How to make a flying start: Working as a air-traffic controller

Working as an air-traffic controller demands intense powers of concentration</p><p>

If you are looking for a challenging and rewarding career at the heart of the critical and highly complex aviation industry, air- traffic control should be on your radar. Record numbers of people are using aircraft today: nearly 2.5 million flights a year carry 220 million passengers safely through the skies of Britain, some of the busiest and most complex airspace in the world. The good news is that the company responsible for looking after all these aircraft, the National Air Traffic Services (Nats), is always on the lookout for the controllers of tomorrow.

Nats is the UK's primary air-traffic control company. It is at the forefront of European air-navigation service providers in developing technological and environmental initiatives. Nats staff control all aircraft passing en route through UK airspace from three centres: the London control centre at Swanwick, Hampshire; the Scottish and Oceanic area control centre at Prestwick, Ayrshire; and the Manchester area control centre at Manchester airport. It also provides air-traffic control at 15 of the UK's biggest airports, including Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Glasgow, along with air-traffic services at Gibraltar airport.

Controllers maintain the orderly, efficient and, above all, safe passage of aircraft through UK airspace and beyond. They do this 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. They issue instructions and information to pilots by radio to keep air traffic flying safely, efficiently and quickly. British air-traffic controllers are world-renowned for their professionalism and skill. The round-the-clock nature of the work means that they, and the engineers and assistants who support them, have to work in shifts, and they must go through comprehensive training. As a result, the work is very rewarding. Those rewards go beyond the financial, though some of the most experienced controllers at the busiest units can earn in excess of £85,000.

Most people assume that all air-traffic control officers are based in airport control towers, observing the runways. But landing and take-off are just a small part of the flight duration, and are only part of the job of air-traffic controllers. Many more controllers work at area control centres. They look after the flight, using radar and the latest technology to monitor an aircraft's exact position. Controllers at the centres in Swanwick, Manchester and Prestwick handle all domestic traffic. Nats Oceanic controllers at Prestwick also handle aircraft flying across the Atlantic.

Approach controllers take over contact with the pilots as they land, guiding aircraft on to the runway and shepherding them into the most efficient order. Aerodrome controllers take over to guide the aircraft through landing. At very busy airports, aerodrome controllers are split into air control and ground control, the latter guiding aircraft to parking stands. Training as an aerodrome controller involves a minimum of six months' study at the College of Air Traffic Control in Bournemouth, while training to become an area controller takes upwards of nine months. Then there is further instruction at the control units. It can take three years to qualify.

"I love my job," says Fran Slater, an air-traffic controller at the London Terminal control centre in Swanwick. "My shifts are two mornings followed by two afternoons and two nights. I spend time in the briefing room before I start because I control complex airspace, and on average I will speak to about 30 to 35 aircraft in a hour." The maximum she is allowed to work without a break is 90 minutes, due to the intensive nature of the work and the demands it places upon concentration. "Everybody on my watch feels part of a team, and we mix together socially."

To apply to be an air-traffic controller, you must be between 18 and 36. Research has shown that the skills required decline with age and it takes 10 years to reach full experience, which explains the upper age limit. Five GCSEs at grade C or above, including English and maths, are also necessary.

Candidates must satisfy the basic medical stipulations set down by the Civil Aviation Authority, and controllers must pass a thorough medical examination every two years until they are 40, then every year after that. So if air- traffic control sounds like the job for you, it might be worth making sure that you eat your five portions of fruit and vegetables a day from now on.

The writer is a corporate communications consultant for Nats. For more information, visit www.natscareers.co.uk and www.caa.co.uk