Air traffic control operations returned to normal at 7pm tonight after a fault in one of the systems that feeds the controller workstations at the London Area Control Centre. Restrictions were imposed on the number of aircraft entering UK airspace through London Area Control sectors – airspace above 24,000ft above England and Wales - and those taking off from major UK airports. This maintains safety whilst controllers operate with manual systems at reduced capacity; it does mean, however, that flights incur delay. Scottish airspace, Manchester Area airspace and Manchester and London Terminal Control airspace operated normally throughout.

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However, Gatwick, the world’s busiest single-runway airport, broke both its monthly and daily records, despite overall negative growth in the UK, handling 26,386 movements during the month and a record 895 movements on 22 August. Heathrow traffic fell by 1.2 per cent, to 41,391 movements. The overall drop – of 1.8 per cent compared to August 2007 – comes as the Manchester, London Area and London Terminal air traffic control centres reported lower flights than last year. The Scottish and Oceanic Centres at Prestwick handled more flights, a growth of 1.4 and 1.0 per cent respectively. Whilst longhaul, shorthaul and domestic arrivals and departures also fell slightly, transatlantic and European overflights both showed growth, of 3.1 and 3.3 per cent respectively.

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The German air navigation service provider DFS will, for the first time, present its consulting services, training and own proven solutions in India at the Inter Airport exhibition from 11 to 13 September. At the German pavilion (hall 12, stand A 101), DFS will place a special focus on its multi-radar and air situation data processing and display system Phoenix. The system is now implemented at more than 17 international and 10 regional airports in Germany. It is also used as a fallback radar tracking system at DFS and by the Portuguese air navigation service provider in the Lisbon control centre. DFS started developing the system in 2002 and is continually adding new functions and modules.

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(Ottawa, September 8, 2008) – NATS, the air navigation service provider in the U.K. has opted to use a system developed by NAV CANADA to keep track of critical flight data at its Swanwick Air Traffic Control Centre. The Swanwick Centre controls 200,000 square miles of airspace above England and Wales and handles some two million flights per year. The Code Callsign Distribution System Replacement (CCDS-R) matches the “Squawk” code transmitted by aircraft with their filed flight plan which makes it much easier for Air Traffic Controllers to positively identify an aircraft on their radar display. NAV CANADA developed a modernized system with multiple interfaces based on NAV CANADA’s EXCDS technology and through the Company’s considerable experience at implementing air traffic management systems. Services provided by NAV CANADA include software development, system installation, operational and maintenance training, and continuing hardware and software maintenance during system operation.

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ENGLEWOOD, COLO., August 22, 2008 — SkyWest Airlines recently outsourced the initial training of its new hire dispatchers to Jeppesen. At its headquarters near Denver, Jeppesen provides each SkyWest class with over 200 hours of foundational airline operations curriculum. Then the students return to SkyWest to perform on-the-job-training before being fully qualified to work as a dispatcher. The result for SkyWest is reduced training costs and shorter training cycles. “We are seeing strong skill sets from our new hire dispatchers and we attribute much of it to the training they receive at Jeppesen. They are very well prepared with a strong foundation to build on, and rather than us having to reinforce or introduce some basics to them, we can immediately begin with SkyWest-specific training,” said Michael Mumford, director of SkyWest’s Operation Control Center. “Our overall training time and costs are less, which is a tremendous benefit to the company because we get new hire dispatchers on the floor as soon as possible and benefit the company’s bottom line at the same time.”

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(Ottawa, August 19, 2008) – NAV CANADA today announced its decision to implement the rate revisions proposed in the Notice of Revised Service Charges released for consultation in June 2008. The Company will maintain a one per cent reduction in its service charges that was implemented on a temporary basis on August 1, 2007 and set to expire on August 31, 2008. “This rate reduction stands to save our customers an estimated $13 million per year,” said John Crichton, President and CEO. “Our record on service charges speaks for itself. Overall charges are only five per cent higher than they were in 1999 when they were fully implemented, which is 17 percentage points below the growth in inflation.” The Company is also implementing the final phase of adjustments to the weight exponent for its Terminal Service Charge and the terminal component of its Daily Charge. This change was originally announced in April 2006, following extensive consultation on changes to the overall NAV CANADA charging methodology. This revision will decrease the weight exponent from 0.85 to 0.8, reducing the charges for larger aircraft and increasing charges for smaller aircraft.

