With the Christmas and New Year celebrations already a distant memory, 2016 is shaping up as another very challenging and exciting year for both NATS and the wider aviation industry.

We thought we’d share our favourite aviation blogs from 2015 with you. Is there something you would like us to cover in 2016? Which was your personal favourite blog we posted from 2015?

Istanbul New Airport is a multi-billion Euro project that is due to open by 2018. With three runways and an annual capacity for 90 million passengers the intent is to expand to six runways with 150 million annual passengers, making it the largest airport in the world.

Those among you who are already thinking of the perfect Christmas gift for the aviation geek in your life could do no better than Art of the Airport Tower.

Next week a major European aviation conference comes to London. Aerodays is the European Commission’s flagship event in aviation research and development.

The aviation connection to the Shetland Islands is vital, as there are only two ways of getting there; by ‘plane or by boat. The boat option requires a 12 or 14 hour overnight journey to/from Aberdeen, so the flight option is much quicker for those wanting to make the trip to mainland UK.

The Middle East’s aviation industry is one of the most dynamic and exciting anywhere in the world, but challenges around airspace management remain. In order for those challenges to be solved and the region’s industry to realise its full potential, airspace – the invisible but critical infrastructure – must be considered an economic asset. It is to that end that NATS commissioned Oxford Economics to assess the benefits improvements in air traffic control can deliver for the region’s economy.

The Bristol Balloon Fiesta is now in its 37th year and its close proximity to Bristol Airport means we have to carefully plan for the occasion to ensure there is minimal impact to normal airport operations.

For decades precision guidance for aircraft approaches have been largely one size fits all, with an Instrument Landing System (ILS) providing a single approach path to follow, but that seems set to change.

Last week the Airports Commission announced its recommendation for a new runway in the south east of England, but even with a swift and decisive verdict the prospect of any new runway in the UK is still ten years away.