A technical failure in the UK’s air traffic control system led to the cancellation of over 2,000 flights within two days. This disruption affected operations at 15 airports, including Heathrow, and left passengers stranded on Indian carriers’ routes to London. The incident highlights vulnerabilities in the UK’s aviation infrastructure.
NATS, which operates the UK system, attributed the disruption to a problem in its flight processing system and said the original fault was resolved on Tuesday afternoon. On Wednesday, 291 flights — 120 departures and 171 arrivals — were cancelled at UK airports, about 5% of the 5,869 scheduled, aviation analytics company Cirium said. Cancellations on a normal day run between 1% and 2%. Tuesday was worse, with about 30.1% of 5,800 scheduled flights cancelled or not operated. Seven of the 24 flights scheduled from India to the UK had been cancelled as of 4pm on Wednesday, Cirium said. Rajya Sabha member Milind Deora, a passenger on the Mumbai flight, said he had spent nearly 24 hours stranded at Amsterdam airport.
“Basically, we are technically in transit because the flight got diverted, so the airline can’t really offload one passenger’s bag,” he said. A public transport strike in the Netherlands had also ruled out taking a train to London, he said.
Air Traffic Disruptions Prompt Calls for NATS Chief’s Resignation
Airlines are urging Martin Rolfe, the chief executive of NATS, to resign following the second air traffic control breakdown in three years. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander met with Rolfe on Wednesday and has given him a week to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the incident. Despite the pressure, the government, which holds a 49% stake in NATS, has expressed its continued confidence in Rolfe’s leadership. In response to the disruptions, Rolfe issued an apology but emphasized that the UK’s air traffic management system remains one of the safest and most efficient in the world.
