17 October 2023
… Sort of. Sometimes you hear about a change that’s a bit technical in nature and a bit dull sounding. Some of those changes have the potential to improve things, and that’s definitely a possibility with the CAA’s recent reduction in requirements for some lateral containment within controlled airspace.
To oversimplify, given that modern aircraft now have the ability to navigate very precisely, the buffer zones built into some SIDs, STARs and ATS routes can be reduced by a third following a joint CAA/NATS safety assessment.
For someone designing any such procedures, the requirement for controlled airspace could be reduced, although there’s nothing in the regulations compelling the designers or ACP sponsors to do such a thing.
Presumably, there’s also the potential to reduce existing controlled airspace through redesigning with the reduced requirements, although given the cost and complexity of an Airspace Change Proposal, we can’t imagine a deluge of applications.
If you want the full detail, check out Annex B of the Policy for Design of Controlled Airspace Structures.
