The midpoint has officially been reached on the Scottish Airspace Modernisation consultation.
Launched on 20 October; the consultation focuses on plans put forward by Coordinated Airspace Change Proposals (ACPs), led jointly by NATS, Edinburgh Airport and Glasgow Airport, to modernise an area of roughly 61,000 km² that handles more than 200,000 flights annually.
A total of 17 public sessions have thus far been held at locations across Edinburgh and Glasgow which look to provide a forum through which local stakeholders are able to speak to both airport and NATS representatives regarding the impact and benefits of the proposed changes.
If put into motion; the plan would enable a reduction of 18,000 tonnes of CO2e – the equivalent of the emissions from more than 5,000 households per year – with direct routing set to save 79,000 nautical miles of flying per year.
The modernisation of both departure and arrival routes below 7,000ft would be handled by Glasgow Airport and Edinburgh Airport, whilst NATS would be responsible for connecting these routes into the higher-level airspace network above.
The proposals form part of a nationwide programme mandated by Government policy and the Civil Aviation Authority’s Airspace Modernisation Strategy.
Open for 14 weeks, the consultation has invited stakeholders to provide feedback on the ACPs for Edinburgh Airport, Glasgow Airport and NATS via an online portal. Thus far, the consultation has received more than 1,000 responses.
An additional seven sessions are set to take place across December and January, with Edinburgh hosting events in Musselburgh and Aberdour & Dalgety Bay, whilst Glasgow hosts events in Bearsden, Brookfield, Paisley, Johnstone and Clydebank.
A number of sessions have also been held with MPs and MSPs in Holyrood and Westminster to discuss how the proposed changes may impact constituencies.
Lee Boulton, Head of Operations Development at NATS, said:At this midway point, we’re encouraged by the number of consultation responses that NATS, Edinburgh Airport and Glasgow Airport have received so far. Consultation isn’t a tick-box exercise, it’s an opportunity for public and aviation stakeholders to provide feedback that can help to influence the final design of Scotland’s airspace.
We urge anyone in the affected areas to attend upcoming information sessions and share their views via the online portal.
The consultation will remain open until 23:59 on 25 January 2026.
