NATS signs agreement with Association of European Airlines

NATS – the UK’s leading air traffic service provider, and the Association of European Airlines (AEA) – which represents 30 of Europe’s leading airlines, have entered into a strategic partnership to explore ways of driving progress towards a Single European Sky (SES) and delivering additional savings for airlines in Europe.

This agreement lays the foundations for future work that will consider how Europe’s airspace could be better managed to cope with forecast growth in air traffic, whilst at the same time reducing costs. It also offers the opportunity to develop a shared understanding and common positions on the institutional and regulatory environment that could best deliver the objectives of SES.

The challenges faced by European aviation – the need to safely manage increasingly complex airspace, whilst at the same time delivering cost savings and improving environmental performance – necessitate greater cooperation across the industry.

NATS has a strong track record of customer consultation and has called for greater collaboration to drive forward reform of European air traffic management. AEA brings together 30 of Europe’s major airlines and has been the trusted voice of the European airline industry for over 50 years.

Richard Deakin, Chief Executive Officer of NATS, commented: “We’re delighted to have entered into this partnership with AEA. We think it’s vital that we, as air traffic service providers, recognise that airlines are our customers and put them at the heart of everything we do.

“Partnering with AEA will bring us even closer to our customers and we believe will help us find new ways to make Europe’s airspace work better for all of us. I’m delighted AEA see NATS as a progressive ANSP and is keen to work with us.”

“The realisation of the Single European Sky and the improvement of the current European Air Traffic Control system is a top priority for the Association of European Airlines and its members”, says Athar Husain Khan, CEO of the Association of European Airlines. “We look forward to work together with NATS on this and many other projects of common interest.”