13 October 2015
The Daily Telegraph says RAF Northolt airfield is unsafe according to a classified Ministry of Defence report obtained by the paper.
“Dangers to existing operations at RAF Northolt, London, are so serious it could not be licensed in its current form by the aviation authorities,” the Telegraph reports. “It is able to operate only under dispensation as a Government aerodrome.”
Northolt is the base for the RAF’s 32 (The Royal) Squadron, which operates a fleet of BAE 146 executive jets for military commanders, ministers and the Royal Family. The MoD report points out that the airfield is surrounded by substantial numbers of buildings, including blocks of flats, an industrial estate and petrol station, some just a few feet under the undercarriage of landing aircraft.
The Telegraph includes comments from Will Curtis, managing director of Biggin Hill Airport which competes with Northolt for business aviation flights.
“The safety of the travelling public, flight crews and local residents is at very serious risk,” said Curtis to the Telegraph. “Such a situation couldn’t possibly exist at any civilian aerodrome. The margins of safety that are normally assured for civilian aircraft are absent here.”
