Development of NATS OpenAir, our proposal for a future integrated airspace management system, continues apace.

The use and influence of Artificial Intelligence is growing every day and shaping industries worldwide.  It appears to be able to do so much for us, but is it just the latest technological trend, or a valuable and worthwhile tool?  

Our flagship AI research programme, Project BlueBird, is exploring the practical value of AI in Air Traffic Management (ATM) and its potential to support our future operations.   

The NATS ATC team has been working closely with London Gatwick to deliver a big milestone in the airport’s infrastructure upgrades, with the activation of the new Echo Romeo Rapid Exit Taxiway (RET). Construction started in 2023 and it officially opened for operations last month, just in time for the busy summer season which kicks in this weekend.

Over 70 representatives from the aviation industry joined us at Whiteley, for a Mass Diversion Exercise to trial a new tool being developed by EUROCONTROL. Airlines, airports, the CAA and Department for Transport helped us carry out a full-scale trial of an electronic interface, designed to improve the management of aircraft diversions during runway closures and weather events.

For more than 25 years, Concorde was the world’s only successful supersonic airliner. Ady Dolan, Heathrow Controller, joined NATS in 1999 and saw Concorde fly for four years. He reflects on what it was like to control it…

The last four years have been a fast, furious R&D journey which started when a project called Future Flight Challenge dropped onto my desk. Since then, alongside innovative industry partners who are also part of advancing future flight in the UK, we have been helping to prepare the airspace and airports for a new generation of users.

When an operation is reliant on visual, ‘analogue’ data, that is data that cannot be accessed, analysed, shared, augmented or enhanced. In short, it can’t be harnessed to improve the operation. Once you digitise those views, you open up a whole new world of possibilities.

This week, I was privileged to represent NATS at the Project Caelus flight trials, which demonstrated that drones are on their way to becoming an important part of the aviation industry, and indeed, everyday life.   

What a wonderful two days we had last week in the beautiful (if a little damp) city of Amsterdam, for our second annual Intelligent Approach User Group meeting.

Just over fifteen years ago, NATS made its first foray into the Hong Kong aviation landscape, one of the world’s busiest and most dynamic regions.  Since then, through a combination of collaborative partnerships and a dedicated team of aviation experts, we are proud of the innovative, safe and efficient solutions we have helped introduce to the skies of Hong Kong.