UK airport delay live: PM refuses to back under fire Nats air traffic control chief after 200 flights cancelled
Andy Burnham’s spokesperson avoided a direct question from journalists on if the PM had confidence in Nats chief executive Martin Rolfe following the latest flight disruption
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Andy Burnham has refused to back the under-fire air traffic control boss as hundreds of passengers were impacted by fresh disruption on Monday.
At least 56 flights have been delayed due to an issue at National Air Traffic Services’ (Nats) centre in Prestwick, which despite being fixed this morning has led to major issues for those using airlines in Scotland and the north of England.
Martin Rolfe, the chief executive of Nats, is now facing ever-growing calls to quit, including from Ryanair’s chief operations officer, Neal McMahon, who said “he has presided over repeated system failures, repeated passenger disruption and repeated failures to deliver an effective back-up system”.
Earlier this month, after disruption caused by a software fault impacted London Heathrow and Gatwick, Downing Street said ministers had confidence in Mr Rolfe.
However, asked today by reporters if Mr Burnham retained confidence in the CEO, a spokesperson said: “I think obviously there’s a review that is ongoing and the transport secretary on the larger outage recently has been clear that we need to urgently understand why the issue wasn’t discovered and fixed before it caused chaos.”
Ryanair responds to family's issue with €4 airport voucher
After Dan Halpenny told us that he and his family had each been given a €4 voucher to spend after their flight was delayed for eight hours, Ryanair has responded.
A spokesperson said: “Today's disruption has been caused by a NATS air traffic control systems failure in the UK, which has impacted airlines and passengers across the network.
“Ryanair is working to minimise disruption and assist affected passengers as services recover from this latest NATS failure. Where applicable, care and assistance is provided in accordance with EU261 requirements, including vouchers during delays.”
Alex Ross21 September 2026 13:46
'The industry and travelling public want answers', says travel group
The aviation industry are demanding answers from Nats following its fourth major disruption in the last few years.
Luke Petherbridge, director of public affairs, at travel trade association ABTA, said: “This is the second NATS incident to cause disruption in the last fortnight, and fourth in recent years. It’s simply not good enough. The industry and travelling public will want answers – not only on what has gone wrong, but critically how the system is going to be made more resilient to avoid future outages.
“These incidents cause inconvenience to travellers and significant financial costs for airlines and the wider travel industry, including additional work and costs for ABTA’s tour operator and travel agent members.
“As these NATS issues are entirely outside of travel companies’ control, the Government should seriously consider whether NATS should be made to compensate the wider industry for such events.”
Harriette Boucher21 September 2026 13:45
'Delayed for eight hours - and we get a €4 voucher to spend'
Today's flight disruption has impacted hundreds people, including Dan Halpenny and his family who were booked to fly from Dublin Airport to Leeds Bradford Airport at 10.25am.
However, when they arrived at the airport, following a weekend away for a birthday in Ireland, they discovered the Ryanair flight had been delayed.
To add to the stress for Mr Halpenny, his father and two children, aged five and two, need to get to the UK for a flight from London Stansted to Bali tomorrow afternoon.
Faced with the fear the flight might be cancelled, the family have already looked at other options such as getting a ferry across the Irish Sea, but for now they are holding on.
They've each been given a €4 voucher to spend at the airport.
"Early on when it all came about there was anger over the lack of information but since then it has quickly turned to apathy," he told The Independent.
"These things happen in big organisations, but the whole thing could have been handled better with passengers given better information on the ground.
"It is a stressful time, because we want to get to the UK for the flight to Bali, but we're not super wealthy and can only work within our means."
He added: "We are supposed to feel relatively trustful over using air travel, but these recent incidents have hit that and might mean when booking flights we book a couple of days earlier or even look at different modes of transport."
Alex Ross21 September 2026 13:44
'Apologies are no longer enough': Wizz Air calls for urgent action from Nats
Wizz Air has called on Nats to “urgently fix” its failures and be more transparent about its technical outages.
“Repeated apologies are no longer enough,” Yvonne Moynihan, the managing director of Wizz Air UK, said.
“Last week, a NATS system failure brought widespread disruption to the south of the UK. Today, another failure has affected the north. Passengers and airlines are entitled to ask: which part of the country will be next?
“NATS claims the two incidents are unrelated. Far from offering reassurance, this raises an even more serious question: how many other hidden weaknesses remain within its systems?
“NATS must urgently fix these failures, demonstrate that robust backup systems are in place and provide full transparency about how repeated outages can occur within such a short period. Airlines are once again being left to manage the operational and financial consequences of a failure entirely outside their control, while passengers pay the real price through delays, cancellations and disrupted plans. This cannot continue.”
Harriette Boucher21 September 2026 13:25
PM fails to back Nats CEO Martin Rolfe
This lunchtime, as pressure grows on Nats chief executive Martin Rolfe over the disruption caused this morning, questions were asked of Andy Burnham’s official spokesperson.
He appeared to avoid backing Mr Rolfe.
