Activity 1, Operational Requirements, considers regulatory drivers.
A regulation, such as the EU’s PBN Implementing Regulation may be the triggering operational requirement to undertake an airspace change. Indeed, this rule has three milestone dates and regulated providers of ATM/ANS are expected to comply with the requirements of that regulation. The global requirement to change all RNAV approach chart titles is another example of a regulatory requirement being the operational requirement; this requirement stems from a different source: ICAO.
Activity 3, Objectives, Scope, Resources and Timescales, may be affected by regulation.
If the project objective is set by regulation, it is inevitable that the Project objectives, scope and timelines will be greatly affected by the self-same regulation. The PBN IR is a good example of this, but when viewed together with the RNP APCH chart title change, the airspace design team could plan to dove-tail these two totally independent regulatory requirements so as to implement the chart title changes during the RNP APCH role out (which is part of the requirements of the PBN IR).
Activity 5, Safety Policy and Planning and Performance Criteria, together with Activity 6, Assumptions, Enablers and Constraints, can be influenced by regulation.
Multiple regulations could affect the performance and safety criteria for an airspace design project. Examples include the EU’s performance regulation with its efficiency targets as well as the PBN Implementing Regulation which would both affect the criteria for the implementation of PBN. The same is true when it comes to Enablers and Constraints – the PBN IR’s Acceptable Means of Compliance (AMC) encourages rationalisation of the Navaid Infrastructure and the NMF IR says how his infrastructure is to be monitored. Thus the airspace design team has to rely on its team members, each with his or her own expertise to keep the team on track to ensure regulatory compliance.