Altitude is a monthly live-streamed podcast from NATS, the UK's leading air traffic control company. It brings together people from across the aviation industry with NATS experts to discuss a wide range of topics. Each episode offers insights into the world of air traffic control and aviation. More information is available at NATS.aero.
Episodes
NATS Altitude 🎙️ Live at DroneX: From drone operations to an integrated airspace
At DroneX, there was no shortage of ambition.Drones are already being used by emergency services, delivery operators and infrastructure organisations, while work continues to make longer-range, beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations more routine. NATS Altitude Host Russell Porter spoke to a line-up of the key players in this transformation:Andy Sage from NATS, identified uncrewed traffic m
From runways to rockets - the sky is no longer the limit at Farnborough International Airshow
Join us as we speak to experts from defence, space and eVTOL organisations present at Farnborough International Airshow discussing the future of the skiesBonny Simi, President of Operations and Greg Bowles, Chief Policy Officer from Joby Aviation discuss their biggest milestones and how to move from test flights to operating a commercial passenger serviceCarlos García-Galán, Moon Base Program Mana
NATS Altitude 🎙️ Expert insights from CANSO Airspace World
Join us as we speak to experts across aviation for their exclusive insights into the industry, the challenges it’s facing and the exciting developments that will lead the future of airspace. ✈️Martin Rolfe, CEO of NATS explains why events like Airspace World are important to connecting ANSPs and the technology NATS has on display during the event.Simon Hocquard, President & CEO of CANSO shares
The next chapter in airport transformation - PTE special
The latest episode of Altitude comes from Passenger Terminal Expo (PTE), the global gathering of the people shaping the future of airports. From infrastructure and sustainability to digital transformation and passenger experience, we speak to airport industry leaders from across the world working to meet rising demand and new expectations.✈️ Luke Bugeja, CEO of Ferrovial Airports, explains how air
What can aviation learn from migrating geese?
In this month’s Altitude, we look beyond the horizon of traditional aviation to explore one of the most promising innovations in sustainable flight: wake energy retrieval - a technique inspired by birds flying in formation that could help reduce fuel consumption on long-haul flights by up to 5% - the equivalent of 6 tonnes of CO2 emissions. We’re joined by Airbus’ Laura Montironi, the leader of Pr
Planning for Summer 2026
Air traffic control is often judged by what passengers see on the day, but long before an aircraft pushes back, teams across Europe have been spending months - or even years - modelling, preparing and planning. In this episode of Altitude, we go inside the world of operations planning and resilience, looking ahead to this summer. From weather and airspace constraints to military exercises and spor
"Aviation Doesn't Need to Choose Between Flying and the Future"
This month's Altitude shines a light on aviation’s most pressing challenge - reducing its environmental impact. The panel has a fascinating discussion looking at the role of air traffic management, including whether sustainability can truly be compatible with growing demand, and why Air Navigation Service Providers cannot afford to wait until 2050 to take action. Join our host Rachel Gardner
From Innovation to Integration: Building the UK's Drone Economy
In this month's Altitude, we walked the floor at DroneX Tradeshow & Conference to get the very latest news and views on the UK uncrewed aviation industry straight from the experts.✈ Craig Roberts of PwC talks about their latest report - 'UK drone regulations and net risk', balancing risk to unlock growth and save lives. ✈ Alan Hicks gives an update from Manna Air Delivery, with
Inside the National Police Air Service's Amazing Drone Trial
The National Police Air Service (NPAS) has launched one of the UK’s most ambitious trials of uncrewed aircraft in support of frontline policing.In this episode of Altitude, we speak to the team as they prepare for a bold new era - testing high-endurance, uncrewed aircraft capable of flying beyond the visual line of sight (BVLOS) in real operational scenarios.From the control rooms at NATS to the r
Engineering the Future of Flight
In celebration of International Women in Engineering Day, we invited three amazing aerospace engineers to share their stories.Josna Joies from NATS talks surveillance systems - vital to our work keeping the skies safe - and how she was inspired by astronaut and aerospace engineer, Kalpana Chawla. Yvette Lawrenson takes us behind the scenes at Windracers and their amazing uncrewed aerial vehicle, t
Beyond Digital Towers: Airport Digitisation and the Great Data Convergence
Aviation is at a crossroads. On one side is the familiarity of legacy systems, including decades-old air traffic control infrastructure and manual ground operations. On the other is the promise of digital transformation: smarter flight management, real-time operational insights, and seamless passenger experiences driven by advanced technologies. With many organisations currently caught in the midd
Time Flies: A decade of smarter, greener air traffic management
