Testing our airspace integration concept – new partnership kicks off a busy year of OpenAir development

This year we have made significant strides towards developing NATS OpenAir as the UK-wide digital data infrastructure to enable the safe and efficient integration of crewed and uncrewed aircraft in shared airspace. The next step will see us working with Airways New Zealand.

This short-term project with New Zealand’s air navigation service provider will enable our next set of trials, utilising an updated version of Airways NZ’s uncrewed traffic management (UTM) platform, AirShare, to provide a Common Information Service function. This collaboration will enhance our testing environment and trials capability, paving the way for new activities with stakeholders.

This latest development comes on the heels of completing our first OpenAir service trials earlier in the year, alongside UTM service provider partners. Simulations focused on testing data flows and concepts of operation across the four initial OpenAir services: airspace authorisation, flight noticeboard, geographical awareness and traffic information. Our learnings enabled us to refine and shape our proposition, which we presented to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) at the end of June 2025.

We are currently in the process of setting up further trials, and working with industry on research that focuses on scaling critical national infrastructure BVLOS operations (Project SOCNI). This government-backed project has created a structured approach to designing, deploying and testing safety mitigations across national infrastructures, improving incident management and asset inspection in a real-world rail transport environment.

Aligning with the CAA’s future airspace ambitions

NERL’s formal OpenAir proposal documentation, submitted to the CAA at the end of June, outlined our vision of how OpenAir could function as a central point of truth for national or regional aeronautical data. OpenAir would act as a Common Information Service Provider (CISP), enabling the exchange of information between UTM service providers, supplementary data service providers and existing air traffic management systems. Our submission detailed OpenAir’s initial services and digital infrastructure, and proposed a charging model designed to ensure fair, non-discriminatory airspace access for all stakeholders, underpinned by transparent regulatory governance principles.

In a follow-up letter to the CAA in November, we emphasised OpenAir’s alignment with emerging airspace frameworks and re-stated the case for a single, state-backed CISP model to accelerate airspace integration while enhancing safety and national security. We have also responded to several CAA policies and consultations, including CAP 3140 on Electronic Conspicuity, the Future of Flight BVLOS Roadmap (CAP 3182) and the CAA’s draft UTM policy concept.

Industry engagement

Throughout the year we have continued to engage extensively with industry and have recently convened two new working groups consisting of UTM service providers, supplementary data service providers and drone operators. These working groups will help us refine our tariff proposals and consider how UK industry standards could be developed in future, to promote consistency in service delivery while ensuring interoperability across systems.

Looking ahead

As we move into 2026, we are looking forward to a busy year for the OpenAir project. Next steps include more shadow trials to test our concept of operations, and further design work to refine the OpenAir proposition, informed by consistent engagement with industry and government stakeholders.

We remain committed to developing OpenAir as a robust and assured digital data infrastructure to underpin the safe, effective and fair integration of crewed and uncrewed aircraft in UK airspace, aligned with the CAA’s future flight ambitions. We look forward to continued collaboration with the wider industry during 2026 to realise this vision.