AOA Airport Operator Magazine | Winter 2022
Mark Swan, Head of the Airspace Change Organising Group (ACOG), has told The Airport Operator that the UK must press ahead with airspace modernisation to achieve early and significant reductions in carbon emissions.
ACOG was established by the Government and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in 2019 and tasked with identifying where airspace changes are needed in the lower airspace and developing a single co-ordinated plan to support the delivery of key elements of the Airspace Modernisation Strategy. It works closely with NATS, which has responsibility for airspace change above 7,000 ft., and with 21 UK airports who are responsible for their local airspace below 7,000 ft.
Setting out the timetable for the most ambitious programme of airspace change around airports that the UK has ever seen, Swan said that airports in the Wales and the West of England cluster could achieve full deployment by the spring of 2025, quickly followed by Scottish airports in the same year, North of England airports in 2026 and London area airports between 2027 and the end of 2029.
