London City Airport's (LCY's) largest operator, British European, is pressing Bombardier to increase its efforts to clear the Dash 8 Q400 turboprop for operations at the airport.
The Exeter, UK-based airline is set to receive the first of four of the 78-seaters in July, and says that it may expand the fleet if approval can be gained for LCY operations with a maximum passenger load. British European understands that calculations carried out by the manufacturer to date conclude that the payload would be reduced by around 10 passengers.
Bombardier says the Q400 could be certificated to operate into LCY's short 1,199m (3,934ft) runway, but there are no plans to seek approval. "We think it can be done, but it's really not a high priority," says the company. It says flight trials to demonstrate the Q400's ability to demonstrate a 5.5° approach (plus a 2° buffer) would be required. The manufacturer also acknowledges that the stretched fuselage of the Q400 may create a challenge for pilots in avoiding tail scrapes at London City "during the transition from approach, through the flare to touchdown".
Augsburg Airways, which flies the smaller Dash 8s into the airport, recently took its first two Q400s, but has no immediate plans to operate the model into LCY.
Source: Flight International
