Coventry and Birmingham Airport clash at planning inquiry
29.06.06
Coventry Airport's plans for a 'swanky new terminal', to be used by just one peak-time morning flight (according to a model produced by the airport), have been condemned by its local rival as unrealistic.
The resumption of a public inquiry this week heard Birmingham International Airport's (BIA) lawyers claim that the proposed expansion at Coventry Airport would lead to increased air traffic and flight delays. However, fears about increased safety risks caused by the growth in air traffic above the West Midlands were dismissed by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), who said they could be overcome if the two rivals worked together.
The inquiry is considering Coventry's plans for a permanent terminal at the airport - now called West Midlands International Airport (WMIA) - capable of handling 2 million passengers a year. BIA opposes planning permission for the terminal, at Baginton, because of fears it will hinder its own plans for a second runway.
At the inquiry John Steel, QC, for BIA, told the inquiry inspector Neil Roberts that both airports had been asked to provide a model showing possible scenarios for sharing airspace in the future. He accused WMIA of providing an incorrect model, as it claimed it would only see 1 flight depart during the busiest time of the day, from 07:00 - 09:00.
'We believe that is unrealistic and we believe that evidence has been given to us, that the airport is not looking to stay there with a swanky new terminal and have no movements in the busiest part of the morning,' he said.
According to a BIA-commissioned report by the National Air Transport Service (NATS), and based on predicted WMIA growth by 2014, Coventry's expansion would lead to delays of up to 2.3 minutes per flight at BIA at peak times. However, a report by Philip Roberts, the assistant director of air space policy for the CAA's Directorate of Airspace Policy, said it was possible for both airports to share the same airspace safely, without delays.
The CAA report says that: '..based on the results of the simulations conducted and the material produced by both BIA and WMIA, the airspace in the Midlands area can safely accommodate operations from both BIA and WMIA up to the two million passengers per annum anticipated as a result of the planning application under consideration by the inspector.'
To ensure levels of safety, the CAA said any delay would be manageable if the airports worked together to introduce changes, for example scheduling changes or by reducing the time delay between flight take-off from 5 nautical miles to 3. This would mean the time delay between two flights taking off would be reduced in line with aviation standards.
The inquiry continues.
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