Airspace change to come into effect on 24 September 2009
THE establishment of TMZs in the vicinity of Stansted Airport has been approved by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and will come into effect on 24 September 2009. This follows an application for an airspace change from UK air traffic service provider, NATS.In January 2009 NATS consulted with the aviation community and local authorities on its proposal to establish a TMZ in accordance with the CAA’s Airspace Change Process. The proposal was designed to solely enhance safety and the airspace classification (Class G) will remain unchanged. NATS states that the change will provide a more informed ATC environment allowing controllers to see the altitudes of aircraft, which will help reduce the impact of airspace infringements. The TMZs will extend from surface level to the base of controlled airspace (1,500 feet) beneath the Stansted Control Areas (CTAs) to the northeast and southwest of the airport. This proposal includes arrangements under which the requirements of local airspace users will be accommodated. In addition, access is permitted to any aircraft which is operating a fully functioning pressure altitude reporting transponder in accordance with the CAA’s TMZ Policy Statement or to those aircraft which the aircraft commander has obtained permission from the air traffic control unit at Stansted Airport, Farnborough Radar, or Essex Radar, as may be appropriate, to enter the restricted airspace. Phil Roberts, Assistant Director at the CAA’s Directorate of Airspace Policy, said, “Airspace infringements continue to be one of the most significant safety risks in UK airspace. The CAA has therefore approved NATS’ proposal to implement the TMZs around one of the worst affected areas of airspace at Stansted with the aim of helping to reduce infringements.”Statutory Instruments (SI)Stansted’s TMZs are implemented by means of The Air Navigation (Restriction of Flying) (London Stansted Airport) (No. 2) Regulations 2009 (S.I. 2009/2020) which come into force on 24th September 2009. The SI will be available from 28 July 2009 at:http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si-2009-index Aeronautical Information Circular (AIC)Details of the Stansted TMZs are contained in AIC No: Y 076/2009 due for distribution on 10 September 2009, which will be available at: www.ais.org.ukAeronautical ChartsPilots should note that the 1:250 000 ‘Sheet 6 England East’, due for scheduled update on 24 September 2009 will reflect the change. However, the 1:250 000 ‘England South’ and1:500 000 Aeronautical Charts ‘Southern England’ will not reflect these changes until the scheduled update planned for 8 April 2010 and 11 March 2010 respectively. NATS has also placed a downloadable chart portraying the new airspace on its website: http://www.nats.co.uk/text/252/stansted_tmz.htmlFurther airspace safety information is available at: www.flyontrack.co.uk and www.airspacesafety.com The CAA’s official decision letter covering the change will shortly be available at: http://www.caa.co.uk/airspaceregulatorydecisions
