Belfast and Gibraltar airports renew contracts with NATS

Belfast International Airport and RAF Gibraltar have both renewed their contracts with NATS to supply tower services.

The Gibraltar contract will run for two-and-a-half-years, with the option to extend for another two years. NATS already provides Air Traffic, Bird Control and Medical Response services to the MoD in Gibraltar.

Trevor Hammond, General Manager at Gibraltar, said: “After complex negotiations, we are delighted that NATS has retained the contract to provide services in Gibraltar and that the scope has been broadened to provide Air Traffic Engineering.”

The Belfast contract came into effect on 1 April this year and runs for five years. As part of the contract, the tower will continue to provide a delegated en-route service in the Belfast Terminal Management Area on behalf of Prestwick Centre.

Michael Cockcroft, General Manager at Belfast said: “We put in a bid that was in line with the airport’s cost aspirations and which reduced our own costs, whilst achieving a commercial return. We followed a process successfully established by Luton’s contract renewal and naturally we are really happy to have come out on top.”

Mike Stoller, Operations Director, Airports, also commented: “Naturally all of us in the NATS Airports service line are really happy to have secured these contracts. It clearly demonstrates that we can successfully offer a competitive and valuable service for our airport customers.”