AEROSPACE Air traffic control and Covid-19

Pushing tin in a pandemic

As air traffic control marks 100 years since the first control tower, MARTYN CARTLEDGE looks at ATC operations in the UK and talks with NATS about its operations during Covid-19.

Manchester Airport Tower (all photos via author unless marked otherwise).

Avital component of airline operations but tucked away in airport control towers and en route centres, invisible to air passengers, are the calm and quiet groups of men and women responsible for moving aircraft around the skies and airport ramps. How do they do this and how has the near annihilation of air traffic, not only in the UK but around the world, affected operations?

ATC in the UK and beyond

To attempt to answer these questions at both a local level and in the wider world, I visited the NATS centre at Manchester Airport. This comprised the visual control room (VCR) and the smaller area control room (ACR) situated in a new facility adjacent to the airport’s main fire station.

Unlike most countries, ATC in the UK is split into two parts, that of en route and airfield with the en route being a Government contract and airfields being controlled with contracts awarded on a commercial basis. Some airfields/operators, such as Liverpool, Doncaster and Teesside, run their own ATC and employ their own controllers directly. Others, such as Manchester and in fact most, if not all of the major airfields in the UK, employ a contractor to supply ATC services in basically the same way as they would employ a contractor to clean the terminals. It was once described to me by a previous ATC Manager as: “It’s Manchester’s train set, we just get to push planes around it!”

Manchester Airport Plc (part of the Manchester Airports Group or MAG), has contracted with NATS which is probably the largest operator in the country and arguably the most well known. In addition to ‘on airport operations’, it also has the Government contract to run the en route service for the whole of the UK.

Manchester’s facility​

Entering the facility, it is almost like any office building. The company logo is proudly displayed on the wall and doors lead off the corridors. For obvious reasons the tower, or VCR as it is more correctly termed, is right at the top.

Once inside, the overriding impression is of cool calmness. If you ignored the magnificent view of the airfield out of the panoramic windows you could almost think this was any other office workplace until, of course, you look at what is on the computer screens at each workstation.

Modern air traffic control systems differ from those used in the past, as what is seen on the controllers’ screens is no longer the actual radar

return with added information but a computergenerated view based on those radar returns. In fact, it is basically a much more complex version of the flight tracking apps widely available now but one which allows for quite a lot of manipulation and flexibility to assist controllers in their work. The true radar screens are situated in the engineering department.

Manchester, however, is just a small part of a system covering the country. Airspace around the world is divided into flight information regions (FIRs). In the UK there are three: London (covering England and Wales), Scottish (Scotland and Northern Ireland) and Shanwick Oceanic, an area of over 700,000m2 2 of the Atlantic Ocean. Within each of the FIRs there is both controlled and uncontrolled airspace. Areas of controlled airspace have both a type and a class with the type defining the purpose of the airspace. These are air routes, where aircraft spend most time in cruise. Airways are similar but can have aircraft climbing or descending once away from an airport. Control areas cover aircraft climbing and descending into/out of an airport, generally up to a height of 4,000ft and, finally, control zones are areas around an airfield up to a certain height. This ensures that all aircraft in the vicinity of an airport with commercial operations are under ATC control.

At terminal or area control centres, controllers manage a portion of the total airspace within their remit taking flights from, or passing them on to, the controllers at the airport.


A digital world

Everything is now digital, even down to the flight progress strips. These simple, yet successful, products are still used to keep tabs on what the aircraft should be doing and with whom; it is just that they are now an editable image on a screen sent electronically from one controller to another containing information such as call sign, flight number, departure and destination airports, aircraft type, ETA, ETD and the SID or STAR. It is also used, as the name suggests, as a means of recording the progress of the flight whereby controllers will mark the strip relating to the instructions given to the flight crew.

Although the equipment mentioned so far is of the utmost importance, it is by no means the only items at the disposal of controllers at an airport. Each station is made up of an aerodrome traffic monitor (ATM) to monitor aircraft in the air approaching/ departing and flying in the vicinity of the airport. There is also a surface movement radar (SMR) to monitor aircraft and vehicles on the ground including runways, a meteorological station and an aerodrome lighting panel. However, as one controller said, all this technology is useless without one, very important, sensor – the ‘Mark 1 eyeball’.

Covid-19

Yet the calm environment of an ATC facility has, of course, become even quieter recently with the country’s facilities handling traffic at only 10% of 2019 levels in April and May before rallying more recently back to 40%.

However, you cannot just shut down air traffic control, as you cannot take a laptop home with you and control what aircraft are left in the skies sitting on the couch in your pyjamas. Furthermore, the companies providing ATC services have both the same issues as any other organisation affected by the pandemic, as well as some quite specific ones. For example, just like aircrew, air traffic control officers (ATCOs) need to maintain currency and this is very difficult with little amounts of traffic to control. There are still aircraft flying, for example, freight, repatriation, air ambulance, military and emergency services. These flights still need the same service they have always had. As designated key workers, ATC personnel are still required to work, bringing added pressures on members of staff, concerned like any other person with the risk of bringing the virus back to their families.

ANY FUTURE SUPPORT PACKAGE FOR AVIATION MUST INCLUDE THE PAYMENT OF ATC CHARGES, WITH FURTHER FUNDING MADE AVAILABLE IF NEEDED TO COVER THE SHORTFALL IN REVENUES DUE TO THE REDUCTION IN AIR TRAFFIC.

