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Microwave technology to cut Heathrow delays

Wednesday 15 Apr 2009 11:02am

British Airways has claimed that flight delays at Heathrow Airport could be even further reduced with the introduction of innovative microwave-based landing technology. The Microwave Landing System (MLS) has been rolled out at the Heathrow in an effort to improve the timely operation of flights that would normally be delayed or cancelled due to fog. The new system has been developed at a cost of £5 million. The new MLS works by using microwaves instead of the beams of light that are used in Instrument Landing Systems currently. This means that the microwave signals sent out by the new system will not be blocked by fog, allowing aircraft to continue to take off and land on time. The microwave technology has been installed on 29 of British Airways' A320s and A321s already, with further plans to have the technology rolled-out across all of its short-haul flights before extending the initiative to long-haul services. Director of flight operations at BA, Captain Stephen Riley, said: 'This pioneer initiative will mean less disruption and congestion, which is great news for our customers. It will also reduce holding times for aircraft, which will cut unnecessary carbon emissions. ' Without the new system, flights from London Heathrow Airport are disrupted by fog for an average of ten days a year. This announcement follows British Airways' announcement of the launch of new flight services from Heathrow to the former Olympic city of Atlanta in the United States and the popular French city of Toulouse.

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