Mathematics graduate Shahbaz talks about pursuing a career in the aviation industry

UCLan Mathematics graduate, Shahbaz Bhatti, has taken off in his career to become a Flight Co-ordinator.

After graduating in 2015, Shahbaz wanted to find a career within the aviation industry, which is also a passion of his, and was soon successful in gaining a role as a Flight Co-ordinator for Heathrow Airport. 

Shahbaz’s job involved allocating airport slots to international airlines to enable them to operate at Heathrow. He would be in charge of giving permission to airlines to use the infrastructure and facilities of the airport. The role allowed Shahbaz to manage demand and capacity to fully utilise the infrastructure of Heathrow.

The mathematics degree course has had a positive impact on Shahbaz’s current employment, as he expressed: “My degree has helped enormously! The vital skill that studying mathematics at UCLan gives to its graduates is logical thinking. This skill helps in all walks of life as it makes you stand back from a problem and ‘think out of the box’.”

Reflecting on his time at UCLan, Shahbaz found his second year trip to Toulouse was particularly memorable. He stated: “This was a fantastic opportunity provided by UCLan for students to gain first-hand experience of the variety of roles mathematics can offer.”

Speaking highly of his mathematics degree course, Shahbaz said: “What I really liked was the fact that students could carve the path of their own studies by choosing their own modules.” Shahbaz further added: “The way the course was delivered made studying and researching easier. The mathematics department provided help whenever required and the lecturers were very friendly and welcoming.”

Shahbaz eventually got promoted to Coordination Manager and was in charge of looking after a number of airports in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In November 2023 he will be commencing his new role as as Capacity Manager at the Manchester Airport group.