A second technical failure at the UK’s air‑traffic control provider NATS has disrupted flights across Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England, with roughly 150 services cancelled, officials said. The incident, traced to a "connectivity issue" at the Prestwick control centre that handles around 42% of the nation’s air traffic, was described by NATS as unrelated to the software defect at its Swanwick centre that halted 2,000 flights in September. The problem has since been resolved and the service is operating at "full capacity", although the provider warned of possible knock‑on effects as it works to normalise operations.
Airlines reacted sharply. EasyJet said the outage "once again calls into question the resilience" of the system, noting that 47 of its 670 scheduled departures were lost. Wizz Air warned of a "national confidence crisis" in NATS and called for "urgent reform" and a review of senior leadership, with managing director Yvonne Moynihan questioning whether chief Martin Rolfe should resign. Ryanair echoed the demand for Rolfe’s resignation, citing 140 of its flights and 25,000 passengers affected, while Jet2’s Steve Heapy urged "urgent and accountable" action to strengthen the air‑traffic control infrastructure. British Airways described the repeat fault as "disappointing" and Airlines UK said both passengers and airlines "deserve better" after "yet another Nats failure".
The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) indicated that passengers are "unlikely" to qualify for compensation, classifying the incident as "extraordinary circumstances" under passenger‑rights rules. An independent CAA review into the resilience of the air‑traffic control system is under way, with findings expected within six months. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander called the situation "deeply frustrating" for travellers. Passengers such as 74‑year‑old Steve Davies, who was stranded at Birmingham after an EasyJet flight to Edinburgh was cancelled, and Kilmarnock resident Nicole McCloskey, whose family trip to Disneyland Paris was scrapped, described the disruption as chaotic and exhausting. Rebecca Freeman, stuck at Bristol Airport for nine hours after a cancelled flight to Edinburgh, said she has yet to receive reimbursement for the costs incurred.
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Category: International
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