Mike Glen, airspace, noise and ATM specialist – airport operations at Heathrow Airport, tells Aviation Business News (ABN) what his recent appointment as an Aviation Ambassador means to him, and he highlights that the future of aviation is in the hands of industry professionals; advising that what we do now will really affect the diversity, quantity, and quality of candidates to ensure the ongoing success of the industry.

A time to reflect…

Having recently been appointed as one of the 10 new Department for Transport’s (DfT) Aviation Ambassadors for 2024/2025, it has been a time of real reflection for me as I head into my 15th year in the airport industry.

Like most people I speak to in my day-to-day life, a majority have had a lifelong fascination with airports and aircraft, but very few ended up in a role they identified when studying at school/college/university.

Some of us just fell into our jobs but most importantly, never looked back! It has almost become my purpose to get out and shout about the lesser-known careers in aviation, particularly within airports.

It sounds quite cliché but going to my first airshow really piqued my interest in winged things!

I grew up in a village in Wiltshire, UK, that was both underneath the flightpath into RAF Lyneham and in the shadow of a World War 2 airbase that hosted an annual airshow in the early 1990s.

Some of my earliest memories involved sitting on the garage roof (much to my Mum’s horror!) watching the Red Arrows loop over the village and watching Hercules transport aircraft fly overhead at all hours of the day.

Like most, I wanted to be a pilot. Unfortunately, unless you had a lot of cash behind you, it wasn’t really an option I could seriously pursue and couldn’t ask my parents to remortgage the house. The pathways and advice given at school were more focussed towards university, so I parked the idea and got a ‘normal’ job instead.

Fast forward a few years, I was lucky enough to be able to afford flying lessons and gained my PPL wings. Opportunities for commercial flying were still limited at that time due to finances and the fallout from 9/11, so I went back to my mundane day job after learning to fly in Florida.

Roll on a few years and the aviation bug was still there, niggling away in my subconscious. After months of searching, I saw a job advertised at Southampton Airport working in airside operations, applied and got it. JET A-1 has been circulating in my blood ever since.

After being at Southampton for almost six years, my focus shifted to my next career move, and Heathrow was it. Heathrow was somewhere I always wanted to be in some capacity, and I thank my Dad for that. We used to sit as a family and watch the great 1990s documentary ‘Airport’ on BBC1 and he used to take me to the various locations along the northern perimeter road to watch the arrivals and departures, somehow perfectly timing it to see Concorde lift off, which in retrospect was amazing considering it was the days before Flight Radar. He is sadly no longer with us, but I do think of him every time I go to work as it was his encouragement that helped get me to where I am today.

What does my day job involve?

Although my day job doesn’t involve jetting off every day, I still consider myself a success as I am so fortunate to love my job, my team, and my industry.

I have two ‘day’ jobs, but I will come on to the other in a moment.

When I meet someone for the first time and they ask what I do, I usually refer the question to my wife who struggles to explain my job in the ‘dark arts!’ I dread to think how she explains my role when I am not around!

I am an airspace, noise and Air Traffic Management specialist and I work for airport operations. Our team remit focuses on airline compliance with our noise abatement requirements and we work with our stakeholders to ensure that Heathrow flights are operating within existing regulatory guidelines and all procedures that lead aircraft in and out are working in a safe and optimal fashion.

This involves exploring ways to make our operation more efficient in terms of noise and fuel burn, not just near Heathrow, but in the wider airspace.

I am also responsible for ensuring that any external events in the London Terminal Manoeuvring Area (LTMA) do not have any adverse impacts on the Heathrow operation, so have worked on large flypasts such as the RAF100 flypast, multiple Royal birthday flypasts, and more.

Safety is at the heart of what we do at Heathrow and airborne safety is part of my remit. We work with airlines, general aviation airfields, regulators, and more to keep some of the busiest skies in the world working as safely and efficiently as possible.

My second ‘day job’ is as a sector commander for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wing RAF Air Cadets. I was an Air Cadet when I was younger, and I will forever be grateful for the amazing opportunities I had as a young person. I flew before I could drive, I did all sorts of leadership training, first aid, RAF station visits, Air to Air refueling in a VC10 and so much more. These opportunities left their mark on me, so I started volunteering at my local squadron. I was then commissioned in 2015 and took on the officer commanding role at a squadron in 2017. I then took on my current post in 2022 and now look after the safety, welfare, and overall cadet experience for six squadrons in the west of the county.

As all our volunteers do, we see the value in giving back to our next generation. We don’t get paid, but our remuneration is seeing a shy 12-year-old join and leave us a few years later with a full CV and bags of confidence. Playing a small part in a young person’s life as an early role model can make all the difference. It is this that drove me to apply for the Aviation Ambassador role.

This article continues after the below picture…

‘Selling’ the industry

I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to be one of this year’s DfT Aviation Ambassadors. There are 10 of us in total from different areas of the industry and our role is to showcase what aviation has to offer our next generation. Whether that is sharing our experiences (and mistakes) and career paths, speaking at different industry forums, involvement in creating new initiatives or advising policymakers on what the aviation industry needs; we are here to sell the industry.

We also have a responsibility to promote the fact that aviation is fully inclusive – regardless of your background or circumstances – there is a place and career for you. We have some exciting initiatives and projects coming up, so all of the Ambassadors look forward to engaging with both industry and the next generation of our aviation workforce.

What makes me want to sell the industry to our next generation is the variety. The variety of careers, the variety of people you meet and work with, and the variety of different experiences. Aviation is not just about being a pilot or an air traffic controller or engineer.

In my area of work, we are using new technologies to enhance the efficiency and safety of air traffic and exploring ways to make our operations more environmentally sustainable.

I get to speak to airlines from all over the world and learn their challenges and I have also been involved in a variety of ‘world first’ projects. We have all seen that scene in Love Actually, where they filmed the arrivals area at Heathrow – aviation connects people across the world, so playing a small part of that really does get me out of bed in the morning.

Incredible career opportunities

There are so many pathways out there open to young people. From fully funded pilot training to apprenticeships in engineering; the career opportunities are incredible.

When I was growing up and demonstrating an interest in aviation, I didn’t have those role models to guide me and didn’t have the pathways to help me achieve my goals as my school career service was limited.

We now have a responsibility to make sure that our next generation understand what is available to them. There is an ever-growing skills (and age) gap in the current workforce demographics so we all have a duty to promote the fantastic opportunities that aviation can offer to ensure that we don’t suffer from shortages in the future.

Read more profiles from the DfT’s Aviation Ambassadors and what the role means to them:

• Honor Puciato – “Inspiring, guiding and nurturing the next generation – click here“
• Alex Durand – “Making a difference – click here“

DID YOU KNOW…

Aviation Business News (ABN) is highlighting the staffing crisis in aviation this year with our Best Places To Work In Aviation awards which will celebrate those companies that are successfully driving new talent into the sector and retaining valuable skilled staff.

The deadline for firms to enter is April 5. Click here to register.