The Department for Transport (DfT) and UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) are publishing the response to the consultation to establish a UK Airspace Design Service (UKADS), CAP 3106. The UKADS will act as a new single guiding mind to deliver a modernised and holistic design of UK airspace, enabling quicker, quieter and cleaner flights.
UK airspace is an invisible but essential piece of our national infrastructure. Its design has remained largely unchanged since the 1950s, when there were around 200,000 flights per year in UK airspace, compared to 2.47 million in 2024. If UK airspace is not modernised, it has been estimated that by 2040, 1 in 5 flights could experience disruption and delays.
Airspace modernisation will ensure that the UK’s airspace is fit for the future, enabling aircraft to fly more direct routes with optimised climb and descent profiles to and from energy-efficient cruising altitudes. This will benefit UK consumers through greater system capacity and better resilience to disruption. Crucially, it will help UK aviation achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
The government and CAA have carefully considered the responses to the consultation last autumn. These helped to inform the decision to proceed with the creation of the UKADS and establishment of an Airspace Design Support Fund, announced by the Chancellor on 17 March 2025 and our aim is for the UKADS to be established and operational by the end of 2025.
NATS (En Route) plc (NERL) will be responsible for providing the UKADS. NERL is the only organisation in the UK with the necessary level of resource and design expertise to deliver the UKADS at pace.
The initial priority for the UKADS will be to design airspace for the London ‘cluster’ of the airspace change masterplan. The London cluster has the most complex airspace in the UK, and modernisation will unlock significant benefits. This would include any airspace change required for a third runway at Heathrow.
Airspace modernisation will continue to be funded by industry, following the user-pays principle. The cost of the UKADS will be met through a new UK Airspace Design Charge, which will primarily apply to commercial airlines. This charge will also enable a new Airspace Design Support Fund to help unlock the benefits of modernisation around the rest of the UK.
Two Statutory Instruments will be laid, using powers in the Transport Act 2000 to enable NERL to be tasked with delivering the UKADS. The CAA will consult on the charge as well as proposed changes to the NERL air traffic services licence.
Consultation responses also identified opportunities to streamline and simplify the regulatory framework, including the CAA’s airspace change process and the government’s air navigation guidance and air navigation directions. DfT and CAA intend to start consulting by September 2025 on possible changes, which will continue to support safe and efficient airspace design, proper and proportionate assessment of environmental impacts, including noise and engagement with local communities.
With the establishment of the UKADS, these measures will strengthen the UK’s role as a global aviation leader and confirm this government’s support for airspace modernisation and the benefits it will bring for the country.
