BA tackles fog delays at Heathrow

[March 27th 2009]

British Airways has introduced new technology to try to reduce flight disruption caused by fog at Heathrow airport.

BA says it is the first commercial airline to introduce the onboard Microwave Landing System (MLS). The technology has been installed on 29 of the airline's Airbus A320s and A321s, with the remaining 12 to be completed by the end of 2009.

There are 10 foggy days each year on average at Heathrow which means that air traffic control has to reduce the number of landings at the airport. Poor visibility due to factors such as very heavy rain can also restrict the normal landing rate. This leads to flight delays and even flight cancellations and some planes being diverted to other airports.

"This pioneer initiative will mean less disruption and congestion, which is great news for our customers. It will also reduce holding times for aircraft, which will cut unnecessary carbon emissions," says British Airways director of flight operations, Captain Stephen Riley.

Traditionally pilots use Instrument Landing Systems (ILS) to guide planes on to the runway. But ILS is susceptible to interference from other aircraft crossing in front of the runway transmitters. This results in air traffic control having to increase the space between the landing aircraft to protect the ILS signals.

Planes equipped with the new microwave landing technology are able to make their landing approaches without the need for additional air traffic spacing.

The Airbus A320 family of aircraft are the first commercial aircraft to be certificated by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to operate the new system. MLS has been developed for British Airways by aerospace group Thales.

BA has announced new flights from Heathrow to Atlanta in the USA and the French city of Toulouse starting on March 29th. Flights to Riyadh and Jeddah will also resume from Heathrow on May 31st.

"We are opening up these new routes to Heathrow after moving them from Gatwick and are confident that with the combination of T5 and our fantastic full onboard service and low prices, they will be very popular with customers,” explains BA customer director, Silla Maizey.

Written by: Nick Purdom

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