Over 3,000 additional BA flights forecast for London during 2012 Olympics

www.london-olympiad.com

British Airways is the official
 airline of the Olympics

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With less than 500 days to go, the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games is expected to welcome up to 70,000 members of the “Olympic Family” and sponsors, as well as 600,000 spectators. 

These large volumes, combined with the increased numbers of Heads of State and VIPs, will mean that the summer months of 2012 will witness some of the busiest periods of air travel ever experienced across London and the South East of England.

To support the Department for Transport (DfT) in preparing for this challenge, Atkins, the UK’s largest engineering and design consultancy, is providing expert airport and aviation advisory services. Early in 2010 Atkins delivered a comprehensive demand forecast for summer 2012 air traffic and undertook a detailed assessment of airport capacity across the South East of England. Forecasts compiled by Atkins indicate a net addition over the peak 31-day period of the Games, of about 240,000 passengers over baseline commercial air passenger numbers. On the peak day, predicted to be 13 August after the

closing ceremony, there are expected to be up to 200 additional departures from the five primary London area airports.

A significant contribution to the additional air traffic demand will be from business and executive aviation flights, forecast to account for over 3000 additional flights in the peak 31-day period.

The DfT subsequently commissioned Atkins to provide a detailed study into the potential demand for, and use of, commercial helicopters across the London area for air transport purposes during the Games. With these studies complete, the DfT, in conjunction with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, has also now launched a brochure, prepared by Atkins, entitled “London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics - Airport Options for Non-Scheduled Flights” which will serve as a guide to airports across the South East, providing detailed information for international dignitaries and entourages that will be flying to the UK to attend the Games.

Flowing from the reports, and in cooperation with the wider aviation community, the Government is proposing to introduce new measures to help control the flow of aircraft in the air and on the ground during the Games period.

The CAA has recently published a number of temporary changes to airspace that will be implemented for summer 2012 and the DfT has completed a consultation on the proposal to implement slot coordination across the majority of airports in the South East of England for the Games period.

Mike Pearson, Airport Development Director, Atkins said, “Our work has shown that London’s airports can handle the air traffic demands of a large international event such as the Olympics and that they offer sufficient capacity and flexibility to accommodate the varying demands that will be imposed. Whilst the current studies have not fully addressed the impact of every possible operational hitch, the early strategic assessment of airport requirements during Games-time allows us to identify and address any potential issues.”

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