Heathrow - A "Practical Politician" Proposes Mixed Mode at Heathrow

'Mixed Mode' May Now Be A La Mode

The Times and the Daily Telegraph reported this week-end  that George Osborne has been championing plans to increase drastically the number of flights at Heathrow – without building a third runway. The Chancellor has secretly been pushing ‘mixed mode’ proposals that would see more than 1,000 extra flights a week and as many as 20m more passengers each year.  The aviation industry supports a third Heathrow runway because it will allow for 240,000 more flights a year but 'mixed mode' will only allow for a quarter of that number. 

What is ‘Mixed Mode’?  At present Heathrow confines arrivals to one runway at a time, and BA analysts have found that strong headwinds frequently lead to reductions in the optimum arrival rate set by air traffic controllers.  For example, Heathrow was subject to air traffic control restrictions on arrivals on 276 days in 2006 compared with just 52 days at Gatwick.

Gatwick with its single runway, however, uses a ‘mixed mode’ operation where landings and take-offs are sequenced on the same runway. This means arrivals can be maintained at a consistent rate in windy conditions because separation between arrivals is greater to allow for intervening  departures. Typically this means that Gatwick can generate more take-offs and landings per runway per hour - typically 48 - while Heathrow averages 42. A change to Mixed Mode at Heathrow would bring immediate relief to the 99% capacity situation there which has led to calls for a third runway. 

In another statement reported in the media this week-end, Gatwick's chief executive, Stewart Wingate says that Gatwick intends to resurrect proposals for a second runway this summer.  It already has an ambition to be London's leading/favourite airport.  A second runway, for which land has already been set aside, would allow it to exploit the growing number of Far East destinations which has been one of the reasons for proposals by Heathrow for a third runway.   However, Gatwick is not allowed to have a second runway until 2019 and it will be interesting to see what Gatwick's new owners since 2009, Global Infrastucture Partners, are going to propose.