In a news update from London Heliport, 2017 saw the facility handle 11,900 total movements, an increase of 5% on 2016 figures. With Halo and Starspeed now making the Leonardo AW169 available for charter, the heliport has seen a shift towards large twin-engine executive helicopter movements.

The heliport is currently undergoing a major communications network upgrade to include a new transmitter and receivers to meet the new 8.33mHz spacing regulations for VHF Ground-Air communications, as well as new voice-switch and recording equipment.

A partnership agreement has recently been ratified with the Meteorological Office to upgrade available sensor equipment which will enable London Heliport to disseminate METAR data widely to the aviation community and to make official forecasting available for the first time via skilled, qualified met. observers within the heliport ATC team – installation of the new sensor equipment is expected to commence this month, with regulatory approval from the CAA anticipated following a three-month trial to prove the reliability of observations and the data produced. The result will see a significant enhancement of weather information available to air crew of conditions when entering the challenging airspace and operating environment of the London heli-route system.

Also, according to London Heliport, work is continuing with the regulator and airspace manager to secure the future of London Heliport as the airspace and operating/regulatory environment evolves and new helicopter types and technologies emerge.

London Heliport currently runs its own helicopter charter brokerage, which means that the heliport can offer a swift response to charter enquiries.