Sameday Headline News On London City Airport:

• The Docklands News.
  "Our Pilots are Best In Britain"
  


• The Sun
  Chopper Pilot - A PILOT furious at being searched before flying dropped his pants and exposed himself to security staff, then raged: “Do you want to search this?”
  
  Now which piece do you think was spun or produced by the airport?
  

London City Airport Twist the Facts...Again

London City Airport must be getting absolutely desperate.
They have decided to use airport workers in their battle against all the negative crash headlines.

RUNWAY GROUND STAFF HAVE BEEN NAMED AND PHOTOGRAPHED ON THE FRONT PAGE OF THE WHARF WITH FULL PERMISSION OF LCA. IN OUR OPINION THIS COULD BE SEEN AS A SECURITY RISK. WHY IS IT THAT A PHOTOGRAPHER WAS ARRESTED AND QUESTIONED UNDER THE TERRORISM ACT, FOR TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS OF A WEDDING OUTSIDE THE RAMADA, WHICH IS NOT EVEN ON AIRPORT PROPERTY, BUT WHEN LCA DECIDE TO PARADE THEIR STAFF, NAMES AND AGES FOR ALL TO SEE,TO TRY AND SPIN A NEGATIVE NEWS STORY,THAT'S OK?

We are absolutely shocked that the airport would exploit these men like this in a bid to try and get public confidence back after the aviation experts stated that London City Airport is susceptible to hard landings and the consequences. It appears to be a gross security breach but clearly one that the PR spokeswoman (yes you will know who, as crass errors in PR are her signature) was happy to spin out whilst they lost control of the press for a change!

The Wharf Newspaper this week has front page headlines about the five airport workers who assisted in the crash."THE RESCUERS" are five frontline workers who dealt with the crash on Friday the 13th. Their swift action deserves its praise.

We have never seen airside security identities at any airport being exploited and compromised like this for PR means.They are pictured together , named and ages given.It makes an absolute mockery of the £2.5 million bill that the taxpayer picks up annually on behalf of the airport.

Airside workers remain anonymous for obvious reasons. In a few clicks online we were able to find contact routes for two of the men and photographs of planes and one of a previous crash at the airport that they had posted online. It also makes a mockery of the id scheme that these workers have been forced into testing.

We would not post the photo or names here but its frightening to see this wilful breach in security all in the name of spin. Last year a Sun Reporter carried a pretend BOMB through security and onto the runway at London CityAirport. Weak, failing security from an airport that should know better.

In two weeks there have been two incidents with the British Airways jets landing at the airport, (both times requiring the airport to halt operations for a period of time). And as if things couldn't get any worse for the ailing airport, a Swiss Air pilot exposing himself to security on the very same week that London City Airport claim they have the best pilots in Britain. Best pilots that throw a tantrum and expose themselves because they are asked to be security checked? It seems that they all need a reality check. What was the alternative for the pilot? Not to be searched, and then we face yet another security breach. It seems to us that the arrogance of London City Airport is catching.

And they want 176,000 flights per year?

This video was taken on January 17th of a Swiss Air jet getting into difficulty on landing at LCA.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5prz1Ae5QM

The safety of flying in 176,000 jets annually onto this stolport runway is questionable. Cross winds, fog and an incredibly exposed landscape which coupled with a short runway, 5.5 take off due to high buildings are a clear recipe for disaster.

You can see some comments about this incident on the PPRuNe Forums.

We must say that we really feel for those passengers who were on that jet - that must have been a terrifying experience.

We know that London City Airport's real plan in the future is to get rid of a load of the short haul flights and concentrate on the Category A jets flying transatlantic routes with BA et all and their Boeing A318s. After all, Richard Gooding is on the record saying he's got to make lots of money for Credit Suisse, AIG and GE and he intends to compete with Heathrow and Gatwick. How cosy.

If LCA could get a 737 in they would try...and with the current lack of noise management being applied by LB Newham and the airport - we are sure they could pull some murky, inaccurate figures out from the past which might allow it, in those 'strict noise management conditions' they keep mentioning but few of us ever see applied!!