Airlines saved £155 million in fuel costs in the last financial year as a result of more efficient air traffic control procedures.

NATS, UK-based global air traffic management company, revealed improved use of airspace and innovative technology have also led to a reduction of more than 600,000 tonnes of carbon emissions.

The savings follow the implementation of its in-house tool called Flight Optimisation System (FLOSYS), which provides real time airspace efficiency monitoring.

It allows controllers to review performance of every flight in UK airspace immediately and identify areas for improvement or best practice techniques to share.

Ian Jopson, Head of Environmental and Community Affairs said: “This has been a fantastic year for us in reducing CO2 emissions and enabling fuel savings.”

NATS also reduced its energy usage by 8.5% in the last year and water use by 7% – 52% in total since 2006 – and only 1% of its waste were sent to landfill.

Truong Duy