Visiting Aircraft Log and Movements Review -JANUARY 2016

[viscount]

THE LJLA VISITING AIRCRAFT LOG
- JANUARY 2016

						
	To complete December 2015:					
						
G-JUDE	Robin Dr.400/180 Regent	arr Tues 1.12, would appear to be still here			
M-FRZN	Challenger 601		arr Sun 27.12, to Grenoble 01/1340.			
						
	Friday, 1st January 2016					
						
	First movement of the New Year, was provided by Merseyflight's Cherokee G-BSLU landing at 0014 (had departed 31/2345).					
	First commercial arrival, EI192 A.320 EI-EDP at 0734, which was also the first commercial departure EI193 at 0822.					
																
G-TAAS	Agusta AW.109SP Grand	1110	1137	f&t private location(s)	HLE 77/77A    Air Ambulance
G-VIPY	PA-31-350 Chieftain	1448	1515	f&t Isle of Man	        EGL 99L/99M	
						
	Saturday, 2nd January					
						
G-ZIPE	Agusta AW.109E Power	1051	1733	f&t private location(s)		
G-GMPX	MDH MD-900 Explorer	1533	G/A	to Barton	        UKP 151	
G-IASA	Beech B200 King Air	1753	1955	Roskilde-DTV	        MDI 4	      Air Ambulance Flt?
G-RJXG	Embraer RJ-145EP	1757 03/1209	Stansted-Tallinn	BMR 8901/7002 BMR, LFC i/b from West Ham
G-EMBI	Embraer RJ-145EP	1818 03/2032	f&t Stansted	        BMR 8512/8513 bmiRegional, Spurs to play EFC
						
	Sunday, 3rd January 2016					
						
EC-KHN	Airbus A.320-216	0827	0917	f&t Barcelona	        VLG 8738/8739 Vueling, final Xmas extra
D-CNOC	Citation 560 XLS	1333 04/0923	Marrakech-Geneva	ATL 103	
G-CIEL	Citation 560 XL Excel	1339	1927	f&t Luton	        LNX 08CE      football related?
OE-LIR	Dornier 328	        1349	1539	Sion-Innsbruck	        WLC 676L      Welcome, private charter i/b
G-MEGN	Beech B200 King Air	1447	1536	Cardiff-Isle of Man	CBM 88	
9A-JSC	Citation 525A CJ2	1933 06/1222	Osijek-Belgrade	        JSY 038C/052C	
						
	Monday, 4th January					
						
EI-FOB	Boeing 737-8AS	        0759	0844	f&t Dublin	        RYR 442/443   Ryanair, new aircraft
G-PRPD	DHC-8-Q402 Dash Eight	1138	1231	f&t Edinburgh	        BEE 163/164   Flybe, new a/c still in former c/s
G-JANN	PA-34-220T Seneca III	1459 06/1428	f&t St.Athan		
						
	Tuesday, 5th January					
						
G-ZVIP	Beech 200 King Air	0857	0921	Exeter-Wick	        EGL 517	
G-VIPY	PA-31-350 Chieftain	1040	1343	f&t Isle of Man    	EGL 99L/99M	
G-YDEA	DA.42 Twin Star	        1241	1549	Gamston-Edinburgh	WKT 3	
M-ABEU	Lear Jet 45	        1901	2025	f&t Limoges	        RYR 01	
D-CAAM	Dornier Do.228-212	2143	2244	Poznan-Zweibrucken	AZE 22B	      Arcus Air, likely freight
						
	Wednesday, 6th January					
						
ZH002	PBN-2T Defender AL.1	0445	0542	DSA-Belfast	        AAC 533	
G-ZIOO	Agusta AW.109SP	        0902	1208	f&t Northolt	        RRR 1797      RAF, 32 Sqdn, c/s 'Ascot 1797'
EI-ESW	Boeing 737-8AS	        1006	1133	Oporto-Stansted         RYR 85QR/834  Ryanair, Dvt due ??
ZM406	Airbus A.400M Atlas C.1	1056	G/A 27	to Brize Norton	        BDN 52	      RAF, c/s 'Gauntlet 52'
D-CFLY	Citation 560 XLS	1353	1647	Madrid-Luxembourg	AHO 158Q/777	
ZA705	BV Chinook HC.4	        1446	1544	Odiham-Edinburgh	SHF 525	      RAF, c/s 'Vortex 525'
						
	Thursday, 7th January					
						
YU-BUU	Citation 525A CJ2	0809	0911	f&t Belgrade		
G-VIPY	PA-31-350 Chieftain	1031	1242	Isle of Man-Exeter	EGL 99L/07P   a/c swop-over
G-VIPW	PA-31-350 Chieftain	1052	1229	Exeter-Isle of Man	EGL 07P/99M   a/c swop-over
G-UMMI	PA-31-310 Turbo Navajo	1400	1450	f&t Northolt	        Jasper 70	
ZD792	Panavia Tornado GR.4	1647	G/A 27	to Marham	        MRH 61	      RAF, c/s 'Marham 61'
						
	Friday, 8th January					
						
G-VIPW	PA-31-350 Chieftain	1007	1118	f&t Isle of Man	        EGL 99l/99M	
F-GVYC	Citation 560 XLS	1051	1700	f&t Lille		
G-RJXM	Embraer RJ-145MP	1141	1230	Bristol-Exeter	        BMR 9441/8910 BMR, LFC to Exeter in FA Cup
G-WVIP	Beech B200 King Air	1621	1634	Wick-Exeter	        EGL 517	
G-VIPW	PA-31-350 Chieftain	1841	1909	f&t Isle of Man    	EGL 99R/99S	
G-VIPW	PA-31-350 Chieftain	2046	2116	f&t Isle of Man   	EGL 99T/99U	
N45JE	Gulfstream 5	        2309 11/1617	Bedford Hanscom Field,USA-Dublin		
						
	Saturday, 9th January					
						
G-RJXM	Embraer RJ-145MP	0007	0102	Exeter-Bristol	        BMR 8911/9451 BMI Regional, LFC returning
ZH874	C-130J Hercules C.4	1507    G/A 09	to Newcastle	        RRR 76	      RAF, c/s 'Ascot 76'
YU-BUU	Citation 525A CJ2+	1830 10/1903	Belgrade-Strasbourg		
M-ABEU	Lear Jet 45	        1947	2024	f&t Stansted	        RYR 01	
						
	Sunday, 10th January 2016					
						
G-FLYW	Beech B200 King Air	1050	1446	Haverfordwest-Heathrow	PYN 1	
G-VIPW	PA-31-350 Chieftain	1410	1222	f&t Isle of Man	        EGL 99L/99M	
G-VIPW	PA-31-350 Chieftain	1824	1856	f&t Isle of Man	        EGL 99R/99S	
						
	Monday, 11th January					
						
N721KJ	Gulfstream 4	        0738	1400	Philadelphia NE,USA-Luton		
G-WVIP	Beech B200 King Air	0850	0911	Exeter-Wick	        EGL 517	
						
