Nats boss meets minister as flight chaos hits 1,300 cancellations
Air traffic control system failure enters second day, impacting thousands of passengers across UK airports.
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Martin Rolfe, the chief executive of air traffic control provider Nats, met with UK transport secretary Heidi Alexander on Wednesday. The meeting followed a technical issue that led to more than 1,300 flight cancellations across the UK, entering its second day of widespread disruption for hundreds of thousands of travellers.
The technical problem began around 1 pm on Tuesday, affecting departing flights at major airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, and Stansted. By 6 am on Wednesday, FlightRadar reported 246 flights cancelled at Heathrow, while Gatwick experienced 33 cancellations. Ryanair stated that over 65,000 passengers faced delays and 50 flights were cancelled due to the Nats failure, with knock-on effects extending across Europe.
UK air traffic failure: Over 1,000 flights cancelled or delayed
Heathrow and Gatwick airports experienced hundreds of cancellations and delays due to a National Air Traffic Services system issue.
Investigation into system resilience
Rolfe stated that a cyber-attack had been ruled out as the cause of the disruption. He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that a thorough investigation would take place, defending the resilience of Nats' systems. He described the incident as something not seen in the company's 50-year operational history. Nats confirmed the issue occurred within its flight processing system but was distinct from previous faults that caused outages in 2023 and 2025.
However, airline representatives called for accountability. Yvonne Moynihan, managing director of Wizz Air UK, suggested Rolfe should consider resigning, citing three major stoppages in just over three years. Neal McMahon, chief operations officer at Ryanair, described the event as an "abhorrent failure" and urged the government to appoint new leadership for the UK air traffic control system.
Nats Technical Fault Disrupts Flights at Major UK Airports
Passengers faced lengthy delays and were stranded on aircraft due to an air traffic control system issue.
Heathrow Airport advised passengers to check their flight status with their airline before travelling, as some disruption might continue while airlines reposition aircraft and crew. Gatwick Airport also confirmed that flights had resumed but that disruption was likely to persist.
Questions this report answers
+What caused the flight cancellations?
The cancellations were caused by a technical issue within Nats' flight processing system. Nats has stated that a cyber-attack has been ruled out as the cause of the problem.
+How many flights were cancelled?
By the second day of disruption, flight cancellations reached 1,300 across the UK. Heathrow recorded 246 cancellations by 6 am on Wednesday, and Ryanair reported 50 cancelled flights.
+Who met to discuss the disruption?
Martin Rolfe, the chief executive of Nats, met with UK transport secretary Heidi Alexander on Wednesday to discuss the ongoing flight chaos and the technical issue.
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UK air traffic failure: Over 1,000 flights cancelled or delayed
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