§ Mr. MackinlayTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions on how many occasions this year a mixture of landings and take-offs on the same runway has been allowed at Heathrow Airport because of congestion. [123259]
§ Mr. MullinThe Tactically Enhanced Arrival Measures (TEAM) procedure at Heathrow involves the use of the departure runway to increase arrival rates and reduce holding delays. The procedure is approved only when it can be accommodated within the Heathrow Departure air traffic controllers' workload.
For environmental reasons, controllers are required to record the occasions on which the TEAM procedure is implemented. During the period 1 January to 18 May the TEAM procedure was implemented on the westerly runways at Heathrow on 53 occasions.
In accordance with local environmental restrictions, when the easterly runways are in use, arriving aircraft are permitted to use either of the parallel runways, Runway 09 Right or Runway 09 Left, at any time without restriction during the majority of the operating day. For environmental reasons, Runway 09R is normally used for all departures.
438W
§ Mr. MackinlayTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the impact of the proposed Terminal 5 on the number of air traffic movements at Heathrow Airport. [123260]
§ Mr. MullinThis matter was explored fully at the public inquiry into BAA's planning application for a fifth terminal at Heathrow Airport and because of the Secretary of State's quasi-judicial role in the planning system, it would not be appropriate to comment on the application or its implications until the inspector's report has been received and carefully considered.