	Tuesday, 12th January					
						
G-OXLS	Citation 560 XLS	0749	1601	f&t Guernsey	        HGR 818	
G-SASC	Beech B200C King Air	1730	2004	f&t Aberdeen	        GMA 958       likely Air Ambulance flt
						
	Wedesday, 13th January					
						
G-SYES	Robinson R.66	        0856    1442	f&t private location(s)	HLL 1	      & local flt.
G-VIPW	PA-31-350 Chieftain	1001	1217	f&t Isle of Man	        EGL 99L/99M	
ZK037/AB  BAe. Hawk T.2         1420	G/A 27	to Valley	        Virus 1	
N363JR	PA-46-500TP Meridian	1438 14/0903	f&t Ostend		              football related?
M-RLEE	Beech C90GTi King Air	1625 14/1009	f&t North Weald		              football related
G-BRBW	PA-28 Cherokee 140	1716	G/A	to Blackpool		              Air Navigation & Trading
G-SPUR	Citation 550 II	        1722	2326	f&t Luton	        LNX 36PU      football related
LN-SSS	Citation 680 Sovereign	1739	2256	DTV-Oslo/Gardermoen	MDT 5	
G-SJSS	Challenger 605	        1830	2246	Northolt-Luton		
G-RJXM	Embraer RJ-145MP	2212	2359	Bristol-Luton	        BMR 9402/8503 BMR, Arsenal FC o/b
						
	Thursday, 14th January					
						
G-VIPW	PA-31-350 Chieftain	1026	1318	f&t Isle of Man	        EGL 99L/99M	
G-VIPW	PA-31-350 Chieftain	1500	1702	f&t Isle of Man	        EGL 99R/99S	
ZK012	BAe. Hawk T.2	        1732	G/A	to Valley	        VYT 51	
9H-DDJ	Lear Jet 75	        2039 17/0105	f&t Luton	        KER 02	
						
	Friday, 15th January  (runway ice closed 27 for an hour in morning, 2 flights dvt to MAN and later returned)				
						
ZH884	C-130J Hercules C.5	0741	G/A	to Brize Norton	        RRR 120	
N980RJ	Cirrus SR.22T	        1001	1331	f&t Cumbernauld		
YL-PSB	Boeing 737-8Q8	        1006 17/2116	f&t Keflavik	        PRW 187/188   Primera, city break & match chtr
G-VIPW	PA-31-350 Chieftain	1037	1528	f&t Isle of Man	        EGL 99L/99M	
G-WVIP	Beech B200 King Air	1354	1424	Exeter-Prestwick	EGL 87L	
G-OGUN	AS.350B2 Ecureuil	1642	1745	f&t private location(s)		
						
	Saturday, 16th January					
						
G-LEAA	Citation 510 Mustang	0758	0835	Luton-Blackpool	        LNX 05AA	
G-VIPW	PA-31-350 Chieftain	1041	1204	f&t Isle of Man     	EGL 99P	
G-VIPW	PA-31-350 Chieftain	1515	1723	f&t Isle of Man   	EGL 99L/99M	
D-EIBO	Cessna P.210N	        1905 17/1756	Biggin Hill-Dortmund		
EI-ESV	Boeing 737-8AS	        2139	2305	Lanzarote-LBA    	RYR 1CX/247   Ryanair, Leeds dvt, due snow
G-EZOV	Airbus A.320-214	2359	based	Larnaca-based    	EZY7156/based EasyJet, fv new aircraft
						
	Sunday, 17th January 2016					
						
OH-LKO	Embraer RJ-190-100LR	0938	1115	Helsinki-Manchester	FIN 933	      Finnair, MAN dvt due snow
TF-LLX	Boeing 757-256	        1053	1245	Keflavik-Manchester	ICE 440	      Icelandair, MAN dvt, congestion
G-LEAA	Citation 510 Mustang	1058	1738	f&t Dublin	        LNX 84AA      football related
M-RLEE	Beech C90GTi King Air	1126	1727	North Weald-Luton		      football related
G-ZXZX	Lear Jet 45	        1211	1716	f&t Farnborough	        GMA 248	      football related
G-VIPW	PA-31-350 Chieftain	1235	1430	f&t Isle of Man  	EGL 99L/99M	
G-JTHU	Agusta AW.109SP   	1242	1707	f&t Denham		              football related
D-CRON	Citation 560 XLS	1317 18/1112	Speyer-Munich    	SCR 762	
G-SPUR	Citation 550 II	        1609	1713	Luton-Northolt   	LNX 88PU      likely football related
G-VIPW	PA-31-350 Chieftain	1620	1815	f&t Isle of Man   	EGL 99R/99S	
						
	Monday, 18th January					
						
G-WVIP	Beech B200 King Air	0850	0938	Exeter-Wick	        EGL 517	
G-MOAL	Agusta A.109SP Power	1134	1616	f&t private location(s)		      confusingly replaces G-MAOL!
G-SJSS	Challenger 605	        1537	1613	Northolt-Farnborough		
ZK019	BAe. Hawk T.2	        1734	G/A	to Valley	        VYT 69	
						
	Tuesday, 19th January					
						
D-CNAF	SA.227AC Metro III	0116	1302	Katowice-Lydd	        BID 10B/10A   Bin Air, likely freight
G-OGGM	Cirrus SR.22	        0847	0903	Blackpool-Norwich		
G-VIPX	PA-31-350 Chieftain	1037	1059	f&t Isle of Man  	EGL 99L/99M	
EI-FMK	ATR.72-212A	        1045	1141	f&t Isle of Man 	BEE 603/604   Flybe, substitute Stobard a/c
G-VIPX	PA-31-350 Chieftain	1237	1257	f&t Isle of Man 	EGL 99R/99S	
G-BOYV	PA-28R-201T  Arrow III	1242	based	delivery from Tollerton		      resident with Locmac Aviators
G-UROP	Beech 95-B55 Baron	1244	1347	Bourn-Shobdon		              collecting delivery pilot?
G-OGGM	Cirrus SR.22	        1631	1647	Norwich-Blackpool		
EI-FMK	ATR.72-212A	        1640	1803	f&t Isle of Man	        BEE 607/608   Flybe, substitute Stobard a/c
M-YTOY	EMB-500 Phenom 100	1730 20/0710	Altenrhein-Cologne		
ZK021	BAe. Hawk T.2	        1737	G/A	to Valley	        VYT 67	
G-FBJB	Embraer ERJ-175-200STD	1846	1946	f&t Isle of Man	        BEE 609/610   Flybe, substitute a/c type
						
