UK Civil Aviation Authority seeks views on the airspace change process

Today, the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has begun seeking views from members of the public as part of a review into the process it uses to make decisions on proposals to change the design of the UK’s airspace, known as CAP1616. This process invites all stakeholders to share their views and experiences of the process and its guidance through an online survey to help inform any proposed improvements.

The process was first launched in January 2018 and, after three years, the CAA is required to undertake a review of how it is working. This will enable the regulator to make stakeholder-driven improvements to the process including efficiency and effectiveness.

This latest stage follows a series of workshops throughout September 2021 where input was received from a wide variety of stakeholders, including representatives from airports, air navigation service providers, the general aviation community, and representatives of communities impacted by aviation noise.

The feedback received through this public engagement, as well as the earlier stages in the review, will be collated and considered by the CAA. Any proposals to amend the airspace change process will be subject to a formal public consultation process, which is currently planned for summer 2022.

Jon Round, Head of Airspace, Air Traffic Management and Aerodromes at the UK Civil Aviation Authority, said:

“This survey is a real opportunity for people to help shape the future of our airspace change process. Our review provides a chance to identify any lessons learned since its original implementation three years ago. Whilst we believe that the process provides a fair and transparent approach, we are keen to engage with all stakeholders, including the public, to help make any further improvements.

“It is really important that as many people as possible take part and we would encourage anyone who has recently been involved in airspace change to complete our online survey. We look forward to hearing your views.”

The survey will be open for four weeks and will close at 11.59pm on 30 November 2021.

• The public engagement process is now open for feedback using the CAA’s dedicated consultation website: https://consultations.caa.co.uk/.  
• More information about the review process and how the review is progressing on our dedicated review webpage: https://www.caa.co.uk/Review-of-CAP-1616/