§ Mr. MacdonaldTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the minimum authorised separation(a) vertically and (b) horizontally between civil and military aircraft under the "Military Assumes Responsibility for Separation of Aircraft" provisions.
§ Mr. NeubertThe term military assumes responsibility for separation of aircraft (MARSA) relates solely to the separation of aircraft within a military formation operating under air traffic control. Under MARSA, the formation leader assumes responsibility for maintaining separation between the individual aircraft comprising the formation.
In regulated airspace, the normal United Kingdom criteria for separation between aircraft apply between the formation and any civil aircraft. These are a minimum of 674W 1,000 ft vertical separation when the aircraft are flying below 29,000 ft, and a minimum of 2,000 ft vertical separation when they are flying above 29,000 ft. In the absence of vertical separation, the minimum horizontal separation is normally never less than five nautical miles. The responsibility for ensuring that these criteria are met remains with air traffic control.