Air traffic control change disrupts flights at Heathrow and Gatwick

Wednesday, April 4, 2018

As new air-traffic control practices bed in people living near the Heathrow Airport can expect extra flights for the coming 10 days. Also, permission has been granted for extra eight arrivals before 6 am.

An overhaul air-traffic control procedures in the south-east England will come into effect from today.

London boasts of more flights than any other city in the world and has the busiest airspace. The Luton, Stansted and London City airports adds to the complexity for controllers.

It is found that the air-traffic provider NATS will be switching from a 20^th –century system using paper strips and switching to the new electronic tool known as the EXCDS.

As of now the two control areas have made the change and the London Terminal Control Centre- covering large area of the south-east England stretching from the south of Birmingham to the French coast will be affected.

The amount of traffic during the first ten days will be reduced to allow controllers to adjust to the new system during the first 10 days of the transition.

It is done with the intention of chopping the tops off the spikes in aircraft movement and reducing maximum number of flights using the runways.

The number of flights outside the normal operating hours will be increased and will mitigate an impact on the passengers.

Pete Dawson, general manager of London Terminal Control, mentioned that they will be reducing the amount of air traffic in the transitioning sectors to give controllers more space to build up their confidence with the use of the new tool in the live environment.

He apologised in advance to any passengers who are affected and thanked the residents close to these airports for their understanding as important changes were going on.

This was a crucial step in preparing  for future traffic levels.

An average delay of 20 minutes going into Heathrow, and journeys to Gatwick being extended by about 10 minutes has been warned by the NATS.

While inbound delays are likely to lead to outbound flights running late but after the initial 10-day spell, there are expected to be a further 10 days of reduced traffic.

Full capacity will be restored within a few weeks.

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