Luton Airport welcomes airspace change decision
The aim is to simplify and modernise the arrival routes for flights
London Luton Airport and air traffic control provider NATS has welcomed the approval of an airspace change.
Known as ‘London Luton Airport Arrivals’, the change has been approved by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
It follows a public consultation that ran from October 2020 to February 2021, which received feedback from more than 2,400 respondents.
It consulted on two options to simplify and modernise the arrival routes for flights into the UK’s fifth busiest airport and segregate them from Stansted’s, to ensure continued safety.
Feedback was incorporated into the final design submitted to the CAA earlier this year.
Work is now underway to train air traffic controllers and ensure pilots are familiar with the new routes and accompanying procedures.
Implementation will take place overnight from 24 February, 2022.
After a year of operation and for the final stage of the official airspace change process, both sponsors, London Luton Airport and NATS, will submit the past 12 months of real flight performance data to the CAA.
This will be compared to the expected outcomes of the change as outlined in the proposal.
The CAA will then carry out a post-implementation review.