Olympic Games 2012
For more information on the Games, please contact our Olympic Coordinator on +44 (0)1279 665300 or email olympics@harrodsaviation.com.
General Olympic Information
Studies conducted by the DFT (Department for Transport) have estimated that an extra five hundred thousand people will visit the UK during the 2012 Games. An additional three thousand business jet movements are anticipated on top of the current seven thousand over the thirty one day period. This will include approximately one hundred and twenty Head of State arrivals. Demand is likely to be at its height around the opening and closing ceremonies.
Opening Ceremony 27th July 2012
Closing Ceremony 12th August 2012
Olympic airspace
New temporary areas of controlled airspace have been designed by NATS to create additional capacity and resilience, and to increase the separation between scheduled and private flights.
Further information can be found at: caa.co.uk/olympics
New protocols and changes are being implemented over a two month period between the 13th July to 12th September 2012 to control access, protect capacity and maintain requisite security procedures over the period of the games. Airspace Restrictions are centred on the London Olympic Park and extra security restrictions may be put in place at any time. Aircraft exempt from the Restriction Zone and the Prohibited Zones include Police and Medevac operations and aircraft operating for the Olympic Broadcast Service.
Further information can be found at: – www.airspacesafety.com/olympics
Slot Coordination
From 21st July through to 15th August inclusive, most airports within the South East of the UK will become slot co-ordinated. Slots for Luton and Stansted can be registered now; however these will not be confirmed until 30th November 2011.
Note - Heathrow is likely to declare reduced capacity at certain times during the Olympics period due to peak demand, and are unlikely to be available for ad hoc flights during this period.
Aircraft Parking
We are working closely with the airports operators to maximise all opportunities, ensuring as many aircraft as possible can be parked safely and securely.
Price on application.
Key dates
-
Olympic Torch Arrives in UK 18th May 2012
-
Olympic Villages open 13th July 2012
-
Olympic Games 27th July – 13th August 2012
-
Paralympics 29th August – 9th September 2012
-
Olympic Villages Close 12th September 2012
________________________________________________________________________________________
PROCEDURES AROUND THE MISUSE OF SLOTS DURING THE LONDON OLYMPICS 2012
Introduction - London Olympics 2012
For the period 21st of July 2012 to 15th August 2012 inclusive, the airports listed below will be coordinated, thus for this period, under EU Regulation these airports will also come under the ‘Misuse of Slots Enforcement Code’.
Biggin Hill Fairoaks North Weald
Birmingham Farnborough Old Sarum
Blackbushe Goodwood Peterborough (Conington)
Bournemouth Lee-on-Solent Redhill
Cambridge Leicester Rochester
Chalgrove Lydd (London Ashford) Shoreham
Coventry London Oxford Southend
Damyns Hall Luton Southampton
Denham Manston Stapleford
Dunsfold Northampton Thruxton
Elstree Northolt White Waltham
Wycombe
Misuse of Slots Enforcement Code
The EU Slot Regulations 2004 ((1) Article 14.5) requires Member States to ensure that effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions or equivalent measures are available to deal with the repeated and intentional slot misuse at coordinated airports.
In July 2005 the UK Department for Transport (DfT) consulted with industry stakeholders on the best means of controlling the misuse of slots at the coordinated airports in the UK. (2)
As a result of this consultation, the DfT concluded that a sanctions scheme, including financial sanctions, was necessary and that ACL as the coordinator at the UK’s coordinated airports should administer the scheme.
In April 2006 the DfT published draft 'Misuse of Slots Rules' and 'Procedures and Guidelines', produced jointly by the DfT and ACL, setting out the proposed basis of operation of the scheme. The DfT also published a draft Statutory Instrument to implement the EU Slot Regulations 2004 into UK law. The DfT and ACL held a seminar attended by industry stakeholders to discuss the proposed scheme and invited written submissions.
On 1 January 2007 the Airport Slot Allocation Regulations 2006 (SI 2006 No. 2665 – the ‘UK Regulations’) came into effect which mandated ACL (the coordinator) to adopt an enforcement code to make provision for the manner in which it would enforce the UK Regulations. ACL published the Misuse of Slots Enforcement Code 2007 (the ‘Enforcement Code’) taking into account the views expressed by the industry stakeholders in the previous consultations.
In June 2008 and June 2010 the Enforcement Code was reviewed. In the light of experience, ACL proposed a number of clarifications and improvements to the Enforcement Code and consulted the industry. The Enforcement Code was then updated on both 22 September 2008 and 17 September 2010, taking into account the views expressed by the respondents to the consultation.
Types of Misuse
- The Enforcement Code identifies five common types of misuse that are addressed by the UK Regulations:
- Operation of a series of air services at times significantly different from the allocated slots.
- Operation of an ad hoc air service at times significantly different from the allocated slots.
- The use of a slot in a significantly different way from that indicated at the time of allocation where such use causes prejudice to airport or air traffic operations (eg, operating with a larger aircraft than the slot allocated at a terminal constrained airport, operating at night without an allocation of night movements/night quota, or operating with a noisier aircraft than approved by the Coordinator).
- Operation of an air service without an allocated slot.
- The failure to operate a slot allocated by the coordinator without cancelling it in advance, where the non-operation is not the result of factors beyond the air carrier’s reasonable control, and thereby causing prejudice to airport or air traffic operations.
- Each type of misuse above must be both repeated and intentional before it can be liable for a possible sanction. To be treated as repeated, the misuse should be of the same type at a particular airport within the last six months.
The Enforcement Code also states that this list is not exhaustive and that there may be other forms of slot misuse covered by UK Regulations and the Enforcement Code, or which become identified over time, and which may also need to be addressed in the future
Monitoring/Management of slots over Olympic period
As it is predicted that there will be a significant increase in the demand to use many of the UK South East airports, the management and On Time Performance of slots held at all the coordinated airports is paramount to avoid potential disruption to the operation of controlled airspace. This will be achieved in three parts;
The matching of flight plans to airport slots
It is proposed that flight plans will be matched to confirmed airport slots. Where discrepancies exist an automatic warning messages will be sent to the originator, advising that corrective action is necessary. If no corrective action is undertaken by a specified time prior to the IOBT, the flight plan will be suspended.
Slot Monitoring
The current process of slot monitoring undertaken for Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Stansted and London City will be extended to the temporarily coordinated airports for the period 21st of July 2012 to 15th August 2012 inclusive. Actual flight performance at all the airports will be asseted against the cleared airport slot. Any outstanding significant discrepancies will be queried by ACL with the operator concerned. If following this communication the explanation is unsatisfactory further action under the sanctions scheme will be taken against the air carrier concerned.
Fines
Given the expected high demand, any misuse of slots could cause severe disruption to either airports or the UK’s airspace, therefore, there is a high probability that any fines issued will be high during the Olympic period (fines can be up to £20,000 pounds sterling per operation)
Proposed temporary change to the sanctions scheme (21st of July 2011 – 13th of August 2011 inclusive)
For the period of the Olympics, a proposal will be made to temporarily change the sanction scheme to allow the possibility of imposing fines where two (or more) slot misuses occur at different airports, rather than being ‘repeated’ at a particular airport.
Consultation on the proposed temporary change will be made very shortly.
(1) Regulation (EC) No 793/2004 amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 95/93 on common rules for the allocation of slots at Community airports
(2) The UK’s coordinated airports are Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Manchester and London City.
First Avenue
London Stansted Airport
Stansted | Essex
CM24 1QQ
UK
T +44 (0) 1279 665 300
F +44 (0) 1279 665 304
Send an email 
