NATS Unit Banding
 

Dear NATS Colleagues, please cast your minds back to when NATS went through the exercise of placing Units into the various Bands that we have now. Obviously traffic movements was one driver, but how about complexity? How was this determined? Was there much fine tuning of the Bands after they were first established. Many thanks for any input.

As far as I remember complexity was taken into account, but it wasn't done brilliantly IMHO. So many things have changed, such as things like remote holding, EOBTs etc, which have made some tower units so much more complex since the banding was introduced. Once established there was no tuning at all.

Quite honestly it is overdue for an overhaul.

Unfair to ask NATS ATCOs to share commercial information (your profile suggests you may be freelance) that could lead to them getting into bother due to (normal)company social media policies …. Suggest you ask Prospect if you’re a member as they may have been involved in developing any pay / remuneration agreements. RT

In my case (Farnbrorough) complexity was thrown of the window; NATS (with the agreement of Prospect) only took account of airport traffic levels and the complexities of operating intensive IFR movements in class G airspace in a LARS environment and totally disregarded the intensive traffic levels generated by LARS traffic level which was mixing intensive IFR arrivals and departures with high levels of Class G transit traffic.
Our own Prospect rep was horrified when his own views were disregarded in this situation and immediately objected to the findings, only to be told that the decision had been made at a 'higher level than himself and there 'might' be a review after about 5 years.