Leidos and NATS join NAV CANADA to deliver Intelligent Approach Technology at Toronto Pearson Airport

NAV CANADA becomes the first Air Navigation Service Provider (ANSP) in North America to deploy time-based spacing system

(Reston, Va.) June 7, 2022 - Leidos, in collaboration with air navigation service provider NAV CANADA and its UK counterpart NATS, has successfully teamed up to deploy Intelligent Approach technology at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport. The new technology will help improve the airport’s tactical capacity in all weather conditions and reduce delays, fuel burn and CO2 emissions.

Graham Emmons, Vice President, Managing Director Civil UK at Leidos, said: “The collaboration on the Toronto deployment through the pandemic is testament to our partnership with NATS and the resilience of all those involved. We look forward to a successful and continued relationship with NAV CANADA.”

Developed jointly by NATS and Leidos, the Intelligent Approach works by dynamically calculating the optimum time between arriving aircraft based on their type and the prevailing weather conditions. This allows airports to maintain runway capacity in strong headwinds by safely reducing the space between arrivals when the use of set distances would otherwise result in a reduced landing rate.

Guy Adams, NATS Strategy and Commercial Director, said: "Delivering Intelligent Approach for Toronto during a global pandemic has been an enormous team effort across NAV CANADA, NATS and Leidos. As the industry now begins to recover from the impact of COVID-19, it has never been more important for airports to make the very best of their existing infrastructure. I look forward to Intelligent Approach delivering even better on time performance and operational resilience at Canada's busiest airport.”

Mark Cooper, Vice President, Chief Technology and Information Officer, NAV CANADA, said: “NAV CANADA continues to collaborate with key partners, such as NATS and Leidos, to bring about the innovations to our processes and systems, such as the Intelligent Approach at Toronto Pearson, that we need to increase our operational efficiency and effectiveness.”

Intelligent Approach was first introduced at Heathrow Airport in 2015, where the use of time-based separation, as a way of maintaining the landing rate, has cut headwind related delays by 62%. NATS and Leidos are also working with Dutch air traffic service provider, LVNL, to support the deployment of Intelligent Approach for Schiphol Airport.

About Leidos

Leidos is a Fortune 500® technology, engineering, and science solutions and services leader working to solve the world’s toughest challenges in the defense, intelligence, civil, and health markets. The company’s 43,000 employees support vital missions for government and commercial customers. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $13.7 billion for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021. For more information, visit www.Leidos.com.

About NATS   

NATS is the UK’s principal air navigation services provider and is split into two main businesses, which provide two distinct services: 

• NATS (En Route) plc (NERL) — the regulated business, which provides air traffic management services to aircraft within UK airspace and over the eastern part of the North Atlantic; and 
• NATS (Services) Ltd (NSL) — the unregulated business, which provides air traffic control services at many of the UK’s major airports (13 civil and 7 military airfields) and other airports overseas. 

NATS provides leading aerodrome, data, engineering, capacity, efficiency and environmental performance solutions to customers worldwide, including airports, airlines, air traffic service providers and governments.    

NATS handled 661,000 flights in the UK in the last financial year (2020/21), a reduction of 73% reflecting Covid-19 travel restrictions. 

For more information visit the NATS website at www.nats.aero     

About NAV CANADA

NAV CANADA is a private, not-for-profit company, established in 1996, providing air traffic control, airport advisory services, weather briefings and aeronautical information services for more than 18 million square kilometres of Canadian domestic and international airspace. The Company is internationally recognized for its safety record, and technology innovation. Air traffic management systems developed by NAV CANADA are used by air navigation service providers in countries worldwide.