With the sell-off of NATS in September, a new era of privatised air traffic control dawned, not

only over the UK, but also as the first fully privatised ATC provider in the world.

Let no one be fooled by the description a Public Private Partnership, (PPP). The Airline Group took over the running of NATS without government involvement.

Where does this leave NATS? There are, of course, some benefits to the new set-up. The Treasury will no longer be able to interfere in the day-to-day financing or the long-term investment strategy.

A privatised NATS should also provide a more commercially minded management with expertise in running a company in the private sector.

On the downside, there is no escape from financial consid-erations. Replace the Treasury with banks, and you can already see the possible constraints. The Airline Group has borrowed heavily to fund their acquisition of NATS, and banks need to be paid.

Given that initial assumptions on the growth of air traffic were overoptimistic, and had to be changed earlier this year as a result of factors such as higher fuel costs, the impact of the American tragedy has yet to be fully assessed.

The effect on NATS’ income could be dramatic. Some 40 per cent of its income is generated from transatlantic traffic – an area already showing signs of decline before the American tragedy. Who would be brave enough now to forecast traffic in the next few months, let alone five years?

Safety has always been the key factor that many groups, including unions, expressed their concerns over. The Airline Group have stated that they would run NATS “not for a commercial return".

However, they have to repay the bank loans while maintaining their emphasis on safety. How will they manage this without resorting to cuts affecting safety in the long-term?

So where does this leave general and business aviation? The fear was always that a privatised NATS would only be interested in the large revenue earning sectors of its business.

Those fears can only be compounded now. How will NATS try and match income and expenditure? The Airline Group have already been looking at stripping out costs. The question that remains unanswered is how

this will impact on its customers – large and small?

One easy answer is that costs to general aviation will rise as the Airline Group consists of the big players in the aviation sector. To be fair, so far the airlines have shown a hands-off approach to NATS, but how long will that continue? With the current commercial pressures on airlines, will they seek to get a return on their investment?

It will take some months for the fog to clear. There will be many more questions then answers. But one thing is for sure – Britain’s controllers and engineers will continue to provide what has come to be expected of them – the best air traffic control system in the world.

Iain Findlay, aviation officer for IPMS, the union representing UK air traffic controllers