Of note, the Shared Airspace Council (SAC) provided upon request two Board members as delegates, and as the aviation industry’s burgeoning representative body on the focussed purpose of the safe integration of all airspace. The SAC believe that it is appropriate, timely, and most of all useful to reflect on this key milestone.Aviation is presently going through significant change. Not only with the necessary greening of fuel types, or the ongoing concerns over airport developments and closures, but also due to the rapidly growing number of drones – be it small or significantly large (facilitating the movement of key medical suppliers and safe inspection of infrastructure amongst many other tasks), and electric air taxis. The National Airspace is becoming ever more congested and in need of safe integration through inclusion.It is therefore critical to have a proactive and engaged Regulator at the helm of this process.
The Review states that:
”This conclusion [from the recent ICAO audit] is supported by this review, which has confirmed that the CAA is fit for purpose and delivers high quality services to the aviation and aerospace industry and the consumer.
The SAC looks forward to the implementation of the Review’s recommendations designed to improve the CAA’s efficiency and functionality and no doubt address the responses to the call for evidence.
But change needs to deliver more than efficiency and functionality; based on our engagement in the Review Process, the SAC strongly support recognition of the need for effectiveness.
The CAA is intuitively a proactive risk management organisation, and we now have the situation where it is well positioned to enable the next generation of aviation, both nationally and globally, with appropriate and scalable Regulation, not least of which, supports the safe integration of all airspace users.
As an independent, broad-based organisation, the SAC adopts an evidenced-based approach to its recommendations; this review has highlighted both positive and negative aspects of the CAA’s performance. The SAC is consequently very pleased to take the evidence of this review as endorsement of the CAA’s safety critical work and the need for change in broader aspects of airspace development.
The SAC very much looks forward to working further and closely with the CAA, and all relevant bodies, with the common purpose of achieving our respective, and mutually supporting goals.
