In 2015 the airport committed to introducing a landing approach to Runway 03 that would alleviate a significant number of flights from the north of the airport.  Progress has been slow.  The following is extracted from the councils sub-committee report.

A trial plan for an alternative instrument approach to runway 03 was submitted by Biggin Hill Airport Limited (BHAL) in March 2024 to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) which sought to
overcome the previous concerns of the CAA. The CAA provided an initial response in May 2024, which indicated that they agree that the plan constitutes a valid trial proposal which they are considering. BHAL have since been working with the CAA to provide requested information to inform their decision. A decision is soon expected by the CAA to determine if the trial can proceed, which could see this commence by the end of the year.

If the trial plan proceeds, BHAL are then expected to proceed with an Airspace Change Proposal to request that the alternative approach to runway 03 be made permanent.

In certain weather conditions, approaches to the airport operate using runway 03 as opposed to the standard approach to runway 21 following the Instrument Landing System. The approach to runway 03 is known as the ‘circling approach’ and sees aircraft initially approach from the north and then fly visually to land at the airport from the south on runway 03, which often involves overflying residential areas. The alternative approach to runway 03 proposes approaching the airport initially from the east, flying over more rural areas where there are less residents, to then fly over the airport and come round to land on runway 03 from the south.

The diagram below shows the current runway 03 approach in orange and the proposed approach from the trial plan in purple. The diagram is from the trial plan submitted by BHAL to the CAA titled “Trial of an RNP approach to runway 03 at Biggin Hill Airport”, dated 28 March 2024, which is hosted on the CAA website. It should be noted that the trial of the alternative approach still requires CAA approval.

The circling approach to runway 03 has continued following the CAA decision in December 2022 not to approve the airport’s proposed Instrument Approach Procedure for runway 03 on safety grounds. BHAL’s revised proposal is intended to overcome these concerns using a technical solution. This involves aircraft using Radius to Fix (RF) technology. While most aircraft using the airport and particularly business jets are expected to have this capability, not all aircraft will, which may mean some aircraft will need to continue using the circling approach.

The Council supports the proposed approach.