2023: “You Wait Ages for a Bus, Then Two Come Along at Once...”.

“Now, that is something you don’t often see around here” I thought to myself as I was cycling to work along the rural lanes of north Dorset - that something being a red, double-decker bus! London being some 120 miles by road from my part of Dorset, it was either very lost, or perhaps on hire for a wedding or other event.

Apropos of nothing, did you know that traditionally road distances to and from London are measured from a central point at Charing Cross (in the City of Westminster), which is marked by a statue of King Charles I, at the junction of the Strand, Whitehall and Cockspur Street, just south of Trafalgar Square. Every day is a school day, right?

Source: https://rodcorp.typepad.com/

Anyway, back to the seemingly random London red bus in rural Dorset. As I started to put together this end of year blog, my thoughts turned once more to buses and the old adage “you wait ages for a bus, then two come along at once“. That fits rather neatly with our blogs - we had not published one since May then two come along in relatively quick succession.

Image Source: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images (The Guardian)

As regular readers will know, Avigation is delighted to be supporting Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance (DSAA) in introducing GNSS IFPs (i.e. a PinS approach and instrument departure) at Henstridge airfield on the Dorset/Somerset border. We are working closely with the ACP sponsor (Specialist Aviation Services) and our IPDO (Pildo Wessex), in progressing the corresponding ACP. Our last blog saw us all waiting (with bated breath…) for the CAA’s confirmation that we could start Stage 3 of the CAP1616 ACP process, the stakeholder engagement phase. After a little to-ing and fro-ing (admittedly, some of our making and some … well, not so much..), the confirmation duly arrived and we are now - finally - off and running on Stage 3 and expect to complete this activity by late January 2024 (a slightly extended timeline to accommodate the upcoming holiday period). 

We must acknowledge openly the sterling support of the CAA’s GNSS Facilitation Team, who have joined us "in the trenches" and have certainly "taken some grenades" too [we did tell you, guys…].  

So, why might this stage of the ACP process have become a little protracted?  Well, to understand that we must look first at CAP1616 [oft mentioned, seldom lauded in our blogs - speak as you find]; CAP1616 and its somewhat convoluted processes need further unpacking. Firstly, what is CAP1616?

For a variety of reasons, the CAA commissioned an independent review of the previous airspace change process (CAP725) in 2015. As a result of that review, CAP1616 was launched in January 2018 and is the process that CAA uses to make decisions on proposals to change the design of the UK’s airspace; the latest version was published in March 2021. CAP1616 is an evidence-based system that was designed in consultation with stakeholders to be fair, transparent, consistent and proportionate. Just keep those words in mind, good readers…

Simply, the process has specific stages that sponsors must adhere to and various points at which the CAA must sign-off/agree the process; the intention is to give greater certainty that change sponsors are following the airspace change process correctly. The process places emphasis on the importance of engagement with people and organisations (i.e. stakeholders) potentially impacted by airspace changes. So far so good. But, what is the reality?

Well, one observation could be that the ACP process appears weighted in favour of the application’s stakeholders; thus, it can be difficult for sponsors to navigate a process that can be seen to be overly long and convoluted and - at times - like wading through regulatory treacle. Sponsors can often be baffled and frustrated by what can only be described as unnecessarily pedantic (and occasionally, disjointed) requirements and decisions that emanate from regulatory elements of the CAA. 

Further, there seems to be an inconsistency in the application of the some of the CAP1616 requirements and, on many occasions, sponsors’ queries on how a decision process has been determined by regulators are often met with replies suggesting little more than individual regulators’ subjective opinions. This is less than satisfactory and somewhat time-consuming for sponsors. Ultimately, one of the most frustrating aspects is that ACP sponsors are left with no recourse to question/discuss a CAA decision - sponsors must simply lump it!

CAA committed to undertaking a review of CAP1616 (and associated processes) in 2021, completed the same and published Edition 5 of CAP1616 in Autumn this year. Edition 5 is “effective from January 2024”… call us bluff old traditionalists, but that seems a little imprecise (#justsayin… we assume this to be 2 January 2024, but - again - that is our interpretation…). 

At first glance, Edition 5 certainly seems to achieve one of its stated goals: to simplify the process. Like we said, “at first glance”, we have yet to really get under the hood, as our current ACPs remain under the Edition 4 processes. But - and this is the key bit - no simplification of a process can truly be forthcoming without a corresponding change in mindset within the regulatory cohort that will be administering it in the CAA. This will indeed be the true measure of the effectiveness of the CAP1616 review.

Avigation's 2023 Christmas List

As we step into 2024 with a revised CAP1616, Avigation’s wish list for Santa this year is that we have increased pragmatism from our aviation regulator.  We all know the aviation industry is very commercially driven; a more commercially-aware approach from the ACP regulators would not be misplaced.  We are the first to acknowledge that regulators must regulate and that safety (rightly) must remain paramount, surely, it is not beyond the wit of man for the aviation regulator to have some consideration of the commercial ramifications of their CAP1616 regulatory decisions. 

Some Notable Aviation-related Events of 2023...

Apart of the UK starting its GNSS PinS journey in earnest this year, there were some stand-out events for us.

Virgin's "Flight 100"

On 28 November, Virgin Atlantic undertook the first transatlantic flight by a large passenger aircraft powered solely by alternative fuels, flying from London Heathrow to New York JFK. This was a fantastic achievement and demonstrates clearly that a greener way of flying is possible. 

The Last Boeing 747 Leaves the Production Line

Image Source: Getty Images 

The last production Boeing 747 emerged from the factory and was handed over to its new operators. It’s the end of an era, and it isn’t. Some of the big birds will fly well past 2030, which means that this iconic aircraft will accumulate more than 60 years in commercial operation. Still, production has ended after 55 years.  The 747 was known for comfort, elegance and service, all things that some might posit have left the airline industry. It looks like we will still see the “Queen of the Skies” for some time to come, albeit in cargo configuration.

Post-pandemic Traffic Recovery

IATA reported recently that the statistics show that the passenger demand and traffic levels (domestically and internationally) continue to rise, which “brings the industry ever closer to completing the post-pandemic traffic recovery”.  That is indeed great news for not only the aviation industry, but also elements of the industry's supply chains.

And Finally...

It has been an eventful year all round. From all at Avigation, we wish you and those around you a wonderful holiday period and a well-deserved break, and here’s to a successful 2024 for all of us (and for UK PinS...).

P.S. Eat your sprouts.

#AvigationLtd #Aviation #ATM #Airspace #GNSS #PinS #HEMS #peaceandgoodwill #eatyoursprouts