Media

A major milestone in North Atlantic aviation history was marked today when air traffic controllers at Shannon in Ireland implemented the first phase in providing radar control to aircraft in a new area of airspace known as NOTA - Northern Oceanic Transition Area. Significantly, NOTA also marks a further strengthening in the long history of cooperation between the Irish and UK ATC authorities - the National Air Traffic Services in the UK and the Irish Aviation Authority in Ireland.

The NOTA airspace situated to the North West of Ireland extends radar control to an additional 100,000 square kilometers. In all, Ireland now controls an airspace block of 450,000 square kilometres, at the interface between the European and North Atlantic airspace areas. Further west, beyond the range of radar, UK NATS and IAA jointly provides services, UK NATS providing ATC and the IAA providing the communications.

With NOTA, Irish controlled airspace becomes a key strategic gateway for over 90 per cent of air traffic between Europe and North America.

The new NOTA radar service means aircraft can make earlier transitions to optimum cruising levels and allows greater flexibility for alternative routings, climbs and descents - all with obvious economic benefits and cost savings. The move has the full support of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the representative association for airlines.

Implementation of NOTA follows a major agreement on North Atlantic airspace concluded in 2003, between the Irish and UK Departments of Transport.
Under the Single European Sky regulations, the EU aims to establish a number of large airspace regions known as Functional Airspace Blocks (FABs). As evidence of the cooperation that exists between the IAA and UK NATS, the two companies have commissioned a study to examine the issues associated with establishing a Functional Airspace Block.

Details of the European Single Sky Regulations can be found at:

www.eurocontrol.be and www.europa.eu.int