The chief executive of the United Kingdom's National Air Traffic Services (NATS), Martin Rolfe, has ruled out a cyber attack as the cause of a significant technical issue that led to widespread flight disruptions. Rolfe stated that a "very, very thorough and full investigation" would be conducted into the incident.
The technical problem affected NATS, which provides air traffic control services for 15 UK airports, causing approximately 1,300 flight cancellations on the previous day. Tens of thousands of passengers were impacted by the resulting travel chaos.
As of the morning of September 9, 2026, disruptions continued with further cancellations and delays. Heathrow Airport reported 246 flight cancellations by 6 a.m., while Gatwick Airport had 33 cancellations. Travel journalist Simon Calder noted that the knock-on effects would be severe, with many inbound flights likely to be canceled due to earlier outbound cancellations.
Ryanair reported that over 65,000 of its passengers were disrupted, and the airline canceled more than 50 flights. British Airways stated that it had to cancel or divert more than 100 flights, affecting tens of thousands of customers.
Rolfe, speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, confirmed that a cyber attack was not believed to be the cause. He stated that the focus was on restoring normal system operations, which had been achieved, but acknowledged the significant tail of disruption that would take time to resolve. He added that the incident appeared to be unique in NATS' 50-year operational history.
Rolfe also stated that he accepts full responsibility as the CEO of critical infrastructure, emphasizing his priority is safety and service delivery. He is scheduled to speak with Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander on the day he made these statements.
Major airports, including Heathrow, Gatwick, and Luton, advised passengers to check their flight statuses directly with airlines before traveling, as some disruption was expected to continue while operations normalized.
Ryanair's chief operating officer had previously called for Rolfe's resignation, citing what he described as repeated mismanagement and a system failure similar to a past incident in 2023. NATS issued an apology for the disruption and stated that recovery efforts were ongoing, emphasizing the complexity of the situation for the entire aviation network.