Greater airspace efficiency
Airspace modernisation will help to improve the resilience of the UK’s airspace.
A more efficient airspace will ensure we can all be more confident that our holidays, business trips and deliveries will not be affected by costly delays. It will also offer cleaner and more efficient routes that will benefit society as a whole.
For general aviation
Today there are an increasing number of airspace users – from commercial jets, leisure flyers and business aviation to gliders and the rapidly growing unmanned aviation sector. Safely integrating, rather than segregating, different airspace users as much as we can, will provide opportunities for maximising capacity in our airspace for everyone, ensuring flexibility and maintaining safety.
For communities
One of the most significant impacts associated with airspace at lower altitudes is aircraft noise. As part of modernising airspace, airports will be consulting with local communities and other stakeholders on the redesign of their arrival and departure routes. Overall, it is expected that upgrading airspace will make it easier for airports to better manage noise impacts on local communities. This could be achieved by:
- Creating predictable routes that could reduce the total number of people overflown, thereby reducing the impact of aircraft noise for some communities
- Redesigning routes to avoid noise-sensitive areas
- Making it easier for today’s modern aircraft to fly to their full capability with quicker climbs and later descents to help reduce the noise footprint on the ground
