Shrinivas Ainapure

Shrinivas Ainapure has been appointed to the Board of Directors of GATS and Chief Executive Officer.

Shrin brings over 25 years of international corporate experience of senior management and global business operations with a focus on air Navigation Services: Air Traffic Control, Aeronautical Engineering, Aviation Meteorology, Aeronautical Information Management, ATM training, and Aviation Managed Services.

Rick Sharpe

Rick Sharpe joins GATS as Director International Business.

Rick’s air traffic control background spans 37 years in civil aviation. He has attained ratings in ADI, APS and ACS. After joining Serco his roles encompassed ATC operations, operational training, managing ATC regulations and implementing safety management systems.

He was also Director Aviation Operations with direct responsibility for the service provision, marketing and financial performance of the £25M international aeronautical services business division of Serco Middle East.

Rick also managed the provision of aviation consultancy services to Serco customers and independent companies in Egypt, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE. He also successfully managed the transition of Iraqi airspace from the US military to the Iraq CAA in 2011 prior to the withdrawal of American forces.

Rick has extensive aviation experience in safety and risk management as well as 15 years of interfacing with aviation organisations throughout the Middle East and North Africa.

Marcus Mimms

Marcus has assumed the role of General Manager.

Having worked primarily in a technical role along with the Quality Management responsibilities for nearly 10 years his new position will now be far more focused on delivering business efficiency and the day to day running of the company.

Pseudo Pilots

Karl Fraud has accepted a job with HIAL in Sumburgh Airport. Karl passed his ADI course with GATS UK in October 2013, after being a pseudo pilot for the company since 26th May 2009. GATS would like to wish him every success in his future career as an ATCO.

Alejandra Garcia and Ceasar Aguirre have joined us as pseudo pilots adding a much needed international dimension to our existing crew. Both have passed their ADI courses, so will prove knowledgeable simulator operators.

GATS can confirm its decision to revert back to a 6 week Basic Training Course.

As it is one of the most important courses a student will ever complete, covering all of the core subjects, GATS have decided the 5 week course was too intensive. This, alongside feedback from our students and customers, means GATS have decided to increase this course back to 6 weeks with immediate effect.

This news has been well received by our customers:

Pat Nolan from HIAL comments My experience of Global ATS is that it is an excellent training organisation where staff and management are always willing go the extra mile to assist students and customers. However, we found that the 5 week Basic course is just too intensive for ab-initio students, particularly those who have had limited exposure to ATS prior to commencing the course. Reverting to the original six week programme gives students the time they require to come to terms with the intensive learning curve, the intense personal study regime, and the continuous preparation for exams.

GATS is pleased to announce we are now an approved training provider with ATPL Finance.

GATS' new agreement with ATPL Finance will enable self-sponsoring students to have access to a bespoke finance option.

Students will need to complete pre-course requirements to be considered for funding:

• Aptitude Assessment
• Initial Medical
• Confirm Educational Qualifications up to GCSE Standard

Jeremy Dawson ATPL Managing Director states It is a great pleasure to have Global ATS as our first ATC training provider. Our usual business area is flight training. We were incredibly impressed with the facilities at Global ATS.

For more information about ATPL Finance Ltd please see their website.

BSc (Hons) Professional Practice in Air Traffic Control is being developed by Aviation Skills Partnership and is planned to be launched with partners Global ATS and partner Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSP’s) from October 2014.

The programme, which will also be available for existing trainees and controllers, is being developed to meet the requirements of both a degree and a higher apprenticeship. It builds on the success of the recently launched BSc(Hons) Professional Aviation Pilot Practice Degree which was developed by the industry and supported by the UK CAA.

The enrolment of the first students, who will graduate with a BSc (Hons) degree and a UK Air Traffic Controllers licence which fully meets all UK CAA requirements, is just one of a number of important milestones reached by the Aviation Skills Partnership and it is anticipated that partner Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSP’s) will be announced imminently.

More details, including information advice and guidance for budding and existing air traffic controllers will shortly be available at aviationskillspartnership.com

ICAO Students at Gloucester

The first group of 10 students from Kazakhstan on the Refresher course has now successfully concluded marking the end of the first ICAO course to be run from our recently extended Gloucester Training Centre at Gloucestershire Airport. With another 10 students currently sitting the course and students from Kuwait and Abu Dhabi fast approaching we are looking forward to our busiest summer ever.

Swaziland SMS Courses

GATS has now completed the latest Safety Management System course in Swaziland. The 2 week course has yet again proved a major success to Global ATS and our valued customers.

Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority

Further reaffirming our relationship with our customer in the Seychelles and in addition to Fire Safety and Instructional Techniques courses GATS are happy to announce the first ICAO 051 (Ab initio) will be delivered in country starting 26th May.

Led by our General Manager, Marcus Mimms, nine international students took to the Cotswold hills for a 17km hike. They were joined by our Manager of Colleges and Courses, Andy Cameron; Human Welfare Manager, Janette Thurston; English Tutor, Julia Cameron; Andy and Jules' daughter, Sophia; and not forgetting the faithful hounds: Eva, Otis and Dizzy.

The hike started to the South of Cheltenham, involved a variety of challenging terrain and some steep assents, but rewarded some spectacular views of the English countryside and a traditional country pub as the destination.

Over the coming weeks GATS be largely increasing their connections with social media.

Many exciting and new ideas are in the pipeline and will be rolled out shortly. We will keep you in the loop as and when they happen.

If you haven’t already done so, please follow our social media feeds below:

• Facebook
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