CAA safety plan, licensing hub and airspace reform
12 April 2026
This week’s OnFinal lands just as the UK GA season starts to gather pace. The common thread is clear: more tools, more process, and more attention on how we use the airspace around us. There’s plenty to note before the weekend flying begins. The CAA is pushing ahead with safety planning, licensing changes and airspace reform consultation, while Met Office and Skywise updates add a few practical items for anyone heading out in the circuit, en route, or to an event. As ever, the best spring flying starts with a tidy pre-flight briefing and an eye on what’s changed since last time. Here are the items worth having on your radar this week.
ACOMS Required for Airspace Submissions. The CAA says that from 1 April 2026, ACOMS becomes the only accepted route for submitting Unusual Aerial Activity applications. Email, legacy forms and any other channels will no longer be accepted, so operators are being urged to switch across without delay. The notice says this should improve consistency, compliance and traceability for submissions. The alert also asks users to make sure their ACOMS accounts and permissions are set up in good time to avoid disruption to planned activity. For anyone involved in airspace submissions, it is a neat reminder to check the portal now rather than discover a blockage at the point of need.
If you’re filing anything airspace-related, double-check the latest submission route and the code or reference you’re expected to use before you start. Small admin changes are where easy delays creep in.
The UK’s airspace system is continually being modernised through consultation, which means even long-standing pilots can find a familiar route or procedure quietly evolving.
In the circuit
UK Main National Aviation Safety Plan
The CAA’s Skywise alert points readers to the UK Main National Aviation Safety Plan (NASP) 2026–2029, saying it is tied to ICAO’s Global Aviation Safety Plan and the EUR Regional Aviation Safety Plan, and sits alongside the UK State Safety Programme. It is presented as the main framework for the next three years’ safety priorities, with Operational Key Risk Areas, Organisational Challenges and Safety Enhancement Initiatives intended to improve aviation safety management. For UK GA pilots and enthusiasts, the key takeaway is that this is a strategic safety roadmap rather than a day-to-day operating notice. If you want the bigger picture on where the UK is focusing its safety effort over the coming years, this is the source to read.
Notification of Suspension
Gulfstream Aerospace Limited, a UK DOA, has told the UK CAA that it intends to surrender a number of STC approvals that were originally issued by EASA and later accepted into the UK system after 1 January 2021. The Skywise alert, SW2026/088, is dated Thursday 2 April 2026 and simply lists the approvals affected. For readers, the key point is administrative rather than operational: if you rely on any of the cited STCs, it is worth checking the CAA’s certification notification list to understand what is changing and whether it affects your aircraft or maintenance plans.
CAA asks licensing applicants to help test new Licensing Hub
The CAA’s Skywise alert says it is working to improve the information architecture of its website, with a particular focus on Licensing. It is inviting licensing applicants — including pilots and air traffic controllers — to join a user research session to review proposed licensing pages and help make the new Licensing Hub easier to navigate, clearer, and quicker to use. The sessions are being held online via Microsoft Teams between Thursday 7 May and Wednesday 13 May 2026, and last one hour. The CAA says no technical or regulatory expertise is needed, just a computer and mouse, and a willingness to talk through the experience while navigating the pages.
Identification codes for airspace restrictions
The CAA says it is amending the identification codes used for airspace restrictions that apply only to Unmanned Aircraft Systems. The notice makes clear that this is a technical change only: the structures’ names and dimensions are unchanged, and the update is published in the UK AIP Part 2-ENR 5.1.\n\nSkywise points readers to AIC W 020/2026 for the background, with the revised codes published in the UK AIP AIRAC 05/2026. For UK GA pilots using airspace products and planning tools, it is one to note if you rely on the coding behind restricted-area data, even though the underlying airspace itself is not changing.
New Met Office Aeronautical Visualisation Service (MAVIS)
The CAA Skywise alert says the new integrated, regulated Met Office Aeronautical Visualisation Service (MAVIS) is now live, and describes it as a significant step forward for safer, smarter decision-making in aviation. It also notes that the legacy Met Office aviation services are due to retire on 24 March 2026, so users of Aviation Briefing Service, HeliBrief, Network Weather Resilience and OpenRunway are being urged to move across to MAVIS now to avoid any interruption to regulated weather data. The alert points readers to the Met Office website for updates and FAQs, and to MAVIS for sign-up and further information. For UK GA pilots, the practical takeaway is simple: if you rely on those Met Office products, make the switch promptly and keep an eye on the linked guidance as the service evolves.
AAIB March 2026 bulletin lands with a familiar mix of GA and commercial casework
The March 2026 AAIB Bulletin is a 67-page roundup of reports, published by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch on 12 March 2026. For general aviation readers, the bulletin’s headline GA correspondence cases cover a CZAW Sportcruiser forced landing after the canopy opened in flight at Firs Farm Airfield, and a Jodel D112 that struck the ground during a go-around at Barton Aerodrome. There is also a sport aviation item on an EV-97 teamEurostar UK that made ground contact during an engine-failure demonstration at Athey’s Moor Airfield. The page also lists one commercial fixed-wing field investigation, along with record-only investigations and a bulletin correction. As ever with AAIB’s monthly compendium, the value is in the detail and the quiet lessons tucked inside each report, so UK pilots and club members may want to read the original bulletin rather than rely on the headlines alone.
On the calendar
25 April 2026
Spring Vintage Fly-in, Compton Abbas
25-26 April 2026 at Compton Abbas Airfield, Salisbury, this FLYER-listed event is a vintage fly-in with PPR required and contact details provided for pilots planning to attend. It’s a neat date for UK GA enthusiasts who enjoy classic aircraft, a social airfield day out, and the chance to head to Compton Abbas with a properly organised arrival in mind.
2 May 2026
BMAA AGM 2026 at Popham Airfield
On Saturday 2026-05-02 at 13:00, the BMAA will hold its AGM in the presentation tent at the Microlight Trade Show at Popham Airfield. It’s aimed at BMAA members, with the annual report, agenda, proposals, accounts and minutes all posted alongside details for online attendance for those who can’t get there in person. For UK GA pilots and enthusiasts, it’s a useful chance to stay on top of microlighting governance and the decisions shaping the sector.
1 May 2026
TopNav 2026 opens entry for GPS-free navigation challenge
Set for May 2026 at five UK airfields — Bodmin, Compton Abbas, Popham, White Waltham and Peterborough Conington — TopNav 2026 is the Royal Institute of Navigation’s annual visual navigation competition, with weather contingency dates built in for each site. It pairs pilot-and-navigator crews in a dead-reckoning challenge using map reading, timing and visual references rather than GPS, making it a sharp, hands-on way for UK GA pilots and enthusiasts to test and refresh core airmanship skills.
18 April 2026
Air Race School returns to Popham ahead of UK series
On 18-19 April 2026, Air Race School returns to Popham Airfield for a free weekend run by the Royal Aeroclub Records, Rallying and Racing Association (RRRA). It’s aimed at pilots and navigators who want to learn the rules, techniques and handling needed to join the British Air Racing series, with the bonus of a practice course and race check-pilot guidance for those bringing their own aircraft. For UK GA pilots, it’s a hands-on doorway into an unusual and accessible branch of flying where almost any aircraft can compete under handicapping rules.
17 May 2026
Ultimate High GA Safety Day
On 2026-05-17, the BMAA’s events page lists the Ultimate High GA Safety Day, a safety-focused gathering for UK general aviation pilots and enthusiasts. The page shown here gives the event date but does not expose a location or further programme details in the text available, so the main draw is a BMAA-listed chance to put safety front and centre within the GA community.