Air traffic controllers are plotting a new course this weekend – moving from their old base at West Drayton near Heathrow to join colleagues already working at Swanwick in Hampshire.
The transition will create the world’s busiest international flight control centre and takes NATS – recently voted the world’s best ATC company - halfway to its strategic goal to consolidate operations at two centres, at Swanwick and at Prestwick in Ayrshire.
Paul Barron, NATS’ Chief Executive, said: “This is the first half of our business strategy to consolidate our operations from four centres to two. It is a major milestone in our £1bn investment programme and further evidence of the robustness and resilience of NATS’ business since the PPP six years ago. It’s a great achievement.”
Three hundred staff who control aircraft through the busy skies over London and the South-East – together with 200 engineers and support staff – will work in the same building already used by en-route controllers, who guide aircraft through the upper levels of the airspace over England and Wales.
It’s the same journey made by en-route controllers to Swanwick from West Drayton when the Hampshire centre first opened in January 2002.
Operations Director Ian Hall said: “It may only be a short step - 60 miles down the M3 - but it is a much bigger step forward for us as a business. This is a significant milestone as we look to the future and it allows us to build on our role as a major employer in the Hampshire community.”
Engineering and Commercial Services Director Ian Mills said: “Our people have made this happen with their focus, dedication and experience in delivering complex projects on budget and on time. Our key suppliers on the project, Park Air and Selex, have helped us achieve this challenging transition.”
The completion of the Swanwick operations centre is the culmination of a four-year £90 million project. The second new centre, currently under construction in Prestwick, is due to open in 2010, replacing the existing Prestwick centre and NATS’ other centre at Manchester as part of NATS’ £1bn long-term investment plan.
Ends
Notes to Editors:
· NATS handled 2.4 million flights in 2006, covering the UK and eastern North Atlantic and carried more than 220 million passengers safely through some of the busiest and most complex airspace in the world.
· NATS provides 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.
