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. 

This week sees the glorious return of Farnborough International Air show, a biennial event which showcases a blend of trade stands and air displays. After an unplanned four-year hiatus when Covid cancelled the 2020 event, this year’s show is extra special.

It’s now more than 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.

Now, instead of sitting in a physical tower based at London City Airport, a dedicated team of controllers manage the runway through sixteen high-definition cameras and sensors mounted on a mast, capturing a 360-degree view of the City Airport airfield.

Creating a positive experience for customers is important in all industries, and this year’s annual AOA conference highlighted it’s no different in the aviation sector.

We caught up with Dan Townsend, the Airside Operations and Safety Manager at Southampton Airport to check how Robird is settling in.

Much of Britain is bracing itself for snow and ice this week as the ‘Beast from the East’ arrives from Siberia to set up residence over the UK for the next few days.

Sunday’s incident at Gatwick, where a drone spotted on the airport’s final approach path caused the runway to be closed for two separate periods, has understandably received a lot of press coverage. The incident caused significant knock-on effects for air traffic control, beyond just stopping arrivals while the runway was closed and caused serious disruption in the sky above southern England.

The world has seen many changes since Glasgow Airport opened for commercial business in 1966, not least at the airport itself.

In March easyJet invited friends and family into their HQ at London Luton Airport to give them a behind the scenes look into the world of aviation. It’s an important occasion where guests get an insight into what goes on behind closed hangar and cockpit doors.

With this summer expected to be the busiest ever recorded London Luton Airport has estimated that the financial contribution from the airport to the Three Counties economy will almost double from the current £732 million to a massive £1.4 billion, something that NATS is proud to be playing a key role in delivering.