DAVID LEARMOUNT / LONDON
Row over approach to a Swiss runway through German airspace is becoming international
A dispute over noise restrictions imposed on aircraft approaching Zurich Kloten airport has escalated from a local matter to an international argument. Germany is tightening an already restrictive curfew on aircraft approaching Kloten airport's main landing runway because they fly through southern German airspace.
From 10 July, a German court decision means that aircraft can only use Zurich airport's runway 14 - its main landing runway - if there is fog, according to Kloten's managing company Unique. If visibility is adequate, potential safety considerations such as high winds or use of a short runway in rain would not override the ruling.
The result would be to put pressure on pilots to land in marginal conditions or divert to Berne airport, Unique says. The company says the airport is complying with the German rules, but believes the dispute can be settled "because there are sensible people on both sides".
Meanwhile, the Swiss federal parliament has voted the restriction illegal.
Kloten usually offers runway 14 for landing and 16 for take-off. The approach to runway 14 has an instrument landing system, but the alternative landing runway 10/28 does not and is only 2,500m long, against 14's 3,400m.
On 17 April, Germany extended a 22:00-06:00 curfew on runway 14 approaches to 21:00-07:00. This affects 20 flights, says Unique, and although the traffic downturn is allowing the airport to cope, an indication of the problems it will cause came during the Easter holiday period when delays on some days amounted to "2,500 passenger waiting hours".
Kloten says it already applies maximum pressure to force airlines to use quiet aircraft and procedures by pricing movements according to noise footprints, and that the approach to runway 14 is the one over the least populated areas.
On 24 November 2001, a Crossair BAE Systems Avro RJ100 preparing for a runway 14 ILS approach in poor weather was switched to a non-precision approach to runway 28 because the 22:00 curfew had just passed. The aircraft hit treetops in snow 2.5km from the runway threshold and crashed, killing 24 of the 31 people on board.
Source: Flight International
