Airspace Change Masterplan (Iteration 3) Scotland: Public Engagement Exercise

Overview

The Airspace Change Organising Group (ACOG) was formed in 2019 under the direction of the UK Government Department for Transport (DfT) and Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), who co-sponsor and regulate airspace modernisation. ACOG is tasked with developing the UK Airspace Change Masterplan (the masterplan), with oversight from an impartial Steering Committee of senior representatives drawn from across the aviation sector. More information is available on ACOG’s website, www.acog.aero.

In developing the masterplan, ACOG must engage with stakeholders to communicate its approach to coordinating the airspace change proposals (ACPs) required to deliver airspace modernisation. The masterplan for the changes proposed to the airspace in the Scottish Terminal Control Area (ScTMA) includes ACPs sponsored by NATS En route Limited (NERL), Glasgow Airport and Edinburgh Airport.

This ACOG-led public engagement exercise explains the proposed changes in the ScTMA at a strategic level. The engagement does not include any detailed information about the options for new route designs or airspace structures proposed in the ScTMA. These detailed designs are still being developed by the Airports and NERL in line with the CAA’s airspace change process.

Later in the process the ACP sponsors conduct formal consultations that set out the detailed designs of all the proposed changes to the routes and airspace structures in the ScTMA, supported by the outputs of a rigorous quantitative appraisal of the expected impacts (both positive and negative).