Originally Posted by
Neo380
As already stated NATS raised £1.5bn (BILLION!) mid-Covid, which more than covers the remainder of trainee costs (they were on apprentice rates already!) - the 'spreadsheet' excuse for what is now a serious issue just doesn't work.
NATS can't subsidise the NSL operations with NERL money. Whether or not it should have kept the En-Route trainees is one debate. Whether or not it should have kept any Airport trainees is far more complex and a different debate.
If NATS had emerged from the Covid crisis with a retained pool of trainees it would arguably have given them an unfair advantage over other suppliers such as ANS. Although of course those trainees, even if they fully completed the college, are a long way off providing any solution to the current issue. From ab-initio to the world's busiest single runway airport is quite a jump.