2019 infringements
| January | February | March | |
| CTA (includes airways) | 30 | 24 | 24 |
| TMA | 13 | 22 | 23 |
| CTR | 9 | 21 | 9 |
| ATZ | 6 | 4 | 8 |
| Restricted/Prohibited/Danger Areas | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| Temporary Restricted/Prohibited/Danger Areas | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TMZ | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| RMZ | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Total reported airspace infringements | 64 | 78 | 75 |
Rob Gratton, CAA lead for airspace infringements, stated that the statistics show an unacceptable and continued rise in airspace infringements. A great many pilots are still not using moving map technology or failing to use it correctly. In addition, a number of infringements involved pilots encountering poor weather that was forecast in formal met reports, showing poor pre-flight planning and weak Threat and Error Management.
Infringement statistics: 2017 and 2018
| Year | 2017 | 2018 |
| Total reported airspace infringements | 1162 | 1358 |
| Airspace infringements reported December 2018 | 55 | |
| CTA (includes TMA and Airways) | 812* | 706 |
| CTR | 285 | |
| * 2017 CTA and CTR combined | ||
| ATZ | 97 | 130 |
| Restricted/Prohibited/Danger Areas (perm and temp) | 81 | 87 |
| TMZ | 57 | 76 |
| RMZ | 115 | 74 |
Airspace infringements: 2018 statistics
Causal factor analysis of airspace infringements
Analysis of airspace infringement reports from 2017 has shown that the correct use of a moving map could have helped avoid 85% of airspace infringements.
Occurrence reports from private pilots were assessed against four key measures that could have helped prevent the infringement or reduced its impact on other air traffic or controllers:
- Use of moving maps with an airspace warning
- Use of a frequency monitoring code (FMC), also known as a listening squawk
- Recognition of/dealing with overload and distraction
- Better familiarity with aircraft and equipment
The report was carried out by a sub-group of the CAA’s Airspace Infringement Working Group, made up of three experienced General Aviation pilots.
- Read the full report: Causal Factor Analysis of Airspace Infringements 2017
Airspace infringement series: A controller’s story
12 April 2019: Brian Ringrose, an air traffic controller at Swanwick centre looking after airspace around Gatwick, talks about his experience with airspace infringements in the latest of the series from NATS – Airspace infringement series: A controller’s story (12 April 2019)
22 March 2019: NATS have published the first in a series of controller’s stories. Amanda Rhodes, NATS air traffic controller at Swanwick Centre looking after airspace around Luton Airport, talks about her experience with airspace infringements – Airspace Infringement Series: A controller’s story (22 March 2019)
