Nota
Surprised no one has mentioned this yet but it looks as though a sizeable chunk of Oceanic Airspace is going to be given away to the Irish. The Northern Oceanic Transition Area would consist of the block of airspace between 10W (the current ScACC/OAC boundary) and 15W upto 57N though the actual coordinates have not been decided yet.
The Irish have a radar that can cover that area and make the rather dubious claim that the industry will save 40 million Euros per year through the benefits of radar surveillance in that area.
The NATS line for handing it over is that by doing so the IAA will not try and claim a bigger stake in the Shanwick Oceanic area where revenues are, at the moment, split 70/30 in favour of NATS. And it is not our sovereign airspce, anyway. Hmmmm....
At the open meeting held at ScACC last week, concerns were expressed at the possibility of ScACC losing traffic - either by new routes introduced from 15W that avoid ScACC airspace or by tactical rerouting by Shannon controllers - but we were assured that this would not be the case. Hmmmm again...
Despite all this, I can see no logical argument against it. If there is radar coverage out there, it would be stupid not to use it. I'm sure the airlines would benefit, though probably not to the tune of 40 Million Euros per year, from earlier climbs when eastbound and cutting a few corners when westbound.
From a ScACC level, we benefit from making the southwest sector that bit easier by not having to deal with OAC clearances with all the hassle that comes with it. Now that sounds a good idea to me...
Any other views on the matter?