28 July 2022
Be careful when flying around Birmingham over the next two weeks – airspace restrictions are in place for the Commonwealth Games from 28 July to 9 August 2022.
Commercial passenger flights to and from Birmingham International Airport will not be affected. The only aircraft exempt from the restrictions include police, emergency, medical, royal helicopter flights, aircraft operating on behalf of the Commonwealth Games broadcast service and those operating with the permission of West Midlands Police.
The restrictions also apply to drones, and any parachute, including parascending and paramotor.
A special page has been set up on the Airspace Safety website to explain the restrictions and to help with flight planning.
“You should expect increased traffic density in areas adjacent to Birmingham due to traffic avoiding the restricted areas,” says the official advice.
“There is the potential for increased traffic density of aircraft routing south of CTA-2 around the Daventry VOR / DME area.
“Whilst not replacing the fundamental importance of ‘see and avoid’ an electronic conspicuity device is a vital tool for safety and can give greater situational awareness to supplement your lookout.
“You are encouraged to obtain a service from one of the LARS units in the area. In the event that those units do not have the capacity to provide a service, pilots are strongly encouraged to make use of the Birmingham FMC (0010 / 123.980 MHz) rather than operating autonomously (squawking 7000 or 2000) or obtaining a basic service from London Information.”
AIC M 064/2022 has full details of the Restricted Airspace (Temporary).
