NATS, the air traffic services provider, picked up a top award at the IHS Jane’s ATC Awards in Madrid last night.

The company, jointly with Lockheed Martin and Altran, overcame fierce competition to win in the Enabling Technology category for its air traffic control tools, iFACTS.

iFACTS is a set of tools which reduces a controller’s workload and increases the amount of traffic they can safely and comfortably handle. It provides decision making support and facilitates the early detection of conflicts in and around the sector.

It enables controllers to predict aircraft positions, heights and headings up to eighteen minutes ahead of time.

Frank Wood, General Manager NATS Programmes Division, said in a press release: “iFACTS has helped revolutionise the way NATS works, with the amount of ATC attributable delay reaching record lows. This is clearly great news for our customers and it is fantastic to see that achievement has been recognised by the industry.”

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