Based in the west of Wales, NATS Aberporth specialises in a very different kind of air traffic control, which often involves getting aircraft as close together as possible before one is blown out of the sky!

Aviation Noise is by far the most emotive topic around airport expansion, where battle lines are drawn in the form of noise contours, and entrenched positions on Government policy and residents’ rights to peace and quiet have resulted in a stalemate.

The latest blog in our series, which looks at women in engineering, is from Wendy Ashing, Senior Project Safety Manager with NATS. She shares her experiences and reflections about her career below.

The dazzling displays that delight the crowds every two years at the Farnborough Airshow always rightfully dominate the headlines, but there is also an enormous amount of work going on behind the scenes to make it all possible.

Meet the team responsible for updating the UK’s aeronautical charts, which contain the safety critical information that pilots have to rely on everyday.

Whenever there’s disruption to the air traffic operation somewhere in Europe, for example the industrial action in France last week, we tend to get calls from journalists who are keen to understand the impact on the UK and how we’re managing it.

Find out in this video what it’s really like to train and work as an air traffic controller, and what one of our controllers likes best about her job.

Every day between two and three thousand aircraft fly across the North Atlantic, with the UK – and NATS – acting as the gateway to Europe.

Recently, the media has been focusing on the shortage of female engineers. Initiatives such as National Women in Engineering Day – a day dedicated to raising the profile and celebrating the achievements of women in engineering – provides an opportunity for organisations such as NATS to inspire future generations and demystify what an engineering career means in reality.

We developed a series of mini-games to help prospective controllers decide whether it’s the kind of career that might be right for them. See how you get on!