Study Says Airbus Super Jet Poses Airport Traffic Problem

Source: International Herald Tribune
Authors: James Kanter and Don Phillips

PARIS, Sept. 29 — A study by global aviation officials has concluded that the A380 superjumbo jet made by Airbus could slow traffic at already heavily congested airports, a development that could cast another shadow over the European plane maker’s flagship project.

The news came as the chief executive of Airbus, Christian Streiff, met Friday with board members of his parent company, the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company, in Amsterdam to discuss the A380 and plot a new course for the stumbling Airbus operation.

Production of the A380 is more than a year behind schedule as a result of wiring problems and factory bottlenecks. There is no new timetable for the plane.

In the new report, aviation authorities concluded that aircraft taking off or landing behind an A380 would have to wait longer than is currently the case for any other aircraft in service, including Boeing’s 747.

The three-year study showed that the A380, while no greater problem than any other large aircraft in most phases of flight, produces a wake vortex on takeoff and landing that remains potentially dangerous to other aircraft for a longer period than other large aircraft, like the 747.

A wake vortex is air that flows off wingtips and can spin at high speeds for several minutes, particularly in still air.

Larger airliners would have to wait an additional two minutes, and smaller airliners three additional minutes, while taking off behind the A380. On landing, an additional minute would be added, up to three additional minutes for heavy aircraft and four minutes for lighter aircraft like an Airbus A320 or a Boeing 737.

This probably would be no problem at nonpeak flight periods at major airports, but could cause delays during peak periods. Unfortunately, A380 operations would often come at peak periods at these airports because international long-distance flights are often bunched at certain times of the day.

The study noted that there should be no problem for aircraft making simultaneous takeoffs or landings with an A380 on parallel runways as long as those runways are at least 2,500 feet apart. But such landings should be monitored to gain more information, it said.

It was not clear what actual impact the constraints would have, however.