Draft Transport Act 2000 (Air Traffic Services) (Prescribed Terms) Regulations 2025

Mike Kane Excerpts

Wednesday 9th July 2025 General Committees

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Mike Kane)]

I beg to move,

That the Cttee has considered the draft Transport Act 2000 (Air Traffic Services) (Prescribed Terms) Regulations 2025.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Jeremy. The UK’s airspace is a vital piece of our national infrastructure that is essential to economic growth, connectivity and national resilience. Last year, there were more than 2.4 million flights using UK airspace, but despite a significant rise in air traffic demand, the structure of our airspace has remained largely unchanged since the 1950s, when there were around 200,000 flights. Today’s flight paths remain largely based on a system that relies on a network of outdated ground-based navigational beacons. As a result, aircraft today fly less efficient routes and are unable to take advantage of modern aircraft technology and performance. If a pilot from the 1950s travelled through time, they would still know the exact routes used today. That has to change. It leads to increased fuel consumption, greater risk of delays and, as a result, higher carbon emissions. Without modernisation, National Air Traffic Services estimates that, by 2040, one in five flights could face delays of more than 45 minutes.

There is a plan to fix this: the airspace modernisation strategy, set out by the Department for Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority, and committed to by the Labour party in its manifesto at the general election. I am grateful to Government and Opposition Members who I know will support the regulations that we are considering today, which are one of the most important ways of enabling the plan for decarbonisation and improved routes to be realised. Modernised airspace will enable greater capacity, improve resilience to disruption, and help UK aviation to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

The regulations are made under powers conferred by the Transport Act 2000, for which I thank John Prescott. Under that Act, the Secretary of State may modify and prescribe terms in an air traffic services licence. This instrument designates as “prescribed” any terms specifying air traffic services authorised under a licence, and any terms specifying the area in which those services may be provided. In practice, this will allow the Secretary of State to modify the terms in the air traffic services licence granted to NATS (En Route) Ltd—a public limited company known as NERL—to create and fund a new UK airspace design service, UKADS.

If the regulations are approved and come into force, they will enable a series of important steps to happen. The Secretary of State will consult on modifications to the terms of NERL’s licence, in accordance with the procedures set out in section 11A of the 2000 Act. The CAA will undertake its own separate consultation on the changes to the conditions of the NERL licence, following the statutory requirements laid out in the same section of the Act. The combined results of the changes, if adopted following consultation, will be to authorise and require NERL to provide the UKADS and enable it to charge for doing so.

Airspace modernisation is not just a technical upgrade; it is a national strategic necessity to ensure that our skies remain safe, sustainable and capable of supporting the UK’s future prosperity and innovation. The draft regulations will enable the UKADS to deliver the benefits of airspace modernisation and to ensure that the UK continues to be a global leader in aviation for decades to come. I commend the regulations to the Committee.

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[Mike Kane]

I am grateful to the hon. Member for Orpington for stating the Opposition’s support. UK aviation enjoyed its most successful month in history in April. Over the next 20 years, we are looking at the doubling of numbers in aviation, and freight as well, so modernising our airspace is critical to making sure that there is resilience in the system.

Work was done under the previous Government, and I pay tribute to the former hon. Member for Witney, Robert Courts, for what he did, but Governments become sclerotic and the last Government did not get this measure over the line. I was glad that we committed to do it in our manifesto. What we are doing today by implementing that manifesto commitment and putting it into law will be a huge confidence boost for the aviation industry. When I have spoken to industry representatives, as I do all the time, including this morning, they tell me they have been looking forward to today, because the measure is a statement of commitment and intent.

The hon. Member for Orpington is absolutely right: who knew that flying in a straight line would cut carbon emissions? EasyJet gives the example of the journey from Jersey to Luton airport wherein the aircraft burns a third more fuel because of the path it has to take. Flying in a straight line is better for customers and for the environment, and it will produce fuel savings. He talks about winners and losers, but this measure also allows us to analyse take-offs and landings and varying routes, so we can mitigate impacts on communities. That is key.

The skillset is an essential element of that. Until now, the skills have been dissipated throughout the country. This measure puts the skillset into one place in the UKADS. That means we can concentrate on the most congested skies in the south-east, but it does not stop us doing what we need to do in the Scottish, northern and south-west airspaces. There will be funding to make sure that those other regions benefit, including smaller airports, which the hon. Member asked about. I will also commit to full transparency as we go through the process and get it over the wire to modernise airspace, so that the British aviation set-up has a confident future.

[Mr Paul Kohler (Wimbledon) (LD)]

rose—

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[Mike Kane]

I thank the hon. Member for Wimbledon for his support; we have the whole House behind the measure. I commit to laying out the details of the steps for setting up the service, how much it will cost and what the consultation will be as we go forward over the next few years.

Question put and agreed to.