Chief Executive, Richard Deakin spoke at the Royal Aeronautical Society’s Annual Brabazon Lecture tonight, focusing on the Single European Sky and the challenges that face it.

We believe that we are much stronger if we develop new strategies and techniques for safety management in conjunction with other like-minded organisations.

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.

We urgently need regulatory reform and common standards to stimulate contestable markets and accelerate progress across Europe, rather than yet more regulation and legislation.

I mentioned previously about the important debate and work that’s going on to improve and modernise the way we manage our skies. One of the major ways this is being addressed within Europe is through the European Commission’s Single European Sky (SES) initiative.

One of the main things occupying the minds of those involved in providing air traffic services is how we reduce costs for airlines whilst improving safety and reducing emissions. Adrian Clark is one of our experts who forms part of the SESAR team looking into how to do this in Terminal Operations.

Forecasts suggest that by 2035 there will be 14.4m flights a year across Europe, 50% more than in 2012. Europe’s airspace, and the way we manage it, will need to be very efficient to deal with that level of demand and maintain both safety and service.

As Airport Live comes to a close, NATS Chief Executive Richard Deakin reflects on the future of Air Traffic Management and the way forward for our ‘invisible infrastructure’.