Last year saw a significant increase in the number of helicopter movements at The London Heliport. Since the ownership change in February of this year, a primary objective has been to ensure that the Heliport stays within the annual movement limit of 12,000. We have been monitoring usage trends very closely and whereas there appeared to be a downward trend during May and June, it is now clear that this trend is not sufficient to bring the situation back on track before year end.

It is vitally important for all users that the Heliport stays open throughout the full year, but it is now absolutely clear that if we don’t introduce a movement control system in the very near future, this will not be the case. Regrettably, we have therefore taken the decision to introduce such a system forthwith.

From August 1st, a defined number of movement “slots” will be available each week, the specific number being determined by a combination of historical movement trends and the number of slots still remaining before the year end limit is reached.

The Heliport team will also manage the movements throughout each week in order to make sure the Heliport remains open for that entire week. This procedure will be modified on a day to day basis, particularly if slots are lost to inevitable weather related closures of the London Zone.

Operators can book slots direct with the Heliport team in the normal way and slots will be allocated on a “first come first served” basis. To stop speculative booking of slots, operators will be charged for bookings made but then not used, unless the operator can clearly demonstrate that adverse weather has caused their flight to be cancelled.

We’d also like to take this opportunity to thank operators who have increasingly chosen to park at the Heliport rather than positioning away and then returning later to pick up passengers. This is the single most important thing individual operators can do to make sure The London Heliport movement limit is fully utilised to the maximum benefit of all. With this in mind, to further encourage and accommodate parking, the Heliport has just taken delivery of a ground handling trolley suitable for most types of skidded aircraft and to further incentivise operators to park-up and wait, we will also be reducing Advanced Reserve Parking charges by 15% from August 1st. A new charges tariff is available for download on the new London Heliport website (www.londonheliport.co.uk).

I am sure you will understand the reasons for this most unfortunate situation and the inevitability of having to say “no” to booking requests whenever movements are running ahead of the required rate. This is certainly a process we would prefer not to have to enforce and we deeply regret any inconvenience it will cause. In this respect, please can I ask all of you to be fully supportive of The London Heliport staff, who will be responsible for handling slot booking requests.

Please rest assured that The London Heliport will do everything we reasonably can to accommodate your requirements and if you have any queries concerning the above process, please don’t hesitate to contact me and I will do my best to assist.

Yours sincerely,

Simon Hutchins
Heliport Manager