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The consultation by NATS, the UK’s leading air traffic management provider, on proposed changes to airspace over the eastern coast of Northern Ireland and a small area of south-west Scotland ends on Friday 22 August. Anyone who wants to register their views on the proposals must do so by then. The consultation has presented two options, developed jointly with the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA), designed to handle the projected growth in flights between Ireland and the UK, northern Europe and Scandinavia, and complements changes that are being made by the IAA in Dublin airspace. The base of the proposed airspace would accommodate the lowest altitudes currently used by traffic in the area, generally flights between Belfast and Dublin, ranging from 5,500 to 9,500 feet. Typically, most aircraft fly much higher.

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(Ottawa, August 11, 2008) NAV CANADA is pleased to announce that John Crichton, President & CEO, has been chosen as the 2008 recipient of the Glen A. Gilbert Memorial Award. Bestowed by the Washington-based Air Traffic Control Association (ATCA), the award honours the lifelong achievements of an individual in the field of aviation. “We are very pleased that John’s leadership at NAV CANADA and his overall contributions to the aviation industry are being recognized by the premier international association for air traffic control,” said Nick Geer, NAV CANADA Chairman of the Board. “This prestigious award suitably honours one of the most innovative leaders in the field of air transportation.” Announcing the 2008 award winner, ATCA noted “It has been the consistent dedication to the advancement of the industry that has earned John Crichton the prestigious Glen A. Gilbert Award.” ATCA also highlighted his instrumental role in creating NAV CANADA, the world’s first privatized air navigation service (ANS).

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NATS Services Ltd (NSL) has been awarded a £1.8m contract to fit out the Isle of Man’s new airport tower with the latest in avionics and air traffic control technology. NSL, the commercial arm of NATS, the UK’s leading provider of air traffic services, will take over the project after successfully completing similar equipment installation at new towers at Edinburgh and Newcastle airports, on time, to budget and with no service interruption. Work begins on the new 35-metre tower in August and the building is planned to be operational by 2010, at an estimated cost of £6.5m. Paul Reid, Chief Operating Officer of NSL, said: “We’re delighted to be working on this important infrastructure requirement for the island. We proved we have the expertise, project management skills and vision to make this happen on time and to budget.

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(Ottawa, July 28, 2008) - NAV CANADA today announced its traffic figures for June 2008, as measured in weighted charging units for en-route, terminal and oceanic air navigation services, in comparison to the same month in 2007. The traffic in June 2008 increased by an average of 4.7 per cent compared to the same month in 2007. Fiscal year-to-date traffic was 6.3 per cent higher than in fiscal year 2007. NAV CANADA’s fiscal year runs from September 1 to August 31.

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OSHKOSH, WIS., July 28, 2008— Jeppesen announced today efforts to assist the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) in bringing greenery to AirVenture with its new campaign, “EAA and Jeppesen — Helping AirVenture Grow.” As a company, Jeppesen is committed to enhancing the environment. As part of this commitment, Jeppesen has pledged to donate evergreen trees to help beautify the AirVenture grounds during the week of the air show and beyond. “At Jeppesen, we have made a personal commitment to our customers and industry partners to try and do what we can to safeguard the environment. To date, we are undergoing a transformation from paper to digital, reducing CD/DVD production, going web-based and reducing paper waste,” said Greg Bowlin, senior vice president, Business & General Aviation. “Our effort to ‘give back’ with trees that can benefit so many is just one way we plan to make a difference.”

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OSHKOSH, WIS., July 28, 2008— Jeppesen announced today the release of the new VFR+GPS chart series for navigation in North America. Developed in partnership with customers, Jeppesen incorporated direct feedback to design a series of Visual Flight Rules (VFR) charts that are easier to use and are built around actual flight paths used most by VFR pilots. To offer a fresh perspective on the traditional sectional chart, Jeppesen aggregated aviation data with the latest cultural and terrain data in a way that uses color and contrast to make a VFR chart easier to read and interpret. Cultural data from NAVTEQ provides the latest information on roads, cities and points of interest that are easily identified from the air. Terrain data from the Space Shuttle radar missions provides a realistic depiction of the earth below. Using state -of-the-art charting tools, Jeppesen combined all of this data into a new format that is more intuitive and easier to interpret for experienced pilots and student pilots alike.

