Skip to content
AirTrafficCareersCareers and recruitment in air traffic control

NATS Air Traffic Controller Recruitment

NATS recruits trainee air traffic controllers for the units it staffs in the United Kingdom. The eligibility, the assessment stages, and the pay below are from NATS's trainee controller page, with pay marked as 2026 rates. NATS does not staff every airport tower.

· by Michal Zembol

The nose of a passenger aircraft in front of a control tower.

Who can apply

NATS describes the scheme as a Level 5 apprenticeship and says it requires no prior aviation experience. It says its controllers work as aerodrome, approach, or area controllers. Those three services are Tower, Approach and Area Control. The rules in this article are from its trainee controller page.

NATS says it will reject an application that does not meet the eligibility rules. On the trainee page those rules are:

  • Aged 18 or over at the time of applying.
  • Indefinite, unrestricted right to work in the United Kingdom. NATS says it cannot consider a right to work that is time-limited, subject to visa conditions, or dependent on sponsorship.
  • Five GCSEs at grade 4, or Scottish National 5s at grade A to C, including English and Maths. NATS says equivalent qualifications are accepted.
  • Able to pass security clearance to SC level, and an initial Class 3 medical. NATS points applicants to the UK Civil Aviation Authority for the medical standard.
  • Adherence to the NATS drug and alcohol policy from the point of signing the contract.

Four assessment stages

The same page splits assessment into four stages. Failing one of them brings an email, and the candidate cannot reapply until the next recruitment campaign.

  • Stage 1 is eleven online ability tests, to be finished within 14 days. NATS says they cover spatial awareness, logical thinking, numerical ability, sense of direction, and reaction speed.
  • Stage 2 is an online situational judgement test and a listening comprehension test, again within 14 days.
  • Stage 3 is a virtual assessment centre on Microsoft Teams: an interview, an air traffic control knowledge test, and a retest of the earlier tests while observed. NATS said these centres take place from September 2026.
  • Stage 4 is a practical exercise and a second knowledge test, held virtually or in person at the Whiteley office. NATS said these centres take place from December 2026.

Stages 1 and 2 are virtually proctored. NATS says the camera can take photos during the test and the microphone can be used to detect audio, where the candidate consents.

From an offer to a start date

A pass at stage 4 leads to a conditional offer, subject to security clearance and the medical. NATS says that once the Class 3 medical is achieved, the candidate is assigned the next start date, from late 2027. Security clearance begins about nine months before that start.

College, then a unit

College training is at NATS CTC in Whiteley, Hampshire, or at Global ATS at Gloucestershire Airport, Cheltenham. NATS describes that one college stretch in three ways. Basic training is about 12 to 15 months. Most people finish within a year to 18 months. The widest range it states, for training toward the student licence, is 1 to 2 years. How long one trainee takes depends on the specialism and on how quickly they complete the phases. The course mixes theory with simulator training.

After the student licence, NATS posts the trainee to an operational unit. It describes the job as a mobile grade: the posting reflects the trainee's skills, the training, and the needs of the operation. Hands-on training at the unit continues until the controller validates and is issued a full air traffic controller licence. In the United Kingdom that licence is issued by the Civil Aviation Authority, not by NATS. The two parts of training are covered in How Air Traffic Controller Training Works.

The units NATS names for that posting are Aberdeen, Belfast City, Belfast International, Glasgow, Heathrow, London City, Luton, Manchester, Southampton, and Stansted airports, plus the Prestwick and Swanwick control centres. That list is NATS's. Other UK towers are staffed by other organisations.

Pay at 2026 rates

NATS marks these figures as 2026 rates on the trainee page. They are not a guide to another employer, and they are not a promise about a later campaign.

  • During basic training, a package of £34,611.60 a year: basic salary of £25,500 and an accommodation allowance of £9,111.60, paid monthly through college.
  • A £1,000 welcome bonus in the first month's salary, and a £500 bonus when college training finishes.
  • During unit training, about £37,490 to £42,786, including shift allowance, depending on location.
  • After training is completed, £50,468 to £56,247, depending on the unit.

The same page says the package includes a contributory pension and 28 days of annual leave plus public holidays. How published course lengths compare with other employers is in How Long Does It Take to Become an Air Traffic Controller?

Which recruitment this describes

On 16 December 2025 NATS said trainee recruitment had reopened and was expected to run until the end of January 2026. That announcement is its news post. The trainee page still describes the assessment centres for that process, from September 2026 and from December 2026. Whether the form is accepting applications is on that page.