NATS En Route PLC - EARLY EASTER SLOW AIR TRAFFIC

RNS Number:5516S
NATS (En Route) PLC
17 April 2008

EARLY EASTER SLOWS AIR TRAFFIC

NATS, the UK's leading provider of air traffic services, handled 196,304 flights
in March, a decrease of 0.3% compared with the same month last year.

This reflects the impact of the Easter holiday period which occurred in March
this year as opposed to April last year. The Easter weekend normally sees lower
traffic volumes. Traffic for the year to date has grown by 1.6 per cent, half
the 3.6 per cent recorded for the same period last year.

En route traffic handled by London Terminal Control in March decreased by 1.5
per cent, and London Area Control increased by 0.3 per cent. Scottish Area
Control Centre at Prestwick handled 1.7 per cent more flights and Oceanic 5 per
cent more.

At airports where NATS offers a service, there was an overall decrease of 2.5
per cent in en-route traffic although Gatwick maintained a steady increase of
3.2% and Belfast International an increase of 5.1%.

Destinations showing the strongest growth included Poland (up by 44.9 per cent),
and Switzerland (16.9 per cent).

ends

PN0810
17 April 2008

Notes to Editors:

• Quoted airport traffic figures are based on flights handled through
NATS Area Control Centres, not on actual airport movements which are not
available until later in the month.

• NATS provides 'en route' air traffic control and management from the
London Area Control Centre at Swanwick, Hampshire, Scottish and Oceanic Area
Control Centre at Prestwick, Ayrshire, and the Manchester Area Control Centre
located at Manchester Airport.

• NATS also provides air traffic control services at 15 of the nation's
major airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Birmingham, Manchester,
Edinburgh and Glasgow, together with air traffic services at Gibraltar Airport.

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Mar Mar % gr 2008 to 2007 to % gr
Date Date
2008 2007
UK FLIGHTS 196,304 196,869 -0.3% 562,926 553,862 1.6%

CENTRES
London Area Control 159,443 159,012 0.3% 455,529 447,033 1.9%

London Terminal Control 112,471 114,209 -1.5% 324,647 322,815 0.6%

Manchester Area Control Centre 45,937 48,225 -4.7% 132,589 136,118 -2.6%

Scottish Area Control Centre 51,271 50,425 1.7% 147,377 142,779 3.2%

Oceanic Area Control Centre (Shanwick) 33,377 31,789 5.0% 94,983 89,053 6.7%

MARKET
Transatlantic Arrivals/Departures 11,200 11,351 -1.3% 32,460 32,221 0.7%

Transatlantic Overflights 15,792 14,550 8.5% 45,222 41,149 9.9%

Other Arrivals/Departures 118,453 118,687 -0.2% 338,373 332,533 1.8%

Other Overflights 10,485 9,710 8.0% 29,743 26,966 10.3%

Domestic 40,044 42,203 -5.1% 116,220 120,074 -3.2%

This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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