Airspace change to go live

NATS has today (3 February) announced that its Airspace Change Proposal for the first phase of the London Airspace Management Programme (LAMP) will be implemented tomorrow (4 February), following approval by the CAA in November 2015.

The changes pave the way for wider modernisation of airspace to deliver more efficient flights, saving fuel and reducing CO₂ emissions, and reducing noise, keeping aircraft higher for longer and minimising areas regularly overflown.

The changes include:

• A Point Merge arrival system for London City Airport. This is over the sea and will replace conventional routes which are over land
• New alignments for London City departure routes that pass over Essex and Kent. Other existing routes at the airport are being replicated to RNAV standard, which will enable aircraft to climb to higher altitudes more quickly
• Daytime traffic departing Stansted that today heads towards the south will move onto the existing eastbound routes to allow aircraft to climb higher more quickly

High level changes, at 7,000ft and above, will also be implemented along the south coast affecting Bournemouth, Southampton and TAG Farnborough airports. This will mean fewer flights over land.

The changes support the delivery of the UK’s Future Airspace Strategy (FAS) and ensure that this critical but invisible infrastructure, on which an industry that contributes nearly £50bn to the GDP and employs almost one million people relies, is able to keep pace with the Government’s growth forecasts of 40% by 2030.

The decision by the CAA followed a series of public consultations by NATS, London City and TAG Farnborough airports as part of the Airspace Change Proposal.

This project has benefitted from European Union funding under the Innovation and Networks Agency (INEA) / Connecting Europe Facility (CEF).