- NATS to share experience and propose new strategies at Global Aerospace Summit
06
April, Abu Dhabi, UAE:
Tackling
air traffic management issues will be high on the agenda for this
year’s Global Aerospace Summit. UK based air traffic management
service provider, NATS will be leading one of the main panels that
will involve cross-stakeholder
discussion about the airspace challenges facing the aviation industry
internationally, with particular focus on the unique context of the
Middle East.
The
panel will respond to the fact that the success of the aviation
industry in the Middle East is creating increased demands on an
already extremely complex air traffic environment. In order to avoid
the capacity bottlenecks and operational inefficiencies, airspace
constraints must be addressed through the development of cohesive
performance-based regional network strategies, and NATS will be
joining GCC wide partners to discuss this further.
Richard
Deakin, Chief Executive Officer, NATS who has been invited as a
panelist at the Summit commented: “Delays
are becoming common place and will only increase as operations
continue to grow. If we don't work together to improve the efficiency
of the regional air traffic network, the sustained success of the
major regional air carriers could be at risk.”
The
number of aircraft movements through United Arab Emirates' airspace
last year was more than 741,000, according to official figures. It is
forecast to reach about 895,500 by 2015, 1.13 million by 2020 and
by 2030 it will reach 1.62 million. Over 20 million passengers are
expected to use Abu Dhabi Airport over the next few years. Al Maktoum
International Airport is destined to eventually become the world’s
largest with an annual passenger capacity of 160 million.
Air travel to and from Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, and elsewhere in the
Gulf, is also forecast to rise rapidly.
John
Swift, Middle East Director, NATS explained: “Because air traffic
management in the region is planned separately by individual states,
the airspace has become fragmented. Today in the Gulf, there is a
patchwork of boundaries and airspace corridors which impacts on
efficiency. NATS has a proven track record of improving efficiency
and reducing delays in complex airspace and leading the political
discussions which are often more challenging than the technical
aspects. This has been successfully achieved in the UK for example
through close cooperation with its neighbours, on a number of key
initiatives, including the creation of Europe’s first working
Functional Airspace Block (FAB), where air traffic is managed
according to operational needs, and not necessarily national
boundaries.”
NATS
is currently working on projects in Qatar, Kuwait and Oman, and has
previously worked with Bahrain and at Al Maktoum International
Airport in Dubai to support the safety, efficiency and environmental
performance of its airspace.
In
the UK, NATS guides over two million aircraft through some of the
busiest and most complex airspace anywhere in the world.
Increasingly, its expertise is in demand from other countries, with
NATS also working in Asia, the United States and Far East.
