CAA

Following a formal 24 month Airspace Change Proposal process ARPAS-UK Member Snowdonia Aerospace Centre  (SAC) is pleased to announce that Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) approval has been granted for the establishment of the UKs first commercial and privately controlled Danger Area in support of the research and development of novel aerospace systems.

The new Danger Area provides an area of segregated airspace immediately around Llanbedr Airfield for testing of future air vehicles, including Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) Drones and Electric Air Mobility Vehicles, together with an air corridor to link the Airfield to the existing adjacent MOD Danger Area D201 in Cardigan Bay to enable further extended range, altitude and endurance testing including potentially a number of near space operations.

The new Danger Area extends to 420km² with the option of then using the adjacent MOD Danger Area which extends to a further 7000+km²

SAC began the process in July 2019 with an initial Statement of Need being issued to the CAA to support their Proposal. Prior to this SAC had operated under a number of Temporary Danger Areas (TDA) when customers were looking to test their experimental air vehicles at the Airfield. With an increasing customer base and demand for the facilities it was becoming no longer commercially viable for SAC to continue to operate under this basis. A more permanent solution was required. The new Danger Area became live from the 09 September 2021, some 2 years post the process starting, and will be activated by NOTAM as and when required. 

The Welsh Government provided financial support to SAC to assist with a proportion of the costs of the 2 year project.

Economy Minister Vaughan Gething said: “The Welsh Government is committed to supporting the continued growth of the aerospace and space sectors in Wales and I am delighted we have been able to assist in bringing this exciting and ambitious project to reality. As a UK first this scheme further enhances the unique physical and business environment Wales offers companies in the industry. The testing and evaluation capabilities available will make Llanbedr Airfield even more attractive to companies in the field. It also confirms its status as the Centre of Excellence for pioneering and innovative aerospace research and development in the UK.”

As part of the CAA’s formal CAP1616 process Snowdonia Aerospace had to follow and pass a number of set Stages including developing acceptable Design Principles, Design Options,  Environmental and Noise assessments and a full public consultation from which 140 responses were received. The CAA were satisfied that the efficient use of airspace will not be compromised and the proposal would limit any impact to other aircraft users. The CAA were also satisfied that the new designated Airspace would have no discernible adverse environmental impact and all relevant environmental factors have been considered in line with government policy.

Jeremy Howitt, Future Flight lead at Snowdonia Aerospace said “The positive decision by the CAA illustrates their commitment to support the development of innovation across the aerospace sector in line with the UK Airspace Modernisation Strategy. The Llanbedr Danger Area provides an unrivalled operational test environment for customers looking to accelerate the development of their drones, urban air mobility vehicles and other novel aerospace systems and will also be a key element in Snowdonia Aerospace’s own flight testing under the UK Research & Innovation Future Flight Challenge as we seek to develop BVLOS drone services to support communities across Wales.”

SAC have been appointed the designated Danger Area Authority (DAA) and they are the first and currently only commercial DAA in the UK as all other existing Danger Areas around the UK have the MOD as the DAA. Within all MOD controlled Danger Areas MOD operations must take priority of use over any commercial activity. The new permanent Danger Area at Llanbedr Airfield has been developed to serve the needs of commercial operators who remain frustrated by the lack of suitable and viable testing facilities in the UK and is   designed to encourage the commercial exploitation and growth of the future of aviation.

As part of the approval the CAA also created a first and new descriptive activity of operations permitted within the Danger Area. The new permanent Restricted Airspace at Llanbedr will not only allow the testing and operation in segregated airspace of unmanned air systems (drones) and balloons (including airships) but will also now allow the new activity of Test & Evaluation (T & E) operations to take place. T & E has been defined as single or multiple aircraft conducting manoeuvres that may not be able to comply with the Rules of the Air and has been developed to cater for the development and testing of amongst others, electric air vehicles.

Lee Paul, Partner and CEO of SAC stated “ We are delighted after over 2 years work and significant further investment that we have secured a UK first. The development of the new permanent Airspace will significantly enhance the UK RD & TE capability in environmentally friendly aircraft and electric technologies and will enable UK businesses to retain future flight test programmes in the UK rather than the operating abroad thereby retaining economic activity and jobs in the UK economy.

Lee Paul further added “The award of the new Danger Area will now enable us to continue with the ongoing planned further investment at the Airfield and reinforce the Airfield as the UK’s Centre of Excellence for novel aerospace research and development. We are shortly to be announcing new employment and training opportunities for Operations Assistants and Flight Information Officers which we are aiming to recruit from the local area.

We are receiving an increasing number of enquiries from companies looking to take advantage of the new “testing environment” and our first customer is planned for later this month. This is also a significant step in the development of Spaceport Snowdonia and we believe we are the first proposed Spaceport in the UK which has now secured its required Airspace need to support future spaceport operations.”

John Whalley CEO of Aerospace Wales and co-chair of the Space Wales Leadership Group said “This is a huge step forward for Snowdonia Aerospace Centre/Spaceport Snowdonia, underpinning its role as a key UK asset for the development of disruptive flight technology, spaceflight and new applications to support the community and key sectors of the economy. Congratulations to the whole team.”

Further details and booking of the new Airspace can be made by contacting [email protected]

28 September 2021