Why do we need to change the airspace? 

This is a co-sponsored airspace change proposal (ACP) between both NATS Swanwick (National Air Traffic Controllers) and LLA to improve safety and reduce delay for arriving aircraft.
 
Aircraft arriving at LLA currently share a holding area with Stansted which makes the arriving airspace complex for Air Traffic Controllers (ATC). This proposal gives LLA a new holding area North of the airfield, with new arrival routes from the holding area to the runway.
 
London Luton Airport Operations Limited (LLAOL), has been primarily responsible for designing the routes from 7000ft and below; whereas NATS Swanwick has designed from 7000ft and above.

The Airspace Change Process

The CAA have published a formal process called CAP1616, this process must be followed by LLA when making an airspace change. CAP1616 sets out a number of detailed steps that must be followed, with the CAA approval required at the end of each stage in order to progress. For more information click here.

LLA’s progress can be monitored on the CAA’s dedicated airspace change portal, which can be accessed here.

Consultation

On 19th October 2020, we launched a formal consultation to seek your views on the proposals. The consultation closed on 5th February 2021. 

Submission

In June 2021 we submitted the final design to the Civil Aviation Authority. We have published documents explaining our categorisation, our analysis, and our final design. These documents can be found on the CAA’s Airspace Change Portal.
 
The CAA have now made a decision and approved the proposal. All documents can be seen on the CAA airspace change portal.
 
Any enquiries regarding AD6 should be directed to [email protected]