Leaders in air traffic management head to Madrid for the World ATM Congress this week. Richard Deakin, CEO NATS, shares his views on why he believes it is at a time when the industry is facing a critical juncture.

As a British Airways pilot on the Airbus fleet based at Heathrow, I am all too familiar with the impact of strong headwinds on final approach into Heathrow. We know that TBS will not solve all strong wind delays but it will certainly reduce the length of our inbound slot delay.

Engineering skills are being transferred across organisations and borders to support the growth of aviation in the Middle East. Former NATS engineer, Khalid Elseed, explains how he is now using his expertise in a new role as an ICAO Surveillance Adviser to the Saudi Arabian General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA).

Back in August I wrote about why measuring airport capacity means more than just tarmac and terminals. The same is equally true when it comes to increasing capacity.

Our Chief Executive, Richard Deakin, gave a speech at the Airport Operators Association annual conference. It was a wide ranging speech, taking in market contestability, airport capacity, regulation, Europe and the environment, so we thought it was worth reproducing here in full.

One of the key challenges facing aviation today is that the speed of realising new airport developments – whether that’s new runways or terminals – is being outpaced by airline demand. That’s why managing and maximising airport and airspace efficiency has become so important.