic from Cargo and T4 using the 'southern' taxiway affecting the ILS glidepath signal as they have to taxy between the aerial and the landing aircraft.

A number of years ago now...up until aound 2003 time, the business I work for had one of the offices adjacent to the BA maintenance area at the end of 27R on the Eastern Perimeter Rd.

I'm sure I remember Concorde rattling our windows as it roared overhead following a 09L departure on more than one ocassion. Could be wrong.

<<Heathrow Ops have the final say on runway in use, and ATC have to ask their permission if they wish otherwise. >>

Not sure who Heathrow Ops is, T, but in my day the runway in use was the decision of ATC subject, of course, to the local regs re: noise.

09R was always available for landing at the discretion of the Air Dep controller but 09L departures were rare because of the location of the noise monitoring point. Probably all changed now!

Heathrow Airport Ltd is just finishing a small taxyway modification between taxyways A & B near to the north end of T5B.

I'm given to understand that 09L departures will start when this is complete.

Nothing in the Cranford Agreement precluded landings on 09R, it was about departures from 09L over Cranford. Between 0600 and 0700 when there are few departures but a mass of arrivals after the curfew ends, Heathrow has long run parallel landings onto both runways. If on easterlies then both 09L and 09R are used equally. If practical they try to get the T4 arrivals onto 09R at these times to avoid having to cross the runway subsequently.

Regarding departures, on those occasions when the southern runway was closed for evening/overnight maintenance etc, and easterlies were in force, then obviously 09L departures would take place. It is surprising that full taxyways for departures were not in place a generation ago, in fact when the runway was built to the current length, for this.