It usually departs on the BPK departure, sometimes a DVR

With this in mind, if ‘simultaneous parallel approaches/take-off’s’ were to be introduced at LHR, would this increase the number of ‘slots’ because in effect you are having two aircraft taking off quicker than at present by using just one runway for take-off’s and the other for landings, or is it not as simple as I am thinking?

You’re really getting into Mixed Mode there, and that’s a whole new can of worms. To do parallel departures, you need decent weather, of course, and you can only do it with a/c on diverging tracks….I’ve done it a few times late at night and during the only quiet day of the year, Christmas day. It’s a bit dangerous to have a southbound rolling off 27R the same time as a northbound off 27L.

Mixed mode will increase the runway movement rates by about 10-15%, but because the airfield is short of stands, it will not mean, at least for a few years, any more slots, merely to improve the resilience of the airport in delay situations.

Mixed mode is horrifying to see on GMC, though.

Adam, no that’s not the case.

Just a few days ago when we were easterlies I took quite a few inbounds on my runway (09R) for no particular reason other than it’s a challenge and makes things more interesting for me as an ATCO…Especially given that 09R is a horrid runway to operate in mixed mode

There is no restriction on landing runway on easterlies.

TEAM stands for Tactically Enhanced Arrival Method, where if the inbound delays reaches a certain level, we are permitted to land 6 a/c an hour on teh departure runway. This is only usually used on westerlies…..on easterlies if it’s getting a bit busier inbound we might just land one or two on 09R to head off the build up of delays when they’re predicted to grow, before we get into the official criteria for TEAM…a course which is not available to us on westerlies, when we have to just sit there and wait until the delay trigger is reached.

There’s nothing at West Drayton anymore. I believe there is an RAF standard flying at Swanwick, if I remember correctly.

I doubt it will be up for long. The RCA will be along shortly, I’d imagine.

If using 27L / 27R for departures, all B.A. flights leaving T5 will have a very long taxi to the departure runways where lots of other aircraft will be waiting to depart

Just the same situation for any T1 outbound taxying round for 09R departure, and that’s been going on for years.

In fact, for 27R, the long haul a/c out of T5 will have a shorter taxy time than from T4…no runways to cross now.

Regardless, airline delays stats are compiled from the pushback time, not airborne time.

Please do bear in mind that eyewitnesses are notoriously unreliable, even ‘airport workers’ including the police and others.

Those of us who saw what happened and were involved with it in a professional capacity know that most of what is being quoted in and by the news channels is complete tosh.

We will be waiting for the official report.

I’d just like to say that my colleagues in ATC and the emergency services, and of course the crew above all others performed magnificently.

http://www.personneltoday.com/articles/2007/11/29/43484/baa-workers-to-be-balloted-on-strike-action-over-changes-to-pension.htmlhttp://www.personneltoday.com/articles/2007/11/29/43484/baa-workers-to-be-balloted-on-strike-action-over-changes-to-pension.html