	Wednesday 20th January					
						
EI-FMK	ATR.72-212A	        0740	0830	f&t Isle of Man  	BEE 601/602   Flybe, substitute Stobard a/c
M-ABGV	Lear Jet 45	        1010	1038	f&t Dublin      	RYR 02	      training mission
G-VIPX	PA-31-350 Chieftain	1030	1052	f&t Isle of Man  	EGL 99L/99M	
G-IPLY	Citation 550 II	        1356	1504	Gloucester-Ibiza	XJC 66Y	
G-VIPX	PA-31-350 Chieftain	1401	1647	f&t Isle of Man  	EGL 99R/99S	
HB-JYG	Airbus A.319-111	1407	1727	f&t Geneva      	EZY 7284/7291 EasyJet, cover a/c (once G-EZGN)
G-FBEG	Embraer ERJ-195-200LR	1508 21/0015	f&t Exeter      	BEE 8001/8002 Flybe, Exeter FC, FA Cup replay
ZK027	BAe. Hawk T.2	        1607	G/A	to Valley        	VYT 72	
ZK028	BAe. Hawk T.2	        1737	G/A	to Valley       	VYT 52	
ZK019	BAe. Hawk T.2	        1803	G/A 09	to Valley       	VYT 94	
M-YTOY	EMB-500 Phenom 100	1822	1903	Cologne-Blackpool		
						
	Thursday, 21st January					
						
G-FBLK	Citation 510 Mustang	0911	0941	Nice-EMA	        BKK 1A	
G-JAFS	PA-32R-301 Saratoga II 	0933	1323	f&t Denham		
ZK028/S	BAe. Hawk T.2	        1009	G/A 09	to Valley	        VYT 72	
G-VIPX	PA-31-350 Chieftain	1013	1039	f&t Isle of Man	        EGL 99L/99M	
G-VIPX	PA-31-350 Chieftain	1253	1321	f&t Isle of Man	        EGL 99R/99S	
ZK025/P	BAe. Hawk T.2    	1306	G/A 09	to Valley	        VYT 52	
D-CGGG	Lear Jet 31A    	1439	1723	Vigo, Spain-Cologne		
ZK014/E	BAe. Hawk T.2    	1454	G/A	to Valley	        VYT 72	
G-NWAA	Eurocopter EC.135T	1507	1627	off airfield-Blackpool	HLE 08A/08E   Air Ambulance
9H-VCI	Challenger 350   	1623	2131	Farnborough-Luton	VJT 488G	
G-FBJK	Embraer ERJ-175-200STD	1848	1945	f&t Isle of Man	        BEE 609/610   Flybe, sbstitute a/c type
G-IPLY	Citation 550 II  	2019	2046	Ibiza-Gloucester	XJC 66Y	
						
	Friday, 22nd January					
						
ZK017/H	BAe. Hawk T.2    	1439	G/A 27	to Valley	        VYT 57	
G-RAJJ	BAe.146-200      	1635	1754	Birmingham-Norwich	CLJ 436P/436  Cello, LFC o/b to Norwich FC
						
	Saturday, 23rd January					
						
G-OWST	Cessna 172S	        1050	1124	f&t Blackpool		Westair
G-NLDR	AS.355F Ecureuil 2	1150 26/1023	f&t Barton	        PDG 65/OSP 65 & local flt on 23rd, 24th, 25th
G-RJXH	Embraer RJ-145EP	1542 24/1814	f&t Cardiff	        BMR 8510/8511 BMR, Swansea FC (to play EFC)
G-RAJJ	BAe. 146-200	        1715	1817	Norwich-Birmingham	CLJ 437/437P  Cello, LFC home from Norwich
OE-FPP	Citation 510 Mustang	1906	1944	Paris/Le Bourget-LBA	GAC 891A/329I	
						
	Sunday, 24th January 2016					
						
OE-FHA	Citation 510 Mustang	1032	1256	Prestwick-Frankfurt	GAC 053I/053A	
N194WM	Global XRS	        2219 25/1202	Stansted-Amsterdam		      likely with Microsoft's boss
						
	Monday, 25th January					
						
ZE700	BAe.146, CC.2	        0757	1145	f&t Northolt	        NHT 141/KRF 16  RAF, 32 Sqdn, 100th Anniv tail
OE-FCB	Citation 510 Mustang	0812	0919	LBA-Krakow	        GAC 017I/017A	
D-CXLS	Citation 560 XLS+	1102	1331	Manchester-Madrid	AHO 454A	
OE-FHA	Citation 510 Mustang	1227	1646	Frankfurt-Brussels	GAC 053B/184I	
G-FBKC	Citation 510 Mustang	1251 26/0657	Luton-Dresden	        BKK 3C	
D-IOHL	Citation 525A CJ2	1438	1656	Luton-Rome/Ciampino	ECA 333	
G-VIPX	PA-31-350 Chieftain	1553	2012	f&t Isle of Man	        EGL 99L/99M	
G-VIPW	PA-31-350 Chieftain	1835	1944	f&t Exeter	        EGL 99P	      not an a/c swop-over
D-CXLS	Citation 560 XLS+	2214 27/0915	Madrid-Farnborough	AHO 454A/117D	
						
	Tuesday, 26th January 					
						
G-SJSS	Challenger 605	        0917	1749	Northolt-Biggin Hill		
N542AP	Falcon 2000EX    	1004	1517	Dublin-Northolt		
EI-EFC	Boeing 737-8AS    	1227	1752	Stansted-Dublin   	RYR 912X/21   Ryanair, due DUB WX x-winds
EI-DYZ	Boeing 737-8AS   	1313	1431	f&t Lanzarote   	RYR 1CX/2048  Ryanair, Leeds WX x-winds
9H-FGV	EMB-500 Phenom 100	1548 27/1313	f&t Dublin		
G-ZVIP	Beech 200 King Air	1618	1633	Wick-Biggin Hill	EGL 517	
G-FBJI	Embraer ERJ.175-200STD	1847	1942	f&t Isle of Man  	BEE 609/610   Flybe, substitute a/c type
						
	Wednesday, 27th January					
						
D-CAST	Citation 525B CJ3	1042	1217	Nice-Madrid	        AHO 636A	
ZK015/F	BAe. Hawk T.2   	1206	2xG/A	to Valley	        VYT 65	      & another 1220
G-SJSS	Challenger 605  	1304 28/0829	Biggin Hill-Northolt		
ZK021	BAe. Hawk T.2   	1405	G/A	to Valley	        VYT 54	      (also reported as ZK020)
ZK022	BAe. Hawk T.2   	1422	G/A	to Valley	        VYT 52	
ZK037/AB  BAe. Hawk T.2  	1453	G/A	to Valley	        VYT 85	
D-CHIO	Citation 525B CJ3	1731	1830	Stuttgart-Munster/Osnabruck  EFD 111	
OE-FZA	Citation 510 Mustang	1907	28/1456	Munster/Osnabruck-Paris/Le B GAC 017C/124A	
						
