By Chris Stonor
This week, the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has begun the process of seeking views from members of the public as part of a review into the process it uses to make decisions on proposals to change the design of the UK’s airspace, known as CAP1616, reports a press release.
The air landscape is soon to radically change with the advent of delivery and medical drones alongside eVTOLs as the “fourth industrial revolution begins.” This CAA process invites all stakeholders to share their views and experiences of the process and its guidance through an online survey to help inform any proposed improvements. This also includes the public who own and enjoy flying drones.
The release says, “The process was first launched in January 2018 and, after three years, the CAA is required to undertake a review of how it is working. This will enable the regulator to make stakeholder-driven improvements to the process including efficiency and effectiveness.”
This latest stage follows a series of workshops during September where input was received from a wide variety of stakeholders, including representatives from airports, air navigation service providers, the general aviation community and representatives of communities impacted by aviation noise.
It goes on, “The feedback received through this public engagement, as well as the earlier stages in the review, will be collated and considered by the CAA. Any proposals to amend the airspace change process will be subject to a formal public consultation process, which is currently planned for summer 2022.”
Jon Round, Head of Airspace, Air Traffic Management and Aerodromes at the UK Civil Aviation Authority, commented, “This survey is a real opportunity for people to help shape the future of our airspace change process. Our review provides a chance to identify any lessons learned since its original implementation three years ago.”
He continued, “It is really important that as many people as possible take part and we would encourage anyone who has recently been involved in airspace change to complete our online survey.”
The survey is open for four weeks and closes at 11.59pm, November 30th.
For more information
https://consultations.caa.co.uk/
