UK air traffic saw an increase of 1.9 per cent last month compared to February 2013, and in spite of the dramatic weather that has been experienced by the UK, NATS handled 146,005 flights.

Looking at all flights handled by NATS in UK airspace, the domestic market segment experienced a decrease of 4.7 per cent.

All other market segments however, recorded growth in February.

Leading these segments were ‘Non Transatlantic Overflights’ with a rise of 3.8 per cent and ‘Non Transatlantic arrivals/departures’ recording growth of 3.6 per cent.

NATS attributable delay totalled 4401 minutes during February, with 85 per cent of that total being experienced on February 23rd.

This was due to the high demand caused by returning ski traffic and the school half term holiday coming to an end.

Seven out of the fifteen airports where NATS operates air traffic control saw a rise in instrument flight rules traffic when compared to the same period last year.

Cardiff airport saw IFR traffic grow by 29.4 per cent and Farnborough saw a rise of 9.6 per cent.

Martin Rolfe, managing director operations, NATS, said: “We have successfully handled an increase in air traffic in a challenging month that combined high demand with bad weather.

“The conditions experienced on February 14th were particularly severe and required us to work even more closely with all of our stakeholders in a joint effort.

“We’re glad to say that through this close working we ensured a safe and effective operation for all passengers.”