Thanks for all the emails and tweets about the jet that took off from Chas 'n' Dave Margate International Airport at around 3pm this afternoon, despite the Europewide ash ban.It appears it was a Meridian Airways DC8 cargo flight, empty and bound for Belgium. As Belgium's not far away, it would have been flying well below the volcanic dust, you'd hope. One reader even called the CAA and got the response:
Air movements are not banned, but banned in restricted airspace. If a plane can fly without central air traffic control, ie NATS, and can see clouds coming, off you go, no probs. Areas such as Heathrow, Gatwick etc have restrictions down to the ground, therefore nothing can fly without authority. The CAA have also enforced this on British carriers from everywhere because they can.
He adds:
A foreign aircraft can therefore land/take off from a pit like Manston because it's effectively cheap, nasty and playing at being a proper airport without ever actually being one. Planes landing at Manston do not need certain type of instruments etc. Just makes you feel safe and cozy inside!
It all rather begs the question, does anyone actually care if one of these crates drops on top of Ramsgate? Or has everyone swallowed KCC leader Paul Carter's crap that 'planes from Manston fly straight out to sea'!?!??!
7 comments:
Have you considered professional help for your airport phobia
Have you considered getting professional help for being a polluting, pointless prick?
As usual, the CAA spouting mindless drivel and thinking they can get away with it because silly little members of the public can't possible understand anything technical.
Over the weekend numerous people complained that they were unable to see the supposed clouds of volcanic dust. Beautiful blue skies all over the South-East. What was the response? They were told that you couldn't see these clouds because they were weren't clouds. The dust was spread throughout the atmosphere and was so diffuse that it wasn't visible.
Now, we read an article in which we are told that it's fine for aircraft to fly as long as they swerve around the clouds.
It's fast becoming apparent that the British people have been taken for a ride and that all of the technobods involved (Met. office, NATS, CAA) have conspired to bamboozle Joe public.
It's really very simple. Either it's safe to fly or it's not. You can't construct an argument that says it's safe for some old crates to fly but not for aircraft with sophisticated instrumentation on board to take to the skies.
Even the airlines are now saying that the safety argument is a load of rubbish. I think a few heads will need to roll over this one.
Blue Skies or not, my car parked in Ramsgate had a thick layer of gritty dust, far more than normal.
The plane you mention took off right above it.
Interesting what Infratil is telling it's New Zealand investors look here
http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/infratil-keeps-eye-impact-uk-airports-121724
"Kent Airport handles a lot of freight aircraft and is a key part of the fresh produce supply chain to the UK, which has been disrupted."
"Shortages of fresh fruit and vegetables have been reported in UK shops.
"We are a key part of that fruit and vegetable supply chain," Mr Fitzgerald said.
Kent Airport handles about 3 million kilograms of fruit and vegetables and flowers a year."
"He does not expect the disruption to have a material impact on Infratil.
"At this stage it is certainly not material from an Infratil point of view and it is probably not overly material for those businesses..." he said.
"There's nothing we can do about a volcanic ash cloud in Europe."
See - it is not a passenger airport it is a freight airport as far as Infratil is concerned but even so it is doing so little business that a week off will have little impact.
Oh dear 7:22pm. It's sooooo easy to wind you up!
I bet this same jet lands late one night then!!!
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