A decade ago, NATS became the first air traffic management service in the world to introduce Time-Based Separation in a groundbreaking collaboration with Heathrow Airport and Leidos UK.Since then, it has reduced carbon emissions by 300,000 tonnes, saved airlines 100,000 tonnes of fuel and cut headwind-related delays by 62%, something that’s helped passengers avoid 3.5 years’ worth of holding over
Cleared for Green? The Future of Sustainable Aviation
The race to net-zero aviation is on, and the stakes couldn’t be higher. In this month's Altitude we're taking you inside the cutting edge of sustainable flight, where game-changing technology, bold policies, and radical thinking are reshaping the skies.From hydrogen-powered aircraft to AI-driven efficiency, from SAF breakthroughs to the future of airspace, we unpack the innovations that
Inside Heathrow's Airport Operations Centre
Beyond the tower and the terminals lies the APOC – Heathrow’s Airport Operations Centre.From here, up to 50 people from across the airport community are looking after just about every aspect of the Heathrow operation. From responding to suspect packages and monitoring traffic to planning presidential visits, it is all done by the team here. Alongside them is the NATS HOEC team – the Heathrow Opera
Drones: Redefining Industries, Revolutionising Lives
From keeping us safe and reducing our climate impact to delivering hot meals in just three minutes – just some of the incredible drone use cases we heard about in a special episode of Altitude recorded at the DroneX Tradeshow & Conference. ✈ Taryn Evans tells us about the National Police Chiefs' Council ambitious drone programme.✈ Alan Hicks explains how Manna Drone Delivery have made ov
Tips and Advice for Future Trainee Air Traffic Controllers
NATS has just reopened recruitment for trainee air traffic controllers, but what does that process look like and what kind of career can successful candidates look forward to?In this special episode of Altitude we’re exploring the whole recruitment process, from understanding the requirements and the application process through to assessment and beyond. We’ll also be looking at the training, what’
Beyond the Beaches: The amazing aviation innovations behind D-Day
The 6th June 2024 will mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day – the Allied invasion of Western Europe during the Second World War and one of the most pivotal days in human history.Most people will be familiar with the sight of the landings in Normandy, but fewer know the story beyond the beaches. D-Day itself saw an incredible 14,674 flights, all handled with nothing more than flare guns and signal la
Serving from the skies - London's amazing emergency services pilots
With such unique requirements, one of the most essential and complex users of our skies are the emergency services. In this month’s Altitude, we’re joined by pilots Captain Andrew Brandt from the National Police Air Service and Captain David Rolfe from London Air Ambulance Service to learn about their amazing life saving work and how collaboration is essential to keeping the ground and skies safe.
30 - Shaping our future skies
From delivering airspace modernisation and integrating drones through to understanding the impact of AI and the ever pressing need to address aviation’s climate impact, the list of priorities for leaders in air traffic management is a long and complex one. Our industry is in the midst of a period of unprecedented change and that’s in addition to delivering the safe and resilient service people rig
29 - Winter Operations: Finnish Snow-how
Ice, snow, howling winds and temperatures as low as minus 30.C are hardly ideal conditions to be running an international airport, but that’s the reality for the team at Rovaniemi, Finland’s second busiest airport. In beautiful Lapland, sitting on the edge of the Arctic Circle, the near constant need to clear runways and de-ice aircraft should conspire against delivering a smooth operation, but th
28 - The Human Factor
Human Factors is the understanding of ‘the human in the loop’. It’s about how people behave and interact both with technology and each other, and it’s something that has become fundamental to safety across aviation and a host of other industries.But what really is Human Factors? Where did it come from and why is it become so integral? In this month’s Altitude, we’ll be digging into the history, th
27 - Concorde: 20 years on
For more than 25 years, Concorde was the world's only successful supersonic airliner. Flying faster than the rotation of the earth, it could cross the Atlantic in just two and a half hours, with passengers arriving at JFK before they left Heathrow.Now, 20 years after its final ever flight from Heathrow to Filton on 26 November 2003, we look back at the history of one of aviation’s great engin
26 - Artificial Intelligence and Aviation
Can we expect Artificial Intelligence – heralded by just about everyone as the next great technology leap forward - to have a role in air traffic management? But how can we look beyond the hype and understand what this technology could really do for aviation? When is it right for AI to play a role in a safety critical industry and how could it impact human decision making? Will we ever really see
25 - Airspace Modernisation: Transforming the Skies
Airspace – our invisible motorways in the sky – is the underpinning of the entire aviation industry. Vital to the safe operation of tens of thousands of flights every single day, it is an infrastructure relied on 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to enhance the UK’s global connections. But it is also in need of a radical transformation.In this episode of Altitude, we examine why airspace modernisat
