British Airways plans to carry out pilot refresher training for a modified Concorde at Shannon Airport next month in advance of a resumption of services of the aircraft in September.
The company has a fleet of seven Concordes which are being modified following the Air France crash north of Paris last July in which 113 people died. The crash was caused by an exploding tyre which led to a fuel tank being ruptured. Air France plans a resumption of services in October.
Verification flights for the modified Concorde, called Alpha Foxtrot, were completed last week between Heathrow Airport and Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, incorporating a loop south of Iceland and west of Ireland. The Shannon exercise will involve refresher training for pilots and will include landings and takeoffs at the Co Clare airport.
"Our pilots for the last year, since the fleet has been grounded, have being doing sessions in a simulator but, obviously, they have not done proper flights for quite a few months," a BA spokesman said.
The modifications to the aircraft include fuel tanks fitted with bullet-proof linings and stronger undercarriages to protect wiring. The spokesman said the training could begin as early as next week although details had to be finalised. "At somewhere like Heathrow, the slots are not available for landing. We need to go to an airport which is not as busy."
An Aer Rianta spokesman said the proximity of the Atlantic meant that the Concordes could reach high speeds quickly without creating a noise nuisance.
For the daily Heathrow-to-New York service to be resumed, BA needs three Concordes to be ready. "We are hoping to resume two flights per day by the end of the year once we have five aircraft modified. After that, we will look at resuming the charter service to Barbados," the spokesman added.
Shannon Airport was used by Air France for pilot training on Concordes in the late 1970s and 1980s and has also been used by BA for its Concorde fleet.
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