Watchdog rejects plans to alter Edinburgh Airport flight paths

Plans to change flight paths for one of Scotland's busiest airports have been rejected by an aviation watchdog,

The airport held two consultations on the issue. Picture: Ian Georgeson

Edinburgh Airport launched its airspace change programme (ACP) last year with a view to modernising its flight paths amid forecasts of continuing passenger growth at the base.

However, local campaigners have raised concerns about the number of flights potentially passing overhead, and over noise and environmental impacts.

The airport held two consultations on the issue before it submitted the case to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the ultimate decision-making authority on the matter.

However, the watchdog has now rejected the plans because the changes were “too significant” compared to those put forward during the consultations.

Gordon Robertson, director of communications for the airport, said: “We are disappointed with the CAA’s decision as we believe that it is important that airspace change is addressed for Scotland, allowing the country to continue to benefit from growth in air travel.

“We now have to use our knowledge and learnings from the process to formulate our next steps to deliver the ACP as soon as possible.”

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