UK aviation policy is to undergo an extensive review, after the government opened a formal consultation to update the current strategic programme.
The government has identified six objectives for the review in an 86-page document detailing the areas for consultation, which will take place in three phases over the next 18 months.
It states that it wants to ensure safety and security, encourage competitive markets, build a "global and connected" country, and "help the aviation industry work for its customers".
The government adds that it wants to support growth – while dealing with environmental concerns – and develop technology and skills as part of the policy.
Four years ago the government published an aviation policy framework which, it says, separated considerations for airport capacity in the south-east UK from other aviation policy matters.
"It is the right time to create a new aviation strategy," the government states, adding that the UK's achievements in the aviation sector have "often been overlooked" by the focus on airport capacity.
The new strategy – to be published at the end of 2018 – aims to set out policy-making for 2050 and beyond.
"The strategy will have a particular focus on consumers and cover the whole country," the document says. "It will look at where government could, and should, make a difference."
It is formally seeking opinions on the government's proposed approach and the issues it has highlighted.
"The government wants to hear from the widest possible range of people and organisations," it says, among them passengers and businesses, airport operators, airlines, private pilots, and specialist groups.
Its ambitious review seeks to address an extensive range of issues – from whether the government has the structures in place to support airspace modernisation and sustainable airport growth, to the introduction of new security technology, the use of data to smooth customer journeys, and the management of unruly passengers.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
