Air traffic controllers working at the NATS centre at Swanwick have been praised for the “hugely impressive and vitally important” work they do by a senior politician.
Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin at the NATS centre in Swanwick with Chief Excecutive Richard Deakin (left) looking on
Secretary of State for Transport Patrick McLoughlin visited the air traffic control centre to take a look at the work that goes on there.
Mr McLoughlin was met by NATS Chief Executive Richard Deakin and saw the work of air traffic controllers looking after the world’s most complex airspace. Every day NATS guides 6,000 aircraft through UK skies and around two million annually.
Mr McLoughlin said: ”I was very pleased to have the opportunity to visit the Swanwick site and see this hugely impressive and vitally important operation first-hand, and to talk to the highly-skilled NATS staff about their work.”
NATS’ international growth agenda and south-east airport capacity were both subjects high on the agenda, with Mr Deakin highlighting the central importance of airspace to the efficient running of any airport.
Mr Deakin said: “NATS has got enormous expertise in designing and managing airspace both in the UK and around the world. Airspace capacity in the south-east of England is just as constrained as the infrastructure on the ground, something that the Secretary of State fully appreciated.”
Mr McLouglin’s trip followed a visit by members of the Airports Commission to Swanwick earlier this year.