Thursday, Jun 25, 2015

Dubai: British air traffic controller, Nats, does not believe last year’s computer glitch that disrupted 10,000 travellers in the United Kingdom will affect future contract bids in the Gulf.

Last December, a 45-minute system failure at its Swanwick, England central control room resulted in 16,000 minutes in delays and more than 128 cancelled flights. The air traffic controller, partly owned by the British government, was sternly criticised by British politicians with some accusing Nats of cutting costs in favour of profit and calling for the chief executive to step down.

Nats rejected the accusations, however, its chief executive Richard Deakin resigned last month.

John Swift, director of Nats Middle East, said the system meltdown had “generated conservations ... about lessons learnt” but that the whole event “isn’t a particular negative thing in terms of Gulf reputation.”

Nats is in a push to expand in the Gulf beyond the “modest consultancy based contracts” it has so far undertaken in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman.

“What we are seeing now is there is greater interest in what’s in the longer term solution,” Swift said at Nats’ Dubai office in Jumeirah Lakes Towers on Monday.

The British air traffic controller believes it can adapt its experience at London Heathrow, the world’s second busiest airport for international passenger traffic, to ease congestion at airports in the region that are often slot constrained during peak periods, particularly at hubs such as Dubai International, the world’s busiest airport for international passenger traffic, Abu Dhabi International and Doha’s Hamad International.

“We can see the challenges that the market is facing and we’ve been asked for advice on how we are addressing those similar challenges in the UK,” Swift said.

Technique

Nats is currently in talks with the UAE which is interested in how the British air traffic controller has used big data in its Time Based Separation technique, a new way of separating aircraft by time instead of distance at London Heathrow, Swift said.

A yet-to-be published Oxford Economic study commissioned by Nats found that the average flight delay in the region is 36 minutes with 82 per cent of all delays associated with air traffic control, capacity and staffing issues. This is partially due to the global shift in aviation from west to east driven by the region’s largest carriers Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways and Emirates, the world’s largest airline by international passenger capacity. It is also due to the division of the regions airspace, which is largely controlled by and reserved for the military.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, which include the UAE, have previously discussed developing a single air traffic management centre similar to Europe’s Eurocontrol that coordinates air traffic routes with civilian, commercial and military aircraft. But little progress has been made.

Industry heavyweights, including Emirates President Tim Clark and Dubai Airports Chief Executive Paul Griffiths have previously warned that the billions of dollars that is being invested in airport expansions, new airports and new aircraft will be wasted if the airspace congestion issue is not resolved.

Swift said that countries and their airports in the region are likely to search for their own solutions to their own problems without a regional consensus.

“The challenge is you’re only as good as your neighbour’s performance, You could build the most effective, efficient runway airport operation in the region but if in 20 minutes flying time your neighbour’s airspace is congested you’re going to feel the effect,” he said.

By Alexander Cornwell Staff Reporter

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