Archive · 21 Sep 2026
Second UK Air Traffic Control Failure Sparks Renewed Resignation Calls
A problem with Britain’s air traffic control system caused new flight delays on Monday.
The problem affected airports including Manchester, Glasgow and Belfast.
London Gatwick and London City also warned of disruption.
NATS said the problem began as a connectivity issue at its Prestwick centre.
It said this was different from a software problem that caused major disruption about two weeks earlier.
Ryanair said 25,000 of its passengers were affected and asked for NATS chief executive Martin Rolfe to resign.
EasyJet said the repeated failures showed that NATS’ systems were not strong enough.
Transport secretary Heidi Alexander said the latest problem had been fixed, but airlines and passengers remained frustrated.
A second major NATS failure in two weeks disrupted flights at several UK airports.
Manchester, Glasgow and Belfast airports reported delays after a problem at NATS’ Prestwick centre.
London Gatwick and London City warned passengers of further disruption, while easyJet cancelled flights.
Ryanair said 25,000 passengers were affected and again called for NATS chief executive Martin Rolfe to resign.
NATS said Monday’s connectivity issue was unrelated to the earlier software fault, while airlines questioned the system’s resilience.
- Who
- NATS, airlines including Ryanair and easyJet, passengers, NATS chief executive Martin Rolfe, and transport secretary Heidi Alexander.
- What
- A second major air traffic control failure in two weeks caused delays, cancellations and renewed calls for NATS leadership changes.
- When
- Monday, about a fortnight after a separate software fault caused widespread disruption.
- Where
- The disruption affected Manchester, Glasgow, Belfast, London Gatwick and London City airports; NATS attributed the problem to its Prestwick centre in Scotland.
- Why
- NATS said the latest failure resulted from a connectivity issue, while airlines said the repeated breakdowns exposed weaknesses in the system.
Airlines and Passengers
NATS and Transport Officials
Cause and system resilience
Airlines and Passengers
EasyJet said the repeated failures exposed fragility in NATS’ systems and called for firm action to prevent further disruptions.
NATS and Transport Officials
NATS said Monday’s connectivity problem was unrelated to the earlier software defect and said systems were resuming after the fault was fixed.
Leadership accountability
Airlines and Passengers
Ryanair renewed its demand for NATS chief executive Martin Rolfe to resign after saying 25,000 of its passengers were affected.
NATS and Transport Officials
Transport secretary Heidi Alexander was weighing Rolfe’s future and said the latest fault had been fixed, without announcing a leadership decision.
- Affected Ryanair passengers
- 25,000 passengers, according to Ryanair
- Reported cancellations
- 24 cancellations had been recorded by 0858 GMT
- Earlier disruption
- A separate software fault about two weeks earlier forced around 2,000 flight cancellations
- 2023 outage cost
- An earlier NATS outage cost airlines £100 million
- Affected airports
- Manchester, Glasgow, Belfast, London Gatwick and London City
- NATS explanation
- The latest incident was described as a connectivity issue unrelated to the earlier software defect
- Leadership pressure
- Ryanair renewed its call for NATS chief executive Martin Rolfe to resign