24 - Marking the 75th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift
The Berlin Airlift was a significant episode in the beginnings of the Cold War, with American, British, and French aircrews flying hundreds of daily cargo flights to deliver essential supplies into a West Berlin blockaded by the Soviet Union.Despite impossible odds, Berlin was sustained by air for 15 months from June 1948, with more than one third of flights being handled from Gatow Airport in the
23 - Operation Golden Orb: Planning the King's Coronation Flypast
While the weather may have played its part, Saturday 6 May saw a wonderful flypast over central London to mark the coronation of King Charles III. But what does it really take to organise such a spectacle in what is some of the world’s busiest airspace and why does the weather have such an impact? Did the King get to choose the types of aircraft?!In this episode of Altitude we’re joined by special
22 - How to become an Air Traffic Controller
NATS has just reopened recruitment for trainee air traffic controllers, but what does that process look like and what kind of career can successful candidates look forward to?In this episode of Altitude we’re exploring the whole recruitment process, from understanding the requirements and the application process through to assessment and beyond. We’ll also be looking at the training, what’s involv
21 - Mourning a Monarch: Silencing the skies for the State Funeral of The Queen
As the world mourned the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, plans for the first state funeral of a British monarch in more than 70 years were being put into action. As a mark of respect, it was agreed that aircraft would not overfly the funeral or procession from Central London to Windsor Castle - a period of over nine hours via a route just a few metres from Britain’s busiest airport, Heat
20 - Drones: Realising the Uncrewed Aviation Revolution
From transforming how urgent goods are moved around the world to surveying infrastructure in remote, dangerous environments and aiding accurate, rapid emergency response, uncrewed aviation has long promised to revolutionise our lives and the aviation industry.But unleashing that potential means delivering safe and scalable Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations, something that remains the
19 - Memories of 9/11: Shutting Down the Sky
This year is the 21st anniversary of the tragic events of 11 September 2001. Those of us who are old enough to remember it will never forget where we were or what we were doing when we heard the news. Most of us probably then spent the next few hours glued, horrified to the rolling news coverage.But some - like the those involved with air traffic control on the day - had to process the news while
18 - Urban Air Mobility: Air taxis and aviation's next generation
This episode of Altitude we’re exploring the next generation of aviation and airspace users.Air taxis, mass drone operations and spaceports may sound like science fiction, but it is a future that is far closer than you might thinkWithin a few years, a drone could be dropping your prescription at your front door as you book an electric air taxi to take you to the airport, while a few miles down the
17 - Being a controller at the Royal International Air Tattoo
It’s airshow season!The sight and sound of stunning air displays and incredible aerobatic performances by some of the world’s best pilots is hard to beat.But with Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) just a week away, what does it take to plan, manage and safely deliver a truly spectacular airshow? How does the role of the air traffic controllers at a display differ from the day job?The tower at
16 - Reimagining air traffic management for a post Covid world
After a tumultuous two years it feels like the aviation industry is finally emerging from the shadow of the Covid crisis.But while the skies are getting busier, the recovery remains uncertain and uneven, especially in many parts of the world.What role then, can air traffic management play in helping secure the recovery but also in future proofing airport operations as traffic levels begin to retur
15 - Whatever the weather
The weather influences all our lives, from whether you’ll regret not taking that umbrella to wishing you’d packed the sun cream, but for air traffic control the weather is an obsession. Rain, wind, snow, fog and thunderstorms can all conspire to overturn well-rehearsed plans, resulting in a hugely challenging and complex environment where maintaining safety is always the first priority. But why do
14 - General Aviation: Returning to the Skies
As the days get longer and the weather improves, aviation enthusiasts across the country will be taking to the skies in their thousands to explore the world from up above.After two years of Covid restrictions limiting the amount of flying time for many pilots, we’d like to support the General Aviation (GA) community on a safe return to flying and take the opportunity to talk about the tools and as
13 - Dealing with Emergencies: The story of BAW38
On 17 January 2008, flight BAW38 crash landed short of the runway at Heathrow Airport following a total loss of power to both engines. Remarkably there were no fatalities, but it remains the most serious commercial aircraft accident in the UK in recent years.The fact that it did not end in tragedy is testament both to how incredibly safe modern aviation has become, and to the training and professi
