Putney residents may soon hear a lot more aircraft overhead. The government has announced major plans to redraw the UK’s flight paths — and critics warn it means more noise, more disruption, and less say for those living under the flight path.
The new changes were revealed last month, when Transport Minister Mike Kane confirmed that a new national body, called the UK Airspace Design Service (UKADS), will be set up by the end of the year. This agency will be run by NATS, the company that already handles most of the UK’s air traffic control. Its job will be to completely redesign the country’s flight paths — something that hasn’t been done since the 1950s.
The official reason for these changes is to make flights quicker, cleaner, and more reliable. But experts and campaigners believe there’s a bigger goal: to make room for even more flights at already busy airports, especially Heathrow. For areas like Putney — which already sits under a main approach route to the airport — that would mean a lot more aircraft noise and an increase in early morning flights.
Limit on critical voices
There are also concerns about how these changes will be pushed through. As part of the plan, the government has said it wants to “streamline” the way flight path changes are approved. That includes changes to the current rules that require consultation with the public and assessment of environmental impacts.
Plans to expand Heathrow to include a third runway have been repeatedly beaten back by local campaigns; the new rules may have been designed to prevent that from happening again.
The legal powers to make the changes were quietly introduced in Parliament last month. They give NATS a much bigger role in designing and sponsoring flight path changes. A formal consultation is expected this September, where the Civil Aviation Authority will set out how the process will work and how local voices will be heard — or not.
Putney would be affected first. The government has confirmed that the first area to be redesigned is London’s congested airspace — and that means Heathrow. While no detailed flight paths have been proposed yet, any increase in traffic will mean more aircraft over Putney.
Third runway
The news comes as the Labour government continues to support the idea of a third runway. The airport has yet to submit a new planning application but it is said to be exploring a shorter version of the original runway plan to ease approval. The new airspace rules would also make it easier and faster to bring that change in.
The public will have a chance to comment on the broader framework this autumn, and more detailed route proposals are expected in 2026. But many campaigners say the foundations are already being laid, and the time to speak up is now — before key decisions are locked in.
Putney.News will continue to follow this story closely. If you live locally and are concerned about aircraft noise, or want to share your experience, please get in touch.
