NATS OpenAir – another step closer to integrated airspace

Development of NATS OpenAir, our proposal for a future integrated airspace management system, continues apace.

We’re not alone in believing tomorrow’s aviation landscape is lining up to look very different from that of today, with more and more new and diverse airspace users seeking access to our skies from a multitude of service providers. To cope with this heightened demand from an increasingly wide variety of crewed and uncrewed aircraft, we’re developing comprehensive proposals for a new integrated airspace management entity whose services will pave the way to safe and seamless integration for new and existing airspace users.

With input from industry and government stakeholders, and ensuring close alignment with the Airspace Modernisation Strategy, we’re designing OpenAir as an integrated  airspace and network management entity.  Capable of collating and distributing real-time, reliable and comprehensive aeronautical data to a range of service providers, OpenAir will deliver a foundation for increased automation and digitised air traffic services.

In the early stages of development we proposed that OpenAir’s initial service offering would consist of airspace authorisation, geographical awareness, registration management, and conformance monitoring.

Having listened to the views of industry stakeholders and partners, we have amended our proposition so it aligns more closely with what they have said they need and with their broad view of market requirements.

Engagement so far has shown us that there is a strong appetite for airspace authorisation and geographical awareness services. However, feedback from consultees was that live data services such as traffic information and a flight noticeboard would be more useful at this stage than registration and conformance monitoring services, so our proposal has been changed to reflect that feedback.

Accordingly, we’ve now turned our design focus towards developing these four services  as the initial core of NATS OpenAir, incorporating a common method to manage access to controlled airspace, a single point of truth for all geographical information and all approved flights, and both a live and an historical traffic information service.

Airspace authorisation service

The airspace authorisation service will provide a big-picture view to enhance the management of integrated controlled airspace. This service will harmonise the process and information required to access integrated airspace in the UK, providing a single and consistent point of access for all UAS operators through their UTM service providers.

OpenAir will create a secure infrastructure network of connectivity between UTM service providers, OpenAir services and ANSPs to enable a backbone for all transactions.

Geographical awareness service

Designed to provide air and ground information, the geographical awareness service will distribute aeronautical information, NOTAMs, terrain details, static population density, and surveillance coverage maps to users.

Traffic information service

The traffic information service will offer live and historical datasets to UTM service providers, derived from independent ground-based detection networks, allowing them to present live air traffic information to their operators.

Flight noticeboard

The flight noticeboard function will provide a single point of truth of all UAS flights planned to fly in integrated airspace. In transponder-mandatory zones and temporary reserved areas, this will include flight plans that have already been deconflicted with all other UAS; in controlled airspace the data will incorporate all submitted UAS flight plans approved by the airspace controlling authority, such as an airport. Access to the Flight Notice Board will be appropriately managed to give access to UTM service providers and ANSPs.

Our proposals for NATS OpenAir have been shaped through collaboration with industry and other aeronautical stakeholders, and that collaboration will be even more crucial as we refine and evolve OpenAir further to support the industry’s growing ambitions. We are committed to building these initial services and will engage in further consultation later this year to ensure that we fully understand all perspectives.

OpenAir must meet the needs of the entire aviation community, and feedback on our proposals will be key to ensuring that it does. We look forward to hearing from you.