UK airspace policy
The government’s policy on managing UK airspace.
The aviation industry is a major contributor to the UK economy. It supports thousands of jobs and delivers billions of pounds in economic and social benefits. Aviation can, however, also have negative impacts on communities surrounding airports, in particular noise.
Managing air traffic and the way it moves around the airspace can:
- ensure sustainable growth in aviation
- minimise negative impacts of aviation
Airspace groups
Reforming UK airspace
We are reforming UK airspace policy to update the way UK airspace is managed. This will enable us to make the most of advances in technology, which will help manage negative impacts such as noise.
In 2018, an Aviation strategy green paper was published, which outlined the government’s proposed policies to support the aviation industry in modernising UK airspace.
Following this, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) published an airspace modernisation strategy in December 2018 to outline recommended industry initiatives and a governance structure for the modernisation programme.
Background to reforming UK airspace
Updates to this page
Published 2 February 2017Last updated 6 January 2022 + show all updates
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Added Civil Aviation Authority 2021 progress report.
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Outcomes of the consultation on UK airspace policy reform.
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Information boards from the consultation information events.
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First published.