BA Proposes Plan To End Heathrow Weather Delays

British Airways has called for changes to the way Heathrow Airport deals with arriving flights in windy weather conditions.

Research by the airline has revealed that the current system utilised at the airport, whereby all arrivals are restricted to particular runways, leads to flight delays in the event of high winds.

As a result, BA infrastructure manager, Paul Ellis, had advocated the use of a "mixed mode" system similar to that used at Gatwick, with both arrivals and departures allowed on runways.

"Years of practical experience of runway operation at Heathrow and Gatwick has shown conclusively that mixed mode operation provides much better protection against delays when weather conditions are difficult," he said.

"The introduction of mixed mode at Heathrow would be a real bonus for passengers. We estimate that it would cut weather delays by up to two thirds from day one and provide much greater reliability throughout the timetable."

Figures provided by BA indicated that, while Gatwick achieves an average of 48 departures and arrivals on each runway in an hour, Heathrow manages 42.

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