LEEDS Bradford Airport has launched a public consultation on changes to its airspace.

The changes will allow the airport to cope with an increasing amount of traffic whilst ensuring safety.

The consultation outlines potential amendments to aircraft arriving and departing LBA.Whilst departure routes will not change, aircraft will be able to climb earlier. It is planned that arrival routes will adapt slightly with aircraft flying fewer miles, and that these changes will reduce disruption to local communities.

The new procedures will require additional airspace to ensure aircraft operate with greater efficiency and provide sufficient spacing between arriving and departing aircraft.

The consultation document lists 82 reportable safety events between May 2006 and May 2013.

It says: "One of the main issues that LBA is trying to resolve by making a change to the operating practices for air traffic is the preservation of the safety of operations by the prevention of safety-related incidents, which occur due to the congestion and complexity of air traffic operations. We assessed that it is necessary to provide greater protection to our carriers, particularly in the busiest periods."

Al Siddoway, head of Air Traffic Control at LBA, said: "These proposed amendments are complementing the benefits being proposed as part of a consultation that is currently taking place separately by government on UK Airspace Policy. They provide a range of environmental benefits including reduced noise impact on local communities, reduced CO2 emissions and fuel savings.

"Delivering more accurate aircraft routes would meet the requirements of both national and regional policies, and directly contribute towards the airport’s objectives within its recently published Masterplan: Route to 2030."

He added: "Considerable time and effort has been invested in developing these procedures to reduce impact on local communities. We would encourage interested parties to participate in this consultation process."

In a foreword LBA's chief executive David Laws says: "This consultation is taking place in order to outline amendments to the routes aircraft fly when arriving and departing from the airport.

He adds: "The UK is an island trading nation with an aviation industry which contributes nearly £50bn to GDP and employs nearly 1m people. However, the airspace infrastructure on which it relies is struggling to keep pace with forecast growth of 40 per cent by 2030. The new UK Airspace Policy being consulted on by the Government, 'sets the direction for how the planning, management and regulation of UK airspace should develop to maintain and improve the UK's high levels of safety while addressing the many different requirements on the airspace system'. "

To read the consultation document and respond, visit www.leedsbradfordairport.co.uk/about-the-airport/airspace-change-proposal-consultation before the deadline of September 29.