Arrivals airspace change proposal

London Luton Airport and NATS co-sponsored the AD6 airspace change proposal (ACP). It was approved by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on 24th November 2021  and was implemented on 24th February 2022.

The objective of this project was to maintain a high standard of safety by reducing the complexity of LLA arrivals due to their interacting relationship with Stansted arrivals. In turn this was predicted to reduce air traffic controller workload and assure a safe and efficient operation for the future.

The CAA’s website has a page dedicated to the history, progress and documentation relating to this ACP and can be accessed via the Airspace Change portal.

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. 

The post-implementation review (PIR) is the 7th and final stage of this ACP, and its material provides evidence of what has happened since the airspace change was implemented. The PIR is not a review of the decision on the airspace change proposal, and neither is it a re-run of the final decision process.

The PIR has been published on the CAA portal on the 11th of July.

The CAA have opened a 28-day feedback window on the 11th of July for stakeholders to submit their own observations directly to the regulator (see the portal link for how to respond). This window has been extended and will close on the 11th September 2024.

Once this window closes, the CAA will collate and review that direct feedback.  They will also review how the airspace change has performed, including whether anticipated impacts and benefits in the original proposal and decision have been delivered. 

Any updates will be published on the portal.

Any enquiries regarding AD6 should be directed to [email protected].