LJLA has restarted its Airspace Change Proposal (ACP)
LJLA ACP initially started in January 2018, with the submission of a Statement of Need to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). LJLA as the ACP Sponsor followed the then new 7-Stage CAA guidance and airspace change CAP1616.
In November 2020, the Airport submitted the Stage 3 documentation to the CAA relating to the Airport’s public consultation which took place between January 2020 and April 2020. This meant the LJLA ACP immediately progressed to Stage 4a and the LJLA ACP was then paused. The LJLA ACP has now restarted having remained paused until early 2023.
During the 2 years the LJLA ACP was paused, there had been significant developments within the national and regional Airspace Change arena. These changes included the formation of the Airspace Change Organising Group (ACOG) and development of the Airspace Masterplan, in addition to the maturing of neighbouring Airspace Change Sponsors’ designs (Manchester Airport and NERL). Therefore, LJLA made the decision to re-inject into the CAP1616 process with a review of what has changed, undertaking an assessment to ensure which new design options need to be considered whilst the LJLA ACP was paused.
What is the Airspace Change Proposal (ACP)?
The LJLA ACP is an application to the CAA to change the flight paths or routes of aircraft arriving and departing from our airport. An ACP is similar to a planning application and prior to COVID and the Airspace Masterplan an ACP was typically taking 2-3 years, now it is envisaged even if everything goes smoothly and it is approved by the CAA, implementation would not be until 2027/8. The LJLA ACP will progress through the CAP1616 process and this can be observed on the CAA Airspace Change portal https://airspacechange.caa.co.uk/PublicProposalArea?pID=28
Why is LJLA seeking to change the airspace?
The initial primary motivation for LJLA to undertake the proposed airspace change was to migrate the means of navigation from land-based navigational aids to satellite based technology, whilst seeking to systemise the use of the airspace.
The UK’s airspace is some of the most complex in the world, yet it has not undergone significant change since the 1950s. The Department for Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) plan to modernise UK airspace in order to deliver quicker, quieter and cleaner journeys by air in and around the UK and to accommodate future aviation growth, with flight paths having to be redrawn in a coordinated way. As a consequence, airports and other airspace change sponsors across the UK are undertaking similar Airspace Changes that will potentially see changes to their departure and arrival routes, and en-route airways.
Where do I find more information?
All of the information submitted to the CAA in relation to this Airspace Change can be found on the official CAA Airspace Portal page: https://airspacechange.caa.co.uk/PublicProposalArea?pID=28
