I was privileged to have the opportunity to address a distinguished audience at the Royal Academy of Engineering at their New Year Reception.

It was an occasion to showcase NATS and its vital role in the UK economy, offering a glimpse of the real air traffic control (ATC) operation today, and hypothesise on what might be seen in the future, as technologies allow us to challenge how we have always done things.

As airlines work hard to reduce their fuel burn and CO2 emissions, we at NATS have also been coming up with ways to help, using air traffic control initiatives to play our part.

What is SPACE? Put simply, it’s our innovation capability, designed to solve the difficult problems of today and enable us to see further into the future, to drive the aviation industry forward and provide solutions for tomorrow’s needs.

Satellite technology can help integrate Remotely Piloted Air Systems (RPAS) in much the same way as manned aircraft, both from a technical and an operational perspective.

It may be hidden behind the scenes at times, but engineering is a vital part of the work we do.

Tackling the existing fragmentation of European airspace and realising the vision of a Single European Sky requires a whole host of activities – from political breakthroughs to rolling out new technologies.

Air traffic control is all about getting as many aircraft through your airspace as efficiently and safely as possible. If you can successfully do that day in day out, passengers, airports and airlines will all be happy – sounds simple!