Airport's flight apology sparks comment

05 November 2008

LONDON City Airport's apology last week to residents for allowing a plane to depart three-minutes after their cut-off time for flights has provoked comment.

Following the apology some residents and an anti-airport expansion protest group said they had flown 33 minutes after the permitted time.

But a local councillor and Mayor Sir Robin Wales defended the airport - and it has been confirmed the delay was only three minutes. The Recorder has also obtained an extract from the section 106 agreement that the airport signed with Newham Council, which confirms this is the case.

The delayed occured on October 24, several hours after the airport was evacuated by the emergency services for two hours. That evacuation was a result of a substance that was potentially hazardous being found in the toilets. Following the attendance of the London Fire Brigade, it was determined the substance was not actually a risk and the terminal was reopened.

An airport spokeswoman said: "As a result of the closure, a number of flights departing from the airport were either cancelled or delayed. Throughout the evening airport staff worked hard to ensure that passengers, especially those with children, made it to their final destinations.

"An aircraft that was already fully boarded and carrying over 100 passengers was ready to depart at the end of the runway in time for its departure before 10.30pm, but it was delayed at the last minute due to an incoming aircraft. The inbound aircraft had itself been delayed due to the knock-on effect of the day."

She added: "A decision was made to allow the departing aircraft to leave at 10.33pm in order not to further disrupt those families who had already suffered from significant delays.

"We apologise for any disturbance that this caused our neighbours by exceeding our permitted operating hours by three minutes. However, an airport director, with a family of her own, decided the right thing to do was not to ruin the travel plans of the passengers, including young children, through a series of delays that were no fault of their own.

"We thank our neighbours for understanding the circumstances surrounding the incident and for their continued support for London City."

Following an article on the apology on the Newham Recorder website, the Fight The Flights group, which opposes the airport's expansion, criticised the airport's actions, and then the Recorder, for running a story on the apology, without contacting them and residents for a comment.

Anne-Marie Griffin chair of the campaign said: "The legal obligations are there to protect residents." She claimed our website story ridiculed "100,000s of residents" that experience excessive noise levels.

Mrs Griffin and resident Les Reed then claimed the airport's normal operating hours were 7am to 10pm and that the 10 to 10.30pm period was not a standard operating period and therefore the plane took off 33 minutes late.

The Recorder has obtained an extract from the original section 106 agreement the airport signed with Newham Council.

The hours of operation section states the airport operating times for Monday to Friday are 6.30 am to 10pm Mondays to Fridays and 9am and 10pm on Bank holidays, except in the event of an emergency or "for the taking off and landing between 10pm and 10.30pm of an aircraft which was scheduled to take off from or land at the airport before 10pm hours but which has suffered unavoidable operational delays."

Resident Alan Haughton said: "This was a breach of airport security. Nobody has the right to break the 106 guidelines. It does not matter if it was one minute. This was a breach of residents' quiet time. "

Newham councillor Alec Kellaway said this week that accusations about "numerous" flights outside normal hours were "a new attack" on the airport. "I have lived in Beckton since 1984 and have never been aware of large numbers of emergency landings or departures out of hours. One departure minutes after the deadline hardly amounts to a 'continual disregard' does it?"

At last week's full council meeting Cllr Alan Craig registered his opposition to the airport's approved expansion plans. Mayor Sir Robin Wales countered that it had brought jobs and helped alleviate poverty in the south of Beckton.