NATS records increase in UK air space activity

January saw 181,362 flights fly through UK airspace according to NATS, an increase of 1.6 per cent compared to January 2018. This accounted for 23.7 per cent of all European traffic and demonstrates the continuously increasing global demand for air travel. The biggest growth came in the non-transatlantic international overflights sector, with an increase of 7.5 per cent compared to last January. This is largely due to an increase in demand between Ireland and Europe, particularly on flights between Dublin and Frankfurt. Transatlantic overflights also saw a marked increase, up 6.3 per cent, led by more flights between the US and Europe, notably between New York and Paris.  ADVERTISEMENTDomestic flights were the only sector that declined in January compared to last year, with a 3.5 per cent reduction in traffic.  Traffic handled by both NATS air traffic control centres grew year on year in January, with Swanwick air traffic up by four per cent and Prestwick up by almost two per cent. NATS attributable delay for the month was minimal, with only 336 minutes in total; a substantial 97.1 per cent decrease compared to the same time last year. This equates to an average en-route delay per delayed flight of 11.59 seconds. Juliet Kennedy, NATS operations director, said: “We’re off to a good start this year, handling an increasing number of flights with less delay compared to last January.” Older Virgin Voyages opens Scarlet Lady to bookings Newer Thailand launches new electronic visa on arrival service