UK Civil Aviation Authority Case Study

1000s/sec

ADS-B data points processed in real time

120

CAA airspace planners and analysts provisioned across the organisation

100s

Airspace structures continuously monitored

From months to minutes: airspace analysis that once required commissioning an external consultancy now runs continuously, in-house, on demand.

About the client

UK Civil Aviation Authority

The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is the public body responsible for regulating and designing UK airspace, operating under the Department for Transport. The CAA needs a continuous, evidence-based understanding of how the UK's airspace structures are used today, and how proposed changes, from drone integration to spaceport activity, would affect them.

Sector: UK public sector, aviation regulation
Remit: Regulation and design of UK airspace
Software: Airspace Analyser (AA), built on Flo.w, Emu Analytics' Total Operations Orchestration Software
Users: 120 airspace planners and analysts
Deployed: 2021

"The Airspace Analyser has proven invaluable to the Airspace Classification Review Team. The ability to filter and interrogate historical and live data allows us to investigate and validate insight that we receive through a variety of channels. This has helped to influence and shape our discussions with airspace change applicants and airspace users."

Principal Airspace Delivery, UK Civil Aviation Authority

Value proposition

Why Flo.w?

Real-time, visualised insight into how every UK airspace structure is used to inform and predict future use
Ingests thousands of ADS-B data points per second, turning raw aircraft position data into evidence the CAA can act on
Continuous evidence for regulatory and consultation processes, replacing one-off consultancy studies
Faster, safer decisions on drone integration, spaceport activity, and future airspace change
Secure, cloud-based software built for regulatory-grade use
Scales across the organisation, from individual analysts to full airspace planning teams

Background

The Challenge

The UK Civil Aviation Authority is responsible for regulating and designing the UK's airspace, and needs a clear, evidence-based understanding of how that airspace is used today, and how proposed changes would affect it. Before Flo.w, this analysis relied on commissioning an external consultancy for each individual study, a process that was slow, manual, and expensive. By the time these long-winded reports were delivered, the underlying airspace picture had often already moved on, leaving CAA analysts working from a point-in-time view that was out of date before it was even finished.

As drone integration and spaceport activity placed growing demands on UK airspace, the CAA needed the ability to understand utilisation continuously, not periodically.

Approach

The Solution

CAA worked with Emu Analytics to build Airspace Analyser (AA) on Flo.w. Airspace Analyser continuously ingests real-time aircraft location data, picked up by ground receivers from partner Plane Finder, processing thousands of ADS-B data points every second from aircraft transmitters. This is turned into a measure of how aircraft intersect each of the hundreds of 3D airspace structures across the UK.

This has moved the CAA from commissioning periodic, external analysis to running continuous, real-time airspace monitoring in-house. Analysts can now query patterns of airspace usage by geography, time period, aircraft type, and traffic density on demand, building evidence for regulatory investigations, consultations, and long-term airspace modernisation without waiting on an external report.

Results breakdown

What Changed for the CAA

Safety

Before Airspace change decisions were made on periodic analysis that was often already outdated.

With Flo.w Continuous, real-time visibility of how aircraft actually use every airspace structure, overlaid with safety data such as airprox events and infringements, gives the CAA the evidence to assess risk and impact before changes are made.

Security

Before Airspace usage data was gathered ad hoc, through external consultancy engagements.

With Flo.w A secure, cloud-based deployment, built for regulatory-grade use, keeps sensitive movement data and analysis under the CAA's own control, in-house.

Efficiency

Before Each analysis required commissioning a consultancy, then waiting for a long-winded report.

With Flo.w CAA analysts run their own queries instantly, turning a process that used to take months into one that takes minutes, freeing the organisation to respond to airspace change proposals as they arise.

"The additional overlaid safety data such as airprox and infringements, adds a significant layer of intelligence to help us generate effective and positive airspace change."