	Thursday, 28th January					
						
G-PRPD	DHC-8-Q402 Dash Eight	0758	0832	f&t Isle of Man	        BEE 601/602   Flybe, fv now in Flybe purple
G-FBNK	Citation 510 Mustang	0853 29/1630	f&t Nice	        BKK 26Z	
LX-SUN	Piaggio P.180 Avanti	1245	2016	Amsterdam-Rotterdam	LXA 18S	
G-VIPX	PA-31-350 Chieftain	1401	1737	f&t Isle of Man	        EGL 99L/99M	
D-IOHL	Citation 525A CJ2	1516 29/0810	Luxembourg-Farnborough	ECA 333	
G-LEAB	Citation 510 Mustang	1544 29/0704	Cambridge-Nuremberg	LNX 29AB	
G-FBJH	Embraer ERJ-175-200STD	1903	1946	f&t Isle of Man	        BEE 609/610   Flybe, substitute a/c type
						
	Friday, 29th January					
						
ZE708	BAe. 146, CC.3	        1132	1247	Guernsey-Northolt	RRR 1924      RAF, overall grey cols
G-EMHC	Agusta A.109E Power	1229	1249	f&t private location	CTK 8	      with packages i/b
ZK020/K	BAe. Hawk T.2	        1336	G/A 27	to Valley	        VYT 94	
G-EMHC	Agusta A.109E Power	1432	1452	f&t private location	CTK 8	      with packages i/b
G-LEAB	Citation 510 Mustang	1940	2031	Nuremburg-Luton	        LNX 29AB	
G-EMHC	Agusta A.109E Power	1944	2002	f&t private location	CTK 8	      with packages i/b
						
	Saturday, 30th January					
						
9H-ALL	Citation 525A CJ2	0928 31/0709	Amsterdam-Cologne	LWG 191/101	
N2086P	PA-23-150 Geronimo	1305	Feb	Hawarden-		into Keenair
G-IASM	Beech 200 King Air	1403	1538	DSA-Bournemouth	        BRO 32P/32	
G-CXLS	Citation 560 XLS	1744 31/1300	Jersey-DSA	        AVB 701/711	
G-RJXA	Embraer RJ-145EP	1937	2158	Bristol-Stansted	BMR 9400/8501 bmi Regional,  charter o/b
G-OCEG	Beech B200 King Air	2025 31/1107	Milan-Bournemouth	GMA 450B      Cega Avn, likely air ambulance
G-VIPX	PA-31-350 Chieftain	2132 31/1003	f&t Isle of Man	        EGL 99L/99M	
						
	Sunday, 31st January 2016					
						
G-IASM	Beech 200 King Air	1236	1312	Bournemouth-DSA	        BRO 32/32P	
G-VIPX	PA-31-350 Chieftain	1311	1532	f&t Isle of Man	        EGL 99L/99M   Capital, but dvt back due IoM WX
G-VIPX	PA-31-350 Chieftain	1622	1753	Liverpool-isle of Man	EGL 99M/99R   Capital, dvt into LJLA due winds
D-CONU	Lear Jet 55      	2352	Feb	Tenerife South-	        IFA 1079      likely air ambulance flt
						
	end of January's visiting aircraft movements

NOTES AND ABBREVIATIONS

31/1003 shows that the aircraft stayed over midnight, departing on the date and time shown

f&t = from and to. Where the point of origin and destination are different, both locations are named separated by a - . Occasional use of abbreviations eg EMA - East Midlands Airport; DTV - Durham Tees Valley; DSA - Doncaster Sheffield Airport; LBA - Leeds Bradford Airport; DUB - Dublin; MAN - Manchester.

All times are quoted as ‘local’ time. As the source material is in UTC, during the winter errors are unlikely!

G/A refers to an aircraft that did not land, performing a go-around only, but did not touch down. t&g is 'touch and go'.

The registrations of aircraft operating on call-signs, especially RAF aircraft on Go-Around are not always 100% accurate. During daylight where a code and direction of Go-Around are given, this means that the registration was confirmed by Mk.1 eyeball (well, usually a digital image!).

Where an aircraft operated on call-sign, this is noted by official 2 or 3-letter abbreviation. If there is no call-sign, then the aircraft operated using the registration. Where there is just one call-sign, the same flight number was used both in- and out-bound.

'Football related', 'team chtr', or similar comments are generally determined by the times and point of origin/destination and is informed guesswork, not absolute known fact.

The source material does not name non-registered airfield sites, these are covered by the blanket term ‘private site’. Nor does it identify diverted flights or the reason for the diversion, however these can usually be worked out from other sources.

'WX' = literally 'weather out' conditions below minima visibility or above acceptable wind speed/direction, 'Dvt' = diverted in, 'chtr' = charter flight, Pax = passengers, Del = delivery, Arr = arrived, Dep = departed. Sometimes further detail in the written Report section that follows.

I do my best to check full type designations, however an occasional one may not be absolutely name and mark accurate.

CREDIT & THANKS

Should any details be used and repeated elsewhere, due credit to 'LJLA and nwan forum' is expected. This post should NOT be 'copy and pasted' and repeated in full or part elsewhere on the internet. Hyper-linking this onto other sites, again with due credit, or printing-out for personal use does not require specific permission.

Finally and very importantly, my very many thanks for Liverpool John Lennon Airport in permitting access to records to extract these visitor movements - so allowing our complete records since 1958 to continue unbroken.

[viscount]

LJLA – ACTIVITY & VISITING AIRCRAFT .
AN OVERVIEW FOR JANUARY 2016.

AIRPORT AND AIRLINE DEVELOPMENTS

TERMINAL CHANGES – NEW TOILETS AND CARPETS

At last LJLA management have the funds released to enable some long necessary changes within the terminal. It is often the little things that affect the opinion of passengers as they pass through an airport. As LJLA strive to meet their target of improving customer facilities, so the task to dramatically update the landside passenger toilets has been started. One set of toilets in particular has been a recurrent issue, these have now been totally rebuilt and to a much superior finish than ever in the past. Also the worn carpet, with woven ‘European City of Culture 08’ logo, long past its own ‘use-by’ date, is currently being replaced with new flooring. Actually considering some 25 million people have passed through the Airport since it was laid it has proved extremely durable, however it does give the impression that Liverpool lives on past success, not the future.

WIZZAIR TO BUDAPEST AND KATOWICE

Wizzair have had a good year from LJLA during 2015 with increased frequencies and Riga as a new destination. Now they are to add two further destinations to their Liverpool programme, Budapest and Katowice. Katowice has been served before by Ryanair, and Wizzair have served Budapest before, but now clearly feel the market has grown.

www.liverpoolairport.com/news/2016/01/budapest-announcement/
www.liverpoolairport.com/news/2016/01/wizz-air-to-launch-another-new-service-from-ljla/


FLYBE TO NEWQUAY

Following EasyJet’s decision not to operate between LJLA and Newquay for summer 2016, come the announcement that Flybe will operate the route once weekly for the summer season. They will be using a Dash 8-Q400, an aircraft perhaps more suited to the route than an A.319 – the trick will be to inform former EasyJet customers that the destination has changed operators.

www.liverpoolairport.com/news/2016/01/flybe-s-latest-route-from-ljla-means-cornwall-is-just-over-an-hour-away/

JANUARY 2016 – 20% UP!

