The CAA Beacon at Biggin Hill The Airport has a Community Charter which says: the Airport will always seek to act as a good neighbour, maximising the social benefits and minimising the environmental effects of its activities and ensuring it continues to operate efficiently and effectively, and delivers the benefits of aviation to the whole community. Members of the local community and those further afield sometimes ask whether the aircraft over Bromley and South East London are all travelling to and from Biggin Hill. The answer is NO they are NOT, and the reasons are set What is the CAA Beacon? The CAA Beacon at Biggin Hill is a steel structure transmitting signals to aircraft passing overhead en route to and from Heathrow and on departure from Gatwick. It is not part of London Biggin Hill Airport s activities, and does not directly affect the operations of London Biggin Hill Airport. If it were removed it would not alter the basis of our operations at Biggin Hill one bit. If the stack overhead were removed, aircraft departing from London Biggin Hill Airport might be permitted to climb more quickly and higher than our present ceiling of 2,400ft above sea level, delivering added benefits for local residents. out in this Information Sheet. There are two distinct sources of aircraft activity over Bromley: Flights associated with London Biggin Hill Airport itself and; Flights using the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Beacon located on the Airfield. A recent study by the CAA established that over 96% of the flights over Bromley are associated with the Beacon, while less than 4% are aircraft arriving or departing from London Biggin Hill Airport. The study confirmed that the environmental sensitivity of some Bromley residents towards overflying aircraft is frequently blamed incorrectly on London Biggin Hill Airport. History of the Beacon The Beacon, located on the Airport in 1962 by agreement with the RAF, is not part of the Airport and could have been located almost anywhere in South East London. The role of the Beacon is for navigational use by aircraft, particularly those arriving and departing from Heathrow and Gatwick and other airports in the London area. Over the last 10 to 15 years, as Heathrow has become more busy, aircraft increasingly have to hold in the stack prior to landing at Heathrow. Aircraft in the stack are required to circle over Bromley, usually three to five miles North East of Biggin Hill Airport, until Heathrow Air Traffic Controllers call for them to prepare to land at Heathrow. (See charts of the route over Bromley and Croydon attached).
At the same time, aircraft departing from Heathrow and Gatwick are directed past the Beacon and over Bromley generally some four miles North of the Airport. A set of radar traces of aircraft using the stack and those departing from Heathrow are shown overleaf, together with charts showing the height of aircraft at the time. These charts were produced for the Mayor of London by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), and cover a four day period in April 2001. During the four-day CAA study period there were some 940 aircraft movements connected with Heathrow and Gatwick, all passing over Bromley, and only 52 flights arriving and departing from London Biggin Hill Airport itself. Given that the holding aircraft are circling repeatedly while Biggin Hill s arriving and departing aircraft are quickly passing overhead, the relative split of aircraft movements over Bromley is probably closer to 98-99% due to the Beacon and stack and less than 2% flying into London Biggin Hill Airport. If the stack were removed from overhead Bromley, or its use substantially reduced by the introduction of new continuous descent procedures, there would be a very substantial environmental improvement for Bromley residents. Aircraft Heights and Hours Members of the public often confuse aircraft going into or out of Heathrow and Gatwick with those flying into London Biggin Hill Airport. There are substantial differences between the two groups of aircraft but in cloud or at night it is often difficult for some residents to tell the difference. Generally: (i) Aircraft flying into Heathrow are much larger intercontinental airliners whereas aircraft flying into London Biggin Hill Airport are smaller corporate jets and the smaller range of regional passenger and cargo aircraft. (ii) The opening hours at Heathrow and Gatwick are much longer than those at London Biggin Hill Airport, so aircraft early in the morning and late at night are invariably not going to/from Biggin Hill. (iii) Long haul aircraft often arrive early in the morning and before environmental controls at Heathrow allow them to land. So the stack is often busy with aircraft waiting early in the morning and before London Biggin Hill Airport is open. (iv) Aircraft over Bromley going into London Biggin Hill Airport are always descending in a straight line into the Airport. This is a less prolonged and intrusive noise (see charts) than that due to aircraft circling or climbing out of Heathrow and Gatwick. (v) Aircraft into Heathrow are circling in the stack at normally more than 6000 ft above sea level (most of Bromley is 400/600 ft above sea level), but they occasionally fly lower, as you can see from the height charts. (vi) Aircraft departing from London Biggin Hill Airport depart mostly to the East so that they do not fly over Bromley s built up areas (see charts attached). What about the Future of the Stack? The SERAS consultation document from the Department for Transport (DfT) will stimulate debate on proposals concerning air traffic routes into Heathrow and over London. We are advised that trials are already taking place that are expected to reduce noise, emissions and some flying over London through the introduction of continuous descent procedures from further out. Clearly the removal of the stack and its replacement with continuous descent procedures would be beneficial in reducing both noise and emissions for a huge number of residents in south east London. London Biggin Hill Airport will continue to champion the case for change on behalf of residents. Residents will have the opportunity to respond to any proposals within the consultation process following the recent publication of the South East Region Airports Study (SERAS). See www.dft.gov.uk for more information. Information concerning aircraft using London Biggin Hill Airport is contained in our Information Sheets Nos. 1 3. More Information More information is available from:- i) Other information sheets issued by the Airport. ii) Visiting the website www.bigginhillairport.com. iii) Visiting the Airport on an arranged visit, call 01959 578500. iv) Leaving your request on our comments line, call 01959 578580.
v) By visiting Airport open days. vi) Through your representative on the Airport Consultative Committee. Other Leaflets Issued by the Airport Information Sheet No 1 General Information Information Sheet No 2 Serving The Local Community Information Sheet No 6 A Future for Biggin Hill Airport, Meeting the Local Demand to Travel A full set of leaflets can be obtained from the Airport as follows:- London Biggin Hill Airport, Biggin Hill, Kent, TN16 3BN Telephone: 01959 578500 E-mail: enquiries@bigginhillairport.com
The CAA Beacon at Biggin Hill Heathrow Arrivals near Biggin Hill, 20 24 April 2001 Heathrow Departures near Biggin Hill, 20 24 April 2001 Revised January 2005
The CAA Beacon at Biggin Hill Revised January 2005