NATS Altitude

Aviation is at a crossroads. 

On one side is the familiarity of legacy systems, including decades-old air traffic control infrastructure and manual ground operations. On the other is the promise of digital transformation: smarter flight management, real-time operational insights, and seamless passenger experiences driven by advanced technologies. With many organisations currently caught in the middle, the challenge is to know where to start. 
 
In this month’s Altitude, we’re joined by three people who know. 

Marco Rueckert is Searidge Technologies’ Chief Technology Officer. He shares insights into the pioneering work Searidge is doing around the world, working with airports, airlines and ANSPS to harness the power of data to improve operational outcomes. That includes in Hong Kong, where Michelle Ho was the Manager of Airfield Digital Transformation for the Airport Authority. 

Hong Kong’s revolutionary embrace of technology has helped set a benchmark for other airports around the world. Michelle shares her experience in deploying the airport’s award-winning Digital Apron and Tower Management System, and working in its state-of-the-art Integrated Airport Centre.

Andy Taylor, Chief Solutions Officer at NATS, will explore what’s happening in the UK, with both Manchester and Farnborough airports set to introduce ‘hybrid towers’ to enhance their operations, while also explaining how NATS and Searidge are exploring the use of AI at Heathrow to improve operational resilience.

You can also watch an on demand version of the livestream on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@NatsAero

A decade ago, NATS became the first air traffic management service in the world to introduce Time-Based Separation in a groundbreaking collaboration with Heathrow Airport and Leidos UK.

Since then, it has reduced carbon emissions by 300,000 tonnes, saved airlines 100,000 tonnes of fuel and cut headwind-related delays by 62%, something that’s helped passengers avoid 3.5 years’ worth of holding over London. 

On this month’s Altitude we’re joined by some of the people who helped make it happen. We  reflect on the challenges of delivering a world first, a decade of continuous improvement and how Intelligent Approach is now helping airports around the world. 

You can also watch an on demand version of the livestream on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@NatsAero

The race to net-zero aviation is on, and the stakes couldn’t be higher. In this month's Altitude we're taking you inside the cutting edge of sustainable flight, where game-changing technology, bold policies, and radical thinking are reshaping the skies.

From hydrogen-powered aircraft to AI-driven efficiency, from SAF breakthroughs to the future of airspace, we unpack the innovations that will define the future of aviation.

Join our expert panel representing the world of airlines, airports and air traffic management as we explore what it will really take to make aviation greener, cleaner, and fit for the 21st century.

Our guests this month:

Ian Jopson, NATS Sustainability Director

Dr Alejandro Block, IATA Manager for New Energies and Technologies

Holger Wieck, Senior Vice President Airside Operations, Berlin Brandenburg Airport

You can also watch an on demand version of the livestream on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@NatsAero

Beyond the tower and the terminals lies the APOC – Heathrow’s Airport Operations Centre.

From here, up to 50 people from across the airport community are looking after just about every aspect of the Heathrow operation. From responding to suspect packages and monitoring traffic to planning presidential visits, it is all done by the team here. 

Alongside them is the NATS HOEC team – the Heathrow Operations Efficiency Cell – a vital link between the wider airport operation and the control tower, working together to make sure every day runs as smoothly as possible. 

In this episode of Altitude we’re joined by Kelly Stone MBE, Heathrow Head of Operational Delivery and Jeannine Fernandes, NATS Heathrow Air Traffic Coordinator, to take us behind the scenes in the nerve centre of Europe’s busiest airport.

You can also watch an on demand version of the livestream on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@NatsAero

From keeping us safe and reducing our climate impact to delivering hot meals in just three minutes – just some of the incredible drone use cases we heard about in a special episode of Altitude recorded at the DroneX Tradeshow & Conference. 

✈ Taryn Evans tells us about the National Police Chiefs'​ Council ambitious drone programme.

✈ Alan Hicks explains how Manna Drone Delivery have made over 200,000 deliveries in Dublin.

✈ Andrew Sage updates us on NATS’ foundational OpenAir concept.

✈ Charles Tavner flies through Flylogix operations in the North Sea and Richard Ellis explains how NATS Services help make it happen.

✈ David Walters discusses unscrewed aircraft working with National Police Air Service helicopters.

✈ Craig Roberts from PwC headlines the 3rd edition of 'Skies Without Limits'.

✈ Sophie-Louise O'Sullivan outlines progress and plans from the Civil Aviation Authority.

✈ Louisa Smith of Apian and Matthew Satterley of Wing help us cross their pioneering ‘London Health Bridge’.

You can also watch an on demand version of the livestream on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@NatsAero

NATS has just reopened recruitment for trainee air traffic controllers, but what does that process look like and what kind of career can successful candidates look forward to?

In this special episode of Altitude we’re exploring the whole recruitment process, from understanding the requirements and the application process through to assessment and beyond. We’ll also be looking at the training, what’s involved and how candidates can best prepare for success. 

Apply now at nats.aero/careers

You can also watch an on demand version of the livestream on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@NatsAero

The 6th June 2024 will mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day – the Allied invasion of Western Europe during the Second World War and one of the most pivotal days in human history.

Most people will be familiar with the sight of the landings in Normandy, but fewer know the story beyond the beaches. D-Day itself saw an incredible 14,674 flights, all handled with nothing more than flare guns and signal lamps, paper and pencils, blackboard and chalk, rudimentary radio navigation and an enormous amount of pre-planning, hard work, and determination.

In this Altitude episode we tell that incredible story looking at the logistics, the innovations and the deceptions that helped make the invasion a success and laid the foundations for modern aviation and air traffic control.

Apologies for some audio issues on this episode. 

You can also watch an on demand version of the livestream on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@NatsAero

With such unique requirements, one of the most essential and complex users of our skies are the emergency services. 

In this month’s Altitude, we’re joined by pilots Captain Andrew Brandt from the National Police Air Service and Captain David Rolfe from London Air Ambulance Service to learn about their amazing life saving work and how collaboration is essential to keeping the ground and skies safe. 

You can also watch an on demand version of the livestream on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@NatsAero

From delivering airspace modernisation and integrating drones through to understanding the impact of AI and the ever pressing need to address aviation’s climate impact, the list of priorities for leaders in air traffic management is a long and complex one. 

Our industry is in the midst of a period of unprecedented change and that’s in addition to delivering the safe and resilient service people rightly expect every day. 

In this month’s Altitude, we invite Martin Rolfe, CEO of NATS, and Simon Hocquard, CANSO’s Director General, to reflect on the state of the industry, its biggest challenges and why air traffic management remains central to aviation’s on-going success.

You can also watch an on demand version of the livestream on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@NatsAero

Ice, snow, howling winds and temperatures as low as minus 30.C are hardly ideal conditions to be running an international airport, but that’s the reality for the team at Rovaniemi, Finland’s second busiest airport. 

In beautiful Lapland, sitting on the edge of the Arctic Circle, the near constant need to clear runways and de-ice aircraft should conspire against delivering a smooth operation, but the weather hasn’t closed Rovaniemi in over seven years. 

Attracting record passenger numbers in 2023 as one of Finland’s most important international gateways - and of course the official airport of Santa Claus – keeping Rovaniemi running safely and smoothly is vital.

So, what’s the secret? What snow-how keeps the airport open when so many others would be forced to close? And how do the teams ensure a warm welcome to the thousands of visitors that flock to Lapland to meet Santa and glimpse the Northern Lights every year? 

In this month’s Altitude we’re joined by the teams from whose job it is to battle the elements.

You can also watch an on demand version of the livestream on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@NatsAero