London Airports get set for next year’s Olympics by Charles Alcock Business aircraft operators heading to the UK next summer for the 2012 London Olympics face an array of headache-inducing complications. But several airports and FBOs from around the British capital have arrived here at the NBAA show to offer solutions that should smooth your passages to the games. Here in Las Vegas you’ll find the following facilities vying for your Olympic handling business, all with experts on hand to explain the maze of restrictions put in place for the event: Farnborough Airport (owned by TAG Aviation–Booth No. C7626); Biggin Hill Airport (Booth No. C9613), also represented by Jet Aviation (Booth No. C11411); Cambridge (Booth No. N1622); Luton (represented by Harrods Aviation at Booth No. N4412 and Signature Flight Support at Booth N3900); Oxford (Booth No. N616); and Stansted (represented by Harrods and Universal Aviation at Booth No. C8926).
Arrangements for the London Olympics are about to change again, but it could be a change for the better. The UK’s National Air Traffic Services is proposing to establish a new airspace structure specifically to accommodate business aviation during the period around the 2012 London Olympic Games. The Civil Aviation Authority and other agencies overseeing aviation arrangements for the Olympics are considering the proposal and further details are expected to be confirmed during November. Airspace across a wide area around the UK capital is to be segregated between a restricted area and a prohibited area over central London. This will apply for the period from July 14 to August 15. Book Slots Now
At a special seminar on arrangements for the London Olympics held as part of the Business and General Aviation Day (BGAD) event on September 20 at Cambridge Airport, operators
Operators planning to fly in to London for next year’s Olympic Games should secure slots early, according to London-area airport managers. Many airports, such as Farnborough, are taking slot bookings now and others will begin doing so in the coming months.
also heard that they must soon start applying for slots that will be required for arrivals and departures at airports across southern and eastern England between July 21 and August 15. The UK government also has granted approval for some general aviation airports to open around the clock, including Cambridge, Northolt, Lydd and Southend. At the seminar, London-area airport and FBO managers said they will require nonrefundable deposits to take slot bookings to prevent operators making block bookings to guarantee arrival and departure times. Operators who are unable to book early may find they can’t get slots at their usual London-area airport and so they are urged to consider a wide range of alternatives. Airport Options
A wide area over central London will be restricted (above) during next year’s Olympics, while a smaller portion of airspace will be prohibited (below).
Slot bookings are already being taken for the following airports and airfields: Biggin Hill, Blackbushe, Cambridge, Chalgrove, Coventry, Cranfield, Damyns Hall, Denham, Duxford, Elstree, Fairoaks, Farnborough, Goodwood, Leeon-Solent, Leicester, Lydd, Oxford, Manston, Northampton, Northolt, North Weald, Old Sarum, Peterborough, Redhill, Rochester, Shoreham, Southend, Stapleford, Truxton, White Waltham and Wycombe. From November 30, slot bookings will open at Stansted, Birmingham, Luton and Bournemouth. Reservations won’t open until Feb. 1, 2012, for Southampton and for London City Airport. In fact, it remains unclear whether business aircraft will be able to operate to and from London City. So far there have been few details as to how landing fees and handling rates will be bundled. Operators will need to think
24 NBAA Convention News • October 12, 2011 • www.ainonline.com
carefully before deciding at which airport they will book slots for the Olympic period. Demand for hotels closer to London will force prices up, and with aircraft parking at a premium it may make sense to land farther away from the main sites. Of the airports exhibiting here, Oxford and Cambridge have the advantage of being outside the restricted zone. This means transatlantic operators can approach from the northwest without having to get clearance for the zone. Oxford has invested heavily in improving infrastructure over the last year or so, and will have new primary and secondary radar in service by the time of the London Olympics.
According to data from Eurocontrol, Oxford is now the fifth busiest business aviation gateway in the UK, with an average of 7.8 daily departures. Ahead of it are Luton with 34.2, Farnborough with 27.5, Biggin Hill with 14.5 and London City with 8.9. Stansted has slipped to eighth place with a 5.5 average, behind the airports of both East Midlands and Bournemouth. With the exception of London City, Biggin Hill is probably about the shortest distance to the Olympic stadium in east London. It is a 20-minute drive from Ebbsfleet rail station, which will offer direct connections to Stratford International station, which is a short walk to the stadium. o
London Biggin Adds Hangar and More Parking London Biggin Hill Airport has opened a new 52,000-sq-ft hangar alongside its main executive terminal, with several offices available for rent on a short- or long-term basis. Aircraft parking capacity has been further expanded with the addition of about the same area of new ramp space adjacent to the terminal. The hangar can comfortably accommodate aircraft up to the size of a Boeing Business Jet. Unusually for a London-area airport, Biggin Hill (Booth No. C9613) has plenty of scope for expanding business aircraft traffic since it is well within its annual movements limit of 125,000. There is also plenty of space for developing other new buildings, including a planned new 75room hotel. The privately owned airport’s management has local government approval to build the hotel next to the new Rizon Jet FBO and is now seeking a partner with which to start the development. –C.A.
London’s Biggin Hill Airport has opened a new hangar with ample ramp parking space immediately adjoining the main terminal building.