An Olympic effort

The London 2012 Olympic Games presents a series of significant challenges for air traffic control in the UK, but NATS has been planning and preparing for this event for the past four years.

The Games – the Olympics and the Paralympics – will be the single biggest aircraft movement event the UK has ever seen. Tens of thousands more visitors are expected to flock to the UK, along with dozens of Heads of State, the huge games family and significant numbers of business jet movements. The Games promises to be a major challenge for the UK’s leading air traffic control company.

Among the challenges we are facing are:

• Flights for 500,000 overseas spectators and ‘Games family’ members
• 150 Heads of State flights
• 700 additional commercial flights
• 3,000 additional business jet movements
• 1,500 helicopter movements into London per day
• Mix of traffic including TV broadcast, commercial, private and security-related flights
• New airspace procedures and routes introduced for the Olympic period
• Security Airspace/restrictions covering South East England.

NATS has been planning for the Games for four years, testing systems, liaising with partner bodies such as the Civil Aviation Authority, the Department for Transport (DfT) and the Ministry of Defence.

We have also spoken to airlines and airports, been out to talk to private flying clubs throughout South East England and we have spoken to the business jet community. We have also presented on the main aspects of the airspace changes and restrictions at international conferences in California and Geneva.

In order that we can continue to safely manage aircraft during the peak demands of the Olympic Games, NATS has designed extra controlled airspace in South East England – already one of the most complex areas of airspace anywhere in the world. That means that for the period of the Games there will be a restricted zone of airspace and a prohibited zone. These can be viewed in detail on the airspace safety initiative website.

Preparing for the Olympic Games has been a long and extensive process but one that has proved to be extremely worthwhile in ensuring that the messages we have to get across to the aviation community are shared with the widest possible number of members of that community.

It has also given us the chance to discuss the arrangements with individual groups and to reassure them or allay any fears they may have had. Travel to these Olympic Games is different to many others because London is so much more accessible to day trip flights from Europe, which is why there is expected to be a high number of flights in and out of the country throughout the Games period.

Forty airfields across South East England have been designated as Olympic reception sites and all aircraft using those airfields must have allocated slots for arrivals and departures issued by Airport Co-ordination Ltd (ACL).

We have spent a lot of time talking to the owners of business jets to urge them to apply early for a slot through ACL, to ensure they operate the slot correctly in line with the temporary airspace restrictions, and to familiarise operators and crews with UK airspace. They should also plan carefully for diversions or contingency arrangements, should they become necessary.

In total we are planning for around 4,000 additional flights in UK airspace during the Olympic period, and they are likely to be concentrated just before the Games and just after. We are ready and able to manage this extra demand – that is what we have been preparing for. But adverse weather, flights not sticking to their slot allocations or security alerts could disrupt the system and may lead to delays.

Throughout the Games we will liaise and provide advice to organisations across the aviation industry to ensure a co-ordinated approach to a safe and efficient operation, including using the NATS Air Traffic Incident Crisis and Communications Cell.

Temporary Controlled Airspace

In order that we can maintain our excellent safety record and manage the extra flights in and out of the London area we have, with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), created Temporary Controlled Airspace (CAS (T)).

The CAS (T) is designed to create sufficient capacity and separate flows so that the demand projected by other temporarily co-ordinated airfields can be satisfied. That means NATS controllers can more easily safely manage and integrate the significant increase in extra flights to the 40 airports in South East England while continuing to serve the main London airports.

The temporary airspace, which has taken four years to develop and has been modelled on the forecast additional traffic flows, includes new holding areas and associated routes for the Farnborough area, Oxford, Biggin Hill, Rochester and Southend airports.

Training in the new airspace for around 400 air traffic controllers began in April 2012 and we have been running a significant pro – gramme of education to help private pilots understand the temporary airspace so they can avoid infringing it.

We have also been working very closely with the Ministry of Defence to create the Atlas Control Centre – a specific control room for military air traffic controllers. The main purpose of the control room is to assist the UK Government in providing a safe and secure Olympic Games, and it will be staffed around the clock by RAF controllers.

They will be monitoring the prohibited and restricted airspace zones and will police air security should there be any issues that need to be dealt with.

How the Temporary Controlled Airspace will work

CAS (T) will be live from 16 July to 15 August 2012 for all IFR movements to/from the Department for Transport list of 40 fully coordinated airports in South East England.

Full details of airports and how to obtain a slot are available at www.caa.co.uk SUP006/2012 – UK Government Mandatory Instrument Flight Rules slot allocation for London 2012.

CAS (T) comprises Manston CTR, Southend CTR/CTA, Farnborough CTR/CTA and additional elements of the Solent CTA for Southampton; additionally higher level elements of CAS (T) are established for Swanwick LTC use over the Thames Estuary and Salisbury Plain regions.

All CAS (T) is Class D from 6000ft and below, except for the Swanwick LTC elements over Boscombe/ Salisbury Plain, which is Class A. The ATC service provider is shown on the London 2012 airspace map.

Aircraft using Visual Flight Rules can operate in Class D airspace provided it is outside of the Atlas restricted region and a clearance has been received from the appropriate ATC agency. Rules and regulations for VFR flights operating in Class D CAS (T) remain unchanged. Within the ATLAS area, Home Office rules apply. Full details of those rules are available at www.caa.co.uk (SUP004/2012 – UK Government Restricted and Prohibited airspace for London 2012).

A Route Availability Document and a Standard Route Document is available at www.airspacesafety.com/olympics.

Roles and responsibilities

NATS has a clearly defined role to perform for this year’s Olympic Games. We are responsible for:

• Managing the increase in air traffic in controlled airspace throughout the period as efficiently as possible while maintaining our high levels of safety and service to existing customers.
• Liaising and providing advice to organisations across the aviation industry to enure a co-ordinated approach to a safe and efficient operation.
• Establishing a NATS Olympic Operations Room as a communi – cations cell to stay in touch with stakeholders and airline customers throughout the period of the Games.
• Working with the DfT and the CAA to maintain regular dialogue and share forward planning information with key stakeholders such as EUROCONTROL.

However, at NATS we are not responsible for:

• Formulating airspace policy (DfT and the CAA).
• Formulating, implementing or enforcing the London 2012 security restrictions (Ministry of Defence, Home Office, DfT and CAA).
• Allocating Olympic runway slots at the 40 slot co-ordinated airfields (ACL Ltd).
• Assuring service quality at airports throughout the Olympic period, or making decisions about the allocation of airport capacity in the event of disruption (airport operator).

About the author

Appointed in September 2010, Paul Haskins’ role as General Manager of London Terminal Control, at Swanwick in Hampshire, means he is accountable for running the busiest Air Traffic Control Centre in Europe. Paul’s operational teams manage approximately two million flights a year, servicing the five major London airports. In addition to his operational and safety accountabilities, he has responsibility for all of the NATS preparations for the London 2012 Olympics. Paul joined NATS in 1992 as an Air Traffic Controller, working at Heathrow. He has held several operational and managerial posts in his 20 years with NATS, including his previous role as Head of Safety, London ATC Centre. Prior to joining NATS, Paul worked within the operations department of a major freight charter airline based at London Luton Airport. Paul has a keen aviation interest outside of work and holds a private pilot’s licence.