New body to be created to tackle airspace inefficiency

An organisation tasked with making flight routes more efficient is to be established, the Department for Transport (DfT) has announced.

The body of aviation experts working with airports will produce “a step change” in airspace modernisation, the department claimed.

The UK Airspace Design Service (UKADS) will initially review London’s airspace, which is the busiest in the UK.

Much of how the UK’s airspace is used dates back to the 1950s, when there were fewer flights and aircraft navigated using ground-based beacons.

DfT officials believe enabling planes to use modern navigation technologies will boost efficiency, such as by reducing the need for aircraft to enter holding patterns before receiving permission to land at busy airports.

Inefficient use of airspace contributes to increases in fuel consumption, carbon emissions and flight times.

Routing

EasyJet, the UK’s biggest airline, has described the problem as a “universal issue” across the whole of Europe but said the “greatest inefficiencies” for its operations are in the UK.

Among the impacts are aircraft being required to climb in steps after take-off, complex routing, and delayed descents to manage the workload of air traffic control (ATC) staff.

EasyJet published the results of an AI-based study that found airspace inefficiencies increased its CO2 emissions in the year to the end of July 2024 by 10.6%.

Changes

The Government and regulator the Civil Aviation Authority are working with ATC provider Nats with the aim of setting up UKADS by the end of the year.

The DfT and the CAA will consult on changes to the process of making airspace changes by September.

Tim Alderslade and Karen Dee, the chief executives of trade associations Airlines UK and AirportsUK respectively, said in a joint statement that airspace reform is “a major priority”.

They said: “This consultation must result in a quicker and more proportionate system so we can deliver the overall programme as quickly as possible and ideally before the end of the decade.”