Aberdeen International Airport’s Airspace Change Proposal has been approved by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), marking the successful completion of Stage 5 of the airspace change process. The airport will now move towards implementation of the approved changes.
This milestone comes as the result of almost six years of design development, engagement and refinement. The proposal supports the wider modernisation of airspace, led by the CAA which regulates the UK’s airspace, to modernise UK infrastructure through the introduction of modern, satellite-based navigation.
We are grateful for the time, engagement and expertise shared throughout the process, which have helped us to reach this point.
Our Airspace Change Proposal includes:
- New satellite-based arrival procedures to provide operational resilience and support training.
- The release of a small section of controlled airspace that is not routinely required for aircraft arriving at or departing from Aberdeen International Airport, making it available to other airspace users.
We expect this proposal to result in little noticeable change to what you would normally experience from airport operations, and the approved changes do not affect departure procedures or Aberdeen's helicopter route structure.
The new arrival procedures will provide additional operational resilience when existing navigation aids are unavailable and will also support airline training.
The consultation on the proposal has now concluded. The approved proposal and supporting documents can be viewed on the CAA Airspace Change Portal here. If you have a question about implementation, please contact [email protected].
Next steps
The changes are not yet operational. Ahead of implementation, the airport will complete the necessary technical and operational preparation.
The approaches will be available for airlines to use from 26th November 2026. During the first year of use, data will be gathered to ensure the approaches are working as intended. Following this, we will enter Stage 7 of the CAP1616 process and carry out a formal Post Implementation Review. This will be when the change is analysed to make sure it is performing as intended.
The CAA will seek feedback on whether any impacts of the change are as expected, before deciding whether the change should be confirmed on a permanent basis.
Get in touch
For more information, please contact our team:
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 0800 066 8943