Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department takes to ensure that the views of affected communities are taken into account in decisions on Airspace Change Programmes.

In October 2017 the Government published revised air navigation guidance to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and the aviation industry. This guidance requires airspace change sponsors to consult with those who may be affected including airspace users and communities and to take their views into account when finalising their proposals.

A key requirement in the guidance is the need for sponsors following the Air Navigation Guidance 2017 to carry out a full assessment of the airspace options they are considering. This assessment takes into account the health effects of the proposals.

Under the new CAA airspace change process (CAP 1616) all relevant information is published on the CAA website. For proposals being considered under the old CAP 725 process, we have asked the CAA to ensure that the final proposals submitted to it for approval are also published on its website.

As agreed with CAA, any airspace change sponsor who had launched their public consultation on their proposal before 2 January 2018 is being assessed against the requirements of CAP725 and the Air Navigation Guidance 2014.