The last couple of weeks have seen a strong Jet Stream and some rapid transatlantic crossings. That’s prompted some people to wonder if those flights have actually been flying faster than the speed of sound and going super-sonic.

The weekend of the 7th-9th July marked a pivotal moment for aviation. Our Shanwick Oceanic ATC team, based in NATS Prestwick Centre, Scotland, set new benchmarks for Oceanic traffic movements, whilst delivering high levels of efficiency and safety.

From 1 March, anyone flying at Flight Level 330 and below will be able to do so entirely free from of the OTS structure. This change means anyone operating at those levels will have the flexibility to file a random route plan and choose the trajectory that suits them.

There was no fanfare or fireworks, but last Tuesday was a significant day in the history of transatlantic air travel. For the first time in decades there were no westbound tracks across the North Atlantic.

The dramatic fall in traffic we’ve seen across the Atlantic has given us a window of opportunity to do things differently, and to introduce things more quickly than otherwise might have been possible. So, we’re going to disband the Organised Track Structure on days where we don’t believe they are necessary.