NATS Altitude

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

Human Factors is the understanding of ‘the human in the loop’. It’s about how people behave and interact both with technology and each other, and it’s something that has become fundamental to safety across aviation and a host of other industries.

But what really is Human Factors? Where did it come from and why is it become so integral? In this month’s Altitude, we’ll be digging into the history, the practical applications and the challenges posed by the rise of things like AI and automation. 

In this episode, Barry Kirby, President of the Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors and NATS’ own Human Factors Director Nuno Cebola have a fascinating and thought-provoking discussion.

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

For more than 25 years, Concorde was the world's only successful supersonic airliner. Flying faster than the rotation of the earth, it could cross the Atlantic in just two and a half hours, with passengers arriving at JFK before they left Heathrow.

Now, 20 years after its final ever flight from Heathrow to Filton on 26 November 2003, we look back at the history of one of aviation’s great engineering and technical marvels. 

There is no one better to help us do that than our very special guest, Captain Mike Bannister. As Chief Concorde Pilot for British Airways, Mike amassed 9,200 Concorde flight hours – around 6,900 at supersonic speeds – more than anyone else. We’ll asked him what it was it like to fly so fast you could watch the sun rise in the West, how it felt to see the curvature of the earth from very edge of space and his memories of being behind the controls for those final flights. 

We’re also joined by air traffic controller Brian Ringrose, who gave Concorde its final ever departure clearance. How did Concorde’s incredible performance impact air traffic control? What special demands did it place on the controllers, and did it enrapture them as much as it did the rest of the world?

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

Can we expect Artificial Intelligence – heralded by just about everyone as the next great technology leap forward - to have a role in air traffic management? 

But how can we look beyond the hype and understand what this technology could really do for aviation? When is it right for AI to play a role in a safety critical industry and how could it impact human decision making? Will we ever really see AI managing live air traffic in our skies and if so, what are the unseen risks? 

In this month’s Altitude we’re joined by a panel to help us navigate this technological and moral maze. 

We discuss Project Bluebird, with its aim of building a digital twin of UK airspace. We also investigate how AI and automation are already starting to transform airport traffic management, and we unpick where AI could be used to improve performance and safety.

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

Airspace – our invisible motorways in the sky – is the underpinning of the entire aviation industry. Vital to the safe operation of tens of thousands of flights every single day, it is an infrastructure relied on 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to enhance the UK’s global connections. But it is also in need of a radical transformation.

In this episode of Altitude, we examine why airspace modernisation is such an important part of the industry’s response to the climate crisis and vital to the decarbonisation of the aviation sector. We look at NATS’ experience in delivering the UK’s largest airspace changes, the tools and technologies deployed, the challenges of transforming some of the world’s busiest airspace with views from across the industry and how close collaboration is the key to progress.

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

The Berlin Airlift was a significant episode in the beginnings of the Cold War, with American, British, and French aircrews flying hundreds of daily cargo flights to deliver essential supplies into a West Berlin blockaded by the Soviet Union.

Despite impossible odds, Berlin was sustained by air for 15 months from June 1948, with more than one third of flights being handled from Gatow Airport in the British sector of the beleaguered city. But what made the operation a success? What was the importance of ATC, and how did technical advances help lay the foundations for modern high intensity operations?

We mark the 75th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift with this very special episode of Altitude. NATS Heathrow Air Traffic Controller and aviation history lover, Adam Spink, speaks to retired Squadron Leader Garry Garrets, a man who flew on the Berlin Airlift as part of a celebrated 30-year RAF career. 

Hear the behind the scenes story of how the West Berlin was kept alive thanks to the most monumental airlift in history.

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

While the weather may have played its part, Saturday 6 May saw a wonderful flypast over central London to mark the coronation of King Charles III. But what does it really take to organise such a spectacle in what is some of the world’s busiest airspace and why does the weather have such an impact? Did the King get to choose the types of aircraft?!

In this episode of Altitude we’re joined by special guests from the Royal Air Force, Wing Commander Noel Rees - Mission Commander for the whole flypast - and 78 Squadron air traffic controller, Warrant Officer Nicola Epps. 

We’re also joined by NATS operations supervisor, Richard Taylor to understand the impact a major flypast has on civil air traffic operations. We’ll look at how all the organisations involved work together and why the UK’s ‘joint and integrated’ air traffic management system is so important.

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 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.

Two air traffic controllers will share their experiences of recruitment, training and validation and what it’s like to then put that learning into practice looking after some of the UK’s most congested airspace and one of its busiest control towers.

Recruitment for trainee controllers is open so find out more and apply at www.nats.aero/careers/trainee-air-traffic-controllers

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

As the world mourned the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, plans for the first state funeral of a British monarch in more than 70 years were being put into action.  

As a mark of respect, it was agreed that aircraft would not overfly the funeral or procession from Central London to Windsor Castle - a period of over nine hours via a route just a few metres from Britain’s busiest airport, Heathrow. 

