Airlines have voiced strong criticism toward the UK’s air traffic control provider, National Air Traffic Services (Nats), following a technical failure that disrupted hundreds of flights. The outage, centered at a facility in Prestwick, Ayrshire, resulted in significant delays and cancellations across Scotland, Northern Ireland, and northern England. More than 200 flights were affected by the disruption, which officials attributed to a connectivity issue.
This incident marks the second major technical failure for Nats this month, following an earlier software defect at the Swanwick center that grounded roughly 2,000 flights. While Nats confirmed that operations have returned to full capacity and noted the latest problem was unrelated to the previous software fault, the frequency of these issues has prompted intense backlash from industry leaders.
EasyJet, the most impacted airline with 47 of its 670 scheduled flights canceled, stated the incident casts further doubt on the overall resilience of the network. Similarly, British Airways described the recurring faults as deeply disappointing, noting 12 cancellations from its own schedule of 513 flights. Ryanair reported that the latest failure affected 140 of its services and disrupted the travel plans of 25,000 passengers.
Pressure is mounting on Nats chief Martin Rolfe, with both Wizz Air and Ryanair explicitly calling for his resignation. Yvonne Moynihan, managing director of Wizz Air UK, argued that a national crisis of confidence in the service exists and stressed the need for an investigation into the leadership and the board of directors. During a Radio 4 interview, she emphasized that urgent reform is essential for the future of the infrastructure.
Jet2 boss Steve Heapy has also demanded greater accountability, urging immediate action to strengthen the nation’s air traffic control capabilities. The representative group Airlines UK stated that both travelers and operators deserve a more reliable service, noting that the repeated failures are becoming untenable for the industry.
Regarding financial recourse, the UK Civil Aviation Authority has indicated that passengers are unlikely to receive compensation. The regulator categorized the technical fault as an extraordinary circumstance under current passenger rights legislation, meaning that while airlines are required to provide care for those affected, they are not obligated to pay additional delay or cancellation compensation.
As operations recover, Nats officials confirmed they are working closely with customers to resolve residual delays and return to normal service levels. Despite these assurances, the industry remains focused on the underlying vulnerabilities that have led to multiple system disruptions in such a short period. The report also notes that watch: ‘I couldn’t believe it’ – Glasgow airport sees flights cancelled again.
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