Copy of Headline: Nats Chief Faces Resignation Pressure After UK Air Traffic Control Failure

Date: 9 September 2026

Tags: UK, Aviation, Travel, Transport

Summary:

• Nats chief executive Martin Rolfe faces resignation pressure following widespread disruption across UK airports.

• More than 1,000 flights have reportedly been cancelled, leaving hundreds of thousands of passengers facing disruption.

• Airlines warn delays and cancellations could continue for several days as schedules recover.

• Ryanair said the failure involved flight-plan processing and questioned why backup systems failed to maintain operations.

• Rolfe apologised to passengers and said his immediate priority was resolving the disruption rather than discussing his position.

• Nats has ruled out a cyber-attack as the cause and is investigating the technical failure.

• Ryanair has called for Rolfe’s resignation, while Wizz Air said he should consider his position.

• Wizz Air reported 24 cancellations and more than 21 heavily delayed flights, affecting over 10,000 passengers.

• Previous Nats failures caused major disruption in 2023 and July 2025, raising questions about system resilience.

• Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander is expected to speak with Rolfe before addressing MPs in Parliament.

Why this matters: Repeated air traffic control failures can disrupt hundreds of thousands of passengers and raise concerns about critical UK aviation infrastructure.

What’s next: Nats will investigate the failure while airlines and government officials increase scrutiny of its systems, leadership and backup arrangements.