NATS

NATS, the UK’s leading provider of air traffic services, handled 196,304 flights in March, a decrease of 0.3% compared with the same month last year.

This reflects the impact of the Easter holiday period which occurred in March this year as opposed to April last year. The Easter weekend normally sees lower traffic volumes.  Traffic for the year to date has grown by 1.6 per cent, half the 3.6 per cent recorded for the same period last year.

En route traffic handled by London Terminal Control in March decreased by 1.5 per cent, and London Area Control increased by 0.3 per cent. Scottish Area Control Centre at Prestwick handled 1.7 per cent more flights and Oceanic 5 per cent more.

At airports where NATS offers a service, there was an overall decrease of 2.5 per cent in en-route traffic although Gatwick maintained a steady increase of 3.2% and Belfast International an increase of 5.1%.

Destinations showing the strongest growth included Poland (up by 44.9 per cent), and Switzerland (16.9 per cent).

Notes to Editors:                                                                     

• Quoted airport traffic figures are based on flights handled through NATS Area Control Centres, not on actual airport movements which are not available until later in the month.
• NATS provides ‘en route’ air traffic control and management from the London Area Control Centre at Swanwick, Hampshire, Scottish and Oceanic Area Control Centre at Prestwick, Ayrshire, and the Manchester Area Control Centre located at Manchester Airport.  
• NATS also provides air traffic control services at 15 of the nation's major airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh and Glasgow, together with air traffic services at Gibraltar Airport.