General Atomics

NATS registers increase in flights handled in December

NATS has revealed that it safely handled 181,015 flights in December, an increase of 1.5% on December 2023.

28799
Caption on image

Image courtesy NATS

Non-transatlantic arrivals and departures showed most growth, with 4.1% more flights than a year ago. Spain, France and Germany were the busiest routes.
 
According to Eurocontrol, NATS handled more than 24% of Europe’s traffic in December and was accountable for just 0.4% of delay. A total of 99.8% of flights received no NATS-attributable delay, whilst the average delay per delayed flight was 11.3 minutes.
 
Kathryn Leahy, Chief Operations Officer, said: “The draw of Europe’s Christmas markets may have been behind last month’s growth routes, but December is always busy and we do our very best to make sure that everyone’s travel goes according to plan.  

“In the face of some very challenging weather conditions, our team pulled out all the stops and I am very pleased that we were able to keep the average delay so low.  It was a good performance.”

Related

Flarebright builds UK production capability for GPS-free drone navigation
Flarebright GPS free drone navigation
Flarebright builds UK production capability for GPS-free drone navigation
The UK SME is building its export business from a Buckinghamshire manufacturing base, with maritime applications next on its development agenda.
RAF roundels explained: Why Royal Air Force aircraft use different markings
RAF Red Arrows and Typhoon open Farnborough International Airshow 2022
RAF roundels explained: Why Royal Air Force aircraft use different markings
RAF roundels have identified British military aircraft for more than a century. Here's why Royal Air Force aircraft carry different markings, from Spitfires to today's stealthy F-35 fleet.
Aerospace Defence

3 Oct 2026

UK Government opens scheme to slash manufacturers’ electricity bills
Jonathan Reynolds
UK Government opens scheme to slash manufacturers’ electricity bills
Applications for the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS) are now open to over 10,000 manufacturing businesses.
Aerospace Defence

2 Oct 2026

Flarebright builds UK production capability for GPS-free drone navigation
Flarebright GPS free drone navigation
Flarebright builds UK production capability for GPS-free drone navigation
The UK SME is building its export business from a Buckinghamshire manufacturing base, with maritime applications next on its development agenda.
RAF roundels explained: Why Royal Air Force aircraft use different markings
RAF Red Arrows and Typhoon open Farnborough International Airshow 2022
RAF roundels explained: Why Royal Air Force aircraft use different markings
RAF roundels have identified British military aircraft for more than a century. Here's why Royal Air Force aircraft carry different markings, from Spitfires to today's stealthy F-35 fleet.
Aerospace Defence

3 Oct 2026

Royal Navy tests autonomous systems against threats to critical underwater infrastructure
Exercise Repmus 2026 in Portugal
Royal Navy tests autonomous systems against threats to critical underwater infrastructure
The Royal Navy used NATO's REPMUS exercise in Portugal to evaluate autonomous vessels, underwater gliders and other emerging capabilities designed to detect underwater threats and protect critical infrastructure.
Defence

2 Oct 2026

Serco’s NadirEO to provide operational insights from Earth Observation data
Serco’s NadirEO to provide operational insights from Earth Observation data
The new NadirEO platform turns Earth Observation data into operational insight, bringing together multiple data sources, analytics and specialist partners to help organisations assess risk, monitor assets and make evidence-based decisions.
Member News Space

4 Oct 2026

SatVu’s HotSat-3 launches on SpaceX mission to double thermal satellite capacity
SAtVu HotSat
SatVu’s HotSat-3 launches on SpaceX mission to double thermal satellite capacity
SatVu has launched HotSat-3 aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-18 rideshare mission, adding capacity for high-resolution thermal intelligence from space.
Member News Space

2 Oct 2026

Orbex’s UK manufacturing assets and IP acquired by Omnidea
Omnidea engineering testing platform
Orbex’s UK manufacturing assets and IP acquired by Omnidea
Portugal's Omnidea has purchased the manufacturing assets and intellectual property (IP) of British rocket manufacturer Orbex UK, which ceased operations in February this year and went into administration.
Member News Space

2 Oct 2026

Cohort appoints Richard Mills as Group Strategy Director
Richard Mills
Cohort appoints Richard Mills as Group Strategy Director
Former Boeing executive Richard Mills will lead the growth strategy of Cohort and its seven subsidiaries which specialise in defence and security technology across the UK, Germany, Portugal and Australia.
BAE Systems proves complete counter-drone kill chain in Scotland trials
Container and Sensor
BAE Systems proves complete counter-drone kill chain in Scotland trials
BAE Systems has demonstrated its complete BATS counter-drone chain in Scotland, integrating sensors, electronic warfare and a gun system.
Security

1 Oct 2026

Doncaster Sheffield Airport takes another step towards reopening with new firefighting fleet
Doncaster Sheffield Airport fire appliance
Doncaster Sheffield Airport takes another step towards reopening with new firefighting fleet
Doncaster Sheffield Airport has ordered three specialist aviation firefighting vehicles as preparations continue for its planned reopening.