The chief executive of the UK's air traffic control service is facing calls to resign after a significant technical issue grounded more than 1,000 flights on Tuesday, leading to widespread travel chaos across the country.
The disruption, caused by a problem with the National Air Traffic Services (NATS) 'flight processing system,' resulted in numerous cancellations and delays at major airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, and Birmingham. Holidaymakers were left stranded as planes were unable to depart or land.
Images depicted long queues of passengers at airport terminals as they sought alternative travel arrangements. Some passengers flying from Heathrow to New York reportedly experienced delays of up to nine hours while onboard grounded aircraft.
British Airways confirmed it had to cancel or divert over 100 flights, impacting tens of thousands of customers. The full recovery from the disruption is expected to take several days as airlines work to re-route stranded passengers, pilots, and crew members.
Ryanair's COO, Neal McMahon, criticized NATS chief Martin Rolfe, who reportedly earns £1.5 million annually, labeling him an "overpaid failure" and calling for his replacement. Wizz Air also expressed disappointment, stating that NATS, as a critical national infrastructure provider, should not repeatedly cause such standstill disruptions.
Shadow Transport Minister Greg Smith also questioned the government's oversight and NATS' resilience, demanding an explanation for the repeated failures. He stated, "Yet again passengers are stuck on the tarmac wondering why Britain cannot keep its own skies open."
Rolfe is scheduled to meet with Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander on Wednesday morning. He appeared on Sky News to apologize for the incident, acknowledging his responsibility as CEO of a critical infrastructure provider. He stated that the precise cause of the disruption was not yet known.
"I am the CEO of a piece of critical infrastructure," Rolfe said. "So it is my job to take responsibility for that. What I absolutely take responsibility for is keeping people safe and delivering the best service we possibly can on a day like today. You will understand my focus is entirely about how we actually resolve the issue, get things back to normal, help our airlines, our airport customers and the travelling public."
This incident follows previous technical malfunctions. In the past year, a similar issue caused over 150 flight cancellations due to limited visibility for air traffic controllers. In August 2023, a NATS technical glitch led to delays or cancellations for over 700,000 passengers.
NATS issued a statement late Tuesday night acknowledging the complexity of the recovery process and the significant impact on the aviation network. The service reiterated its apology and advised passengers to check flight statuses with their respective airlines.