Cambridge Airport hosts olympics airspace summit

A Cambridge aviation summit is being held in a bid to avert chaos in the clouds during next year’s London Olympics.

Industry players in the UK are already asking whether confusion over a number of aviation-related issues has already cost Britain a golden opportunity.

Cambridge Airport is hosting a clear-the-air summit on Tuesday, September 20 entitled ‘The Practicalities of the Olympics’ for business aviation players.

An industry panel, together with moderator Charles Alcock, international editor of Aviation International News, will discuss some crucial issues facing operators, charter providers, FBOs and the 30-plus UK airports that have been identified to handle business and general aviation flights for the Games.

Issues being addressed include when to start security screening of new employees, the buying in of fuel, provision for aircraft parking and securing ground transportation.

Decisions are also awaited on which airports are going to be declared 24/7 during the Games and how and when operators and charter brokers should go about booking their slots and parking stands at UK airports?

Industry players have been voicing their concern for some time about the stringent restrictions and proposed airspace changes being placed on London to the extent that they are starting to pose the question – has this great opportunity already been missed – or can it be recovered with persuasion to central government?

One concession has been the recent move to reduce the timeframe on full airspace restrictions. It is now July 14 to August 15, 2012. Separate, geographically smaller, airspace restrictions will cover the London 2012

Paralympic Games from August 16 to September 12.

Charles Alcock will also pose the question: Is this the time for business operators to put aside the fact they are competitors and work together for the collective good of Team Great Britain and to showcase business aviation’s winning edge?

During the Olympics all take off and departure slots are to be allocated and slots at peak times will be in heavy demand. On top of their existing day to day activity, the 14 principal business airports in the UK are expected to handle more than 110,000 movements during the 31-day peak period, according to the UK DfT.

The Olympics panel for the Cambridge debate will comprise: Trevor Jones of business aviation operator Gama Aviation, one of the largest charter companies with a worldwide fleet of 80 aircraft; David Macdonald of Air Partner plc, one of the world’s longest established and largest charter providers; Archie Garden of Cambridge Airport; James Cole of Airport Co-ordination Ltd the leader in slot co-ordination which is working closely with DfT and its consultant Atkins on accommodating Olympics traffic.

They will be joined by a senior representative from ExecuJet, which runs eight FBOs in Europe, South Africa and Australasia. They will share their experience handling the Davos World Economic Forums each year and the recent 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

To join Cambridge for this complimentary one hour session at 11am on September 20, register online at www.bgad.aero