What followed were 10 days of incredibly intense preparation, as teams from across NATS, Heathrow Airport and the airlines worked to create a minute-by-minute plan. The aim was to deliver respectful silence while keeping the airport open and the disruption for passengers to an absolute minimum. 

Join our panel of Kathryn Leahy, Team Heathrow Director, and Pete Glass, NATS General Manager Air Traffic Services, Heathrow, along with host, Ady Dolan, NATS Heathrow Air Traffic Controller and Head of Training, to hear the quite remarkable, untold story of how the industry came together to deliver one of the most complex, intricate, and ambitious civil air traffic operations in decades.   

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

From transforming how urgent goods are moved around the world to surveying infrastructure in remote, dangerous environments and aiding accurate, rapid emergency response, uncrewed aviation has long promised to revolutionise our lives and the aviation industry.

But unleashing that potential means delivering safe and scalable Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations, something that remains the biggest hurdle for the burgeoning uncrewed aviation sector to overcome.  

What are the technological, regulatory and operational boundaries that still exist? How can air traffic service providers work with the industry to integrate new airspace users and where are the opportunities for new services and solutions?

No one is better placed to discuss all this and much more than our panel for this month’s Altitude livestream.

Charles Tavner is the CEO of Flylogix, a pioneering company bringing together artificial intelligence, satellite communication and low-cost electronics to develop a new generation of smaller, more efficient, uncrewed aircraft.

We’re delighted to also be joined by Louisa Smith, Head of Aviation at Apian, a hugely exciting medical drone start-up aiming to deliver faster, smarter, greener healthcare that can improve patients’ health outcomes and staff well-being.

NATS’ Russell Porter, Head of UTM Stakeholder Engagement, is in the host’s chair, for what is an unmissable, fascinating discussion.

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

This year is the 21st anniversary of the tragic events of 11 September 2001. Those of us who are old enough to remember it will never forget where we were or what we were doing when we heard the news. Most of us probably then spent the next few hours glued, horrified to the rolling news coverage.

But some - like the those involved with air traffic control on the day - had to process the news while also then managing the implications of what was happening.

In this month’s Altitude, we’re joined by two people with unique stories to share.

Michael McCormick was the on duty as an air traffic control manager in New York on the morning of 9/11 and took the huge decision to close New York’s airspace once it became clear what was happening.

On the other side of the Atlantic, Shahid Mohammed, a controller at NATS Prestwick Centre, worked with his team to find a safe haven for almost 100 flights after they were turned back over the ocean.

It’s a story of teamwork and professionalism in the face of unprecedented events.

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

This episode of Altitude we’re exploring the next generation of aviation and airspace users.

Air taxis, mass drone operations and spaceports may sound like science fiction, but it is a future that is far closer than you might think

Within a few years, a drone could be dropping your prescription at your front door as you book an electric air taxi to take you to the airport, while a few miles down the road, a communications company is launching a satellite from the local spaceport…

It is a part of the industry that has accelerated massively over the past few years and is now on the verge of becoming a scalable reality, with the potential to change how we travel, connect communities decarbonise local transport.

Join us as we dig into the most exciting innovations in urban air mobility, discuss the implications for air traffic management and unpick the technology and regulatory hurdles that still need to be overcome.

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

It’s airshow season!

The sight and sound of stunning air displays and incredible aerobatic performances by some of the world’s best pilots is hard to beat.

But with Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) just a week away, what does it take to plan, manage and safely deliver a truly spectacular airshow? How does the role of the air traffic controllers at a display differ from the day job?

The tower at RIAT is made up of volunteer controllers from all over the UK who work incredibly hard to make the show a safe and exciting experience for the thousands who attend, but that work starts long before the doors open to the public.

In this month’s episode of Altitude we welcome two guests - Heathrow air traffic controllers by day who have also worked at some of the world’s busiest and biggest airshows.

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

After a tumultuous two years it feels like the aviation industry is finally emerging from the shadow of the Covid crisis.

But while the skies are getting busier, the recovery remains uncertain and uneven, especially in many parts of the world.

What role then, can air traffic management play in helping secure the recovery but also in future proofing airport operations as traffic levels begin to return to what we used to think of as normal.

Capacity, operational resilience and sustainability are all creeping back on the agenda and advancements in air traffic management, either in terms of airspace management or the deployment of new technologies, are almost uniquely placed to deliver against all those objectives, and usually for a fraction of the cost and time required for other capital investments.

But what should the priorities be and what challenges remain?

Ahead of the World ATM Congress, join us to hear about the latest developments in air traffic technology, why hybrid digital towers may be the next big thing, and how smarter arrivals management could save airports billions.

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

The weather influences all our lives, from whether you’ll regret not taking that umbrella to wishing you’d packed the sun cream, but for air traffic control the weather is an obsession. 

