Route 4 is a departure route for aircraft taking off from Gatwick toward the west. Soon after take-off aircraft wrap 180 degrees round to the right and heads east, flying close to areas of South Holmwood, Leigh, Redhill and Reigate. 

An airspace change was initiated in 2012 and had sought to upgrade the navigational technology to the latest satellite-based technology had just been completed.  However, a community group – Plane Justice sought a judicial review that challenged the CAA’s Post Implementation Review decision to ratify that revised Route 4 departure route. And following ‘detailed and lengthy investigations’ the CAA asked the court to quash their previous decision. 

The reason the CAA felt it could not allow their Post Implementation Review decision to stand was that during the process of responding to litigation the CAA discovered that the historical changes to the conventional route were not for entirely the reasons originally identified. Because this information was not previously available to either the CAA or Gatwick, the CAA considered that that the airport could not have conducted a proper consultation in 2016 and therefore it could not allow its decision to stand. 

What’s happening now?

The Route 4 Standard Instrument Departures remain in place but have a temporary status as was the case prior to the CAA’s decision in April 2017. Aircraft departing Gatwick and flying along Route 4 will continue to use these routes. 

Gatwick initiated a new full Airspace Change Proposal (ACP) for Route 4 in December 2018. We expect to be able complete the CAA airspace change process and implement new Route 4 RNAV Standard Instrument Departures in the first half of 2021. Full details of all our airspace change can be found on the CAA’s airspace change portal; just enter ‘Gatwick’ into the search function. 

We expect that the CAA will in due course draw to a close the 2012 airspace change on Route 4 and we are waiting for a CAA decision on this matter.