According to reports by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on September 21, after a second disruption of the flight due to technical issues within two weeks, the airline called for 'action and accountability' regarding the UK air traffic control service.
On Monday morning, the second control center of the National Air Traffic Service (NATS) located in Prestwick, South Ayrshire, malfunctioned, resulting in the cancellation of dozens of flights and many other flights being severely delayed.
It is reported that the issue mainly affected Scotland, Northern Ireland, and northern England. The problem was resolved around 10:30 am; however, several airlines, including British Airways and EasyJet, had to cancel their flights before then.
NATs spokesperson stated that the agency has been working with airports and airlines to safely lift air traffic control restrictions as soon as possible, in order to minimize further disruptions. The spokesperson apologized for the disruption. She also noted that the issue is ‘not related to the problem that occurred two weeks ago’.
According to analysis firm Cirium, although the repairs were relatively quick, it is expected that by the end of the 21st, at least 200 flights entering British airports will be canceled.
Transport Minister Heidi Alexander posted on X shortly after 10:30 a.m., stating that the latest technical issues had been resolved. She wrote, "I understand that this will cause passengers significant frustration. There may be some delays during the system reset process."
Less than two weeks before this incident, a serious problem occurred at Nats’ control center in England, disrupting the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of passengers. Just three days before this accident, the company issued a preliminary report, promising to “continue improving the critical services we provide.”
Nat's statement is that the 21st event was caused by a connection problem at its Prestwick center.
A spokesman for the UK Civil Aviation Authority said: "We believe that the disruption caused by technical problems at the Nats Prestwick Centre in Scotland on September 21 could be considered a 'special circumstance' under the passenger rights regulations. This means that while passengers should receive care from airlines, they are unlikely to have the right to compensation for delays or cancellations directly caused by this incident."
Airlines are calling for action to address the recurring malfunctions. Ryanair is once again calling for the resignation of Nats CEO Martin Roland.
On the 21st, EasyJet, one of the airlines most affected, stated that the latest flight disruption once again raised questions about the resilience of Nats' system. It was indicated that decisive measures must be taken to prevent such failures from occurring again. British Airways also referred to this as “another technical failure by Nats,” expressing disappointment.
Ryan Airlines' Chief Operating Officer Neil McMahon expressed his anger: 'Just three days after Nats assured airlines and passengers that a strong 'mitigation plan' had been implemented, the airline's flight data processing system failed again. More than 25,000 Ryan Airlines passengers have been affected, with over 140 Ryan Airlines flights being delayed. That's enough! Martin Rolf should resign today.'
Rolf's salary last year, including bonuses, was £1.4 million. Since the major malfunction on September 8th, he has been under increasing pressure; this is also the third high-profile incident involving Nats in over three years. Rolf apologized and claimed responsibility for the incidents, but Nats denied any connection between these incidents.
In July 2025, a "radar-related issue" caused air traffic control failures, disrupting the schedules of thousands of passengers and resulting in the cancellation of over 160 flights. In August 2023, an "abnormal flight plan" triggered system failures, leading to flight cancellations across the UK and affecting more than 700,000 passengers.
Transport Minister Alexander has commissioned the Civil Aviation Authority to conduct an independent review of Nats, and to verify the conclusions drawn from the preliminary report regarding the malfunction that occurred on September 8th. She said that the government still needs to ‘urgently understand why this issue was not discovered and fixed before causing chaos.’
When asked whether the head of Nats should be fired, Andy Burnham said that Alexander must “investigate” these issues thoroughly.
