NATS Holdings
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| Public-private partnership | |
| Industry | Air travel and airports |
| Genre | Information Services |
| Predecessor | NATCS |
| Founded | 1962 |
| Headquarters | Whiteley, England, United Kingdom |
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Number of locations
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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 |
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Area served
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UK airspace |
|
Key people
|
Martin Rolfe (Chief Executive Officer) |
| Services | International air traffic services and consultancy |
| Subsidiaries | NATS En-Route PLC NATS Services Ltd |
| Website | NATS |
NATS Holdings, formerly National Air Traffic Services and commonly referred to as NATS, is the main air navigation service provider in the United Kingdom. It inherited the traditions of UK air traffic control, which (founded over Croydon Airport) was the world's first air traffic control regime. It provides en-route air traffic control services to flights within the UK Flight Information Regions and the Shanwick Oceanic Control Area, and provides air traffic control services to fourteen UK airports.
The workforce of NATS is mainly made up of Air Traffic Controllers (ATCOs), Air Traffic Control Engineers (ATCEs), Air Traffic Services Assistants (ATSAs) and Science Technical Analytical and Research Staff (STARs). Administrative and Support staff make up the remainder of the 4,500 or so staff employed by NATS.
NATS is split into two main service provision companies: NATS En-Route PLC (NERL) and NATS Services Ltd (NSL).
NATS' en-route business is regulated and operated under licence from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). The terms of the licence require NATS to be capable of meeting on a continuous basis any reasonable level of overall demand. They are charged with permitting access to airspace on the part of all users, whilst making the most efficient overall use of airspace.
The organisation was originally set up as the National Air Traffic Control Services (NATCS) in 1962, bringing together responsibility for the UK's existing military and civil Air Traffic Control services.
The organisation became National Air Traffic Services when responsibility for sponsoring the civil air traffic service component was transferred to the newly formed Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in 1972. Prior to this it had no legal existence – all contracts were with the CAA or MoD.
Until its establishment as a separate company, leadership of NATS (the 'Controller') alternated between civil and military, the latter normally a serving Air Marshal. The first Controller was Sir Laurence Sinclair, exceptionally an Air Vice Marshal. NATS staff were drawn from, and paid by, the CAA and the MoD.
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Wikipedia