Consultation: departure routes at Stansted

This week we have launched a consultation on two particular departure routes at Stansted Airport. This is a part of Phase One of the London Airspace Management Programme, which you may recall we talked about last autumn when we consulted on changes to airspace serving London Gatwick and London City airports.

This consultation is another part of that first phase, and specifically addresses switching flights between two existing departure routes at Stansted Airport – reducing the use of one and increasing the use of another.

Both are currently in existence and used daily, but the effect of Heathrow arrivals keeps departures from Stansted on the route heading southeast lower for longer than on the route heading east. You can see that really clearly on the map below.

Moving the majority of departure flights from one route to another, which is what we are proposing, would improve the flow of aircraft around the London system and greatly increase the efficiency of the airport’s operation.

Of course, many people may argue against moving more traffic onto one route and ask instead for it to be spread out more. However, concentration is in line with Government guidance regarding the mitigation of overall noise impacts. Working within this guidance minimises the number of people overflown at low altitudes. This proposal would also result in the added benefits of reduced delay and reduced CO₂ emissions.

Residents of Essex and Kent may wish to give feedback on the proposal, and we welcome comments from anyone affected. Looking at the maps below you can see the areas we’re concerned with.

Today’s Easterly (Runway 04) Stansted
departures up to 7,000ft, used 30% of the time.

Today’s Westerly (Runway 22) Stansted
departures up to 7,000ft, used 70% of the time.

This proposal means that most of the flights within the area bounded by the dotted black line would move into the area bounded by the solid black line.

We are not proposing any changes to the airspace structure in the vicinity of Stansted; nor are we proposing any new routes – just different usage of the existing routes.

Closing on 8 September, you have 12 weeks to let us know your thoughts.

You are invited to respond to this consultation online via this website: www.NATS.aero/lampstansted

Here you can provide your feedback about this proposal, and you may upload a file such as a Word document or PDF also.

If it is not possible to submit your response online, you may do so by post to the following address:

Stansted SID Airspace Consultation
Box 25A, 4000 Parkway
PO15 7FL

The consultation closes 9pm Monday 8th September 2014.