The Air Navigation (Restriction of Flying) (Sywell) Regulations 2026

Published: Mon 22nd Jun 26

These Regulations prohibit aircraft from flying below 5,500 feet above mean sea level within a specified two-nautical-mile radius of Sywell Aerodrome during the British Aerobatics - Open and National Championship.

The mandate applies to all civil aircraft between 21 July and 26 July 2026, during specific daytime hours, unless they receive explicit permission from the contest directors or the Sywell Air Ground Communications Service. The Secretary of State for Transport issued these restrictions under the Air Navigation Order 2016 to manage safety during high-energy aerobatic manoeuvres.

Arguments For

The Secretary of State asserts that the restrictions are necessary in the public interest due to an intended aerobatic competition.
The explanatory note states that aircraft involved in the competition will perform high-energy manoeuvres.
The Civil Aviation Authority and the Department for Transport argue that restrictions are required to ensure public safety during the event.

Arguments Against

General aviation pilots may face inconvenience or operational delays due to the temporary exclusion zone around Sywell Aerodrome.
Regional flight planning may be complicated by the requirement to monitor Co-ordinated Universal Time (UTC) conversions to British Summer Time (BST) during the specific six-day window.
Local airfield operators or transit flights not involved in the competition are restricted from using the airspace unless they secure prior permission from designated contest directors or Sywell ground communications.

Citation and commencement

These Regulations may be cited as the Air Navigation (Restriction of Flying) (Sywell) Regulations 2026 and they come into force on 21st July 2026.

This section establishes the official name of the statutory instrument and sets the date it becomes legally active. The regulations take effect on 21 July 2026.

Interpretation

In regulation 3(2) the times referred to are Co-ordinated Universal Time( b ).

This section defines the temporal standard used within the document, specifying that all listed times are in Co-ordinated Universal Time (UTC).

This requires external conversion for users operating under British Summer Time, which is one hour ahead of UTC.

Restricted airspace

-(1) Subject to paragraph (3), during the periods specified in paragraph (2) no aircraft is to fly below 5,500 feet above mean sea level within the area bounded by a circle having a radius of 2 nautical miles which is centred at 521817N 0004729W.

(2) The periods referred to in paragraph (1) begin with-

(a) 0800 hours and end with 1800 hours on each of the five days beginning with 21st and ending with 25th July 2026, and
(b) 0800 hours and end with 1500 hours on 26th July 2026.

(3) Paragraph (1) does not apply to any aircraft operating in accordance with a permission issued by-

(a) the British Aerobatics - Open and National Championship contest director,
(b) the British Aerobatics - Open and National Championship assistant contest director, or
(c) the Air Ground Communications Service at Sywell Aerodrome.

This section prohibits aircraft from entering a circular zone of 2 nautical miles around a specific coordinate near Sywell at altitudes below 5,500 feet.

The restriction applies from 08:00 to 18:00 UTC between 21 and 25 July, and from 08:00 to 15:00 UTC on 26 July 2026.

Explicit exemptions are granted to aircraft that have obtained permission from the event's contest directors or the aerodrome's communication service.

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