MAG buys British with renewed NATS air traffic deal

THE operator of Manchester Airport has opted to buy British in renewing its contract with air traffic control provider NATS for another 10 years.

MAG (Manchester Airports Group) said the deal covers both its two largest airports, Manchester and Stansted, and is for air traffic control and engineering services, beginning April 1 2015.

Both Birmingham and most recently Gatwick Airport have moved away from NATS in the last two years, and the MAG deal will be good news for jobs there. Unions reacted with dismay last month when Gatwick penned a deal after a tendering process with state-owned German air traffic services firm Deutsche Flugsicherung (DFS) for services below 4,000ft around the airport.

Andrew Cowan, chief operating officer for MAG, said: “NATS is highly regarded within the aviation industry and has a proven track record when it comes to aircraft and passenger safety, which is our shared priority. We believe that NATS is best placed to deliver a modern and efficient air traffic control service for our two largest airports. Both Manchester and Stansted are growing rapidly and we look forward to continuing our strong working relationship and growing a positive future for our airports.”

Mike Stoller, director of operations (Airports) at NATS, said: “Having worked with MAG and both airports for a number of years, we are looking forward to continuing our relationship and supporting MAG to achieve their growth ambitions in the future. We will be working in partnership with MAG to build on the safe and resilient service we provide today with innovative air traffic management solutions for their business going forward. Both airports have ambitious growth goals and we will work closely with MAG to ensure that increased air traffic movements and passenger numbers, can be successfully realised.”

Manchester is currently the third largest airport in the country with over 21 million passengers using the airport annually and London Stansted the fourth largest serving over 18 million passengers a year.

MAG operates its own air traffic control services at its other two airports, East Midlands and Bournemouth. Birmingham Airport also took the service in-house last year.