Heathrow Trial Enters Full Operational Service
A trial to cut aircraft holding times at
Heathrow Airport has been so successful
that the procedure has now entered
permanent operational service. Known
as cross-border arrivals management – or
XMAN – it sees NATS controllers in the
UK working with those in the surrounding
airspace in France, Ireland, Belgium and the
Netherlands to slow aircraft down up to 350
miles (563km) away from London in order to
minimise holding times on arrival.
Heathrow is scheduled at 98% capacity
and relies on the continuous ow of traffic
that the stacks provide, although NATSalways aims to minimise the amount of time
aircraft spend in them. Traditionally, NATS
could only in uence an aircraft’s approach
once it entered UK airspace, which can be
only 80 miles (129km) from the airport. This
previously limited the chance to manage the
inbound ow of traffic. Absorbing delay in
the en route phase, when aircraft are higher
and more efficient, saves fuel and reduces
CO 2 emissions while minimising noise for
the communities living beneath the stacks.
The project is an inter-FAB (Functional
Airspace Block) collaboration between the
UK-Ireland FAB and FABEC (FunctionalAirspace Block Europe Central). It is led
by NATS at Swanwick and Prestwick in
partnership with DSNA (direction des
services de la Navigation aérienne)
in France, the Irish Aviation Authority,
EUROCONTROL in Maastricht and
Heathrow Airport and is part of a broader
strategy to eliminate stack holding for
Heathrow in the longer term. XMAN is a
key SESAR (Single European Sky ATM
Research) concept as part of the Single
European Sky initiative, which will require
24 airports across Europe to deploy XMAN
procedures by 2024. David J SmithPurple Promotion
Emirates has celebrated its partnership with
Spanish football club Real Madrid by applying
a large decal of six of the club’s players on
Airbus A380-861 A6-EOA (c/n 159). Cristiano
Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Sergio Ramos, James
Rodríguez, Karim Benzema and Marcelo
feature on both sides of the aircraft with the
entire decal covering more than 5,382sq ft
(500m^2 ). The Dubai-based airline is RealMadrid’s shirt sponsor and the decals will
remain on the aircraft for six months.
In other news, Emirates will upgrade
its EK39/40 service between Dubai and
Birmingham to an Airbus A380 from March- The two-class A380 has 557 seats in
Economy Class and 58 in Business Class
and replaces the Boeing 777 on the ight.
The upgrade will increase daily capacity by
15% and means the carrier offers 77 A
ights into the UK each week.
Emirates has also announced plans to retire
26 aircraft this year, including 12 Airbus A330-
300s, four A340-300s, an A340-500, six Boeing
777-200ERs, two 777-300s and a 777-300ER.
Another 13 aircraft will be retired in 2017 and
13 more in 2018. Meanwhile it will acquire 20
A380s and 16 777-300ERs this year.Emirates Airbus A380-861 A6-EOA visited Düsseldorf on December 17 wearing its new Real Madrid decals. Marcus SteideleCIVIL NEWS
6 Aviation News incorporating Classic Aircraft February 2016Real Madrid Flying High
Flybe is promoting Cancer Research UK’s Kids & Teens campaign on Embraer 195 G-FBEM (c/n
19000204), courtesy of this striking design by Meg Clark. The ve-year-old from Kent won a
UK-wide art competition run by the airline in support of the charity, and her design was applied
to the jet by Airbourne Colours at East Midlands in early December. Nik FrenchCathay Heads
for Gatwick
Cathay Paci c Airways will launch a non-stop
service between Hong Kong and London
Gatwick Airport on September 2, subject
to government approval. The ight will be
operated by the airline’s new Airbus A350-
900 aircraft and will arrive at Gatwick’s South
Terminal. Flight CX349 is due to arrive at
Gatwick at 0710hrs and depart for Hong
Kong as CX344 at 1235hrs on a Monday,
Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. In the winter
the service will arrive at Gatwick at 0550hrs
and depart at 1135hrs.06-08_10_civil.JR.mf.JR.mfJRDC.indd 6 08/01/2016 14: