05 Jan 2023

UK Civil Aviation Authority puts forward proposals to improve the airspace change process

The UK Civil Aviation Authority has today proposed to simplify the guidance for airspace change to help improve the process for airports, air navigation services and those affected by airspace change.

Known as CAP1616, the regulator’s new proposals will make its guidance easier to understand and make the requirements of the stages, steps and gateways to request an airspace change clearer.

The UK Civil Aviation Authority also wants to make the process more proportionate and tailored to each proposal put forward.

First published in 2018, the regulator committed to review the CAP1616 process three years after its implementation.

Jon Round, Head of Airspace, Air Traffic Management and Aerodromes, said:

“Airspace change affects so many of us, and as an organisation we strive to keep learning and improving. Our proposals will go some way to making sure the airspace change process is easier to understand and that the requirements at each step are much clearer.

“The engagement we have undertaken so far has been invaluable in understanding how the airspace change process can be improved, both for change sponsors and those affected by airspace change.

“This gives us the opportunity to reflect on feedback and make further improvements to the guidance.”

This review gives the Civil Aviation Authority the opportunity to reflect on the lessons learned following the implementation of CAP1616 and make further improvements to the airspace change process.

The improvements have been proposed following engagement with industry. The UK Civil Aviation Authority is now seeking views on its consultation on what the updated airspace change guidance will look like.

The consultation opens from today (5 January 2023) and closes on 5 March 2023. It can be accessed here.

Contact Information

UK Civil Aviation Authority Press Office
press.office@caa.co.uk

Notes to editors

The UK Civil Aviation Authority is the aviation and aerospace regulator.
The consultation is open until 5 March 2023 and is available at https://consultations.caa.co.uk/safety-and-airspace-regulation-group/acp2022
Airspace is the portion of the atmosphere controlled by a State above its territory and areas over the sea within which a State is committed by international treaty to provide air navigation services (which includes air traffic control). It is an invisible national asset.
Changes to the design of UK airspace are proposed by an airspace change sponsor, usually an airport or a provider of air navigation services (including air traffic control).
Airspace change proposals vary greatly in terms of size, scale of impact and complexity. Some may have little noticeable operational or environmental impact. Others may require a complex restructuring of airspace with consequences both for airspace users and the environment, including people on the ground impacted by noise.
The more impactful of such operational procedure changes are therefore also subject to a Civil Aviation Authority approval process. The number and scale of airspace change proposals which the CAA receives each year varies considerably. Some approaches by sponsors do not go beyond initial outline conversations and never progress to a proposal. Some proposals can last several years between the first conversation and the final decision.
The UK Civil Aviation Authority reformed the airspace change process and introduced CAP1616 Airspace Change in December 2017 to ensure that it meets modern standards for regulatory decision-making, and is fair, transparent, consistent and proportionate. The process ensures that when the CAA decides whether or not to approve a proposal to change UK airspace, it does so in an impartial and evidence-based way that takes proper account of the needs and interests of all affected stakeholders.