A proposal to modernise Edinburgh Airport’s airspace has been resubmitted to the industry regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority.

The airport’s airspace was designed in the 1970s when the airport had around 1 million passengers per year – it now deals with 13.4 million passengers per year with flights to more than 150 destinations, highlighting the requirement for modernisation.

A change in the flight paths will allow the airport to be more flexible with flights and maintain service levels while building increased capacity for future growth at the airport.

The proposal being put forward will see E7a as the preferred option and applies for all aircraft to make a 20° turn at the designated end of the runway when departing to the east. The proposal would then guide all aircraft towards the west of Cramond and along the Firth of Forth.

It is being put forward following a supplementary consultation process which included two public sessions, an innovative Facebook Q&A session, a social media campaign and information being sent to more than 12,000 homes, elected members and groups.

A report on the supplementary consultation has also been published today and details the responses of just over 1,000 people who provided feedback during the process.

Gordon Dewar, Chief Executive of Edinburgh Airport said:

“Vast growth at the airport as well as the change in technology means we need to modernise our airspace to meet current and future demand, and it is a process many airports are looking at.

“Our approach at Edinburgh Airport must be one that is balanced between the needs of the airport and the economy and customers we serve as well as those of our neighbouring communities – we believe our proposals do that.

“Although there was no requirement to consult, we wanted to go back to our communities to listen to their valued feedback and understand their concerns. They were part of a wider conversation with our airlines and other partners who all have an interest in this process and our proposals take into account all of that dialogue.

“The process has always been about participatory democracy rather than electoral and we have gained a greater insight into our approach due to this. As with previous consultations, we have published a report detailing what we’ve heard and that will be followed by a rationale document later this month which will explain the thinking behind our resubmitted proposal.”