On 24 December, UK airspace hosts the most important flight of the year; someone to whom the normal rules of the air do not apply. The person is, of course, Santa Claus.

Safety is always our top priority, so preparations for the big night begin earlier in the year when the man himself makes a low-key visit to NATS. His flight plan for Christmas Eve is discussed in detail and he meets the air traffic controllers who play such a pivotal role in guiding his flight.

HoHoHo504

Delivering presents to the millions of children on Santa’s N.I.C.E. List (National Inventory of Child Escapades) in just a few hours is incredibly complex work so the planning has to be meticulous. Working together we take into account the delivery schedule and decreasing weight of the on-board cargo versus the increasing weight of the pilot (millions of cookies and mince pies soon add up).

We make a list and check it twice.

This year we were actually able to film some of Santa’s visit to NATS, and while he refused to be interviewed, he has agreed that we can share it with you. We hope you agree it gives an insight into someone who is truly a unique airspace user. Enjoy.

NATS Christmas Video 2015 from NATS on Vimeo.

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02.12.2015

15:20

David Hinton

Wonderful!

02.12.2015

20:35

Beverley Austin-Smith

Love it

02.12.2015

20:55

Kostas Patouras

Brilliant! This is excellent publicity! Congrats to those who thought it out!

03.12.2015

09:52

Margaret knowles

To all Mums and Dads
Just to prove that Santa does fly round the world on Christmas Eve,

04.12.2015

17:07

Marita Lintener

What a great video! I believe in the Single European Sky and that Santa is delivering in Germany too 😉
Have a nice Christmas for the NATS team as well!

04.12.2015

21:42

Christine King

Brilliant!

05.12.2015

10:47

BOG

fantastic and to think I was a sceptic before seeing the proof he is REAL.Good job he chose Britain NATS and not the French one as they would probably strike over a bank holiday . Have a great Christmas all who read this .

06.12.2015

17:05

David Pendall

Keeping the magic alive. Well Done. And Happy Christmas

07.12.2015

20:14

Rebecca Carter

This is absolutely brilliant. I can’t wait to show my grandson that this is what we do at work.

08.12.2015

14:34

Richard Coates

Brilliant and good luck to Santa One!

08.12.2015

15:51

lisa

Good idea!

from joe and livvy

16.12.2015

16:12

John Vincent

Excellent. Yes, the normal rules of the air do not apply. Nevertheless, is the sleigh TCAS equipped? 😉

17.12.2015

13:38

Ken

Will SANTA1 be using RLatSM over the North Atlantic?

17.12.2015

19:22

Hanan Qabartai

Very nice and very related idea.
Wish all NATS colleagues a wonderful Christmas and Happy new year.

21.12.2015

12:26

keithpeers247

Love it.

21.12.2015

14:03

Paul Treadwll

Fantastic!- Merry Christmas to everyone at NATS. Thanks for the great job you do all year round not just at Xmas time!!

22.12.2015

20:38

Cesare 7

I love it

Ciao


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