Go behind the scenes

Air traffic controllers at NATS who will appear on the BBC2 series Skies Above Britain

The BBC Two series, Skies Above Britain, will shine a light on the unseen side of UK aviation.

With unprecedented access to the Swanwick control centre, the series will give viewers a unique insight into the vital role controllers play in safely guiding thousands of flights every-day.

Viewers will go behind the scenes at Swanwick, following the controllers whose job it is to manage the traffic in and out of London’s five busy international airports, as well as in the control tower at Heathrow.

Juliet Kennedy, NATS operations director, said: ‘People often only think of air traffic control in terms of the tower at the airport, so we wanted to be part of this series to help demonstrate how that’s really only a part of the picture. In reality there are hundreds of people at our two control centres in Swanwick and Prestwick whose job it is to keep your flight safe and they do that 24 hours a day 365 days a year.”

The show will air on Wednesday at 9pm.