Whilst this crass last minute decision by the BAA to refuse to allow this tribute flight to operate, has the Idle Man 'spitting feathers' others are close to apoplexy!
At a time when the BAA needs to win friends and influence people, this decision will lose friends and alienate people, well done chaps!
Background and Summary
As the last leg of a successful European Tour that has taken Douglas DC6A G-APSA to Innsbruck, Berlin Tempelhof (prior to the closure of that historic airpot) and Rotterdam, it was planned to operate into London Heathrow.
This was not just any Rotterdam-Heathrow flight, but to commemorate the 40th anniversary on the 7th November 2008 of the last British Eagle Commercial Flight which was also Rotterdam-Heathrow, with an Aircraft delivered to British Eagle in 1958 (Fifty Years ago).
Now operating into the World busiest International Airport requires more planning than the other Airports on the Tour, but as the Aircraft has visited Heathrow in recent years both on Commercial Charter and two previous commemorative flights (including one for BAA), the team planning this flight understood what needed to be done to enable it to go ahead.
Included in this was satisfying Air Traffic Control that the DC6 could conform to the relevant requirement and this was achieved, plus obtaining the required Airport Slots and again these were granted.
In addition the planning was positively helped by BAA Staff who arranged for Landng Fees to be Waived and by Signature Flight Support the Handling Agents who agreed to waive handling fees.
Yet two days ago the BAA withdrew the Airport Slots because they were concerned that the operation of the DC6 at Heathrow was potentially disruptive to normal operations.
As every effort had been made to ensure that the DC6 operation would be no more potentially disruptive than any other Heathrow Flight, this is balderdash!
The DC6 Flight Team News Report In Full
The following is the full News Article from The DC6 Website an Air Atlantique operation:
HEATHROW REFUSES ENTRY
With great regret we must announce that we are no longer able to visit Heathrow this Friday, 7 November. We realise that this will be a bitter disappointment to many people.
Operation into London Heathrow, in common with many large airports, requires the allocation of a slot for each movement. Slots for our intended operation were allocated to us last week, at which point we confirmed with our supporters that we would be making the journey. Yesterday, however, we were advised by a representative of BAA, the airport operator, that these slots were to be withdrawn because they were concerned that the operation of the DC6 at Heathrow was potentially disruptive to normal operations. In the course of several commercial charters into Heathrow in recent years, and two previous commemorative flights (including one for BAA), our experience has been that the DC6 does not cause any inconvenience. Moreover, we were able to demonstrate to the relevant ATC unit that the normal approach speeds and operating procedures of this Public Transport certified airliner were in line with current standards and would require no special treatment. We have had the great pleasure over recent years to visit each of the other capital airports in Europe. Regrettably, this busy international airport felt unable, at the eleventh hour, to agree to our visit.
Our flight this Friday was intended to commemorate the last commercial flight, exactly forty years ago, of a British Eagle aircraft on exactly the same route from Rotterdam to Heathrow. The captain of that original flight was to join us. We had hoped that this would be an uplifting event in these turbulent times, to remind people that flying can still be a fun and romantic endeavour. Unfortunately it appears that commercial priorities, or perhaps a misunderstanding of the nature of the DC6, has caused BAA to decide otherwise. We are tremendously grateful to our handling agent at Heathrow, Signature Flight Support, who generously agreed to sponsor our ground arrangements, and to members of the BAA team who arranged that our landing fees would be waived.
The aircraft will return directly from Rotterdam to Coventry within the next few days. We will publish the times accordingly. This will conclude public flying for this season as the aircraft enters scheduled maintenance on 23 November.
We look forward to an exciting new season in 2009 and to meeting more of you throughout next year.
At a time when the BAA needs to win friends and influence people, this decision will lose friends and alienate people, well done chaps!
Background and Summary
As the last leg of a successful European Tour that has taken Douglas DC6A G-APSA to Innsbruck, Berlin Tempelhof (prior to the closure of that historic airpot) and Rotterdam, it was planned to operate into London Heathrow.
This was not just any Rotterdam-Heathrow flight, but to commemorate the 40th anniversary on the 7th November 2008 of the last British Eagle Commercial Flight which was also Rotterdam-Heathrow, with an Aircraft delivered to British Eagle in 1958 (Fifty Years ago).
Now operating into the World busiest International Airport requires more planning than the other Airports on the Tour, but as the Aircraft has visited Heathrow in recent years both on Commercial Charter and two previous commemorative flights (including one for BAA), the team planning this flight understood what needed to be done to enable it to go ahead.
Included in this was satisfying Air Traffic Control that the DC6 could conform to the relevant requirement and this was achieved, plus obtaining the required Airport Slots and again these were granted.
In addition the planning was positively helped by BAA Staff who arranged for Landng Fees to be Waived and by Signature Flight Support the Handling Agents who agreed to waive handling fees.
Yet two days ago the BAA withdrew the Airport Slots because they were concerned that the operation of the DC6 at Heathrow was potentially disruptive to normal operations.
As every effort had been made to ensure that the DC6 operation would be no more potentially disruptive than any other Heathrow Flight, this is balderdash!
The DC6 Flight Team News Report In Full
The following is the full News Article from The DC6 Website an Air Atlantique operation:
HEATHROW REFUSES ENTRY
With great regret we must announce that we are no longer able to visit Heathrow this Friday, 7 November. We realise that this will be a bitter disappointment to many people.
Operation into London Heathrow, in common with many large airports, requires the allocation of a slot for each movement. Slots for our intended operation were allocated to us last week, at which point we confirmed with our supporters that we would be making the journey. Yesterday, however, we were advised by a representative of BAA, the airport operator, that these slots were to be withdrawn because they were concerned that the operation of the DC6 at Heathrow was potentially disruptive to normal operations. In the course of several commercial charters into Heathrow in recent years, and two previous commemorative flights (including one for BAA), our experience has been that the DC6 does not cause any inconvenience. Moreover, we were able to demonstrate to the relevant ATC unit that the normal approach speeds and operating procedures of this Public Transport certified airliner were in line with current standards and would require no special treatment. We have had the great pleasure over recent years to visit each of the other capital airports in Europe. Regrettably, this busy international airport felt unable, at the eleventh hour, to agree to our visit.
Our flight this Friday was intended to commemorate the last commercial flight, exactly forty years ago, of a British Eagle aircraft on exactly the same route from Rotterdam to Heathrow. The captain of that original flight was to join us. We had hoped that this would be an uplifting event in these turbulent times, to remind people that flying can still be a fun and romantic endeavour. Unfortunately it appears that commercial priorities, or perhaps a misunderstanding of the nature of the DC6, has caused BAA to decide otherwise. We are tremendously grateful to our handling agent at Heathrow, Signature Flight Support, who generously agreed to sponsor our ground arrangements, and to members of the BAA team who arranged that our landing fees would be waived.
The aircraft will return directly from Rotterdam to Coventry within the next few days. We will publish the times accordingly. This will conclude public flying for this season as the aircraft enters scheduled maintenance on 23 November.
We look forward to an exciting new season in 2009 and to meeting more of you throughout next year.
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