Having clocked-up fairly regular 5 to 7% year on year, monthly rise in passengers since February 2015, it was clear that the increase for January 2016 would be more dramatic. That has indeed been the case, with a 20% jump in passengers over 2015 – and that in one of the quieter months of the year for air travel. During January around 300,000 passengers passed through the Airport – this figure being some 50,000 passengers up on January 2015! Remarkable and really good news for the airport as it moves forward.

www.liverpoolairport.com/news/2016/02/20-passenger-increase-in-january-makes-it-12-months-of-continued-growth-at-ljla/

INAUGURAL FLIGHT DATES FOR SPRING 2016

Quite an exciting time ahead for the Airport as a number of new airlines and routes commence, the result of much hard work by the management team last year. Hopefully the momentum will continue, with further new routes and Airlines attracted to LJLA during this year. Announced start dates and days of operation:

Wednesday 23rd March  Wizzair         Budapest    Airbus A.320     Wednesday, Sunday
Sat 26th/Sun 27th Mar Blue Air        Bacau       Boeing 737 srs   Start of their 2016 summer season flights
Monday 28th March     Czech Airlines  Prague      Airbus A.319     Monday and Fridays
Tuesday 29th March    Wizzair         Katowice    Airbus A.320     Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday
Friday 1st April      Vueling         Barcelona   Airbus A.320     Wednesday, Friday Sunday (also pre-commencement Easter                                           .                                          flights on Friday 25th and Monday 28th)
Tuesday 3rd May       Thomson         Palma       Boeing 737-800   Tuesdays
Saturday 21st May     Flybe           Newquay     DHC Dash 8-Q400  Saturdays
Friday 3rd June       Blue Air        Cluj        Boeing 737 srs   Monday and Friday
Saturday 4th June     Blue Islands    Guernsey    ATR-42           Saturdays
In addition there is Ryanair re-starting their Reus connection in June.
Updated with information from subsequent posts below, thank you.

SCHEDULED SERVICE AIRCRAFT

EASYJET (U2/EZY)

While EasyJet cancelled no flights during January except for a few morning rotations on January 1st, they did have to bring in cover aircraft a couple of times to ensure passengers got to their destinations as planned. Late afternoon on 4th EZY7181 G-EZFY departed for Malaga, but shortly after returned, the passengers departing the following afternoon on replacement flight EZY9181/2 G-EZBD. On 14th EZY9007 G-EZDO arrived from Glasgow, operated a Berlin rotation and returned to Glasgow as EZY9008. The following morning, 15th, a sleet shower onto frozen ground reduced runway braking action, so EZY634 G-EZDS from IoM and EZY602 G-EZOD from BFS both diverted to Manchester, flying back to Liverpool around an hour later, with some slight knock-on delays as a result. On 20th G-EZFY operated the outbound Geneva EZY7279 however developed a fault at Geneva, so the return passengers on EZY7284 flew on HB-JYG, which returned to Geneva later on EZY7291, the EZY7292 passengers arriving back on the repaired G-EZFY. A problem neatly resolved. On 24th G-EZIY arrived from Gatwick as EZY9010 late afternoon and for several days replaced an aircraft-on-ground at Liverpool before returning to Gatwick as EZY9005 early morning 28th, the training aircraft G-EZIX came back from Doncaster-Sheffield later morning 28th as EZY9011 and operated an IoM and two Belfast rotations before leaving as EZY9009 to Gatwick late that night. On 31st G-EZBG arrived from Luton as EZY9008 and operated a Madrid rotation and still here on Feb 1st. On 31st G-EZFY left on the afternoon Jersey EZY7023, but after being 2 hours in the air returned to Liverpool unable to land at Jersey due to the weather. The passengers tried again on a re-arranged flight the following day and successfully got to Jersey on Feb 1st. Full marks to EasyJet Ops for some quick thinking on behalf of their customers.

The EasyJet training aircraft was here over-night stopping during three of the four weeks of January. G-EBZU (5th to 7th) and spent 2 hours in the circuit at Liverpool morning of Thursday 7th as we had better weather than other intended airfields; G-EZBX (20th to 23rd) and G-EZIX (26th to 28th). Actual circuit training/crew validation was undertaken at Prestwick, Liverpool, Newquay, Dresden and Doncaster-Sheffield.

Aircraft used by EasyJet through LJLA during January:
A.319: G-EZAJ, EZBB, EZBC, EZBD, EZBG, EZBO, EZBU, EZBX, EZDD, EZDH, EZDK, EZDL, EZDO, EZDS, EZDT, EZDW, EZDX, EZDZ, EZEB, EZEV, EZFG, EZFJ, EZFR, EZFT, EZFY, EZGA, EZGE, EZIX, EZIY, EZNC = 30
A.320: G-EZOC, EZOD, EZOJ, EZOV, EZTB, EZUS, EZWI = 7

RYANAIR (FR/RYR)

On Tuesday 5th EI-EKB on FR6674, an early afternoon flight from Knock was reported in the Daily Post website as having suffered a flap problem prior to landing at LJLA, even so it still landed earlier than scheduled! Later that day the ‘trouble-shooter’ team of mechanics arrived at LJLA on the Ryanair Lear Jet. As on many days in January the Ryanair fleet are not fully employed, so there was no requirement to bring in a replacement aircraft. On 26th it would appear that the Alicante and Carcassonne flights on 26th were cancelled as a result of French ATC industrial dispute, however the following day all flights managed to operate.

For the third month running the sole Boeing 737-700, EI-SEV, in the fleet was used for a couple of evening flights from Dublin, with two rotations on 6th and a further two rotations on 20th.

Ryanair used Boeing 737-800s through LJLA on schedules or diversion:
EI-DAF, DAG, DAI, DAJ, DAK, DAP, DCO, DCR, DHN, DHS, DHZ, DLB, DLG, DLO, DPN, DPW, DPZ, DWB, DWH, DWJ, DWL, DWO, DWS, DWT, DWY, DWZ, DYN, DYV, DYW, DYY, DYZ, EI-EBF, EBL, EBP, EBS, EBX, EFC, EFG, EFI, EFJ, EFL, EFP, EFW, EKB, EKC, EKH, EKM, EKN, EKS, EKT, EKZ, EMJ, EMP, ENA, ENF, ENI, ENR, ESN, ESV, ESW, ESX, EVM, EVN, EVR, EVV, EVW, EI-FEE, FEH, FIA, FIB, FOB = 71, plus Boeing 737-700 EI-SEV.

FLYBE (BE/BEE)

The first week in January, indeed January as a whole is a poor month for domestic business travel, as a result Flybe did programme well in advance a number of flights not to operate. However it is difficult to tell these apart from cancellations on the day, with consequent delayed passengers.

