Some Olympics flights to land at Kent airports – a proportion at night

Kent airports – Manston, Lydd and Rochester – are getting excited about their chance, through the arrangements for flights over the period of the Olympics made by Airport Coordination Ltd (ACL) for many hundreds of extra flights.  Manston has apparently been told it can have up to 192 arrivals and departures every day with a maximum of 44 between 10pm and 7am.  Lydd hopes to have up to 126 planes per day, 20 of which will leave or arrive at night. Rochester’s might have 56 aircraft a day, although no flights will operate between midnight and 6am. It is likely that many of these are private jets, as Heathrow expects to deal with most scheduled flights, even opening a new, temporary terminal.

 

Olympics flights to land at Kent airports

January 20 2012 (Kent online)

An aeroplane lands at Kent International Airport at Manston

by Martin Jefferies

Hundreds of flights will be allowed to take off and land at Kent’s airports every day during this summer’s Olympics.

Manston, Lydd and Rochester have been asked to take a share of the 500,000 international visitors expected during the Games.

In total, the airports will have to accept up to around 370 flights a day, as all three will be regulated between July 21 and August 15 to prevent overcrowding at Heathrow.

Manston will operate round the clock to accommodate up to 192 arrivals and departures every day. A maximum of 44 aircraft will use the airport between 10pm and 7am.

As many as 126 planes will take off and land every day at Lydd, 20 of which will leave or arrive at night.

Rochester’s requirement is 56 aircraft a day, although no flights will operate between midnight and 6am.

Airport Coordination Limited, the company responsible for landing slots and schedules, says the majority of visitors will travel on scheduled flights.

However, it expects 700 extra charter flights and 3,000 more business jets during July and August, as VIPs make their way to the Games.

An estimated 240 state flights will bring political leaders from around the world to London.

 

http://www.kentonline.co.uk/kentonline/news/2012/january/21/olympics_flights.aspx

One comment says:

How can all these night flights be allowed without any local consultation? I live on the flight path and this is the first I’ve heard of it….almost FIVE flights every hour at night? that’s crazy!


see also

London 2012: Heathrow outlines Olympics strategy with temporary terminal

Date added: January 19, 2012

Heathrow is planning to build and open a temporary Games Terminal for the Olympics. BAA is spending more than £20m on the Games in total and they say it won’t use any public funds. Heathrow says 27 June to 1 October will be its critical period, with 80% of Games visitors expected to pass through the airport. On its busiest expected days – 26 July and 13 August – it predicted passenger levels would increase from an estimated 95,000 on a usual day to 138,000. However, various sources suggest that there will be many fewer non-Olympic tourists during the period with bookings down.

Click here to view full story…


 

see also The Times   19.1.2012 

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/sport/olympics/article3291185.ece?CMP=EMCeb2

Olympic call for airfields to help avoid ignominy of ‘Third World’ Heathrow

which says that every airport in the South East of England will be regulated and the number of flights in and out of Heathrow will be cut by up to a fifth during the Olympics to prevent chaos at Britain’s principal gateway.

Ministers fear that long delays and stranded passengers become the story of the Olympics rather than the sport. With more than 10,000 foreign media representatives arriving in London for the opening ceremony on July 27, severe congestion and confusion at Heathrow are unlikely to go unnoticed, and officials and industry executives are keen to avoid images of the airport resembling a Third World bus station.

A task force of experts has been drawing up plans for more than a year, and a series of temporary rules, will be imposed on airports across the South East between July 21 and August 15 in an attempt to curb disruption.

 


 

see also

ACI  London 2012- Olympic Games and Paralympics Airspace and Airports overview

which includes these figures for the Olympics period:

500,000 + international visitors
 Most travel on scheduled air services
 But additional demand estimated to translate into
 700 extra charter flights
 Over 3,000 extra business jet movements
 240 state flights
 Peaks around Olympics opening and closing ceremonies
 Can be accommodated, but only if
 Use all available capacity, including smaller airfields for business jets
 Manage capacity efficiently

http://www.acl-uk.org/UserFiles/File/London%202012-IATA.pdf

 

and

ACI website (Airport Coordination Ltd)

http://www.acl-uk.org/default.aspx?id=136

Olympics Airports

Airport Slots – 21st July to 15th August 2012

It is predicted that during the London Olympics that there will be a significant increase in the demand to use many of the UK South East airports. Unchecked, controlled airspace over the South East of England may become overcrowded which would result in an increase in flow control, and delays. To reduce this risk a reservation system has been established.

Following extensive studies by UK authorities, a number of additional airports in the South East of England have been identified as requiring coordination over the period 21st of July to the 15th of August inclusive, for all IFR traffic arriving or departing. [IFR means Instrument Flight Rules].

In conjunction with airspace modelling by NATS, a capacity declaration for all additionally coordinated airports was agreed by the Single Coordination Committee, set up solely for the Olympic period. The agreed airport capacity declaration can be found on the link; capacity declaration. The airports, along with dates of opening for slot bookings can be found on the following link Airport Slot Reservation Opening Schedule. The link also provides details of the slot booking process.

Existing coordinated (Level3) airports in the South East of England are;

Heathrow
Gatwick
Stansted
London City

Airports newly classified as coordinated (Level3), 21st of July – 15th of August 2012, inclusive;

Biggin Hill
Birmingham
Blackbushe
Bournemouth
Cambridge
Chalgrove
Coventry
Cranfield
Damyns Hall
Denham
Dunsfold
Duxford
Elstree
Fairoaks
Farnborough
Goodwood
Lee-on-Solent
Leicester
Lydd (London Ashford)
London Oxford
Luton
Manston
Northampton
Northolt
North Weald
Old Sarum
Peterborough (Conington)
Redhill
Rochester
Shoreham
Southend
Southampton
Stapleford
Thruxton
White Waltham
Wycombe