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Flights over Berlin will fly at higher altitudes
Berlin, 27/9/2010 - DFS presents outline of flight procedures to the State Secretaries DFS representatives presented an outline of the flight procedures for the hub airport of Berlin-Brandenburg International (BBI) at the invitation of the State Secretaries Maria Krautzberger and Rainer Bretschneider from the Berlin and Brandenburg Ministries of Transport. The aim of this meeting was to give all participants a precise picture of the planned flight procedures and to discuss the next steps. The procedures planners of DFS explained the background, development and requirements of flight procedures planning to the members of the Noise Abatement Commission and mayors of neighbouring communities. Afterwards, there was a questions and answers session. DFS had presented the first basic outline on 6 September before the Noise Abatement Commission. An emotional discussion followed about the routes to be flown by aircraft after departure. DFS is tasked to develop flight procedures in order to guide the aircraft to the route network. The head of the DFS branch in Berlin, Hans Niebergall, emphasised that it was in the best interest of all involved to return to a factual discussion. Defining routes in consultation with citizens The present route model is not final. The Noise Abatement Commission is by law the committee established to represent the citizens. DFS included the commission in its planning process earlier than envisaged by the legislative process for defining new flight routes. Thus, the commission will have sufficient time to analyse the routes before consultation ends in August 2011. During the consultation period, the commission will make recommendations on how to protect the population against aircraft noise. This may also entail changes to flight procedures. After consulting the Noise Abatement Commission, DFS will deliberate on the course of action. Besides safety, operational requirements and capacity, noise abatement is also an important consideration. The final procedure drafts will be sent to the Federal Supervisory Authority for Air Navigation Services (BAF) in addition to an analysis of possible variants. After examining the different variants, the BAF will define the final routes in consultation with the Federal Environment Agency and the Federal Ministry of Justice shortly before Berlin-Brandenburg Airport opens on 3 June 2012. Flight routes are not decided in the zoning procedure Due to this stringent legislative process, it makes sense that flight procedures can only be presented close to the time at which the airport is scheduled to begin operations. More than ten years may easily pass between application, zoning decision and expansion of an airport. During this time, the criteria for flight procedures planning can change from a legal, operational and practical point of view. For this reason, it was stated in the zoning decision of 2004 that statements by DFS on possible flight procedures were only temporary and non-binding. The deviation from the linear parallel departures (“dependent parallel departures”) was a result of the 1998 requirement to perform simultaneous, independent departures from parallel runways in order to avoid delays in departures during traffic peaks. Simultaneous independent departures from parallel runways are based on a provision of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) according to which parallel flight paths are not permissible. Instead, there must be at least 15 degrees’ difference between the flight paths of the departure routes. The approval authority was informed by DFS at the time about this deviation. Fewer flights and at higher altitudes over Berlin The departures routes presented entailed aircraft flying over the city centre of Berlin at approximately 3,000 metres or higher, assuming a similar climb profile as that presently observed at both Berlin airports. Today, departures from Tegel fly over the city of Berlin at 2,000 to 2,500 metres. Aircraft fly over the localities of Teltow and Wannsee at a minimum of 1,700 metres and 2,000 metres, respectively. When BBI begins operating, departures to the west would fly over Teltow at approximately 2,000 and Wannsee at 2,300 metres or higher. Arrivals to Tegel Airport currently fly over Teltow and Wannsee at a minimum of 1,000 to 1,300 metres. The planned flights from BBI would in the future fly over the city of Berlin at higher altitudes from both runways (east and west). The closure of Tegel Airport upon the opening of BBI would also mean fewer flights over Berlin city. The assumption is that the west and south will be the primary flight destinations. Given the location of Berlin-Schönefeld Airport to the south of the city, the route towards the north over the city would be infrequently used. However, this information is not final. Alternative routes may arise from the consultation in the Noise Abatement Commission. It is, however, a fact that Berlin-Brandenburg Airport, as the airport of the capital city, will open soon and will involve air traffic. How the aircraft will ultimately join the route network has to be decided in the deliberations process in consultation with the Noise Abatement Commission. DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH, the German air navigation service provider, is a State-owned company under private law and has 5,800 employees. DFS ensures the safe and punctual flow of air traffic over Germany. Staff coordinate up to 10,000 aircraft movements in German airspace every day, and nearly three million movements every year. This makes Germany the country with the highest traffic volume in Europe. DFS operates control centres in Langen, Bremen, Karlsruhe and Munich. In addition, DFS is represented in the Eurocontrol Centre in Maastricht, the Netherlands, and in the control towers of the 16 international German airports. DFS provides training and consultancy services around the world and develops and sells air traffic management systems, surveillance systems and navigation aids. The company's portfolio also comprises flight-relevant data, aeronautical publications and aeronautical information services. DFS has the following business units: Control Centre, Tower, Aeronautical Solutions and Aeronautical Information Management.
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