The Isle of Man route had the smallest percentage of cancelled flights, there were 6 in the first week, all likely pre-programmed. The first rotation on 26th and 28th suffered from a problem with the ATR-72. However the passengers would be carried by the first Belfast City flight Dash 8 operating to and from IoM before returning late to Belfast. A good plan, except on 26th, weather at Ronaldsway prevented the Dash 8 from landing so it brought the passengers back to Liverpool to wait for the second ATR-72 rotation which operated smoothly. On 4 evenings an ERJ-175 substituted for the Dash 8 – thought to be a precaution when forecast winds might exceed the cross-wind limits for the Dash 8. The general flight pattern of the three morning/afternoon rotations being operated by ATR-72, with just the evening rotation by Dash 8 continued throughout January.

Most affected route for pre-planned cancellations was the Belfast City route, with Wednesday and Thursday late morning and afternoon flights suffering most. In addition on Friday 8th the first rotation having arrived, suffered a problem, the outbound passengers being carried on the second outbound rotation of the day. Two flights on Friday 29th that were cancelled were likely due to an aircraft availability problem.

A number of Amsterdam rotations, especially the evening one were cancelled during the first week of January, after that all flights operated apart from the middle rotation on Thursday 12th and Tuesday 26th. The once daily Edinburgh service had a number of pre-planned cancellations, mostly mid-week. Indeed all weekend services operated, yet at one time it was perceived that the week-end loads were the lowest!

Aircraft used through Liverpool during January:
Dash 8-Q400s: G-ECOB, ECOC, ECOE, ECOG, ECOH, ECOJ, ECOM, ECOP, ECOT; G-FLBA, FLBB, FLBC, FLBD, FLBE; G-JECE, JECG, JECH, JECI, JECJ, JECK, JECL, JECM, JECO, JECP, JECR, JECX, JECY, JECZ; G-JEDM, JEDR, JEDT, JEDU, JEDV, KKEV; G-PRPA, PRPB, PRPC, PRPD = 38 different aircraft
ATR-72 EI-FMK, REL, REM = 3 (EI-FMK a brand new Stobard aircraft, all white, 4 visits on 19th & 20th)
ERJ-175 G-FBJB, FBJH, FBJI, FBJK = 4 (plus a ERJ-195 G-FBEG on a charter flight).

WIZZAIR (W6/WZZ)

Wizzair ran a full programme of schedules to Gdansk (x3 weekly), Warsaw (x2 weekly) and Riga (x2 weekly), plus an extra rotation from Warsaw on Thursday 7th January.

Aircraft seen at LJLA during January: HA-LPL, LPM. LPQ, LPS, LPT, HA-LWA, LWC, LWF, LWK, LWO, LWP, LWX, LWZ, HA-LYA, LYL, LYN, LYS, LYV (= 18 different aircraft)

AER LINGUS (EI/EIN)

Aer Lingus ran a full programme of flights from Dublin, with every flight possible operating. They showed too that they are responsive to passenger demand by retiming their Sunday early afternoon inbound flight to operate several hours early on Sunday 17th to permit Irish LFC and MUFC supporters to day-return the match at Anfield that afternoon. They even operated their early rotation on New Year’s Day, when other airlines cancelled their first rotation through likely lack of demand. They really do seem committed to providing a full service between Dublin and LJLA – full marks to Aer Lingus.

Aircraft used into LJLA in January: EI-CVC, EI-DEA, DEC, DEE, DEG, DEH, DEJ, DEL, DEN, DEO, DER, DES, EI-DVE, DVG, DVH, DVI, DVJ; EI-EDP, EDS; EI-EZV, EZW ( = 21 different aircraft)
EI-EZV and EI-EZW are by far and away the most frequently used aircraft, while the ‘retro scheme’ EI-DVM seems to be the rarest so far since flights restarted.


BLUE AIR (OB/BME)

Another airline that provided a full service throughout January, one of the weaker months of the year for passenger demand once the Holidays are over. In addition to the 3 x weekly Bucharest service, the final two ‘Christmas specials’ from Bacau operated on Monday 4th and Wednesday 6th. The majority of the Bucharest flights were operated by the airline’s sole Boeing 737-800.

Aircraft used into LJLA during January:
Boeing 737-400: YR-BAK 6th; YR-BAR 11th, 13th; YR-BAU 4th, 6th.
Boeing 737-800: YR-BMB 8th, 15th, 18th, 20th, 22nd, 25th, 27th & 29th.

VUELING (VLG/VY)

The final Christmas ‘Extra’ (even before the regular schedules commence) from Barcelona operated on Sunday 3rd January as predicted. We look forward to welcoming Vueling’s inaugural schedule proper at the end of March.

Aircraft used through Liverpool: A.320 EC-KHN.

AIRCRAFT USING LJLA DURING JANUARY

More details can often be found in the visiting aircraft log which cross-references to the details summarised here.

CHARTERS, TOURS & FREIGHT OPERATIONS

As is usual during the winter season, football dominates the charter scene, with bmi Regional and Cello Aviation regular visitors. Liverpool FC passed through the Airport on Saturday 2nd inbound on BMR RJ-145 G-RJXG from West Ham; on Friday 8th outbound and the early hours of the following morning inbound on BMR RJ-145 G-RJXM to meet Exeter away in the FA Cup; and finally again on Friday 22nd outbound and Saturday 23rd inbound on Cello BAe.146 G-RAJJ to play an away League game at Norwich. Teams travelling to Liverpool to play Anfield were Arsenal who returned home after the game on Wed 13th by BMR EMB-145 G-RJXM; Exeter arrived on departed on Wednesday 20th on Flybe ERJ-185 G-FBEG for their FA Cup replay; while West Ham departed on Saturday 30th evening after their drawn FA Cup game on BMR’s RJ-145 G-RJXA.

Everton FC did not fly to an away game in January, despite playing Chelsea away on Saturday 16th. Teams travelling to Liverpool to play at Goodison were Tottenham arriving on BMR RJ-145 G-EMBI from Stansted on Saturday 2nd, returning the next day; and Swansea FC who flew in from Cardiff on BMR RJ-145 G-RJXH on Saturday 23rd and home the following day after the game.

Best of all for the enthusiast was an inbound charter, a weekend city break and match charter from Keflavik, operated by Latvian registered Primera Nordic Air, using Boeing 737-800 YL-PSB over the weekend Friday 15th to Sunday 17th. At one time Liverpool was a major destination for Icelandic football fans even using Boeing 747 and Tristar aircraft – but all that finished with the collapse of the Icelandic Banking system, so it is good news that the Icelandic fans are back, the game that weekend was LFC v MUFC so a major attraction. The sort of high profile game that usually attracts fans from Norway, but not this year.

There was one flight that was not football connected, and that was a now regular New Year private ski-charter, with the return leg using Welcome Air’s Dornier 328 OE-LIR on Sunday 3rd inbound from Sion.

