12 February 2008
The CAA has announced the changes which will lead to the <a href=’http://www.flyer.co.uk/news/nib.php?artnum=689′ target=’_blank’>delayed publication</a> of the next Southern 1:500,000 chart.
The changes, known as the Terminal Control South West (TCSW) airspace change, “include the introduction of one new one-way route established to facilitate arrivals to Southampton and Bournemouth Airport from the north and to enable controllers to separate this traffic more easily from arrivals to other aerodromes in the South East. NATS expects the new route structure to reduce the rate of increase in air traffic control delays in the region.
“The southerly, R41, extension will be activated at 0545hrs in the summer and 0630hrs in the winter, until 0930hrs, and then activated again at 1730hrs until 2130hrs. The northern airspace fillet will be permanent. The CAA determined that there was no justification for the additional airspace overnight, hence these activation times which are more complex than usual.”
The lowest altitude of any new controlled airspace will be 5,500 feet.
The changes also see environmental considerations: “due to a redistribution of traffic above Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) and the New Forest National Park, some areas will experience a reduction in the proportion of overflying aircraft. The CAA’s environmental analysts have assessed that the predicted noise impact will be within the Government agreed level for the onset of significant community annoyance or sleep disturbance. In addition, based on the selected aircraft and routes chosen by NATS to model emissions, the airspace change is expected to result in an overall reduction in CO2 emissions in the area.”
Full details of the changes are in a document on the CAA website – <a href=’http://www.caa.co.uk/default.aspx?catid=7&pagetype=90&pageid=9326′ target=’_blank’>get it here</a>.
