Airspace: South East

(asked on 7th June 2018) - View Source

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress he has made on proposals for a major overhaul of airspace allocations in the South East of England; and if he will make a statement.


Answered by
Jesse Norman Portrait
Jesse Norman
This question was answered on 15th June 2018

Airspace modernisation is a priority for the Government. It should ensure that we have an optimal airspace configuration that can meet the future reasonable demands of airspace users, whilst also minimising the environmental effects of noise and emissions.

In 2017, the Secretary of State commissioned NATS to produce a feasibility assessment of the potential future airspace requirements for airports in southern England. This work was the first step in the co-ordination of airspace modernisation, examining its feasibility, and potential implementation.

NATS provided its report to the Department in May 2018, and it is now being assessed with the help of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). We expect to publish the high level findings of this report later this year.

The NATS report will be taken into account by the CAA as it develops the strategy and plan for the modernisation of UK airspace which the Department has tasked it to do. The CAA is due to provide its first report to the Department on the plan’s delivery in December 2018, and annually thereafter.

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