The boss of an air traffic control provider will speak to the Transport Secretary on Wednesday as disruption continues after a technical issue grounded flights. Flight monitoring website Flightradar24 said more than 1,000 flights had been cancelled at UK airports by about 8pm on Tuesday after a system issue hit Nats, which provides air traffic control services to 15 UK airports. Tens of thousands of passengers were affected.
Airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, and Stansted confirmed they had been impacted. Nats’ CEO Martin Rolfe took full responsibility for the incident, stating his focus is on resolving the issue and ensuring passenger safety. Travel journalist Simon Calder described the knock-on effects on Wednesday as 'horrible,' with dozens of cancellations expected at Heathrow.
Ryanair reported over 65,000 disrupted passengers and cancelled more than 50 flights. British Airways cancelled or diverted over 100 flights, affecting tens of thousands of customers. Wizz Air and Ryanair criticized Rolfe for repeated failures, with Ryanair’s Neal McMahon calling for his resignation.
On Tuesday night, Nats apologized for the disruption and assured ongoing efforts to recover. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander is set to meet Rolfe before addressing MPs on the Civil Aviation Bill. Passenger Josie Donoghue described the experience at Gatwick as 'like trying to get out of Alcatraz,' highlighting the chaos passengers faced.
Source: The Independent
