Serco awarded MoD St Athan contract extension

Above: A Boeing 767 in front of the St Athan Control Tower.

The contract will run from 1 April 2019 to April 2020.

As part of the contract extension, Serco will lead on the transfer of the Air Navigation Service Provision (ANSP) from its current military designation to a new civilian designation.  The designation process is underway with the CAA, including ANSP, Air Traffic Engineering (ATE), radio licensing and meteorological services.

Serco will provide safety oversight and assurance on behalf of the Welsh Government, working with the Government’s turnkey partner, Copperchase, to upgrade all of the Air Traffic Control communication systems to a civil compliant standard. This includes radios, recorders, transmitters and receivers.

Serco will also oversee an upgrade to the Visual Control Room to provide a modern, functional and ergonomic Air Traffic Control officer control position and will upgrade all regulatory ANSP documentation and procedures to a civil standard.

Commenting on the contract award, Giles Francis, Serco’s Director, Aviation & Fire Services, said: “Serco is delighted to be working with the Welsh Government in making the transition of the Aerodrome from military to civil regulation.  This change will further enhance operations at the aerodrome and facilitate even closer integration with Cardiff International Airport.”



Above: Jamie Harburn of Serco in the Control Tower at St Athan.

Serco has been working with the Welsh Government at St Athan since April 2014 providing a range of services including: ATC, ATE, Bird Control, Fire Crash & Rescue, Aircraft Refuelling and Vehicle Maintenance.

Today, St Athan Aerodrome is home to a range of air traffic, with the RAF University Air Squadron, Police Helicopter Operations and Bristow’s Coast Guard Helicopters as well as a number of aviation maintenance and repair organisations including Cardiff Aviation and eCube an aircraft dismantling and recycling company.

Serco recently announced a strategic collaboration agreement with Norway-based technology company Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (KONGSBERG) to offer the KONGSBERG ‘Ninox’ Remote Tower (RT) and Remote Virtual Tower (RVT) technology.

Serco is the only significant non-government provider of aviation services in the world, delivering air traffic control for both small regional airports and Dubai airport.
 
Serco provides a range of critical Air Navigation Services that encompass three disciplines of tower operations, approach control and en-route centres to ensure 24/7 operations. Serco air traffic controllers coordinate over 9.5 million aircraft operations across the globe each year and is one of the world’s largest independent air navigation services providers.