Air traffic control provider comes under fire after second issue in two weeks
Nats said the latest fault was fixed after delays hit more than 25,000 Ryanair passengers and disrupted flights across the UK.
- On Monday, National Air Traffic Services experienced a connectivity issue at its Prestwick centre in Scotland, disrupting flights across northern regions. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander confirmed engineers fixed the problem and systems are resuming, though some delays may continue.
- Monday's incident marked the second air traffic control disruption within two weeks, unrelated to a software defect on September 8 that caused more than 2,000 flight cancellations and occurred in the space of a millisecond.
- Ryanair reported more than 25,000 passengers faced disruption and more than 140 flights were delayed, while EasyJet said the incident calls into question the resilience of Nats systems and demonstrates the need for firm actions to prevent repeated failures.
- Jet2 chief executive Steve Heapy stated it was simply not good enough for this critical national infrastructure to keep letting customers down, while Ryanair's chief operations officer Neal McMahon called for Nats chief executive Martin Rolfe to resign over repeated system failures.
- Tim Alderslade, chief executive of an aviation industry body, said the Civil Aviation Authority report and forthcoming Civil Aviation Bill must address underlying weaknesses in the system, as Nats handles about 2.5 million flights annually and demands firm actions to prevent future failures.
10 Articles
10 Articles
A technical problem at Prestwick air traffic control centre has caused delays and cancellations to flights in Scotland, northern England and Northern Ireland - NATS has announced that the fault has been repaired, however the effects continue
Second technical issue in 2 weeks afflicts UK's air traffic controller, prompting more travel chaos
A technical issue has disrupted flights in and out of Scotland, Northern Ireland and the north of England, the second in two weeks. Although the issue has been fixed, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said the repercussions will continue to be…
Evening Standard
Air traffic control provider comes under fire after second issue in two weeks
Airlines expressed their dismay and anger at ‘yet another’ incident and Ryanair repeated its calls for Nats chief executive Martin Rolfe to resign.
Passengers who travelled to and from the UK on Monday faced delays and cancellations of flights after air traffic control systems suffered a "technical problem" for the second time this month. The Irish low-cost airline Ryanair asked the Director General of the air traffic operator NATS, Martin Rolfe, [...]
This is the second serious incident to affect the British air traffic control system in about two weeks.
UK airport delay live: PM refuses to back under fire Nats air traffic control chief after 200 flights cancelled
Further air traffic control issues could cost airlines millions, says Simon Calder Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, […]
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 50% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
