ACP resubmission date – February 2025
There are two pieces of news, both in response to questions I asked at the last ACC meeting:
- Construction of the new airport terminal at LBA by Farrans employs 152 people in total. 24% of the workforce (36 people) live within a 10-mile radius, 36% (55 people) live within a 40 mile radius.
- Airport employment statistics:
- The directly employed headcount at LBA is 520.
- The total number of direct jobs at LBA, which includes business partner staff such as Jet2, Swissport, etc is 2,100.
- The number above is expected to grow to around 3,600 by 2030.
- There was a single request (my own) at the last meeting to update Members on the Airspace Change proposals.
Following a recent meeting with the CAA at Gatwick, other than a few minor technical amendments, the main focus of the CAA’s failure of LBA’s gateway was centred on ‘story telling’. We have been provided with a resubmission date of Feb 2025 and in the lead up to that, we’ll be undertaking further stakeholder engagement later this year which will include a few more options for consideration to help with this ‘story telling’.
I’m not entirely certain about the statement made by LBA in point 3, following my ongoing discussions with the CAA and NERL, and especially considering the reasons for ACP refusal which I was given in June 2023. You can request a copy via email only if you attended one of the two airport presentations and left email contact detail.
- The number of existing departure/arrival options was reduced by 1, and this option according to LBA, should not have been considered.
- The number of options in the current iteration of the process is 40 before any additional options are added. Options will require in depth supporting evidence of 11 design principles and the accompanying noise footprints etc, and this is a significant piece of work.
Stakeholder engagement is going to be difficult, perhaps impossible for most stakeholders to grasp. Stakeholders are assumed to have the necessary ICAO PANS-OPS/CAA/NERL knowledge to effectively respond to the consultation.
More news about LBA from GALBA
GALBA is working to prevent Leeds Bradford Airport expanding from 4 million passengers a year to 7 million.GALBA are not trying to close down the airport, but are determined to halt unnecessary aviation expansion in the face of the worsening climate crisis.
SIDs and STARs
A summary of current departure (SIDs)/arrival (STARS) routes and waypoints (BEACONS) are given below, alongside the Design Principles referred to throughout.
Departures.
- RW32 – South-Easterly Departures – MAMUL – DPE
- RW32 – South & West Departures – POL/NELSA – DPE
- RW32 – North-Westerly Departures – RIBEL – DPE
- RW32 – North-Easterly Departures – GASKO
- RW14 – South-Easterly Departures – MAMUL
- RW14 – South & West Departures – POL/NELSA
- RW14 – North-Easterly Departures – GASKO
- RW14 – North-Westerly Departures – RIBEL
Arrivals.
- Arrivals – Option 1 – 1 Hold – LBA (Status Quo with PBN)
- Arrivals – Option 2 – 2 Holds – NELSA/GOLES
- Arrivals – Option 3 – 2 Holds – ‘AIREY’ & ‘WORTH’
- Arrivals – Option 4 – 3 Holds – LBA with ‘AIREY’ & ‘WORTH’
- Arrivals – Option 5 – 3 Holds – NELSA/’UDDER’/GOLES
Design principles.
DP # |
Design Principle |
|---|---|
1 |
Importance of Safety – The airspace design and its operation must maintain or where possible, enhance current levels of safety. |
2 |
Noise - The design should limit, and where practicable reduce, the number of people overflown, the impact of noise to stakeholders on the ground and where possible periods of built-in respite should be considered. |
3 |
Tranquillity - Where practical, route designs should limit effects upon noise sensitive areas. These may include cultural or historic assets, tranquil or rural areas, sites of care or education and AONB’s. |
4 |
Tranquillity - Where practical, route designs should limit effects upon noise sensitive areas. These may include cultural or historic assets, tranquil or rural areas, sites of care or education and AONB’s. |
5 |
Airspace Dimensions – The volume and classification of controlled airspace required for LBA should be the minimum necessary to deliver an efficient airspace design, considering the needs of all airspace users |
6 |
Airspace Complexity – The airspace design should seek to reduce complexity and bottlenecks in controlled and uncontrolled airspace and contribute
to a reduction in airspace infringements. |
7 |
Technical Requirements – The design shall be fully compliant with ICAO PANS-OPS and UK CAA criteria to meet the technical capability requirements of aircraft using the airport. |
8 |
Systemisation – The new procedures will integrate with the en-route network (NERL), as per the FASI(N) programme. If required, the arrival transitions shall integrate with the Instrument Approach Procedures (IAPs), deconflict with the departure procedures, reducing the requirement for tactical coordination. |
9 |
Operational Cost – Provided it does not have an adverse impact of community disturbance, procedures should be designed to optimise fuel efficiency. |
10 |
AMS Realisation – This ACP must serve to further, and not conflict with, the realisation of the AMS. |
11 |
PBN – The new procedures should capitalise on as many of the potential benefits of PBN implementation as are practicable. |