DIVERSIONS – GAINS & LOSSES

The mild Winter has far produced one slight overnight fall of snow for LJLA, however the strong winds that have so far characterised this winter continue to have an effect on other Airports, especially Dublin and Leeds – but so far have not adversely affected LJLA too much, although conditions have been ‘lively’ for landing aircraft on occasions!

First inbound diversion was on Wednesday 7th when a Ryanair flight from Oporto to Stansted diverted to Liverpool mid-morning, before completing the flight 90 minutes later. Why it diverted is not clear, possibly fog at Stansted. On Saturday 16th it was snow falling at Leeds that brought another Ryanair flight, this one inbound from Lanzarote, landing LJLA mid-evening to sit on the ground for 85 minutes before completing the flight. The following morning, although the ground at Liverpool had a dusting of snow overnight, during the morning a heavy snow shower affected Manchester Airport, they were keeping 23R clear when the surface was damaged. While the unswept 23L was being cleared, a Finnair flight diverted to Liverpool and a Thomson Boeing 787 to EMA, although closed for around 45 minutes arriving traffic was quiet, however as the pace of mid-morning arrivals increased and with the extra time taken to back-track 23L, the resulting congestion caused the Icelandair Boeing 757 service to divert to LJLA for around 2 hours before completing its journey to Manchester. Two further Ryanairs diverted in early afternoon Tuesday 26th with a Stansted to Dublin service diverting due to cross-winds and waited at Liverpool 90 minutes for conditions to abate, with the other from Lanzarote for Leeds, also diverting due to cross-winds. This time the passengers disembarked and headed for Leeds by coach, with the outbound load brought to LJLA to embark, with the aircraft at Liverpool at little over 5 hours. Maybe no big inbound diversion days any longer, but a surprisingly regular flow during the winter months of cross-wind diversions to wait on the ground for conditions to improve.

Not quite all one-way, as on Friday morning 15th, a shower of sleet onto frozen ground reduced runway braking action for around an hour, during which time two inbound EasyJet flights (from Belfast and IoM) diverted to Manchester, returning later with passengers still aboard.

TRAINING

Apart from mainly military aircraft using the ILS and go-around for practice diversion, the only airliner was an EasyJet Airbus A.319. EasyJet bring a training aircraft to LJLA most weeks to stop overnight having trained at Prestwick, Newquay, Dresden or Doncaster-Sheffield. However with the best weather at LJLA, G-EZBU trained at Liverpool for under two hours on the morning of Thursday 7th before departing for Gatwick.

BIZ-JET VISITORS

Despite January being a fairly slow month for visiting aircraft, there were still 42 biz-jets of 10 registration nationalities. However there were only 15 non-Cessna biz-jets, so Citations dominated with 27 examples. There was not a single Net-Jets aircraft calling, but a fair number of London Executive, Blinkair, Air Hamburg and Globe Air aircraft. So first let us consider the non-Cessna types. Bombardier’s were Global Express N194WM, likely with Bill Gates to attend a major conference on Malaria in Liverpool (he is a big fund-raiser for Malaria research) Sunday 24th and stopped overnight, and Challengers M-FRZN which was a Chester refugee to enable an early departure New Year’s Day; regular G-SJSS on 4 occasions and Vista Jet’s 9H-VCI on 23rd. Two Gulfstreams, both arriving direct from the USA, with N45JE on Friday 8th from Bedford/Hanscom Field and stopped 3 days, while N721KJ arrived on Monday 11th from Philadelphia North East. Most numerous non-Cessna type was the Lear Jet with both Ryanair’s M-ABEU and M-ABGV in the same month; Gama’s G-ZXZX on Sunday 17th likely for a football match; Maltese 9H-DDJ on Thurs 14th and two Germans D-CGGG on Thurs 21st and D-CONU on 31st operating an ambulance flight. To complete this paragraph a Falcon 2000EX N542AP on Tuesday 26th and finally a pair of Phenoms with Blackpool based M-YTOY on 19th and 20th making its first visit since May ’15 and Luxwing’s 9H-FGV on Tuesday 26th which seems frequently to visit everywhere around the UK except Liverpool.

Citations dominated, however unusually there were more different mustangs than the popular Excels, and the CJs were not far behind with 9, 8, 6 respectively. However, we also had one of the larger Sovereigns calling, with LN-SSS on Wednesday 13th from Doncaster/Sheffield to Oslo and 2 of the older 550s with London Executive’s G-SPUR twice likely for football matches and Xclusive Jet’s G-IPLY to Ibiza on 20th and back the next day. The smaller Mustangs were all from just 3 operators, two from London Executive (G-LEAA/LEAB), three from Blinkair (G-FBKC/FBLC/FBNK) and four from Globe Air (OE-FCB/FHA/FPP/FZA). A number of the Excels are familiar, especially the British examples with London Executive’s G-CEIL, Hangar 8’s G-OXLS and Aviation Beauport’s G-CXLS. From Germany came Air Hamburg’s D-CFLY and D-CXLS along with ATLs D-CNOC and Silver Cloud Air’s D-CRON, while a single French example was F-GVYC from and to Lille on Fri 8th. Finally the Cessna CitationJet, again many are familiar visitors, with Air Hamburg’s D-CAST, ‘ECA’ (a new ICAO code allocation, formerly Eurocypriana) D-IOHL on 25th and 28th and EFD Eiselle’s CJ3 D-CHIO on Wed 27th, Luxwings 9H-ALL again on Sat 30th, Serbian YU-BUU on 7th and 9th and Croatian 9A-JSC on Sunday 3rd both either arriving or departing from/to Belgrade.

GENERAL AND BUSINESS AVIATION VISITORS

A quiet month for most types, although the usual crop of British King Air 200s. Only a few aircraft to excite the enthusiast though. British twins of interest were a Seneca G-JANN on Mon 4th from St Athan, G-YDEA a Diamond DA.42 from Gamston on Tues 5th, Navajo G-UMMI Thurs 7th from Northolt and G-UROP a Baron on Tue 19th, likely collecting a delivery pilot. British King Airs were G-IASA on Sat 2nd from Roskilde and G-SASC from Aberdeen on Tues 12th, both likely on air ambulance duties; G-MEGN Sun 3rd, Poynton’s G-FLYW Sun 10th which departed for Heathrow – not a usual destination for a twin, G-IASM to Bournemouth on Sat 30th and return the next day and finally G-OCEG also on Sat 30th from Milan. Further King Air 200s were Capital Aviation’s very frequent G-WVIP and G-ZVIP with a total of 6 visits during January. While mentioning Capital, their IoM Hospital Contract employed Navajos G-VIPY (1st to 7th), their less frequently seen G-VIPW (7th to 17th, and a visit on 25th from/to Exeter) and G-VIPX (19th and into February).

Non-British GA twins featured regulars M-RLEE on Wed 13th and Sun 17th, with the football games at Anfield the attraction for the owner and Piper Geronimo N2086P back for another stay with Keenair Eingineering. However the month was ‘rescued’ by a visit of a Piaggio Avanti LX-SUN on Tuesday 28th from Amsterdam to Rotterdam.

