Birmingham Airport launches a quieter approach to the Airport‏ at 2008 Pathfinder awards

John Morris, Head of Corporate and Community Affairs, Birmingham Airport

and Caroline Spelman MP celebrate with the winners

Caroline Spelman, Conservative MP for Meriden, has helped

Birmingham International Airport and NATS launch a new

scheme - Continual Decent Approaches - to further reduce the

noise of aircraft operations
.
The basic principle of a Continual Decent Approach (CDA) is that

arriving aircraft stay higher for longer, by descending at a

continuous rate. This technique uses significantly less engine thrust

which makes life quieter for communities around the airport. Less

thrust means less fuel burn – and that’s good news for the

environment too, as it also means fewer carbon emissions
.
Continual Decent Approaches (CDAs), will be introduced at

Birmingham from May, following the successful completion of

a trial, driven by NATS. Throughout the trial, the Air Traffic

Controllers at NATS have worked with airlines to change the

way that arriving aircraft approach the airport. Their hard work

has already led to an improvement in CDAs from 50% to 90%
.
Caroline Spelman launched this new initiative at the annual

"Operation Pathfinder" Awards at the Airport, which are now in

their third year. The awards were inspired by Mrs Spelman,

following her regular meetings with the Airport on behalf of her

constituents
.
The awards encourage a more open dialogue between the Airport

and its airlines, ensuring that everyone has a part to play in

maintaining defined routes, and reducing nuisance to neighbours.

Regular ‘Operation Pathfinder’ meetings take place, with more

airlines having joined the scheme in the last year. This year’s

awards were presented to Swiss International Airlines, Ryanair,

Monarch Airlines and Brussels Airlines
.
Caroline Spelman said: “It is great to be at the Airport for two

celebrations today. This third anniversary of Operation Pathfinder

is testament to the hard work that the Airport’s Environment Team

and the airlines have undertaken to ensure that residents are not

subjected to unnecessary noise from low flying aircraft. Over the

three years, it has been encouraging to see that airlines realise the

impact that their aircraft can have over populated areas, and they

are keen to improve. I would like to congratulate the airlines,

NATS and the Airport for their continued work on this project and

the successful partnership that they have developed through

Operation Pathfinder
.
"Additionally, the implementation of Continual Decent Approach

means that residents will be subjected to less noise from arriving

aircraft which is good news for everyone and something that I am

pleased Birmingham Airport has launched as an initiative, as it

demonstrates the company’s commitment to its environmental

promises"
.
John Morris, Head of Corporate and Community Affairs for the

Airport, said: "As many residents are aware, the Airport constantly

strives to be a good neighbour and we often can’t achieve our goals

alone. We are delighted that so many airlines have continued to

take part in the Operation Pathfinder initiative and with the on

track results improving since last year, from 97.79% to 98.37% this

year, it shows how Birmingham Airport is aware of its close

connections with the community, and in working with the airlines

we hope that this can continue"
.
"It is not generally known that the ‘footprint’ for noise disturbance

at Birmingham has been reduced by about three quarters over the

last twenty years or so, and that far fewer people are affected by

us than used to be the case"
.
BIA’s noise and track-keeping monitoring system, ANOMS 8, has

provided the Airport Company with the information for these

awards to take place. ANOMS 8 is an aircraft track-keeping and

noise monitoring system to assist in noise exceedences, off-track

departures, as well as providing detailed maps and sound recordings.

It also offers an advanced database to help the Airport’s

Environment Team monitor and investigate community enquiries,

thus enhancing the Airport’s ability to communicate more

effectively with its neighbours
.
The awards for best practise track-keeping in 2008 -

.
· Swiss International Air Lines: Special Award – improved from 84.1% to 95.4%
· Ryanair: Best track-keeping in category (>200 ATMs)
· Monarch Airlines: Best track-keeping in category (>100 ATMs)
· Brussels Airlines: Best track-keeping in category (>50 ATMs)
.
The following airlines were given awards for participating

in the Operation Pathfinder meetings and providing

invaluable feedback:

.

Flybe, bmibaby, Thomsonfly, Thomas Cook Airlines

The following airlines were given certificates for achieving

a 95% target of "on-track" departures in 2008:

.

Ryanair, Aer Lingus, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, bmibaby,

Monarch Airlines, Thomsonfly, Emirates, Eastern Airways,

Brussels Airlines, Thomas Cook, Lufthansa, Flybe, Air Malta,

City Airline, Air India, Continental Airlines,

Swiss International Air Lines, Brit Air, Loganair

.

Monday 11 May 2009