Minister for Aviation (): The Department for
Transport (DfT) and
UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) are publishing the
response to the consultation to establish
a UK Airspace Design Service (UKADS), CAP 3106. The
UKADS will act as
a new single guiding mind to deliver a modernised and holistic
design of UK airspace, enabling quicker, quieter and cleaner
flights.
UK airspace is an invisible but essential piece of our national
infrastructure. Its design has remained largely unchanged since
the 1950s, when there were around 200,000 flights per year in UK
airspace, compared to 2.47 million in 2024. If UK airspace is not
modernised, it has been estimated that by 2040, 1 in 5 flights
could experience disruption and delays.
Airspace modernisation will ensure that the UK's airspace is fit
for the future, enabling aircraft to fly more direct routes with
optimised climb and descent profiles to and from energy-efficient
cruising altitudes. This will benefit UK consumers through
greater system capacity and better resilience to disruption.
Crucially, it will help UK aviation achieve net zero greenhouse
gas emissions by 2050.
The government and CAA have carefully considered
the responses to the consultation last autumn. These helped to
inform the decision to proceed with the creation of the
UKADS and
establishment of an
Airspace Design Support Fund, announced by the Chancellor on 17
March 2025 and our aim is for the UKADS to be established and
operational by the end of 2025.
NATS (En
Route) plc (NERL) will
be responsible for providing the UKADS. NERL is the only organisation in the
UK with the necessary level of resource and design expertise to
deliver the UKADS
at pace.
The initial priority for the UKADS will be to design
airspace for the London ‘cluster' of the airspace change
masterplan. The London cluster has the most complex airspace in
the UK, and modernisation will unlock significant benefits. This
would include any airspace change required for a third runway at
Heathrow.
Airspace modernisation will continue to be funded by industry,
following the user-pays principle. The cost of the UKADS will be met through a
new UK Airspace Design Charge, which will primarily apply to
commercial airlines. This charge will also enable a new Airspace
Design Support Fund to help unlock the benefits of modernisation
around the rest of the UK.
Two Statutory Instruments will be laid, using powers in the
Transport Act 2000 to enable NERL to be tasked with delivering
the UKADS. The
CAA will consult on
the charge as well as proposed changes to the NERL air traffic services licence.
Consultation responses also identified opportunities to
streamline and simplify the regulatory framework, including the
CAA's airspace
change process and the government's air navigation guidance and
air navigation directions. DfT and CAA intend to start consulting
by September 2025 on possible changes, which will continue to
support safe and efficient airspace design, proper and
proportionate assessment of environmental impacts, including
noise and engagement with local communities.
With the establishment of the UKADS, these measures will
strengthen the UK's role as a global aviation leader and confirm
this government's support for airspace modernisation and the
benefits it will bring for the country.
