Electronic flight strips introduced at Newcastle International Airport

NATS has aided Newcastle International Airport in the transition to using state-of-the-art electronic flight strips in its air traffic control procedures.

The introduction marks the airport’s move away from traditional paper to electronic progress flight strips in order to offer an efficient process that allows for seamless sharing of operational data across the entire airport.

Aircraft can now be given departure clearances electronically, reducing controller and pilot workload, while aircraft on and off-stand status data can be shared almost instantly helping to speed up decision making.

Electronic flight strips allow aircraft to be given departure clearances electronically

Commissioned 12 month ago, air navigation service provider NATS designed a unique interface for the airport’s controllers taking into account the specific requirements while integrating within the UK wide air traffic network.

Nat Clark, Engineering Manager Newcastle International Airport, said: “The programme has been a great success and now sees Newcastle International Airport fully integrated into the en-route network enabling us to provide a more efficient service to our airlines and passengers and help future-proof the business.”

Iain Harris, NATS Engineering Services Director, said: “It has been great to be working closely with Newcastle International Airport again to jointly develop this solution to support their business into the future.”