In aviation, where precision, safety and efficiency are paramount, data can have an ever-increasing positive impact as we address the many challenges facing our rapidly evolving industry. That was the focus of ‘Analytics in Aviation 2025’, an internal conference that brought together more than 100 people from across NATS to hear customers, colleagues and partner organisations discuss how data, AI and advanced analytics are shaping the future of aviation.

At NATS, we believe in that same spirit of collaboration. Take Intelligent Approach as an example. It owes its origins to collaboration: NATS, Leidos, Heathrow, Think, Eurocontrol, SESAR. Each partner brought something unique to the table, and together, we have created something transformative.

This month’s episode of Altitude, recorded on the floor of the DroneX conference in London, was about moving from innovation to integration — how drones are changing the way we live in exciting ways along, together with and a desire to see an acceleration away from trials towards more routine operations.

With the great British weather being reliably unreliable, we occasionally need to put additional measures in place to safely manage flights in UK airspace. These measures ensure we can handle as many flights as possible, with minimal disruption and without compromising on safety, which is always our primary objective. Here we explore ‘low visibility procedures’ (LVPs), what are they and what they mean…

For the past seven years Aberdeen has been at the forefront of our work to enable safe beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations in segregated airspace. What has happened so far – and what are the future plans?

Pairwise is the latest example of how Intelligent Approach is helping airports to make the absolute most out of their available runways, but we’re also working on some other developments on the longer-term horizon. The one I’m most excited about is called Curved Approach.

With global air traffic now matching or exceeding pre-pandemic levels, airports face growing pressure to optimise existing resources. Ahead of the International Airport Summit (IAS) in Berlin this November, International Airport Review (IAR) editor Holly Miles spoke with Chris Miles (Calgary Airport Authority) and Marco Rueckert (Searidge Technologies) about why this challenge is so urgent, the possible solutions, and what’s on the horizon.

It begins, as it so often does on Altitude, with a conversation that is part interview, part glimpse into the future. A stretch of coastline. An aircraft that isn’t quite what the untrained eye thinks it is. The hum is different.

Quarter one of 2025 has paved the way for more opportunities to give back to the people and communities where we live and work, in the UK and overseas. This update shines a light on our increasing number of supported charities, as well as the internal Community Fund, payroll giving scheme and outreach provided by several teams to help good causes.

To keep up with growing demand for air travel, a major programme is in progress to upgrade the UK’s airspace infrastructure. Airspace modernisation aims to reduce emissions, improve efficiency and capacity and harness the latest technologies – both on the ground and in the air.