Part 1: Airspace change proposals Legal Background
The 2000 Act includes provision on air traffic services (Part 1, Chapter 1) and air navigation (Part 1, Chapter 3). Of relevance to Part 1 of the Act, under section 66(1) of the 2000 Act (air navigation: directions), the Secretary of State has a power to give directions to the CAA regarding air navigation. This was most recently done in the form of the Civil Aviation Authority (Air Navigation) Directions 2017, 4 direction 3(e) of which requires the CAA to prepare and maintain a strategy and plan for the use of all UK managed airspace (hereafter referred to as "the CAA’s airspace strategy", as defined in section 8(1). Part 1 of the Act contains provisions which enables the Secretary of State (or the CAA, if the function is delegated to it) to give directions to bring about airspace change, where this will assist in delivering the CAA’s airspace strategy.