We are going to be running a number of articles about “airspace modernisation” and the problems that it may bring to people within the vicinity of Heathrow airport.
What is “airspace modernisation”? Well, it is a process whereby the guidance systems guiding aircraft throughout their journeys (called “en route”), as well as the guidance systems guiding aircraft in and out of airports, are upgraded. Generally, this involves the conversion of navigation systems from ground based to satellite based. Satellite systems require upgrades that are referred to as RNAV (required area navigation) and are commonly called Performance Based Navigation (as the navigation adapts to the performance of the aircraft) or “PBN” for short. The upgrade along the journey is part of a European wide upgrade system. The Future Airspace Strategy Implementation (“FASI”) is divided into two – FASI South and FASI North. Heathrow is part of FASI South. It appears that the upgrade of en route navigation is sufficient to enable the completion of the FASI system. PBN Guidance in and out of airports is not necessary for this, but under EU Regulation 716/2014, updated post Brexit by the Air Traffic Management (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, all three major London airports and Manchester Airport are required to introduce local PBN.
Whether aircraft can be positioned closer together is doubtful through local PBN, and additional routes may need to be introduced, as we will explain later.
The USA has seen the implementation of PBN both en route and in and out of airports. The system introduced there is called “NextGen”. The introduction of this PBN system in and out of airports has had catastrophic consequences for many communities all over the USA. We will give further details of this.
At present there is a consultation being conducted by Heathrow in preparation for the introduction of PBN by Heathrow. We will be writing a number of articles on this, the problems that may face us and why it is so important that people get involved. The CAA are overseeing the consultation and the documents are available from their portal at https://airspacechange.caa.co.uk/PublicProposalArea?pID=386
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