NATS, the UK’s leading air traffic management provider, handled 220,317 flights in May - a rise of 3.3 per cent on May 2006.
Friday May 25th set a new daily record for the number of flights handled with 8,012 aircraft guided through UK airspace over 24 hours.
The London Area Control Centre at Swanwick in Hampshire, handled 179,987 flights, an increase of 3.4 per cent. The London Terminal Control Centre at West Drayton showed growth of 2.5 per cent, while the Scottish Area Control Centre at Prestwick recorded an increase of 0.4 per cent and the Oceanic Area Control Centre – also at Prestwick - handled 2.9 per cent more. Manchester Area Control Centre showed little change over May 2006 at -0.9 per cent, partly due to the effect of the takeover of BA Connect by FlyBe.
The transatlantic market continued to grow with arrivals/departures increasing by 5.4 per cent and overflights by 4.1 per cent. Short haul markets showing significant growth included Poland (16.6 per cent), Portugal (13.4 per cent), Turkey (13.4 per cent) and Switzerland (12.7 per cent).
In the domestic market, strong year on year growth was seen on the Manchester – Glasgow, Manchester - Edinburgh and Gatwick – Jersey routes.
May 2007 | May 2006 | % gr | 2007 to Date | 2006 to Date | % gr | |
UK FLIGHTS | 220,317 | 213,288 | 3.3% | 969,772 | 935,470 | 3.7% |
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CENTRES | ||||||
London Area Control Centre (Swanwick) | 179,987 | 174,130 | 3.4% | 786,278 | 758,491 | 3.7% |
London Terminal Control Centre | 123,908 | 120,860 | 2.5% | 559,492 | 543,370 | 3.0% |
Manchester Area Control Centre | 54,219 | 54,737 | -0.9% | 237,480 | 239,072 | -0.7% |
Scottish Area Control Centre | 55,812 | 55,586 | 0.4% | 247,417 | 243,733 | 1.5% |
Oceanic Area Control Centre (Shanwick) | 35,435 | 34,421 | 2.9% | 156,795 | 151,461 | 3.5% |
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MARKET | ||||||
Transatlantic Arrivals/Departures | 12,960 | 12,301 | 5.4% | 56,611 | 53,115 | 6.6% |
Transatlantic Overflights | 16,362 | 15,720 | 4.1% | 72,434 | 69,390 | 4.4% |
Other Arrivals/Departures | 135,702 | 131,113 | 3.5% | 587,266 | 565,523 | 3.8% |
Other Overflights | 10,921 | 9,762 | 11.9% | 47,405 | 40,518 | 17.0% |
Domestic | 43,943 | 43,991 | -0.1% | 204,367 | 205,411 | -0.5% |
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, London Terminal Control Centre at West Drayton, Middlesex, 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.
- NATS handled 2.4 million flights in 2006.
