How we build back better is at the forefront of many people’s minds. But it is wrong to assume that it is only the pandemic that has spurred this action from the aviation industry. In fact, it has only accelerated the work that was already happening to improve the sustainability of flying.

Working together has enabled Sustainable Aviation (SA) to achieve results we could never have achieved individually, and there’s plenty more for us to do.

Martin Clifford, easyJet Base Captain at Bristol, as guest blogger, shares his thoughts about Continuous Descent Operations (CDO), which involves teamwork between the Tower, the Airport and easyJet.

One of the most important ways in which NATS seeks to help reduce the environmental impact of aviation is through the Single European Sky ATM Research programme (SESAR). SESAR brings together stakeholders from across the European aviation industry to help develop and deploy new technologies and procedures that can improve the performance of European air traffic management (ATM).

One of the SESAR projects we have led, called TOPFLIGHT, has now been long-listed for a World Responsible Tourism Award in the Best Aviation Programme for Carbon Reduction category.

Regeneration should not be a one off process, after all The Doctor has done it more than eleven times and Salamanders are capable of regenerating multiple limbs. We recognise this within NATS and our strategies look as far into the future as possible so that we implement a capability for this future today.

Recent changes to how we use UK airspace have enabled our airline customers to save an extra 8,000 tonnes of fuel every year. This means 13,000 tonnes of fuel savings have been enabled since April, worth £8.5m to airlines and the equivalent to 41,000 tonnes of CO2.

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.

As part of our commitment to the community, NATS works in partnership with the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust (HIWWT) to manage the nature reserve adjacent to our Swanwick Centre. This June marks the 20th anniversary of the reserve and we’ve been celebrating!

Perhaps sustainability doesn’t immediately spring to mind when you think about aviation, but at NATS we are well aware that the environment and local communities are central to our business and core to our success.

We’ve developed a new monitoring tool to help our operational and environmental managers better understand flight profiles around our airports.