Efforts to certificate the Bombardier CSeries for London City airport’s steep approach will be delayed by about two months.

The Canadian airframer has been co-operating with CS100 launch operator Swiss to gain the approval by the end of 2016. But Bombardier’s vice-president for the CSeries programme, Robert Dewar, said at a briefing with CS300 launch operator Air Baltic on 2 December that the approval now is expected to be granted in February.

He says the aircraft “meets or exceeds” specification criteria for City airport’s steep approach. However, he adds that Swiss has suggested some “further enhancements” regarding the aircraft’s flare during landing.

Swiss started scheduled flights with the CS100 in July. The Lufthansa Group carrier has orders for 30 aircraft – comprising CS100s and the longer CS300 – and uses the family to replace its BAE Systems Avro RJ100 regional jet fleet.

The Alpine carrier has recently received its fourth CS100 and is set to receive another one by year end.

Source: Cirium Dashboard