19 October 2010
NATS, the UK’s major air traffic service provider, has confirmed that proposals for airspace change in the Terminal Control North (TCN) area will not be taken forward in its current form and there will be no further consultations for the time being.
The downturn in air traffic levels since the 2008 consultation has meant that there is less urgency on capacity grounds to achieve the TCN changes to the original timescale. NATS suggests that air traffic levels are not expected to return to the peak levels of 2007 until at least 2013/2014.
NATS will now incorporate the TCN proposals into a wider review of airspace over much of Southern England that is currently underway. NATS also notes that the downturn in air traffic means the service provider can take longer to reach a solution, although it was reiterated that doing nothing is not a long-term option.