This month on Altitude, we stood at the crossroads of the old and the new, guided by three people who are shaping aviation’s digital journey: Marco Rueckert, CTO of Searidge Technologies; Michelle Ho, former Manager of Airfield Digital Transformation at Hong Kong International Airport; and Andy Taylor, Chief Solutions Officer at NATS. Together with our host, Russell Porter, they laid out a compelling vision of what happens when we rewire the airport for the 21st century. 

Last month I attended my first SESAR Annual Conference on behalf of NATS. It was a fantastic event, with world-leading innovation and cross-industry collaboration on full display. 

Over 70 representatives from the aviation industry joined us at Whiteley, for a Mass Diversion Exercise to trial a new tool being developed by EUROCONTROL. Airlines, airports, the CAA and Department for Transport helped us carry out a full-scale trial of an electronic interface, designed to improve the management of aircraft diversions during runway closures and weather events.

When it comes to air traffic control (ATC), our top priority is ensuring the safety of the skies. To achieve this, we sometimes need to implement what are called Air Traffic Flow and Capacity Management (ATFCM) measures. Essentially, these measures allow us to manage demand in different parts of the airspace so that traffic levels always remain safe.

With the operational “O” date for West Airspace Deployment (West) only one week away (the day the airspace changes go live), you might be wondering what actually happens on the day.

We’re now less than a month away from West Airspace Deployment (West) and we are busy finalising preparations for implementation.

Lauren tells us all about her role as an Aircraft Control Position Operator and why you should apply to be one too!

Despite being a fairly regular occurrence in the world of aviation, an aircraft failing to land and trying again is always seen as something quite scary and dramatic when it’s spoken about in the media.

It’s been over a year since London City Airport successfully transitioned to a digital tower and began controlling flights from a brand-new remote-control centre, based in Swanwick… but how have our engineering teams found it adapting to support and deliver this new technology?

We recently spoke to Graham Lewis, Deputy Service Manager, Swanwick Engineering team, to find out. 

Earlier this month, I was invited to present at the Asia Pacific (APAC) Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation CEO Committee Meeting to talk about our recent deployment of Free Route Airspace and the benefits it could deliver across the region.