The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is setting out "a vision for the future of UK airspace" after the country's departure from the European Union.
The blueprint entails a "refreshed Airspace Modernisation Strategy to make sure that this invisible piece of the UK’s national infrastructure is fit for purpose", the CAA said.
The "latest developments in innovation and technology" are to be worked into the plans, the CAA added, listing drones, aerial taxis and spacecraft.
The aim is to maintain "high levels of aviation safety" to 2040, and, if possible, to improve such measures. But simplification of airspace design and regulations would also be sought, as would "interoperability" with neighbouring countries, the regulator added.
Environment sustainability is to be "an overarching principle", the CAA said, as it attempts to reshape airspace management after Brexit, which brought with it the UK's departure from the EU Aviation Safety Agency.
“The strategic vision set out in our refreshed strategy gives us a direction of travel that guides airspace modernisation. It will help make our airspace more environmentally friendly and sustainable, and deliver the many benefits of airspace modernisation," said CAA policy and strategy director Tim Johnson.
“It’s easy to forget that above our heads is a complex infrastructure that, while invisible to the naked eye, is as essential to getting around as roads and railways," said aviation minister Baroness Vere, warning that “the future of flying requires a refresh of how we use our skies".
"This new strategy will develop the infrastructure to make it fit for the future,” the baroness predicted.