The Environment

Please note - on February 23 2009 NATS announced that it is to conduct a new consultation on revised proposals for the TCN region. Following simulation and technical testing of those new designs there is still more work to be done before we publish our plans for this part of the airspace.

On October 22 2009 NATS announced that, as a result of the further work still required to be done on the designs and the downturn in air traffic internationally, any further consultation would not now be held before September 2010 at the earliest.

The information on this website relates to the 2008 consultation, which closed in June 2008, and is being kept live for information only. The new proposals will be posted on this site when the new consultation begins.

We recognise the impact of aviation on the environment in terms of noise, visual intrusion, local air quality and emissions from aircraft.

In this proposal, routes below 4000ft have generally been positioned to avoid flying over sizeable population centres. Between 4000ft and 7000ft, we have tried to balance the demands of mitigating noise and reducing fuel burn and emissions. Above 7000ft increasing fuel efficiency and reducing emissions has taken priority.

It is impossible for routes to avoid every village, town and city - and where we avoid some we inevitably have to fly over others.

However, we have tried to avoid as many as possible taking into account the competing aims of ensuring safety, reducing delay and mitigating the environmental effects. NATS has attempted to achieve a balance between these competing demands.

For full details on the environmental aspects of this proposal, issues of tranquillity and visual intrusion please refer to the consultation document.