Morecambe Bay RPAS Transit Route

This proposal is for a Temporary Danger Area (TDA), for which a scaled airspace change process applies and a change level is not applicable. The detailed process requirements are published in the Temporary Danger Area Policy Statement.

In support of the NHS response to COVID-19, we wish to apply under CAP1915 for and on behalf of University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust to fly Unmanned Aerials Systems (drones) across Morecambe Bay to provide expedited delivery services between Lancaster Royal Infirmary, Furness General and Westmorland General Hospitals.

The current airspace within which we wish to establish the Temporary Danger Area is 100% Class G at the northern edge of Morecambe Bay. We are unaware of any airspace design changes in this area. The current prevailing air traffic situation is utilisation predominantly by General Aviation with some commercial rotary traffic and some military fixed-wing.

Typically GA aircraft transit the Morecambe Bay Area normally to the west if using the coastal route down around the Cumbria peninsula, or, in good weather conditions down the M6 route to the east, occasionally through the central lakes routes. Commercial rotary traffic operate from the central lake district area over the Morecambe Bay Area down to Blackpool and beyond with approximately 8 sorties a week.

Predominantly GA aircraft operate out of Blackpool and use the Morecambe Bay area for General Handling or Flight training.

The local geography of the area that we wish to establish a Temporary Danger Area in is coastal/tidal sands, with a minimal overflight of the urban population, roads, railway infrastructure to affect operations. The opportunity has arisen as a by-product of COVID-19, with the Hospitals trust contacting Electric Aviation and asking if we can help provide a drone “direct flight” solution between Hospitals.

Electric Aviation Limited, working with University Hospitals Morecambe Bay NHS Trust are planning on developing a Remote Piloted Aircraft Solution to ferry pathology samples between Lancaster Royal Infirmary, Westmorland General and Furness General Hospitals, across Morecambe Bay. Once all the relevant approvals are in place, we plan to conduct a BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line Of Sight) flying operation between the above-mentioned sites.

The CAA have determined that this project is in scope of the airspace change process and that a Temporary Danger Area (TDA) will be required for the route to segregate our operation. To that end, we are required to formally engage fellow airspace users who will potentially be affected by the proposed TDA.

Details of the proposed TDA, subject to approval by the CAA, can be found at:
www.morecambebaydrones.com

The Airspace Change Proposal reference is ACP-2021- 022 and all documentation associated with this proposal is available via the link on the above website. We wish to create minimal impact to the operations of other airspace users while avoiding overflight of inhabited areas where possible. Our aim is to be as VFR friendly as possible and to work with other airspace users to ensure safe operations.

We would appreciate it therefore if you could review the proposed TDA, completing any comments you may have regarding this proposal from an aviation perspective using the comments form on the website by 1700 hours on Friday 23rd July 2021.

If you do wish to speak on the phone, please e-mail first so that we can arrange a mutually convenient date and time. For reasons of transparency, we must upload all feedback to the Airspace Change Portal. We will share feedback with the CAA in its original form, but published feedback will be redacted to remove personal details.

We appreciate your feedback on this proposal, and we would like to thank you in advance for taking the time to respond. However, if you do not feel that your organisation is affected by the proposed TDA then there is no need to respond. If we do not receive a response from you, we will assume that you have no objection to the Airspace Change Proposal as published.

Electric Aviation Limited