British singles featured further visits by Blackpool based SR.22 G-OGGM and Cessna 172S G-OWST. A non-regular was Piper Saratoga G-JAFS on Thursday 21st from and to Denham. From other registers came three non-regulars with N363JR a Malibu from Ostend on Wed 13th likely attracted by a football match; N980RJ a Cirrus S.22T on Fri 15th from Cumbernauld and Cessna P210N D-EIBO on Sunday 16th and stayed overnight before departing for Dortmund. Not a particularly good month with only 4 GA aircraft of any real interest visiting (considered to be LX-SUN, N363JR, N980RJ and D-EIBO).

ROTARY VISITORS

A good month for seeing Agusta AW.109s, but otherwise a very poor month for rotary visitors. Two Helimed helicopters with A.109 G-TAAS on Fri 1st and regular G-NWAA EC.135 on Thurs 21st. Two Ecureuils with regulars G-OGUN Fri 15th and Network Rail’s G-NLDR operating Sat 23rd to Mon 25th. The AW.109s featured G-ZIPE on Sat 2nd, G-ZIOO on Wed 6th (covered in more detail in the Military visitors section), G-JTHU Sun 17th likely with football match visitors, G-MOAL on Mon 18th and G-EMHC three times on Fri 29th with the cabin stuffed with large plastic bags, looking through the windows like dirty laundry, but very likely much more valuable! To complete this section, a sole visit by Helicentre related Robinson R.66 G-SYES on Tue 12th.

RESIDENT AIRCRAFT ACTIVITY AND CHANGES

Just one known change so far in 2016, the delivery on Monday 18th to Lomac Aviators of a Cherokee Arrow III G-BOYV, replacing G-BRLG which was sold last year to a new local owner. A resident missing for some time, Merseyflight’s Tomahawk G-RVNB which has been away on extended maintenance at Defford since July, is likely to return sometime soon, but having returned to a former identity as G-SUKI.

MILITARY AIRCRAFT VISITORS

For a January, not a bad month with a couple of military aircraft calling. On Wednesday 6th an Army PBN-2T Defender ZH002 called in the early hours, with a Chinook ZA705 calling for fuel the same afternoon. Actually the 6th was a good day with an A.400M Atlas on approach and go-around and an Agusta A.109 during the morning. This helicopter is operating in military style VIP colours, under a military ‘Ascot’ call-sign, but currently registered G-ZIOO (but likely to take-up an out-of-sequence military serial GZ100 shortly). The markings represent ‘GZ’ 32 Squadron’s wartime code and ‘100’ to celebrate 32 Squadron’s centenary this year. Towards the end of the month there were two more 32 Squadron aircraft. BAe.146, CC.2 ZE700 visited for several hours in the morning, arriving under a ‘Northolt’ (NHT) call-sign, departing late morning with a ‘Kittyhawk’ (KRF) call-sign, the aircraft being in VIP colours, with 100 anniversary markings on the tail, large hunting horn and 1916-2016. On Friday 29th ZE708 a BAe.146, CC.3 called on an ‘Ascot’ call-sign for a little over an hour over lunch-time – another 32 Sqdn machine this one is in an operational over-all grey scheme.

GO-AROUND ACTIVITY

A fairly slow start to the year, with just the one ‘fast-mover’, a Tornado after dusk on Thursday 7th. There were 16 occasions when Hawk T.2s performed ‘practice diversion’ from RAF Valley, 5 though were after dark. RAF Transports were Hercules on 9th and 15th and an A.400M Atlas ZM406 on Wednesday 6th with a ‘Gauntlet’ test pilot call-sign. No King Airs or Tutors this month. Finally mention of a couple of civilians; a Police MDH.900 Explorer, and a Blackpool based Cherokee.

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STATISTICS

The CAA official statistics for January will be edited-in once published around the 20th (ish) of February.

EPILOGUE

Far from the busiest of months, with many very quiet days. Outstanding, well the Latvian registered YL-PSB, Primera Air Nordic Boeing 737-800 on an inbound weekend, 15th to 17th, charter from Iceland was certainly unanticipated. The rather smart RAF BAe.146, CC.2 ZE700 on 25th with a special ‘centenary’ tail colours looked good, while one missed by the ‘spotters’ was the Arcus Air Do.228 late evening Tuesday 5th.

CREDITS & THANKS

Once again the daily notes provided by all who contribute to nwan forum add considerably to the official record. So many thanks to the good services of the Airport, and to Beemer, Philglt, Sabreliner, Agate, Evoant, Hawker, TonySpeke, andyH, ChrisB, ac2348, Blueaircraft79, 8miles27, clifftop,737Tony1, barfleur and a number of others.

As usual, if you spot an error, or wish to query an entry, do drop me a PM to enable a correction to be entered. Thank you, Brian Jones.

[ametyst]

The Vueling service to Barcelona will start on Friday 25th March and not Sunday 27th March. No Vueling flight is scheduled to operate on 27th March but, there is an extra flight operating on Monday 28th March.

The full summer schedule commences on Friday 1st April operating every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday (except Sunday 10th July) until Friday 28th October.

[viscount]

Thank you 'Ametyst', I've amended the information in the table in the report above.

Did wonder if any of the late March inaugural flights would be amended after the initial publicity. Not really surprised, as it must be a fair few years since Easter, with its double Bank Holiday and disruption to normal passenger flows, falls on the same week-end as the clocks change from GMT/UTC to BST/GMT+1, which is also the same time as European Airlines change from winter to summer schedules.

Anyone able to supply a date for Blue Air restarting the seasonal Bacau connection?

[ametyst]

One omission from the Inaugural flight dates 2016 is the Wizz Air service to Budapest which starts on Wednesday 23rd March. The flight is twice weekly, operating every Wednesday and Sunday using Airbus A320s.

The Blue Air flight to Bacau recommences on Saturday 26th March. Departing in the early hours of 27th.

[ronturner]

Brian,

Thanks for the work in compiling all this.
A question
Why so many diverts from Leeds when Manchester is closer and Ryanair have a bigger base there now?

Ron

[viscount]

With recent expansion there, Manchester is close to runway/apron/gate slot saturation at times during the day, as a result they have issued notams to the effect that the airport, other than for declared emergencies, is not open for diversions. It would seem that at times they will eg a mid morning pair of EasyJets from Liverpool a few weeks ago, so it could be they will accept limited numbers when quieter, but not mass diverts due (say) snow, fog or a long term runway blockage.

It would have been more of a challenge to answer your question, Ron, if you had asked why they do not go to DSA (Doncaster-Sheffield, still better known to some as Finningley) Airport, or even Humberside. Not got my books to hand at the moment, so uncertain of the runway headings at those airports. Leeds closed their (I think 26) runway having developed and lengthened a more N-S aligned runway some years ago. It seems that a double whammy of stronger winds in the Pennines and a crosswind aligned runway cause the trouble there.