Nats failures cancel more than 2,150 UK flights in a month

Two failures at the UK air traffic services provider Nats within a month have caused major disruption for airlines and passengers. The first incident led to more than 2,000 cancellations over two days; the second caused about 150 cancellations.

The failure at Nats’ main control centre in Swanwick earlier this month affected hundreds of thousands of passengers. Some slept in airports, while others were stranded abroad.

Monday’s problem at the Prestwick centre, which handles air traffic across Scotland, northern England and Northern Ireland, was smaller but caused widespread delays. Aviation analytics firm Cirium said it affected tens of thousands of travellers.

Separate technical causes

Nats attributed the first incident to a previously undetected software flaw triggered by a rare combination of circumstances. The company blamed the second failure on a connectivity problem in the system used in Scotland and said the incidents were unrelated.

Nats manages some of Europe’s busiest airspace, including approaches to Heathrow and Gatwick, and can handle up to 8,000 flights a day. Airlines are increasingly questioning the resilience of its systems.

Airlines demand stronger resilience

Jet2 chief executive Steve Heapy said critical national infrastructure could not keep letting customers down. EasyJet said the latest incident raised questions about the resilience of Nats’ systems and showed the need for firm action.

Nats apologised for the latest failure and said technology could sometimes fail, while its role was to minimise disruption. It added that safety remained its first priority.

Ryanair has repeatedly called for Nats chief executive Martin Rolfe to resign, or for Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander to remove him. Alexander described the disruption in September as “completely unacceptable”, but the government appears reluctant to force an immediate leadership change.

Independent review to take six months

The government has asked the Civil Aviation Authority to conduct an independent review of the first incident this month. It is expected to take six months, making action before the report unlikely.

Rolfe said he had no plans to resign. He argued that failures in highly complex systems can be difficult to predict and prevent, while repeated incidents continue to fuel frustration among airlines and passengers.