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 Dixon 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.

I recently spoke at an online webinar hosted by Resilient Pilot on the topic of skills fade and the anxiety being felt by air traffic controllers and pilots who have been furloughed for the past year (and more) and therefore working with far fewer flights than usual due to Covid-19 travel restrictions.  

It was the Roman philosopher and naturalist Pliny the Elder who said the only certainty is that nothing is certain.  He would never know how many times he’d be quoted over the centuries, and it’s a truth we are grappling with right now as we try to plan our way out of the pandemic. 

The summer of 2019 has been record breaking across the European aviation network with a record 37,228 flights handled on 28 June. And the European ATM community has been standing shoulder-to-shoulder to deliver efficient and effective air travel during the region’s busiest period.

Today is my first anniversary as a Business Management Support Coordinator Apprentice at NATS. I have developed an incredible amount over the last 12 months and feel really proud to be a part of the company.