09 Dec 2022
By Mark Swan, Head of Airspace Change Organising Group
Last month, I was delighted to have the opportunity to discuss the potential benefits that modernising airspace could hold for Scotland, including Glasgow and adjacent airports. The roundtable, hosted in partnership with the Glasgow Chambers of Commerce, generated a lively and wide-ranging debate and was a great opportunity to engage with a group of important stakeholders about modernising Britain’s airspace.
As Head of the Airspace Change Organising Group (ACOG), I am tasked with coordinating the delivery of key aspects of the Government’s Airspace Modernisation Strategy, involving 22 airports across the UK. Most people know very little about the topic, yet modernising airspace is a critical national infrastructure project for the UK that will have both economic and environmental benefits for businesses and communities across Scotland and the rest of the country.
Our roundtable was part of ACOG’s efforts to communicate to a wide range of stakeholders about the process and potential effects of airspace modernisation. It was great to have a range of voices at the table, including Gavin Newlands MP, who has been a big supporter of the programme in Parliament, knowing as he does the opportunity it holds for Glasgow Airport and Scotland as a whole. Also present were business representatives from an impressive range of sectors, including construction, events, academia, technology, local government and finance.
Business representatives were extremely interested in the reasons for, and benefits of, modernising airspace and came away much better informed and able to articulate the overarching rationale for this national transformation programme.
Britain’s airspace is vital to our economy. The year between October 2018 to October 2019 saw over £345 billion worth of imports to the UK and over £490 billion worth of exports from the UK. However, our current airspace was designed in the 1950s when there was a lot fewer aircraft in the sky than there are today. Modernisation offers the opportunity to allow flights to fly the most efficient routes, reducing carbon and noise emissions, and utilising the latest navigational technology. Importantly for business, it could reduce future delays which are set to cost the aviation industry £260 million a year by 2030.
Perhaps most exciting for members of the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce is Scotland’s leading role in the programme. Glasgow and Edinburgh Airport are in the vanguard of the delivery of this programme leading the rest of the UK. Scotland’s success will set a blueprint for the rest of the UK to follow.
If you would like to find out more about airspace modernisation and ACOG’s role, please visit our website or follow us on Twitter / LinkedIn for regular updates. You can also sign up for our newsletter for regular updates on the progress of the programme.
Thank you once again to the Glasgow Chambers of Commerce for facilitating the brilliant conversation and to everyone who came along.
Website: acog.aero/