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Airservices Australia today released its five year workforce planning strategy at the aviation industry conference - Waypoint – hosted by the organisation in Canberra. Chief Executive Officer, Greg Russell said the strategy came on the back of 3 years of intensive analysis of the labour market, world and domestic employment trends and the relationship of these to Air Traffic Control, Aviation Rescue and Fire Fighting and technology and engineering professions. “This document is a blueprint that explains our workforce challenges and, more importantly, our strategy to build the workforce, including skills we will need to meet future service delivery and satisfy aviation industry demands.

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The assistance service for disabled passengers and passengers with reduced mobility at airports will be transferred as of 26 July 2008 from airlines to the airports and will be more comprehensive. The assistance service provided at airports is intended for passengers whose mobility is restricted due to a physical disability or handicap, for passengers with impaired vision and hearing, for elderly passengers, for those with temporarily reduced mobility and for everyone who requires special help.

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The next BEST User Group meeting will be held at the Irish Aviation Authority training centre in Shannon, Ireland from 13th to 15th May 2009. The 3 day meeting will give users of the BEST simulators a rewarding and enjoyable forum to meet other users from around the world and to benefit from their experiences. It also gives special opportunities to learn about new projects and Micro Nav development plans. Through the presentations and discussions all participants receive a wide range of information on different BEST applications and experiences as well as the latest operational and training topics. We emphasise the informal opportunities for us all to build on our relationships and explore items of specific interest. A Partner Programme is available and all are welcome to enjoy the social events in the User Group agenda.

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The air navigation service providers (ANSPs) and the civil aviation and military authorities of the six States, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Switzerland have carried out a detailed feasibility study on the creation of a socalled Functional Airspace Block (FAB). The study shows that a FAB Europe Central (FABEC) will provide considerable improvements in the efficiency of air traffic services. According to the study, safe and punctual air traffic control services in a growing market will be possible in the future if air traffic control is no longer organised mainly across national borders.

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Geneva, July 21, 2008. A MD 11 of Lufthansa was obliged to abort its flight on Sunday, July 20 for technical reasons, and was forced to jettison fuel to bring its weight down to the maximum prescribed for landing. The fuel was jettisoned between 20.18 and 20.30 local time between Reichenbach (Canton of Berne) and Zweisimmen (Canton of Berne). The aircraft dumped a total of about 30 tonnes of aviation kerosene during this procedure. The fuel was dumped at 32′000 feet (approximately 9′800 metres above sea level).

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The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) can confirm that Air Traffic Control (ATC) operations at Dublin Airport are now generally meeting demand. Delays will be experienced at peak times. Factors outside the direct control of the Irish Aviation Authority, however, such as weather or congestion in European airspace, also contribute to flight delays. On 16 July, the air traffic management system (ATM) supplier, Thales ATM presented its technical assessment of the ATM system malfunction which occurred at Dublin on 9 July. Thales ATM confirmed the root cause of the hardware system malfunction as an intermittent malfunctioning network card which consequently overcame the built-in system redundancy. Thales ATM also confirmed that the cause of the malfunction was the same for previous malfunctions which had occurred since 2 June, 2008. Thales ATM stated that in ten similar Air Traffic Control Centres worldwide with over 500,000 flight hours (50 years), this is the first time an incident of this type has been reported.

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(Ottawa, July 16, 2008) – NAV CANADA today announced the appointment of Brian K. Aitken as Acting Vice President, Finance, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, effective July 12, 2008, pending selection of a permanent replacement for William Fenton who has announced his retirement from this position. Aitken joined NAV CANADA in 2002 as Director of Finance, having previously held senior financial roles at Alcan Aluminium Limited, E.B. Eddy Ltd. and Domtar Inc. In 2007, he was named Assistant Vice President, Finance, taking on increased responsibilities in financial accounting and reporting, decision support, internal controls and taxation. “Brian has played a key role in many of the Company’s major strategic initiatives,” said John Crichton, President & CEO. “He is well versed in the core business and financial underpinnings of NAV CANADA, having worked through the financial challenges of the post-9/ll industry downturn, the SARS crisis and the implementation of our revised disclosure controls and procedures.

