The CAA’s 2019 Airspace Modernisation progress report published on the 19th of December confirms the presence of GATCO as a engagement stakeholder, being the only independent organisation in the Airspace Modernisation Strategy (AMS) Governance Structure representing the views of civil and military air traffic controllers, flight information service officers and ATM professionals around the UK.
Following the directive of the UK Government, the CAA and DfT published the AMS in 2017, setting out the specific initiatives that the industry must deliver in order to modernise the UK airspace, absorb safely and efficiently the growing demand for air travel and, ultimate, achieves the objectives in current government policy. From now until 2024, coinciding with the end of the Single European Sky Reference Period 3, the AMS has identified 15 initiatives which include new airspace design, new operational concepts and new technologies.
One of the obligations of the CAA as co-sponsor of the AMS is to report to the Secretary of State every year on the progress of the programme. This year’s reports assessed 6 of those 15 initiatives as “green”, indicating that the initiative is on track to be completed on time. Those are direct route airspace, free route airspace, queue management, satellite navigation route replication, review of air traffic service provisions in the UK and air traffic management.
Of the other 9 initiatives, 2, airspace classification review and radio frequency spectrum have been assessed as “amber” (the initiative needs attention from key stakeholders to ensure completion in the timescales expected, or there may be merit in reconsidering deadlines where possible), compared to “green” previously. In addition, the report identified 2 initiatives relating to the co-ordinated airspace redesign as the most challenging ones: Future Airspace Strategy (FAS) implementation south and FAS implementation north.
You can read the full report here.