Speaking in Brighton, UK at the Keep Our Skies Safe (KOSS) meeting, Gavin Strang MP for Edinburgh East and Musselburgh, and convener of KOSS has warned of the potential dangers resulting from the privatisation of Britain's National Air Traffic Services (NATS).

He said: "Pilots internationally acclaim Britain's NATS as the best in the world. We need to keep it that way.

"The government's complex privatisation scheme for NATS is opposed by the British Airline Pilots Association, by the air traffic controllers themselves and by their support staff.

"When it comes to safety in our crowded airspace, the relationship between the pilot and the air traffic controller is crucial. We need them both on-side for any changes we make to air traffic control in this country.

"Privatising an airline could increase its profits by providing more services, serving more destinations and so on. "All NATS does is keep planes safely apart. So all NATS could do to boost profits would be to cut costs. And this leads to real safety concerns."