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ENGLEWOOD, COLO., July 16, 2008 – Jeppesen has expanded its capabilities in Singapore to better serve its airline and military customers in the region. Jeppesen’s team in Singapore recently moved into a downtown office building and focuses on pre-sales, sales, professional services and account management responsibilities for all Jeppesen commercial and military solutions. Together with offices in Beijing, Dubai and Australia, the expanded Singapore site complements Jeppesen’s growing presence in the Asia/Pacific region, which is one of the most rapidly growing aviation markets in the world.

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Maastricht, the Netherlands – The EUROCONTROL Upper Area Control Centre (MUAC) has published its annual report for 2007. The report says that though flights increased by 5.1% in 2007, 96% of flights handled by the centre were on time, costs per kilometre fell for the fourth consecutive year, and no serious safety incidents were recorded. In the past year, air traffic in the area has grown by 5.1% compared to 2006. All growth predictions were exceeded and an all-time high in excess of 1.5 million flights was reached (75,000 up on 2006). 96% of all flights were on time and the average delay per flight was 0.6 minutes, or 38 seconds. In terms of volumes of traffic, MUAC is the second busiest air traffic control centre after London ACC in Europe.

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The German air navigation services provider DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH has supplied a complete training simulator with 17 workstations to the Moroccan airport operator and air navigation services provider Office National Des Aéroports (ONDA) in Casablanca. The total costs for this simulator amounted to almost 2.4 million Euro. In future, Moroccan air traffic controllers will be trained for en-route and approach control at the radar simulator. ONDA had issued an international call for tenders for training equipment in their new academy building and awarded DFS the contract.

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(Ottawa, June 12, 2008) – NAV CANADA today announced a proposal to maintain a one per cent reduction in its service charges that was implemented on a temporary basis on August 1, 2007 and was set to expire on August 31, 2008. The continuation of these lower rates would save customers an estimated $13 million in fiscal 2009. This would be the third consecutive year that NAV CANADA has offered reduced rates for the air navigation services it provides to customers. Charges were reduced by 1.8 per cent on average on September 1, 2006, and by another 3 per cent on August 1, 2007, in addition to the temporary reduction of one per cent for the period August 1, 2007 to August 31, 2008, which would now be made permanent.

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(Ottawa, May 28, 2008) – The VHF radios that provide the critical air-ground-air links in Canada’s Air Navigation System (ANS) are about to undergo a major facelift. The radios are used every day by air traffic controllers and flight service specialists to provide information, advice and instruction to pilots who fly in Canada’s skies. They will be replaced in an eight-year, over $50 million dollar upgrade being conducted by NAV CANADA, the owner and operator of the ANS, in conjunction with Park Air Systems Limited and SolaCom Technologies Inc. “Voice communication by trained professionals is one of the key elements in the safe and efficient movement of aircraft,” said John Crichton, NAV CANADA President and CEO. “This investment will support the continuous exchange of information between NAV CANADA people and our customers, using what is known as the air-ground-air infrastructure.”

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The CEOs of the Members of the European Satellite Services Provider (ESSP) met in Rome on 19th May 2008 to agree on the process for incorporation of the new company ESSP Société par Actions simplifiée (SAS). This company will be based in Toulouse and established under French Law in the coming weeks in order to become the certified service provider for EGNOS. The current ESSP is a European Economic Interest Grouping (ESSP), which was set up in 2001 by the Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) of the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) Operators and Infrastructure Group (EOIG) investing in the EGNOS programme. EGNOS is the European satellite based augmentation to GPS, planned to be certified in 2009 for aviation under the Single European Sky regulations. It has particular benefits for air navigation approaches with vertical guidance on almost all European airports and for precision RNAV. EGNOS is designed as a multimodal system aiming at providing benefits to different categories of aeronautical and non-aeronautical users across Europe. More than 700 million Euros have been invested in EGNOS development and Initial Operations under the technical supervision of the European Space Agency (ESA).

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