Rain, wind, snow, fog and thunderstorms can all conspire to overturn well-rehearsed plans, resulting in a hugely challenging and complex environment where maintaining safety is always the first priority. 

But why does a storm in Athens leave you grounded in Glasgow? What exactly are the most challenging conditions to cope with and what are the tools that air traffic controllers and meteorologists employ to minimise the disruption? And how will a rise in extreme weather conditions affect operations in the future? 

Join us as we explore all these questions and more with UK Met Office Meteorologist Emma Corrigan, air traffic flow and capacity management expert, Kevin Morgan, and air traffic controller and host, Fran Slater.

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

As the days get longer and the weather improves, aviation enthusiasts across the country will be taking to the skies in their thousands to explore the world from up above.

After two years of Covid restrictions limiting the amount of flying time for many pilots, we’d like to support the General Aviation (GA) community on a safe return to flying and take the opportunity to talk about the tools and assistance available to GA pilots. UK airspace is still some of the busiest in the world, and with commercial traffic increasing it is important that everyone plays their part in helping to keep the skies safe for all users.

Join us as we talk to air traffic controller, Amanda Rhodes and Chief Executive of the General Aviation Safety Council, Mike O’Donoghue, and hear about their experiences and top tips for safe flying this season.

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

On 17 January 2008, flight BAW38 crash landed short of the runway at Heathrow Airport following a total loss of power to both engines. Remarkably there were no fatalities, but it remains the most serious commercial aircraft accident in the UK in recent years.

The fact that it did not end in tragedy is testament both to how incredibly safe modern aviation has become, and to the training and professionalism of all the individuals involved. 

But what is it really like to be faced with an unfolding emergency? Can any amount of training equip someone with the skill, confidence, and courage to do what’s needed in the midst of a potential disaster?  

Hear from two of the controllers in the tower that day about what would be the most memorable, pressurised and emotionally charged few minutes of their lives. Find out how events unfolded and the legacy the incident has had on their lives, careers and wider industry.

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

Aside from being one of the greatest Christmas movies of all time, the timeless classic Die Hard 2 also features some of the closest depictions of air traffic control yet committed to celluloid

The story of how a terrorist group manages to commandeer an entire airport on Christmas Eve, while a man in a big jumper crawls through the baggage handling system to stop them, is a tale for the ages.

But how close is it to real life? Has any controller ever been told to “stack ‘em, pack ‘em and rack ‘em?” Can you change sea level on the Instrument Landing System from an old church? What really sets off the airport metal detectors first? And most importantly, is Die Hard really a Christmas movie?

These questions and many more will the focus of our Altitude Christmas Special: Die Hard 2: Myth-busting a Christmas Classic

Join NATS Heathrow air traffic controllers and Die Hard mega fans, Ady Dolan and Chris Jones alongside commercial airline pilot, Lyndsay McGregor, as we unpick fact from glorious fiction.

Yippee ki yay air traffickers.

 Enjoy the show and find out more at nats.aero/altitude

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

After a hiatus of 18 months, the World ATM Congress returns to Madrid at the end of the month, but what kind of show can we expect as the industry continues to feel the effects of the Covid crisis?  
 
Despite encouraging signs of recovery, traffic levels remain far below pre-pandemic levels in many parts of world. Does that mean plans for expensive new technologies and ground based infrastructure should remain on ice for the foreseeable future, or is now the perfect time to invest? 
 
One thing is certain, being able to maximise the efficiency of existing runways and airspace, accurately model future demand, and prolong the life and enhance the capability of existing airport assets is going to be critically important over the coming years as traffic does begin return. 
 
So, join us for an analysis of the global Air Traffic Management market on the eve of its biggest conference and trade show. Discover how ‘one size fits all’ digital towers are yesterday’s thinking, how optimising runway delivery can help cash strapped airports make smarter use of what they’ve already got, and why true operational predictability may finally be within reach.  

Panel:
Jonny White, NATS Head of Product Management
Andy Taylor, NATS Chief Solutions Officer, Digital Towers
Ben Sandford, NATS Intelligent Approach Product Manager

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

Altitude is a monthly podcast from NATS.

The last 18 months has been a period of extraordinary turmoil for the aviation industry, and even now as much of the rest of the world begins to recover, UK air traffic remains at around 50% of 2019 levels.

So, what are the long-term prospects for aviation in the UK? What needs to be done to secure a better, brighter future as we learn to live alongside Covid?

From rebuilding passenger confidence and investment in new technologies, through to airspace modernisation and the need to tackle the sustainability challenge, the list of priorities for the industry’s leaders is a long and complex one.

Join us for a special episode of Altitude for the unique opportunity to hear Sean Doyle, British Airways Chief Executive and Karen Dee, Chief Executive of the Airport Operators Association, in conversation with Martin Rolfe, CEO of NATS.

 Enjoy the show and find out more at nats.aero/altitude

(Originally broadcast in September 2021)

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