A CONTROVERSIAL decision to grant TAG Farnborough Airport its own dedicated airspace has raised eyebrows within the Government.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group on General Aviation has announced it intends to investigate the way that airspace changes are processed by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in the UK.

It comes in the wake of TAG Farnborough Airport being given controlled zones in large swathes of South East airspace.

The application has been strongly resisted by Bramshott and Liphook Parish Council and criticised by district councillor Ferris Cowper as well as East Hampshire MP Damian Hinds.

Councillors feared the changes would lead to more flights at lower altitudes over large parts of East Hampshire, which would affect Liphook, Liss, Grayshott, Petersfield, Whitehill and Bordon, Alton, Bentley, Binsted, Four Marks, Kingsley, Selborne and West Worldham.

The flights, they say, would also lead to increased noise and air pollution over countryside within the South Downs National Park, affecting visitors’ experiences and the local economy, and also constraining airspace for other aviators.

The CAA’s approval has been met with “extreme disappointment” by Lasham Gliding Society, whose members believe the changes could ‘threaten the safety of general aviation’ and put the club’s future in jeopardy.

But TAG Farnborough Airport welcomed last week’s announcement, saying: “The proposed airspace design will offer all airspace users predictability and consistency of operations, leading to further reductions in noise and carbon dioxide emissions.

“This will result in more precise and efficient inbound and outbound flight paths, leading to fewer flights at low altitudes as arriving aircraft will remain higher for longer and departing aircraft will climb higher more quickly, as well as a nett reduction in people overflown.”

In a statement, the Civil Aviation Authority confirmed the decision to ‘largely approve’ the airport’s request for the introduction of class-D (restricted) airspace in its surrounding area, but said it was “subject to some significant concessions to the general aviation community”.

It added: “Given the increase in business aviation at Farnborough Airport, there was a material safety case for introducing controlled airspace around the airport to create a known traffic environment.”.

To accommodate the needs of other airspace users, two airspace blocks to the southwest and south of the airport will be classified as class E, not class D and TAG will also be required to collaborate on reasonable access arrangements for gliders in the vicinity of RAF Odiham and Lasham Airfield.

Regarding this airspace change as a test case, the Parliamentary Group pointed out currently the CAA and airspace-change sponsors (usually airports) make changes under a set of rules devised by the Civil Aviation Authority, with little ministerial guidance, and it wants that to change.

Parliamentay Group on General Aviation chairman Grant Shapps MP said: “We start from a position that says airspace belongs to everyone but have our concerns.”