UK air traffic management company NATS has won a ten-year contract to provide services and expertise to Cardiff Airport.

The contract also includes the addition of services for MOD St Athan, which is located close to the airport.

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Cardiff Airport CEO Deb Barber said: “After a robust tender process, we were very impressed by the NATS bid. Not only are they a reputable, trusted supplier of air traffic services at many UK airports, but they also stand out for demonstrating technological innovation, operational excellence, and impressive engineering capabilities.

“We look forward to developing further our partnership with NATS over the next ten years and, on behalf of Cardiff Airport’s team, I’d like to congratulate NATS on their success.”

NATS CEO Martin Rolfe said: “Cardiff Airport has gone from strength to strength in recent years, achieving over 60% passenger growth.

“We are delighted to be adding MOD St Athan to the NATS family and look forward to continuing to provide the Welsh capital city airport with an outstanding service, as we have done since the 1960s.”

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NATS previously received a five-year contract from Cardiff Airport in 2014 to provide aerodrome and airport approach services.

In January, NATS launched a trial of an AI-powered digital control tower at Heathrow Airport to monitor aircraft and help the airport to reduce flight delays.

The company also deployed its new Hub and Spoke electronic flight progress strip (EFPS) system at Bristol Airport in December.

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