Airlines have criticized the UK's air traffic control system, Nats, following a second technical glitch this month that led to significant flight disruptions. The incident on Monday at the Prestwick control center in Ayrshire caused delays and cancellations affecting airports across Scotland, Northern Ireland, and northern England.
EasyJet stated that the event "once again calls into question the resilience" of the air traffic control system. Wizz Air described the situation as a "national confidence crisis" in Nats. The airline group's UK managing director, Yvonne Moynihan, called for "urgent reform" of the organization and questioned the effectiveness of its leadership and board.
Nats attributed the disruption to a "connectivity issue," clarifying that it was unrelated to a separate software defect at the Swanwick control center earlier in September, which resulted in the cancellation of approximately 2,000 flights. The connectivity problem has since been resolved, and Nats reported that operations were returning to full capacity, although residual knock-on effects were anticipated.
According to aviation analytics company Cirium, by 1:45 PM BST on Monday, at least 200 flights had been canceled or did not operate. This included 100 inbound flights and 99 outbound flights from the UK. EasyJet reported 47 cancellations out of 670 scheduled departures, making it the most affected airline. British Airways experienced 11 cancellations from 513 scheduled departures.
Industry body Airlines UK commented that both passengers and airlines "deserve better" after "yet another Nats failure." Jet2 CEO Steve Heapy urged "urgent and accountable" action to improve the UK's air traffic control infrastructure. Ryanair reiterated its calls for Nats CEO Martin Rolfe to resign, stating he had failed to provide a reliable system or an effective backup. The latest outage impacted 140 of Ryanair's flights and an estimated 25,000 passengers.
A Nats spokesperson apologized for the disruption, acknowledging that technology can fail but emphasizing that safety remains the top priority. They stated that the focus was on working with customers to recover delays and restore normal operations.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander recognized the problems as "deeply frustrating" for passengers. Passengers shared their experiences, with one traveler, Steve Davies, describing himself as "cheesed off with air traffic control" due to the frequency of technical issues. Another traveler, Nicole McCloskey, planning a family trip to Disneyland Paris, found her flight canceled upon arrival at Glasgow Airport, with her family later rebooked on a subsequent flight.