NATS Urges Change to LCY SIDs

British air traffic management provider NATS has urged the country’s Civil Aviation Authority to give fast-track approval to a change in the standard instrument departures (SIDs) at London City Airport. The change, which could be adopted this summer, will formalize a wider initial turn after takeoff before aircraft rejoin the existing tracks. Additional changes could include removal of the London City departure route to the north; changes to route alignments over the county of Essex to the east of the M25 motorway; and newly designed London City departure routes based on modern navigation techniques that concentrate traffic over a smaller area.