Future Airspace

Find out how London Stansted is modernising airspace.

Stansted Airport future airspace

Introduction

In 2017, the Government set out its policy on the future of UK airspace which made it clear that airspace modernisation is essential. UK airspace has undergone very little change since it was first mapped out in the 1950s, and with the increasing demand for flying, a lot of the way our skies are managed is outdated.

Therefore, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) launched their Airspace Modernisation Strategy in 2018 with the objective of delivering quicker, quieter and cleaner journeys.

London Stansted Airport fully supports airspace modernisation and the wide range of benefits that it can offer, notably helping to reduce carbon emissions, enabling us to better manage how noise impacts our local communities, reducing the need for aircraft stacking on arrival and reducing delays for passengers.

There are seven clear stages to the formal airspace change process, London Stansted Airport has completed Stage 2 and have received approval to move on to Stage 3 which will include a full public consultation.

Stages of Future Airspace Development

Stage 1 involved two steps:

  • Step 1A required us to submit a Statement of Need which outlined the reasons for change and what we want to achieve from the change.

  • Step 1B was an opportunity for us to work with local stakeholders to determine a set of design principles that will be used to guide the development of our airspace change. Design principles are high level considerations that will be used as a framework to inform the development of the design options.

Stakeholder Engagement

Stage 1 included a number of face-to-face focus groups with local stakeholders and members of the public. During these sessions we asked stakeholders a number of questions about their views on what our design principles should include and if there was any other issues relevant to them. These sessions were moderated by YouGov, an independent research company, and overseen by the Stansted’s Airspace Team. The feedback collected in these sessions provided key information that the team used to form the basis of our draft design principles.

In addition to this, an online survey portal was developed and this included the same questions asked in the focus groups. This allowed stakeholders and members of the public to comment on what they felt our design principles should consider.

We felt it was important to make sure the views of our stakeholders had been accurately reflected in the development of the design principles; therefore we took the decision to carry out a second phase of stakeholder engagement. However due to the restrictions associated with the COVID -19 pandemic, our initial proposals for face to face workshops had to be reconsidered. As a result YouGov conducted three online workshops where stakeholder could debate the draft design principles and provide feedback. The feedback from these sessions resulted in the final 11 design principles.

Submission

All the work completed at Stage 1 was submitted to the CAA in summer 2020. This included the final design principles and a detailed Design Principles Report.

The CAA approved our Stage 1 work in August 2020, allowing the airport to proceed to Stage 2 of the CAP1616 process.

For more information on what was included in this report, you can find all the documents submitted to the CAA at our Stage 1 gateway in the document library at the bottom of this page and on the CAA’s dedicated airspace change portal.

London Stansted Airport submitted the work completed in Stage 2 in February 2022 and received formal approval from the CAA to move to Stage 3, Consult.

Step 2A

The first phase included a number of face to face focus groups with local stakeholders and members of the public. During these sessions we asked stakeholders a number of questions about their views on what our design principles should include and if there was any other issues relevant to them. These sessions were moderated by YouGov, an independent research company, and overseen by the Stansted’s Airspace Team. The feedback collected in these sessions provided key information that the team used to form the basis of our draft design principles.

In addition to this, an online survey portal was developed and this included the same questions asked in the focus groups. This allowed stakeholders and members of the public to comment on what they felt our design principles should consider.

We felt it was important to make sure the views of our stakeholders had been accurately reflected in the development of the design principles; therefore we took the decision to carry out a second phase of stakeholder engagement. However due to the restrictions associated with the COVID -19 pandemic, our initial proposals for face to face workshops had to be reconsidered. As a result YouGov conducted three online workshops where stakeholder could debate the draft design principles and provide feedback. The feedback from these sessions resulted in the final 11 design principles.

Step 2B

These route options were then assessed as part of the Design Principle Evaluation (DPE). The purpose of the DPE is to assess how the route options respond to the design principles and identify routes that warrant further analysis in the Initial Options Appraisal (IOA). It important to note that route options that do not meet the criteria in the DPE were discounted. The IOA provided a qualitative assessment of each route option which included impacts such as air quality, tranquillity and costings.

Submission

All the work completed at Stage 2 was submitted to the CAA in February 2022. We received approval from the CAA in March 2022 and will proceed to the Stage 3 which will include full public consultation. You can view our submission report and all accompanying appendices on the CAA’s airspace change portal.

Stage 3 focuses on the consultation element of the CAP1616 process and is split into several steps.

Step 3A requires the airport to plan its consultation and engagement strategy. This will include how the airport will consult and what methods will be used. This step also requires the drafting of consultation documentation. The airport will also complete a Full Options Appraisal (FOA) of the route options designed in Stage 2. This will look at options in more detail and assess the impacts they may have. The CAA will then review this to ensure it is comprehensive and clear. Where appropriate the CAA will provide approval to move to Step 3C. The airport will then carry out a full public consultation on the proposed systems. All the feedback collected during the consultation window will be collated, reviewed and categorised in Step 3D.

Video Library

London Stansted Airport Airspace Change Progress So Far

How do aircraft currently depart?

How do aircraft currently arrive?

What is Performance Based Navigation?

Future Airspace FAQs

Airspace is the term usually used to refer to the area from the ground to a height of 66,000ft. UK airspace is among the busiest in the world and therefore needs to be managed carefully to make sure we can provide safe and reliable journeys.

NATS is responsible for managing UK airspace, through their air traffic control centres. Individual airports, such as London Stansted Airport are responsible for managing their local airspace, making sure that arriving and departing aircraft are safety co-ordinated with the national control centre and other airports nearby.

The way we manage airspace remains largely unchanged since the 1950s and with an increase in demand for air travel, our airspace is reaching capacity. Although advances in technology have brought improvements, a lot of the way our skies are managed was for a different time. For example, to keep aircraft safe NATS builds in delay when the airspace gets too busy. While today flights experience only around 10 seconds of air traffic control delay. It is forecast that by 2030 passengers could face delays of more than 30 minutes. Early analysis by NATS also suggests airspace modernisation could deliver up to 20 per cent of annual savings in fuel burn and CO2 emissions.

The modern ways of flying that are available to us might mean that we can make customers’ journeys more reliable, reduce the effects flying has on our environment and make further improvements in safety.

There are a number of stakeholders involved in this programme, however the CAA have overall responsibility for the process of modernising airspace. The Government expects all UK airports to modernise airspace close to their runway (below 7,000ft) and our national air traffic service provider (NATS) are modernising airspace at higher altitudes (above 7,000ft). To makes sure that all the changes to lower and higher altitudes work together, the Government and the CAA have set up a new body, the Airspace Change Organisation Group (ACOG) to co-ordinate the program of airspace modernisation projects

The CAA have set out a formal process, called CAP1616, that all airports must follow throughout their airspace change programme. CAP1616 outlines a number of detailed stages that must be followed, with the CAA approval required at the end of each in order to progress. You can find out more about CAP1616 by following this link to the CAA’s website.

You can find out more information about London Stansted Airport’s current operations by clicking here.

We have created an independent Stakeholder Reference Group (SRG) to challenge and provide advice on our communication and consultation plans. The SRG will be made up of a selection of stakeholders and will meet periodically during the Future Airspace project to comment on and review the process that London Stansted Airport uses during the whole CAP1616 review.

If you would like to be kept up to date with developments, please email futureairspace@stanstedairport.com with the following information and we will add you to our mailing list:

  • Your name

  • Your postcode

  • Your Email address or postal address

In line with General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), the information you provide will be used solely for the purpose of corresponding with you about future airspace and all details will be destroyed at the end of the programme. You can find our data protection policy by following this link.

Document Library