He said: "I think obviously there's a a review that is ongoing, and the transport secretary - on the on the larger outage recently - has been clear that we need to urgently understand why the issue wasn't fixed before it caused chaos, and you'll have seen the transport sector respond this morning to the further IT issue affecting Nats.
“Engineers have fixed the problem, and systems are resuming.
"We recognise this is deeply frustrating for passengers, particularly after a recent incident. And it's crucial that our national infrastructure is fit for purpose now and in the future. And we'll make sure the aviation sector is as resilient as possible, so passengers can get to where they need to be."
Alex Ross21 September 2026 13:18
Impact of Nats failure is 'huge' for passengers and airlines, says travel expert
The impact of the latest Nats failure is “huge” for passengers and airlines, a travel expert has said.
Simon Calder told GB News: “It’s just awful...I am seeing dozens of cancellations, for example, easyJet alone in and out of Glasgow and Edinburgh has cancelled a dozen of flights.
“Nats says it is unrelated to the last [issue], however the impact is huge.”
“This is going to affect the airlines as well, it’s probably going to end up costing them a few million pounds on top of the tens of millions of pounds they lost less than two weeks ago.
“I do know there’s an awful lot of upset, stressed people, desperate to get away...and once again they’ve been flummoxed.”
Harriette Boucher21 September 2026 13:05
Travel chaos is 'very regrettable', says Swinney
Disruption caused by an issue with air traffic control systems is “very regrettable”, Scottish First Minister John Swinney has said.
Speaking to the Press Association during an unrelated visit to Edinburgh Airport, the first minister said: “It’s very regrettable that there’s been an issue with the air traffic control system today and that members of the public have experienced disruption as a result.
“I’m glad the issues are now resolved and that flights are able to take their normal course, but it demonstrates of all organisations, particularly the air traffic control system, having resilience, being able to withstand issues in the systems, so that people can rely on the services that are being provided.
“So, we’ll engage with the national air traffic control service to ensure that these issues are addressed and that the resilience is necessary for these systems is available at all times.”
Harriette Boucher21 September 2026 12:45
‘Chaos, stress, and confusion’ as passengers left stranded after Nats failure
Megan O’Kane, 34, was heading to London for a Snow Patrol concert on Monday morning when she found out her flight had been cancelled.
The easyjet passenger was set to depart Belfast International Airport at 10am, but was told of the cancellation after getting through security at around 8.30am.
She said the easyJet staff “couldn't get away quick enough” and left passengers to deal with the chaos.
Ms O’Kane told The Independent: “As soon as we were passed over to EasyJet, they were just like ‘sort yourself on the app’.
“Someone phoned easyJet, and they were told on the phone that the flight was going, and we're like, ‘well, no, it clearly isn't’, and there was just so much confusion.
“And then we were told to go on the app, which hadn't been updated, and then when it did get updated on the app that the flight was canceled, there were no alternative flights showing up.”
Ms O’Kane had to help an elderly man who didn’t have the easyJet app on his phone, but wasn’t getting help from any staff.
“I was okay because I had the app and could go on Skyscanner and sort myself out, but for somebody who's not technologically literate, it's really poor because what was he gonna do? If people weren't being kind and helping him, what would he have done?
She managed to get herself a flight from Belfast City Airport this afternoon and is hoping she won’t face further delays.
“It’s just so frustrating…It’s frustrating in itself, the flight getting cancelled, but the lack of help doubles the stress, doubles the frustration, and then you have to pay out for your own flights, and then you're told you're not getting your refund for at least seven days.
“Something needs to be done…I've got another like holiday planned in December and it's making me very nervous.”
Harriette Boucher21 September 2026 12:25
Delayed passengers turn to social media to voice annoyance over disruption
As many people on flights today arrived at airports to find cancellations and delays, someturned to social media to voice their annoyance over the situation.
Earlier, Nats apologised for disruption caused by the "issue" at its Prestwick centre in Scotland, which has now been fixed.
Among those disrupted was Kate License, who said on Facebook it was her birthday today, and that her 40-minute flight had been delayed by 10 hours.
Michael Scannell said his 9am flight from Glasgow Airport had been delayed by 12 hours. A Celtic supporter, likely unhappy over his side's loss to Rangers at the weekend, he joked: “Celtic board now managing air traffic control."
Also at Glasgow Airport, Janine West wrote: "Couldn't make it up, flight delayed until 8pm tonight."
Paul Edwards, due to fly to Cardiff Airport from Malaga today, wrote: "Delayed flight yuk."
Alex Ross21 September 2026 12:06
Tice calls for embattled Nats boss to quit
Richard Tice has joined calls for the Nats boss to resign after another technical issue caused chaos at several airports on Monday.
The deputy leader of Reform UK told The Telegraph: “This is yet another chaotic shambles by Nats. The chief executive must resign immediately and the chairman needs to explain themselves to Parliament.
“We need confirmation whether these are possibly caused by hacks, which clearly represent a national security issue.”
Harriette Boucher21 September 2026 11:57
