NATS PRIVATISATION PLAN LEAVES UK AIRLINES WORRIED AND DIVIDED

NATS the company that runs the airspace in the United Kingdom has been marked as a sale target by the UK Department for Transport who have brought in Merrill Lynch Bank of America to advise. Any sale, leading to the privatisation of NATS should lead to a windfall of £500 million for the UK taxpayer. At the moment NATS is 42% owned by The Airline Group, which as the name suggests, is made up of seven UK-based airlines including BA, BMI, Virgin Atlantic and easyjet, Monarch, Thomas Cook Group and Thompson Airways. These airlines are split on the merits of