NATS introduces “world-first” separation system at Gatwick
March 27, 2025
UK air traffic service provider NATS has changed the way it separates aircraft arriving into London Gatwick Airport, a world-first for a single-runway airport, and an initiative it says will cut up to 19,000 tonnes of carbon emissions a year.
Instead of separating arriving aircraft by traditional set distances, NATS controllers are now separating aircraft by what it terms “dynamically calculated time-based intervals;” a system of particular relevance during strong headwinds. Under these conditions, aircraft fly more slowly over the ground, negatively impacting the landing rate: an inefficiency the new system aims to address.
Maintaining a steady stream of landings will help to minimise delays and cancellations caused by adverse weather, with the change to “build more resilience into the airport’s runway operations, helping it reduce delays and improve on time performance,” explained NATS.
The initiative is enabled by a tool called ‘Intelligent Approach,’ a tool developed jointly by NATS and technology provider Leidos, which has been specially modified to “take into account both the strength of the live wind conditions and the time needed for departing aircraft to leave the runway between arrivals”. This is the first time Intelligent Approach has been deployed at a single-runway airport, where arrivals and departures use the same runway.
The technology has already been deployed at Amsterdam Schiphol, Toronto Pearson and London Heathrow, having cut headwind delays at the latter by 62%. Although 2024 Civil Aviation Authority data indicated Gatwick experienced more delays and cancellations than any other London airport in 2023, a spokesperson attributed the “majority of delays” to “poor weather, airspace constraints across Europe and third party ground operations”. In November 2024, Gatwick’s on time departures score was 77%.
With ongoing plans for a £2.2bn privately financed northern runway hoped to be completed by the end of the decade – albeit one which will still need to overcome complex planning hurdles – increasingly efficient arrival of aircraft may be the most significant short-term tool to maximise traffic flow. 43.2 million passengers passed through Gatwick in 2024 (5.7% up year-on-year).
