Air traffic control opens at Prestwick Airport

25/01/2010

By James Wilson.

Air traffic control was shifted from Manchester Airport to Glasgow Prestwick Airport last week, it has been reported.

The operation involved some 130 staff moving to Scotland to complete shifts at the new centre, which took over air traffic control duties at 04:00 GMT on Saturday (January 23rd).

Princess Anne is expected to officially open the Ayrshire facility, which was built by private company Nats, on February 5th.

The Manchester centre commanded air traffic control for 35 years before its closure last week.

Nats chief executive Paul Barron added: "Many people have worked very hard over the course of this project to ensure everything is delivered on time, under budget and with minimum disruption to the service we provide to the airlines."

Mr Barron added that the change between Manchester and Prestwick was achieved without any interruption to air traffic control's round the clock service.

The facility cost £180 million to construct and will be run by 800 members of staff, who will control around 9,000 flights per year.

In related news, Glasgow Prestwick Airport recently hosted inbound flights to the UK after a number of airports were forced to shut due to snow and ice.

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