NATS Holdings facts for kids

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NATS Holdings Limited

Type	Public-private partnership
Industry	Air travel and airports
Genre	Information Services
Predecessor	NATCS
Founded	1962 (1962)
Headquarters	Whiteley, England, United Kingdom
Number of locations	London Area Control Centre and London Terminal Control Centre at Swanwick, Area Control at Prestwick, and air traffic control services at UK airports, as well as offices in Dubai and Singapore
Area served	UK and Gibraltar airspace
Key people	Martin Rolfe (chief executive officer)
Services	International air traffic services and consultancy
Number of employees	4,227 (2021)
Parent	Civil Aviation Authority (49%)
Subsidiaries	NATS En-Route PLC NATS Services Ltd

NATS Holdings, also known as NATS, is a company that helps airplanes fly safely. It provides special services called air traffic control for flights in the UK and a large area over the Atlantic Ocean. NATS also helps manage air traffic at 14 airports across the UK.

The company's main business is regulated by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). This means the CAA makes sure NATS follows all the rules for keeping air travel safe.

How NATS Started: A Brief History
How NATS is Organized
- NATS En-Route PLC (NERL)
- NATS Services Ltd (NSL)
What NATS Does: Operations
Past Operations
- Former Control Centres
- Former Airport Services
Working with Others: Alliances and Partnerships
Notable Incidents
See also

How NATS Started: A Brief History

NATS began in 1962 as the National Air Traffic Control Services (NATCS). It brought together all the military and civilian air traffic control services in the UK.

In 1972, the company changed its name to National Air Traffic Services (NATS). This happened when the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) took over the civil air traffic services. Before this, NATS didn't exist as a separate company.

For many years, NATS was led by both civilian and military leaders. In 1996, NATS became a separate company. It was fully owned by the CAA at that time.

In 2001, NATS became a public-private partnership. This means that part of the company is owned by the government and part by private companies. The UK government owns 49% of NATS. Other parts are owned by airlines, NATS staff, and airport operators.

How NATS is Organized

NATS has about 4,200 employees. These include air traffic controllers (ATCOs) who guide planes. There are also engineers, assistants, and research staff. Martin Rolfe has been the CEO of NATS since 2015.

NATS is divided into two main parts:

NATS En-Route PLC (NERL)
NATS Services Ltd (NSL)

NATS En-Route PLC (NERL)

NERL is the only company that provides civilian en-route air traffic control over the UK. This means they guide planes when they are flying high between airports. The CAA regulates NERL and decides how much they can charge for their services.

NATS Services Ltd (NSL)

NSL works to get contracts to provide air traffic control at airports in the UK and other countries. They also offer other services. These include engineering, advice, information, and training.

What NATS Does: Operations

In 2019, NATS managed 2.54 million flights. That's a lot of planes!

Controlling Flights from the Ground

NATS has two main control centers in the UK:

The London Area Control Centre and London Terminal Control Centre are in Swanwick. They control high-flying planes over England and Wales. They also manage lower-flying planes around London and the South East. This includes planes landing at London's main airports.
The Prestwick Centre in Ayrshire controls air traffic over Scotland and Northern Ireland. It also handles planes flying at lower levels over northern England. The Prestwick Oceanic Area Control Centre guides planes crossing the North Atlantic.

NATS also uses many radar stations around the UK. One example is on Great Dun Fell in Cumbria.

Airport Services: Guiding Planes at Airports

NATS provides air traffic services at 16 UK airports. This includes guiding planes during take-off and landing.

Here are some of the airports where NATS works:

Heathrow Airport ATC tower

Glasgow Airport ATC Tower

NATS also provides engineering services at some airports. These include London Biggin Hill Airport and London Oxford Airport.

NATS helps the Ministry of Defence (MoD) with air traffic control at military sites. This includes places like Aberporth and Hebrides.

Helping the Military

NATS helps military aircraft share airspace safely with civilian planes. They provide services like:

Aeronautical data (information about air travel)
Advice for defence
Air traffic control for military terminals
Surveillance (watching planes)

Aquila: A Joint Project

Aquila is a joint company between NATS and Thales. They are working on a project called Marshall for the UK military. This project will modernize air traffic management at over 100 military airfields. The goal is to make military air traffic control safer and more efficient.

Other Important Services

NATS also offers other services that are key to air travel:

Engineering: They develop and maintain control center systems and airport technology.
Consultancy: They advise on things like airspace design, planning how many planes an airport can handle, and safety management.
Information services: They provide important information like aeronautical charts (maps for pilots) and wind farms planning advice.

Past Operations

Some NATS operations have changed over time:

Former Control Centres

The London Air Traffic Control Centre at RAF West Drayton closed in 2007. Its services moved to Swanwick.

The Scottish air traffic control moved to the new Prestwick Centre in 2010. This new center also took over the work from the Manchester Area Control Centre, which then closed.

Former Airport Services

NATS used to have a partnership called FerroNATS in Spain. This company provided air traffic control services at nine airports in Spain. However, in 2023, FerroNATS was sold to another company and renamed Skyway.

Working with Others: Alliances and Partnerships

NATS works with many other organizations around the world to improve air travel.

NATS is a member of the Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) program. This program aims to modernize air traffic management in Europe. NATS is also part of the SESAR Deployment Alliance, which helps put these modern systems into action.

NATS is a founding member of two important European alliances:

The A6 Alliance brings together major European Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs). Their goal is to modernize European air traffic management.
The Borealis Alliance includes ANSPs from countries like Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, and the UK. They are working to create "free route airspace" across Northern Europe. This means planes can fly more directly, saving time and fuel.

The UK and Ireland have worked together on air traffic control since the 1940s. In 2008, they created the first "Functional Airspace Block" (FAB). This helps them manage airspace together more efficiently.

NATS is also a member of the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO). This is an international group of companies that provide air traffic control services.

NATS also helps operate the European Satellite Services Provider (ESSP). This company runs a system called EGNOS, which improves the accuracy of satellite navigation for planes.

While NATS is best known for its work in the UK, it also provides services and advice in over 30 countries. This includes places like Singapore, the United States, and Qatar.

Notable Incidents

Sometimes, unexpected events can affect air traffic control:

Volcanic Ash Cloud (2010): From April 15 to 20, 2010, NATS had to restrict flights in UK airspace. This was because of a volcanic ash cloud from Iceland. Volcanic ash can be very dangerous for aircraft engines.
Computer System Failure (2014): On December 12, 2014, a computer problem at NATS caused flight delays in London airspace. The issue lasted about an hour. NATS later said it was caused by a single faulty line of computer code.
Major Technical Incident (2023): On August 28, 2023, NATS had a big technical problem. This happened on one of the busiest travel days of the year. The incident lasted about three hours. It caused many flights to be cancelled or delayed, affecting hundreds of thousands of passengers.