Systemisation will become a defining feature of how aircraft navigate the skies, bringing greater predictability, improved efficiency and better use of the UK’s busy airspace.

FRA is a cornerstone of the UK’s Airspace Modernisation Strategy and one of several operational transformations being deployed by NATS to update the airspace.

In this blog, Rich Crooks, Manager Airspace Delivery, explains how NATS is progressing the path to modernise UK airspace.

Last week, on 2nd December 2021, NATS implemented the biggest airspace change ever undertaken in the UK and introduced Free Route Airspace for the first time into UK skies. It’s an exciting milestone in a project which has been underway for over five years and will enable huge fuel, flight time and CO2 savings. But what is Free Route Airspace (FRA) and what does it mean for airlines?