Air navigation service providers across Europe will share a £1.1 billion support package. The UK National Air Traffic Services (NATS) is eligible to receive £92 million in support.
This package will enable them to continue providing services to support cargo and repatriation flights and prepare to return to full operation as and when needed. This funding will help services continue in places like East Midlands and Birmingham airports.
The government already announced last week that airlines would be able to temporarily defer payment for route changes for up to 14 months. This would provide financial relief to air navigation service providers facing disruption.
We must support the aviation industry during this difficult time, not just airlines but also air navigation services whom rely on airlines operating. Though commercial flights have dramatically reduced, there are still cargo flights and repatriation flights. East Midlands airport, alone, deals with a particularly high number of cargo flights and is the second busiest pure cargo airport in the UK and last week joined the premiere league of airports with more flights than Madrid, Rome and Munich as others have face a massive drop in flights.
Ensuring services are able to continue is vital to deliver medical supplies and other essential items needed to help fight the coronavirus.
