An eight-week consultation on Heathrow’s Airspace & Future Operations has opened, looking at the airport’s future airspace design, and collecting views on how an expanded airport could operate – including runway alternation and proposals on night flights.
The consultation affects both the existing two runways and the proposed expansion, and will run till March 4, 2019.
The launch of this stage of the consultation keeps Heathrow on schedule to deliver their expansion, say the Airport.
The key topics are proposed changes to make better use of the existing two runways, in particular factors influencing the design of new flight paths for some aircraft arrivals; and future operations for an expanded three-runway Heathrow including managing noise, respite through runway and airspace alternation, directional preference and night flights.
Heathrow will hold a further consultation in June on its emerging plans for expansion including the new runway and associated physical infrastructure, as well as presenting options to mitigate and manage the effects of the airport’s growth.
Heathrow say that delivering expansion responsibly is a key priority. Heathrow is holding a multi-stage consultation process to ensure that stakeholders have the best opportunity to be involved throughout the process. They hope this approach will ensure they create a legacy of jobs, growth and trade.
Emma Gilthorpe, Heathrow’s Executive Director for Expansion, said: “Heathrow’s aim is to design a sustainable, fair and more efficient future airport while connecting the UK to global growth. It is crucial that our plans maximise the benefits of expansion across the country, including for the communities closest to us—and working in partnership with our neighbours is just one way of ensuring they do so. We are committed to delivering expansion responsibly, and we encourage everyone to have their say and take part.”
