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Olympic challenge for Air traffic controllers

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Forum Editor
Resolved

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Posted April 22, 2012 at 4:44PM

According to the BBC 'Around 700 extra airliners and more than 3,000 executive jets are expected to fly in and out of airports in the South East for three weeks before, during and after the Olympics.'

That's a lot of extra traffic in an area which is already operating at near its upper limit where take-offs and landings are concerned.

The big worry (apart from the obvious one) is that private aircraft will stray into the temporarily expanded controlled air space, and give RAF response pilots a real challenge in terms of 'is it or isn't it?' when trying to decide about terrorist threats. Kevin and his wife, out for a quick spin in the Cessna, might be in for a nasty shock as a couple of Typhoons come bucketing towards them at low altitude.

Hey ho, we live in interesting times.

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Bingalau

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Posted April 22, 2012 at 9:07PM

I don't recall this problem the last time they were held in London. It may have been better to have held the games in the midlands of course. Then there would be the added capacity of some more airports such as Manchester, Liverpool and even Birmingham. Not to mention the London airports and Luton etc. But then those poor southerners would have had to travel too. Of course the big thing being that large amounts of dosh would have ended up elsewhere than in the coffers of the southern softies. (I will put my wooden spoon away now0.

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finerty

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Posted April 22, 2012 at 9:30PM

RAF Northolt and other RAF bases maybe used 4 the private aircraft???

What about the ones they have closed down u know the old airfieds

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Forum Editor

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Posted April 22, 2012 at 10:42PM

AitchBEE

So, you're flying to London specifically to see the Olympic games, and the host nation tells you that you can't land at heathrow - instead you can land at "Glasgow, Paris, Edinburgh, Dublin, Manchester, take your pick"

Thank goodness you're not in charge of organising the event.

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Forum Editor

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Posted April 22, 2012 at 10:57PM

"It may have been better to have held the games in the midlands of course."

For that to happen it would have been necessary for a Midlands city to have staged a successful bid for the games.

As for us "southern softies", we Londoners of course are the ones who will be paying more than anyone else for staging the games, and we're the ones who will face weeks of hell on the roads and public transport systems as we try to get on with our lives during the games.

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Forum Editor

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Posted April 22, 2012 at 11:04PM

finerty

You're missing the point.

It would cost huge amounts of money to restore disused RAF bases for use by modern jet passenger planes, to say nothing of the increased air traffic control facilities that would be needed.

RAF Northolt is a secure operating base for the military fighter aircraft that will provide rapid response to any airborne security alerts, and the last thing they want is a lot of private aircraft movements. In any case, Northolt is well inside the increased controlled airspace that will extend up to thirty miles around the city.

Not all the inbound private flights will use heathrow, some will land at Gatwick and other airports in south-east England.

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Flak999

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Posted April 23, 2012 at 12:48AM

I have deliberately booked my summer holidays outside of the "olympic window" specifically to avoid the mass influx and exit of those who want to partake in the extraordinary waste of money taking place this summer!

Personally speaking, I will be heartily glad when the whole circus is over, what a waste of £11 billion pounds!

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sunnystaines

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Posted April 23, 2012 at 9:50AM

farnborough, hampshire is the hub for executive jets for london with loads of parking and landing slots.

dipolomatic jets may well use northolt.

charter flights,to gatwick,luton,manston lydd,southend, standstead, also farnborough could take charters on small scale, de-mothball lasham perhaps. all in South East.

any influx of cessna type flights to biggin hill,fairoaks,denham,redhill.

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Bingalau

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Posted April 23, 2012 at 10:55AM

It can't be deemed as a huge loss of 11 billion until after the games. Myself I think it will be a huge success.

But it would have been even better had it been staged oop north. I'm not a great lover of Manchester or Birmingham but whoever decided their bid wasn't good enough was probably a Londoner.

The extra money lost by the people of London and its environs will be well recovered. Hotel prices will escalate. Ice cream vendors, hot dog vendors and other racketeers will make their proverbial bomb. I can even picture the old fashioned spivs with their arms full of imitation Rolex's. God knows what the pubs will charge for beer etc., and as for taxi's well enough said.

You can tell I am not a lover of London too can't you?

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Forum Editor

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Posted April 23, 2012 at 7:59PM

Bingalau

Londoners don't decide who stages the Olympics, that's done by the International Olympic Committee.

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morddwyd

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Posted April 23, 2012 at 8:17PM

"any influx of cessna type flights to biggin hil"

In terms of movements I understand that Biggin is already one of the busiest airfields in the UK.

Could they take an influx?

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