Meeting of April 18th, LBA, Leeds City Council and the CAA
Some time ago, I had called a meeting with LBA (Vincent Hodder), the CAA (Ben Lipets) and Leeds City Council (David Feeney and Carol Cunningham) regarding Airspace Change Proposals (ACP – CAP1616) and night-time flights. The result of the meeting are shown below:
- I have since been consulting with aviation colleagues plus a specialist consultant to provide additional feedback and detail to LBA.
- Changes to the Noise Preferential Route (NPR or Swathe as most people know it, the departure route for aircraft that’s currently between Burley and Menston). There are now options for a straight-out departure route, that doesn’t overfly Burley or Menston. It’s a more fuel-efficient route that’s easier to adhere to, and affects fewer people on the ground. The two new options are 32SEF and 32SEG, both are show on page 11 of this PDF.
- Stakeholder engagement – see below.
Meeting and discussion.
I will be holding a meeting later in the year to discuss the public consultation and to provide guidance for responses. I’ll provide a link to all village groups ahead of the consultation, so that you can register to attend as places will be limited by the size of the room booked.
Click on image to enlarge.
Dear Bob,
I am writing to update you on progress on the Leeds Bradford Airport FASI(N) Airspace Change Proposal (ACP) noting that it has been several months since our last update. During this hiatus we have been reflecting on the array of Design Options (DOs) that had been previously developed and shared with you. The stakeholder engagement process highlighted the need for further DO development and we also felt it necessary to develop some more DOs to ensure all avenues had been explored before progressing through the Stage 2 Gateway. Prior to submitting our evidence to the CAA and progressing beyond Stage 2 of the CAP1616 process, these DOs require ‘Design Principle Evaluation’ (DPE) against the agreed Design Principles (DPs).
As a valued stakeholder in this process, we are now seeking your views on the additional DOs and to what extent they meet the agreed DPs in order to complete the DPE. Attached to this email is a brief containing an update on all the DOs now being considered. Here is a LINK to a MS Forms Survey that will give you the opportunity to share your views on our initial evaluation of these DOs.
Departures: There are some new departure DOs for flights departing Runway 32 (the Runway 14 DOs remain extant). As before, the departure DOs are presented as swathes showing a general direction of travel.
Arrivals: The arrival DOs have had a thorough re-think and these are presented with lines (vice swathes) in order that the arrival system can be more readily assimilated. These lines are not intended to depict actual flight procedures or tracks over the ground; the actual procedures will evolve through the consultation and design process.
Holds: Please take into consideration that Arrival Holds at airports such as Leeds Bradford are rarely used as they exist for the eventuality of delays or inclement weather. Holds associated with Missed Approach Procedures (MAP) are also rarely used as such eventualities are rare and the need to fly a hold following a MAP is an even less likely occurence. Holds, despite their infrequent use, are a necessary part of the ‘system’. Technically speaking, as the Arrival Holds form the end of the Standard Arrivals (STARs) and are above 7000ft, they are the domain of the en-route Air Traffic Service Provider (ANSP) NATS En-Route Limited (NERL) and therefore the Airport does not dictate the location of them although we can influence the decision. However, a MAP Hold may require a lower holding altitude of circa 5000ft (depending on its distance from the Airport) and the location of this is very much within our sphere of influence. The hold depictions in the attached brief are intended to give you an idea of how the system might work. These are drawn within blue circles/lozenges surrounding them as the final location is not yet determined. The LBA Hold (in the immediate vicinity of the Airport) already exists and this is depicted as it is today.
The DPE will be finalised based upon your feedback and an Initial Options Appraisal (IOA) will then be conducted and documented. The intention is to have all Stage 2 materials submitted by 2 June 23 in time for the 30 June 23 CAA Gateway Assessment Meeting. Should the Gateway be successfully passed, the project will move into Stage 3 of the CAP1616 process. All associated documentation will be published on the CAA’s ACP Portal.
The above survey link is open for comment until 1700hrs on 28 April 23.
