The Civil Aviation Authority has launched at the end of September a consultation on proposed changes to the UK’s airspace change process (CAP 1616). This review is a critical component of the wider programme to modernise how the UK’s airspace is managed. The outcome of this consultation may have an impact on a wide range of stakeholders, including BAG members. This is the most significant update to the airspace change process since CAP1616 was first published in 2017.
The consultation began at the end of September, will run until 18 December 2025.
With the establishment of the UK Airspace Design Service (UKADS), the CAA is reviewing the airspace change process to ensure it enables the UKADS provider to deliver airspace changes efficiently and effectively, with also the opportunity to review the boarder CAP 1616 airspace change process guidance to further streamline and simplify the process.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Key Proposed Changes to the Airspace Change Process
The proposed changes are focused on streamlining and simplifying the airspace change process as follow:
Efficiency and Structure
- Combined Stages: Stage 1 and Stage 2 of the current process would be combined into a single stage.
- Reduced Gateways: Most Gateways would be replaced with 'milestone checks', where the CAA provides feedback but there is no requirement to 'pass'. The Stage 3 (Consultation) gateway will remain.
- Consolidated Final Stages: Stage 5 (Decide) and Stage 6 (Implement) are being merged.
- New Design Principles: A new set of standard design principles would apply to all Airspace Change Proposals (ACPs). Change sponsors would still need to consider local issues against these principles.
Appraisals and Assessments
- Fewer Appraisals: The initial options appraisal will be removed, leaving only the full and final options appraisal.
- Focused Assessment: The CAA will only fully assess the final appraisal. At earlier stages, the CAA will 'review' but not 'assess' the change sponsor’s work.
- System-Wide Design Assessment: The UKADS provider would assess the combined impacts of the system-wide design, including any cumulative effects, rather than focusing on individual ACPs.
- Options Appraisal: Full and final appraisals for UKADS would occur only at the ‘end state’ of full deployment, instead of at set years (like year 1 and year 10). The appraisal period will depend on the UKADS proposed timeline, no longer fixed at 10 years.
Metrics and Review
- Reduced Metrics: The number of metrics used will be reduced, particularly those related to capacity and economic impact.
- Noise Metrics: There is no proposal to remove noise metrics; however, the consultation leaves room for changes based on the updated Government’s Air Navigation Guidance (ANG) (due for consultation in autumn 2025).
- New Oversight Process: The Post Implementation Review (PIR) will be removed and replaced with an ongoing airspace performance oversight process.
Consultation and Decision-Making
- Flexible Consultation Period: The standard 12-week consultation period will be removed, allowing change sponsors to agree on an appropriate, flexible period with the CAA.
- Public Sessions: New criteria will be introduced for convening public evidence sessions.
- Decisions: The possibility of publishing draft CAA decisions is being removed.
The proposals outlined above represent a substantial change to Airspace Change Design Process. Stakeholders are encouraged to review the full proposals and submit their responses. The consultation closes on 18 December 2025. Stakeholders are encouraged to review the full proposals and submit their responses on the CAA’s Citizen Space platform.