12 - Die Hard 2: Myth-busting a Christmas Classic
Aside from being one of the greatest Christmas movies of all time, the timeless classic Die Hard 2 also features some of the closest depictions of air traffic control yet committed to celluloidThe story of how a terrorist group manages to commandeer an entire airport on Christmas Eve, while a man in a big jumper crawls through the baggage handling system to stop them, is a tale for the ages.But ho
11 - Reopening, Recovering and Resilience: The Future of Airport Operations
After a hiatus of 18 months, the World ATM Congress returns to Madrid at the end of the month, but what kind of show can we expect as the industry continues to feel the effects of the Covid crisis? Despite encouraging signs of recovery, traffic levels remain far below pre-pandemic levels in many parts of world. Does that mean plans for expensive new technologies and ground based infrastructure s
10 - Chief Executive Special
Altitude is a monthly podcast from NATS.The last 18 months has been a period of extraordinary turmoil for the aviation industry, and even now as much of the rest of the world begins to recover, UK air traffic remains at around 50% of 2019 levels.So, what are the long-term prospects for aviation in the UK? What needs to be done to secure a better, brighter future as we learn to live alongside Covid
9 - Volcanic Ash: Preparing for the Unexpected
Altitude is a monthly podcast from NATS. It’s now 11 years since a huge volcanic eruption in Iceland grounded flights across the UK and much of northwest Europe. For six days in April 2010, the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull (or E-15) left millions of passengers stranded around the world. Fears over the effect of flying through clouds of ash rich in particles of glass left the industry, regulators a
8 - Into The Danger Zone: RAF Special
Altitude is a monthly podcast from NATS. From sonic booms and Quick Reaction Alert to deployments during Covid and military training exercises, are you ready to explore the world of 78 Squadron? The UK is one of the few countries around the world with a joint and integrated civil and military air traffic control service, with NATS and MoD controllers sitting side by side in the control centre at S
7 - The Unseen World of International Air Cargo
Altitude is a monthly podcast from NATS. From delivering fresh Norwegian crab to South Korea through to supporting the worldwide vaccine roll out, every year millions of tonnes of freight is flown in our skies in what is 24 hour a day choreography of logistics, just in time planning and human ingenuity. Join us for this episode of Altitude alongside DHL’s Chief Pilot, Richard Brew and Head of Carg
6 - Can aviation really deliver a Net Zero future?
Altitude is a monthly podcast from NATS. Climate change represents an existential challenge to the aviation industry. We need to act now not just because it’s the right thing to do for the future of our planet, but because failure to do so will see flying become more and more socially unacceptable. Technological advances like sustainable aviation fuels and electric aircraft are incredibly exciting
5 - Airport recovery: a vision for post-covid operations
Altitude is a monthly podcast from NATS. While the industry may now be eyeing the prospect of a recovery from the covid crisis, for many airports, plans for expensive new ground-based infrastructure may yet remain on ice for the foreseeable future. Being able to maximise the efficiency of existing runways, stands and terminals in order to keep costs and delays low is therefore going to be critical
4 - Research and Innovation Priorities for Aviation in a Post-Covid World
Altitude is a monthly podcast from NATS. COVID-19 has had a massive impact on air travel, with traffic and passenger figures reduced to pre-2000 levels in many regions, but there remains cause to be optimistic about the future… Unmanned aviation, Automation and Artificial Intelligence all promise to be the next paradigm shift in air traffic management, helping to build a better, more efficient and
3 - The Birth of Air Traffic Control: 100 years of keeping the skies safe
Altitude is a monthly podcast from NATS.On 25 February 1920, the UK Air Ministry gave approval for the construction of a new building at London Croydon Airport, to be ‘erected 15 feet above ground level’ and with ‘large windows to be placed on all four walls’. This building was to be known as the ‘Aerodrome Control Tower’ and at a stroke coined both the term that has remained synonymous with Air T
2 - Going digital: Are digital control towers really the future?
Altitude is a monthly podcast from NATS. A decade ago, digital towers were a niche concept, confined to a small part of the industry. Today and they are an operational reality for airports around the world. From London to Singapore via Budapest and Colorado, airports of all sizes are now going ‘digital’. And while the initial attraction was in the use of cameras and high-speed data connections to
1 - History in the making: Introducing space-based ADS-B over the North Atlantic
Altitude is a monthly podcast from NATS.Heathrow air traffic controller Ady Dolan is joined by Rob Mitchell, Manager ATC Development, Ocean, and Aireon CTO Vinny Capezzuto for a lively discussion charting the highs and lows of introducing Space Based ADS-B over the North Atlantic. Enjoy the show and find out more at nats.aero/altitude(Originally broadcast in December 2020)You can also watch an on
