Nats may ask for £50m bail-out

BRITAIN'S troubled air traffic control service may need £50m of taxpayers' money to prevent it from collapsing.

However, the Government would only put in the sum if it was matched by a similar cash injection from private investors, Chris Gibson-Smith, head of the National Air Traffic Service (Nats), told MPs.

The privatised service has come under huge pressure since 11 September with a fall in airline traffic, and has warned it could lose £230m in revenue over the next five years.

Aviation minister David Jamieson denied to the MPs that part-privatisation had been a failure, but admitted the Government might have to take back control of the service if the industry suffered another catastrophic blow.

Top Nats executives have asked the Civil Aviation Authority for permission to increase charges for handling flights in UK airspace. The CAA is unlikely to make a decision on the issue until July.