The Civil Aviation Authority has said flight delays should fall under a shake-up of how changes to airspaces are signed off.
An update to the Airspace Change Process (CAP1616), coming into effect on 1 October, will streamline how airspace changes are proposed, assessed and approved.
According to the CAA, the revised framework will help cut flight delays caused by capacity constraints and improve the efficiency of airspace, while ensuring the impacts to local communities are properly considered.
The overhauled CAP1616 will be rolled out nationally, but will have an ‘immediate effect’ on the proposed airspace changes to London hubs, the CAA added.
The announcement of the changes come the week after Heathrow CEO Thomas Woldbye said the airport was forced to freeze out over 40 airlines due to limited capacity.
CAA Director of Safety and Airspace Regulation Giancarlo Buono said: “Following recent changes to Government policy, the UK’s airspace must continue to evolve to support a changing aviation sector, from modernising existing operations to accommodating new technologies and users. The revised CAP1616 process provides a simpler and more proportionate framework for making these changes.
“By tailoring requirements to the scale and impact of proposals, we can reduce unnecessary burdens and help organisations make progress, whilst keeping a consistent focus on safety, evidence and impact.”
