§ Mrs. MayTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what is the minimum permitted altitude of aircraft approaching Heathrow from the west(a) 5, (b) 10, (c) 15 and (d) 20 miles from Heathrow. [111260]
§ Mr. MullinThe requirements for aircraft approaching Heathrow Airport to land are specified in the Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP).
Aircraft approaching Heathrow to land from the west are individually directed by air traffic controllers at West Drayton, and for noise mitigation purposes may not descend below an altitude of 2,500 feet before being established on the Instrument Landing System (ILS) localiser, which corresponds to the extended runway centreline. The ILS also includes a radio signal describing a 3° final approach descent gradient (or glidepath) along the extended runway centreline. The ILS glidepath reaches an altitude of 2,500 feet at approximately 7½ nautical miles (nm) from touchdown. At night (between 2300–0700 local time) aircraft are required to intercept the extended runway centreline no closer than 10 nm from touchdown (approximately 3,000 feet). In general, the altitude of an aircraft on final approach to Heathrow would be ca. 6,000 feet at 20 nm out, ca. 4,500 feet at 15 nm out, and ca. 1,500 feet at 5 nm out.