Primary airspace restrictions for south-east England

Airspace restrictions will be placed around all 2011 Olympic Games venues in the South East of England. The major airspace restriction will be centred on London and the Olympic Stadium. These will be in force from 13 July 2012 to 12 September 2012. Airspace restrictions around other Games venues will only be in place for the duration of the event at each venue, in line with those used for major sporting events. Extra security restrictions may be placed on flights at any time. All restrictions are from ground level to the base of controlled airspace.

Prohibited Zone: Aircraft will not be allowed within the Prohibited Zone unless they are IFR traffic and have undergone crew, passengers and baggage screening in accordance with the relevant aviation security programme, and inbound to or outbound from Heathrow, London City, RAF Northolt, Biggin Hill and under the control of those airports or NATS TC or Thames Radar. They must also meet all the requirements to enter the Restricted Zone.

Restricted Zone: Aircraft will be allowed to enter the Restricted Zone if they can comply with a set of requirements defined by aircraft type (see How to use the restricted zone).

Airfields within the Prohibited Zone, and airfields within 3nm of the outer boundary of the Restricted Zone, may apply for certain exemptions to the restrictions subject to specific conditions to be agreed with the appropriate authorities. The following airfields have been identified as potential examples of these. Prohibited Zone: London City; Northolt; White Waltham; Denham; Fairoaks and London Heliport (Battersea). Restricted Zone: Duxford; Shuttleworth (Old Warden); Halton; Dunstable Downs; Lashenden (Headcorn); Earls Colne; Booker and Weathersfield. Applications will be considered on a case by case basis.

What sort of impact will this have on General Aviation?

Martin Robinson (AOPA) identified the main issue facing GA as one of capacity in the restricted area and sought guarantees that no aircraft that qualified for entry would be refused access. There are no such guarantees; while NATS says it will recruit extra staff and do its best, it says it has no realistic way of estimating traffic requirements and cannot guarantee entry - indeed, it is possible that at peak times, access will be denied.

Essentially, most aircraft will have to file a VFR flight plan on Afpex or AFTN between 24 hours and two hours prior to take-off. If the flight is approved they will be given an access code, to be quoted on first contact with ATC, and they will have to follow their flight planned route. Radio contact must be maintained, and a squawk will be given - Mode S, C or A. For the duration of the restriction, the requirement for an altitude-encoding transponder in the Stansted TMZ will be lifted. Circuits will be allowed at affected airfields without the need for a flight plan, although a transponder will be required. Gliding, hang gliding and paragliding can continue from sites notified to the authorities, as long as aircraft fly no more than 3nm from the site. Cross-country glider flying can be arranged, but will be treated the same as powered aircraft - flight plans must be filed and adhered to, radios and transponders must be carried.

Details of the restrictions, are now available on http://www.airspacesafety.com/olympics. As well as the main restrictions in the south-east of England, other venues throughout the UK will be subject to temporary restrictions notified by NOTAM. The umbrella group, the Airspace Safety Initiative, is seeking ‘Olympic airspace ambassadors’ to distribute literature and assist with the briefing programme. The services of AOPA’s regional representatives have been offered, subject to a full explanation of what will be required, so members should be able to contact them for more details.