Good Evening and a Happy New Year!

An update is once again long overdue and as the beginning of a new year is always a great time for both reflection and looking to the future, I can think of no better time than now. Starting in somewhat standard fashion with staff changes, in November 2024 we welcomed @Jack Edwards into the role of Operations Director. Jack agreed to take this position to enact a number of internal changes in the Department, with one of the primary focuses being to promote staff development and implement a clearer succession plan. I was thrilled to immediately see work begin in this area, with @Peter Mooney being promoted to Deputy Operations Director. Following the removal of the Marketing Department, restructuring of the Operations Department has resulted in @Luke Thompson joining the team as our Events Manager. Similarly affected by this restructuring was the Member Services Department, which welcomed @Kye Taylor back to the staff team as our Outreach Manager. Kye is joined by @Thomas Hallam of ex-Marketing Department fame/notoriety, where the two will be responsible for improving member experience, retention and onboarding. As a result of this new, broader focus, the Member Services Department has rebranded to become the Community Department. During this time we were also sad to see the departure of @James Thomas from the Community Department, who has left the staff team after an incredible 4 year tenure. On behalf of the entire Division, I would like to thank James for his countless contributions over the years, and I wish him all the best for the future.

Continuing with recent appointments and resignations, but switching focus to the Pilot Training Department, we welcome the return of @Ben Carpenter as one of two VFR Flight Instructors in the department. Ben was recruited into this role to try and streamline the manner in which we conduct our P1 rating training, and I was impressed to see the culmination of this work published last December in the form of an updated P1 Syllabus and Moodle course. Last but not least, ATC Training has itself seen a number of staff changes, such as the resignation of @Will Hinshaw from his role as Training Group Instructor. Will led the Tower Training Group since June 2023 and I would like to extend my gratitude for the hundreds of hours he has contributed towards the training of S2 students during his tenure. @Reece Buckley and @Kye Taylor were appointed as successors to the roles of Tower TGI and Enroute TGI respectively, the latter of which was left vacant following Dave Woodward’s resignation. Both Reece and Kye have been previously appointed as mentors, examiners and staff within the ATC Training Department and in recognition of this, Kye Taylor was also appointed to the role of Division Instructor. Not only was this an incredibly busy quarter in terms of staff changes, but it has also been an incredibly busy year for the same reason. I am happy to have passed a very important personal milestone now that we have finally completed the restructuring of departments and finished recruitment to staff positions. Although it took the better part of a year to get to where we are, I am incredibly proud to lead a full, highly-motivated staff team into the new year, and I look forward to see the new ideas and enthusiasm which these new appointments will bring.

Moving on to other news within the Division, last October we saw some changes to the way in which OBS-S1 training takes place. These changes were introduced in order to streamline the training process and place a greater emphasis on self-study prior to students being offered practical training. These changes have already resulted in the OBS-S1 waiting list length decreasing for the first time in many, many years, even in spite of a quieter than average Q4 for TGNC. I would recommend any current or future S1 students read the following blog post from @Adam Arkley, which explains in more detail the nature of these changes. Equally relevant to our ATC trainees is the 2024 ATC Training review which provided some useful insight into the performance of the ATC Training Department. For the sake of repetition, I will not recap everything here, however a very short TLDR is as follows: ATC rating upgrades remain consistent with 2023 levels, despite the introduction of new department leadership, Network policy (GCAP and TVCP) and training procedure (OBS-S1 changes and S2/S3 block training) at various points throughout the year. Efficiencies gained in the S3 training process were unfortunately counteracted by losses in the C1 process, however I am happy to report that despite this, waiting lists have reduced over the past year at almost all training levels. Further contributing to their workload, the ATC Training Department has, alongside the Community Department, almost entirely worked through the backlog of transferring controller validations. Assuming our current trajectory continues, I expect this backlog to be entirely cleared within the current quarter. This is significant, not only because it brings us into compliance with regional policy regarding transfer times, but also because it would be the first waiting list to be completely eradicated under myself and Adam’s tenure. My thanks go in particular to our VT Assistant, @Dylan Parkes, as well as our Division Instructors who carry out the majority of practical validations. This can often be a thankless task as, unfortunately, a large proportion of these validations result in failure.

This outcome is not entirely surprising given not only the complexity of UK airspace, but also the sheer volume of traffic which we see in our Division. I understand Kye is putting together a longer post to provide detailed statistics on this topic so I don’t want to say too much, but do wish to share some rather incredible statistics. Over the last year, traffic levels in the UK have increased by a further 15.6% compared to 2023, and we have surpassed half a million annual movements for the first time in Division history. There will be no prizes for guessing which UK airport (located between Slough and Hounslow) was ranked the busiest overall on the Network this year, but equally as impressive to see was the diverse mix of airfields which attract traffic. We had 3 airports feature in the top 10 busiest airports on the Network, tied with the US but otherwise more than any other single country, and 6 which feature in the top 100. Gatwick was by far the busiest single runway airport on the Network while Manchester just lost out to Los Angeles, the busiest airport in the US, by a difference of 400 movements over the course of the year. For some perspective, that difference equates to slightly less than one day’s worth of movements at Heathrow on VATSIM! I believe this speaks volumes about not only the quantity of ATC coverage, but also the quality of service which we provide. This is a culmination of efforts across a many groups: our ATC Training Team, mentors and examiners who are constantly raising the bar in terms of training quality; Operations for maintaining our sector file and controller packs to the highest standard each month, as well as consistently organising events which are enjoyable for pilots and controllers alike; Technology for maintaining our critical infrastructure and developing bespoke services such as UKCP, without which controlling would be near impossible; Pilot Training for assisting newer pilots onto the Network through the one-of-a-kind Flying Programme, and of course Community for keeping the lights on in all our departments. Finally, a special thanks goes to you, our membership, and everyone who consistently logs on to fly and control in the UK - it is your efforts which showcase the Division and continue to attract new members each day.

Looking ahead to the new year, I anticipate continued improvement and growth within the Division now that the Christmas season is over and we are back to business as usual. The DSG are currently in the final stages of reviewing rewrites of ATC Training Policy and the ATC Training Handbook. Adam and his team have spent countless hours writing these documents and I know he is very eager to share these with you all. In a similar vein, we are in the final stages of approving a rewritten Division Policy and, although I can’t imagine it’s too hotly anticipated, it does finally bring UK policy in line with recent releases of GCAP, TVCP and the Code of Conduct. This will allow myself and Nick to shift our focus elsewhere – we have lots of things to pick from, but if you believe there is a burning issue which you want to see fixed then please do let us know!

That is all from me for now, thank you for taking the time to read this update and please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions. Myself and Nick remain contactable via email, the Helpdesk and, of course, via Discord.

Ben