LHR

[Sysman]

Came back from the US last year, 2 hour turn around to get my connection "no probs" I thought, spent 3 hours in a snaking queue to get my bag searched multiple times.

That reminds me of one departure from Heathrow which was delayed. Needed a pee but due to construction works no bog available without going out and then through security and passport control again.

 

[Bacchus]

This is not based on statistical probability unfortunately.

Basically you talk a lot of tulip on the issue.

In June 1972 BEA flight 548 crash landed in a field near Staines shortly after take-off killing all 118 people on board. This was Britain's worst air disaster until a terrorist bomb knocked Pan Am flight 103 out of the sky over Lockerbie, killing 259 people on board, but only 11 on the ground as Lockerbie is a relatively sparsely populated area. In January 2008 BA flight 38 ("Speedbird 38") crashed short of the runway at Heathrow after ice crystals restricted the fuel supply.

It is a personal opinion, I am not a statistician by trade, but aircraft can and do go wrong. It is rare but they crash. If you couple this fact with (currently) around half a million flight movements in and out of Heathrow, it is not a case of "if" a flight crashes into a densely populated area, but "when"

Luckily we have an "idiot savant" in our midst to point out, with no substantiation whatsoever, that I'm wrong... oh, hang on, you're not a savant?

 

[swamp]

Heathrow is in a near-perfect location. It's a regional airport, a big city airport and a national hub. And it's conveniently located at the nexus of Britain's motorway network.

Boris Island, OTOH, would be stuck in the middle of nowhere. Nobody would be able to get there to fly unless they have their own boat or plane. It would be an expensive version of Montréal–Mirabel.

 

[Robinho]

In June 1972 BEA flight 548 crash landed in a field near Staines shortly after take-off killing all 118 people on board. This was Britain's worst air disaster until a terrorist bomb knocked Pan Am flight 103 out of the sky over Lockerbie, killing 259 people on board, but only 11 on the ground as Lockerbie is a relatively sparsely populated area. In January 2008 BA flight 38 ("Speedbird 38") crashed short of the runway at Heathrow after ice crystals restricted the fuel supply.

It is a personal opinion, I am not a statistician by trade, but aircraft can and do go wrong. It is rare but they crash. If you couple this fact with (currently) around half a million flight movements in and out of Heathrow, it is not a case of "if" a flight crashes into a densely populated area, but "when"

Luckily we have an "idiot savant" in our midst to point out, with no substantiation whatsoever, that I'm wrong... oh, hang on, you're not a savant?

I'm actually an amateur pilot.

As you have pointed out, nobody on the ground was killed in these incidents in 40 years.

Aircraft very rarely fall out of the sky suddenly without prior warning, particularly today, and if it was in trouble, it wouldn't be routed across central London, it'd probably fly into one of the other London airports.

Even if a plane did crash on approach, the amount of fatalities on the ground is unlikely to be more than 5% of the people on the plane.

There are plenty of approach paths across major cities around the world and whilst naturally it is more dangerous than flying across fields, there's statistically very little relevance.

 

[Moscow Mule]

LHR

I don't see any problem with expanding Gatwick to 4 runways, other than the locals.

 

[swamp]

I don't see any problem with expanding Gatwick to 4 runways, other than the locals.

Too far from London. And Crawley probably not up to the job of supplying the extra staff.

 

[Robinho]

Too far from London. And Crawley probably not up to the job of supplying the extra staff.

The Gatwick express can get you in quick enough.

 

[Gruffalo]

Airplane landed late so missed my bus, snow my arse - cancelled airplanes but super massive queue at the passport control!!!

Last trains canned - had to enjoy my stay at Euston's Travelodge, last room in the hotel apparently for £82 - saw note on the wall there: Wilmslow was here 2012.

I was there in 2010 - absolutely shocking hotel, the lower rooms are stinking of damp, the windows don't open and it has the worst aircon system in the world.

A hot, damp miserable place.

 

[AtW]

I was there in 2010 - absolutely shocking hotel, the lower rooms are stinking of damp, the windows don't open and it has the worst aircon system in the world.

A hot, damp miserable place.

Better than sleeping rough in Hyde Park

 

[MarillionFan]

Landed 40 minutes ago. Sitting on a plane after travelling 6000 miles with its engines turned off in a huge queue as they cannot quite workout how to get the last 800 yards into a bay. FFS