2020 reported infringements
| January | February | |
| CTA (includes airways) | 20 | 6 |
| TMA | 9 | 8 |
| CTR | 9 | 5 |
| ATZ | 3 | 4 |
| Restricted/Prohibited/Danger Areas | 2 | 2 |
| Temporary Restricted/Prohibited/Danger Areas | 0 | 0 |
| TMZ | 0 | 1 |
| RMZ | 0 | 0 |
| Total reported airspace infringements | 42 | 26 |
| January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December | |
| CTA (includes airways) | 29 | 23 | 24 | 40 | 63 | 39 | 59 | 65 | 34 | 28 | 6 | 12 |
| TMA | 13 | 21 | 26 | 21 | 31 | 39 | 37 | 41 | 28 | 18 | 11 | 8 |
| CTR | 9 | 21 | 14 | 34 | 35 | 30 | 36 | 39 | 29 | 17 | 13 | 12 |
| ATZ | 5 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 18 | 13 | 6 | 10 | 2 | 4 |
| Restricted/Prohibited/Danger Areas | 2 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 2 | 3 |
| Temporary Restricted/Prohibited/Danger Areas | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| TMZ | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| RMZ | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total reported airspace infringements | 63 | 76 | 83 | 119 | 159 | 146 | 179 | 179 | 104 | 86 | 35 | 42 |
| Year | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
| Total reported infringements | 1162 | 1358 | 1271 |
| CTA (includes Airways) | 812 * | 706 ** | 411 |
| CTR | * included in 2017 CTA figure | 285 | 289 |
| TMA | * included in 2017 CTA figure | ** included in 2018 CTA figure | 294 |
| ATZ | 97 | 130 | 100 |
| Restricted/Prohibited/Danger Areas | 81 *** | 87 *** | 54 |
| Temporary Restricted/Prohibited/ Danger Areas | *** included in 2017 Restricted/Prohibited/Danger Areas figure | *** included in 2017 Restricted/Prohibited/Danger Areas figure | 13 |
| TMZ | 57 | 76 | 46 |
| RMZ | 115 | 74 | 48 |
Airspace infringements: 2017 and 2018 statistics compared
ICG meeting data
Each month the CAA will publish statistical data of infringement Mandatory Occurrence Reports (MORs) processed under CAP1404 by the CAA’s Infringement Coordination Group (ICG). The IGC is a cross-organisational Regulatory Group comprising members of the CAA and one member of the Military Aviation Authority (MAA); details of composition can be found in CAP1404.
The MORs processed do not correspond numerically to those reported in the same month due to the time taken to collate MOR, Pilot and supporting supplementary reports. MORs are read by the ICG when one or more of the following exist:
- Loss of separation
- Safety Intervention Measures implemented such as (but not exclusive to) avoiding action, radar vectors, cessation of departures, holding etc
- Repeat Infringement by pilot-in-command
March 2020 ICG decisions
| Course of action | Number | Summary |
| Closed with no further action | 4 |
|
| Advisory letter | 27 | |
| Online tutorial and test | 3 | |
| Practical training | 0 | |
| Airspace Infringement Awareness Course (AIAC) | 8 |
|
| Provisional suspensions | 3 |
|
| Ongoing investigations | 0 | |
| Licence revocation | 0 |
| Course of action | Number | Summary |
| Closed with no further action | 8 |
|
| Advisory letter | 34 | |
| Online tutorial and test | 5 | |
| Practical training | 1 | |
| Airspace Infringement Awareness Course (AIAC) | 11 |
|
| Provisional suspensions | 3 |
|
| Ongoing investigations | 1 | |
| Licence revocation | 0 |
| Course of action | Number | Summary |
| Closed with no further action | 11 |
|
| Advisory letter | 35 | |
| Online tutorial and test | 3 | |
| Practical training | 3 |
|
| Airspace Infringement Awareness Course (AIAC) | 8 |
|
| Provisional suspensions | 0 | |
| Ongoing investigations | 0 | |
| Licence revocation | 0 |
| Course of action | January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December |
| Closed with no further action | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 5 |
| Warning letter (*) | 4 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 19 | 60 | 74 | 56 | 56 | 51 | 22 |
| On-line test | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 1 |
| Flight training (**) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | |||||
| Airspace Infringement Awareness Course (AIAC) | 17 | 10 | 13 | 15 | 23 | 18 | 15 | 22 | 11 | 22 | 12 | 5 |
| Provisional suspensions | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| Ongoing investigations | 6 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 13 | 8 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 2 |
| Licence revocation | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
(*) from 1 June 2019, all other pilots subject of airspace infringement MORs are contacted by the CAA to notify them of their airspace infringement and a pilot report requested. Once the investigation is complete, and if an airspace infringement is confirmed, the pilot will be sent a warning letter to close the occurrence.
(**) listed as a separate course of action from June
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
A series of controller’s stories from NATS
Mark Davenport, an air traffic controller at Swanwick centre, talks about his experience with airspace infringements. Airspace Infringement Series: A controller’s story… (20 May 2019)
Brian Ringrose is an air traffic controller at Swanwick centre. He talks about his experience looking after airspace around Gatwick. Airspace infringement series: A controller’s story (12 April 2019)
Amanda Rhodes is an air traffic controller at Swanwick Centre. She talks about her experience looking after airspace around Luton Airport. Airspace Infringement Series: A controller’s story (22 March 2019)
