The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has opened a consultation on a proposed framework for System Wide Information Management (Swim), aimed at improving how aviation information is shared across the sector.
Swim is intended to establish the standards, infrastructure and governance needed for secure and interoperable information exchange. The CAA said it would help organisations publish, discover, access and use aviation information more effectively.
Industry input sought
The regulator said Swim would not be a single IT platform or product, but a framework defining how information is shared. Its consultation covers the proposed direction of travel, the components needed to implement the system and guidance to support the transition to a digital, information-centric aviation ecosystem.
The CAA said: “As aviation gets more complex, with crewed and uncrewed aircraft operating in the same airspace, it is important that reliable operational information can be shared with different users.”
It added: “To support this change, aviation information needs to be accurate, timely, appropriately assured and understood consistently by those who use it.”
Framework due in 2028
The consultation is focused on the CAA’s Preliminary Draft Swim Implementation Framework and is the first formal opportunity for industry to contribute to the UK implementation. The regulator said it would continue refining the framework through consultation, stakeholder engagement and implementation experience, with publication targeted for 2028.
The CAA plans to publish the Swim Technical Architecture and Operational Scenarios for crewed users in 2027. The consultation opened on 6 October and closes on 6 January 2027.
Responses will inform future airspace policy under the UK’s wider Airspace Modernisation Strategy.