NATS is currently looking at a £230 million shortfall over the next five years.
Its latest plan is to cut the present debt to £600m by getting BAA and the Government to come up with £130m (split between the two).
While this will help relieve some of the pressure, it is acknowledged that the remaining debt will still be a huge burden and will require a fair amount of financial jiggery-pokery (including renegotiation of lending terms) to address in the long term.
It's also not entirely clear what BAA stands to gain for its £65m contribution.
In the meantime NATS wants to put a new set of charges in place (the ones which the CAA is now recommending) in order to help rebalance the books. Airlines won't like the fee hike, but what's the alternative?