These points and social distancing issues were highlighted by NATS CEO Martin Rolfe in a blog post in late March: “NATS have had two priorities: to look after our people and protect the critical operation on which the country still depends at a time like this. Doing this means asking our controllers and engineers – as designated key workers – to come into work, something that exposes them and their families to additional risk. We are taking every step possible to protect them.” With airports changing the infrastructure they use, new issues have arisen, such as airlines using unfamiliar terminals and creating the possibility of delays. NATS has been working with its airport customers to mitigate both these and other challenges.

Clearly, the reduced traffic levels have required reduced staffing levels. On the one hand, this eases the process of social distancing but, just as in many other environments, there is need for extra work to help maintain a ‘Covid secure’ work environment. Work stations are cleaned at handover and shift change times. Manchester has also reverted to single runway operations which, in turn, reduces the number of staff required, helping distancing in small environments such as VCRs. At large centres, like Swanwick and Prestwick, it is easier to maintain a level of social distancing.

On the other hand, controllers, just like aircrew, need to remain current and have a valid licence, as well as needing to keep up their ‘match fitness’ to avoid what Juliet Kennedy, NATS Operations Director, described as ‘skill fade’ – particularly relevant for those working in procedural and technical roles. With so few aircraft to work on, this has been a challenge which has required working with the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to address the issue; the first stage being an extension period being applied to licensing requirements.

Working from home is, of course, not possible for ATCOs but, for many of those performing office/administration functions, this has now become a reality and one that is unlikely to change for some time to come.

​

Funding shortfall

Like all organisations, NATS is no different in having to work on a reduced income. Its en route company, NATS En Route Plc (NERL), earns money from each flight it manages. This model and the rather fixed nature of many costs does limit the action that the company can use, while also having to keep an eye on the future.

NATS is also part of a wider European industry initiative called the Network Operations Recovery Plan which seeks to plan for a safe, efficient and co-ordinated service during the anticipated recovery phase, whenever that might happen. This work is being co-ordinated in the UK through the CAA’s Industry Resilience Group. The Government has also established a Restart & Recovery Group looking at the wider implications for the UK aviation industry, at which NATS is represented. Juliet Kennedy had this to say about Government assistance: “Any future support package for aviation must include the payment of ATC charges, with further funding being made available if needed to cover the shortfall in revenues due to the reduction in air traffic. Airspace is a critical national infrastructure and must remain open and safe, not least for the continued flow of food, medicines and supplies.”

Opportunities? ​

Does the current situation present any opportunities? According to Ian Jopson, Head of Environmental and Community Affairs, it does: “The severe fall in air traffic presents a unique opportunity to accelerate aviation decarbonisation, something the UK aviation industry has long been committed to. NATS is looking to take advantage of the current low traffic levels to create its own ‘new normal’ from a 70-year old airspace structure design which currently does not make the best use of new aircraft performance capabilities. The company is wanting to rebuild airspace structure in a carbon-efficient way and to liaise with airlines and airports to reduce local air pollution and noise. NATS has made a commitment through Sustainable Aviation to achieving net zero CO2 2 emissions for the industry by 2050.

Building back better

The overriding buzz words are to ‘build back better’ and, as Juliet Kennedy put it: “This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity. We will never have another chance like this to change and adapt to deliver lasting improvements and long term benefits.” Modernising airspace is a priority, not just on an environmental basis. It is very much customer-led, as Kennedy continues: “Our airline and airport customers expect us to take this opportunity to find ways of doing things differently. The pressures of our normal operation – managing traffic in some of the world’s busiest and most congested airspace – always constrains our ability to try out new things but we have the chance to do that now. So, we’re looking at how to make the most of the opportunity opened up by the current uniquely low traffic levels to investigate efficiency improvements and try out different procedures safely. This is a truly exciting opportunity to see what we can do differently.”

However, in the short term the issues are likely to revolve around ensuring that there are enough controllers in those sectors facing increasing numbers of flights. Kennedy explains: “When traffic levels increase, we must ensure that we avoid the ‘frog in the pan’ scenario and we are working with our training, technical and competency teams to ensure that we have robust strategies to get back to full ATC fitness so that our controllers remain fully able to manage traffic safely and efficiently as the volumes increase.”

This is now but what of the future? ​

NATS feels that it can make its biggest contribution to a more sustainable future for flying by reshaping the UK’s network of airways and flight paths – allowing for more direct routes, more continuous descents and an end to airborne holding as we know it today, all of which will greatly reduce CO2 2 emissions. With traffic levels set to remain lower than expected over the next few years, there will never be a better time to make those kinds of complex and fundamental changes. Jopson continues: “One thing is sure, post-Covid-19 the climate crisis will still be here and aviation will remain in the spotlight. We have a great opportunity to ensure that, when the traffic returns, it is to a more sustainable future where net zero is closer than we thought.” Juliet Kennedy adds: “Modernising airspace is still our customers’ top priority. We must keep the pressure on. We are still hopeful that, with some funding assistance from the Government, the wider Future Airspace Strategy Implementation (FASI) programme being coordinated by the Airspace Change Organising Group (ACOG) with NATS and the airports, can stay on track for this decade.”

These are challenging times for all of us. However, at NATS it seems that everything remains calm and organised, aircraft are directed smoothly into and out of Britain’s airspace and (unlike ATC scifi thriller 2:22), definitely, nobody has said: ‘Punch it.’

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