National Air Traffic Services (NATS) chief executive Martin Rolfe is facing mounting criticism following a significant technical failure that caused widespread disruption across UK airports. The incident, which occurred this week, led to nearly 2,000 flight cancellations and left approximately a quarter of a million passengers stranded. This event marks the third major air traffic meltdown overseen by Rolfe in recent years.
The latest disruption stemmed from a "technical issue" with NATS' flight processing system. Images circulated widely of stranded passengers sleeping on airport floors and confined to aircraft for extended periods. Similar scenes of chaos have become increasingly frequent under Rolfe's leadership.
In July of the previous year, a different computer crash resulted in 150 flight cancellations. Prior to that, during the August Bank Holiday weekend of 2023, Britain's airspace was entirely closed due to a system failure, impacting 700,000 passengers and costing the aviation industry an estimated £65 million.
Rolfe, who has been in his role since 2015, earns a significant salary. Last year, his pay and bonuses totaled £1.418 million, and the year before, £1.493 million. Over his past five years as head of NATS, he has earned approximately £6.187 million. This compensation is nearly ten times the salary of the UK Prime Minister.
Critics argue that Rolfe's remuneration is disproportionate to his performance. Ryanair, a major airline, has been particularly vocal, with its chief operations officer Neal McMahon stating that NATS "have a crap system and they don't invest in it. Instead they pay big bonuses to management and they pay huge dividends to the shareholders." Yvonne Moynihan, Wizz Air's boss, called for Rolfe's resignation, asserting that "in any industry, when you have had three failures you need to consider three strikes and you are out."
Despite these criticisms, Downing Street has indicated that Rolfe retains the confidence of the government. Rolfe himself has stated that he "understands the frustration" of travellers and will "take accountability and responsibility" for the recent incident. He met with Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander following the disruption.
Further concerns have been raised about NATS' technological infrastructure and operational practices. Aviation security expert Julian Bray noted that a core NATS computer system in Southampton is decades old and still operates partly on the Cobol programming language. He suggested a complete system replacement is needed rather than bolting on new front-end systems. Ryanair has also cited "staff shortages" as a cause of cancellations in the past, with its CEO Michael O'Leary suggesting capacity reductions on busy periods.
The company's employment practices have also drawn fire. Rolfe has championed an "agile working" regime, allowing many staff to work remotely. This policy was implicated in the 2023 Bank Holiday meltdown, as the engineer tasked with fixing the system was reportedly working from home and faced a 90-minute commute to the office, delaying the resolution. Despite these events, NATS' website continues to promote "agile working" for potential recruits.
NATS, which is 49% publicly owned, generates significant revenue through fees levied on each ticket sold. Last year, the company reported a profit of £165.9 million. However, instead of reinvesting these profits into upgrading its aging technology, NATS has paid substantial dividends to shareholders, including the government and airlines. Between 2010 and 2020, £550 million was paid out in dividends. Last year alone, £70 million was distributed.