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Jumbo jets will be allowed to glide into Auckland's international airport with their engines at idle to test a new procedure to reduce emissions and fuel consumption.
Air New Zealand and Qantas planes are to be allowed to land Boeing 747s at quiet times on "glide" without interruptions from the air traffic controllers, to trial the eco-friendly landing technique.
Under the trial Airways Corporation, which runs the air traffic control service, will give pilots a pre-agreed descent path and speed, and then allow them to land uninterrupted - a procedure which is expected to save fuel and reduce emissions.
Air New Zealand chief pilot David Morgan said there were no safety risks - it would allow for a "perfect landing". Jetliners always "glided" when on a descent, on a very low thrust until some acceleration was needed to compensate for the drag of the landing gear and flaps.
However, the descent was often interrupted by air traffic control ordering pilots to level out for a period, or go into a holding pattern to make way for other air traffic.
The trial meant pilots would be assured of a clear path of descent and other air traffic kept clear so they could land without interruptions from air traffic control. He said interrupting a descent by flying level for a time period was inefficient and used a significant amount of fuel.
"So we want to try this consistent approach and measure its benefit to the airlines, in terms of how much fuel they will save. It isn't yet quantified, but it will be significant savings."
The trial will start in mid-April and has the backing of pilot's union the Air Line Pilots Association.
Its president, Captain Mark Rammell, said there were no safety issues.
"It lets the plane do what it's designed to do," he said. "It's not engines off. The engines aren't shut down. Every time we do a descent, the engines come right back to low power."
An Airways Corp spokesman said there were similar trials in San Francisco, the Netherlands and Melbourne.
