There is political and regulatory pressure on UK air traffic control leadership, with Ryanair calling for Nats chief Martin Rolfe to resign and Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander arranging a meeting with Nats chair Sir Warren East to discuss ongoing problems.

Britain’s Nats chief Martin Rolfe faced pressure to resign after a string of ATC problems disrupted thousands of flights and affected hundreds of thousands of passengers.

Nats chief Martin Rolfe faces calls to resign amid broad industry disruptions and passenger impact, with pressure mounting from Ryanair and a meeting planned between Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander and Nats chairman Sir Warren East.

A separate connectivity issue at the Prestwick control centre in Scotland contributed to flight disruptions, adding to the broader ATC problems.

The Prestwick connectivity issue followed the September 8 ATC software fault, as two separate problems within a fortnight prompted renewed government focus on resilience.

Cancellations were linked to two ATC issues within two weeks, including the Prestwick connectivity problem and the September 8 software fault.

Ryanair attributed more than 1,000 flight cancellations in September to Britain’s air traffic control collapse, with two ATC issues in two weeks and additional European disruptions.

The period saw ongoing volatility in UK and European air travel amid ATC issues, strikes, and volcanic ash disruptions, stressing industry resilience.

The core disruption peaked on September 8 when a NATS system failure halted flights at Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, and Stansted, grounding over 1,300 flights and delaying or cancelling more than 2,000 over two days.

Wizz Air reported a 24% year-on-year rise in September passengers to 7.78 million, with capacity up 25.3%, yet signaling a 5% cut to its 2026 second-half programme due to sector pressures.

Ryanair’s September traffic showed over 111,700 flights and 20.1 million passengers, up 4% year on year.

NATS apologized and stated safety was never compromised, with Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander summoning NATS chair Sir Warren East for urgent talks to address repeated infrastructure failures.