Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander summoned Martin Rolfe, Chief Executive of National Air Traffic Services (NATS), to explain the technical failure that paralysed UK airspace on Wednesday, causing widespread flight cancellations and disruptions during the peak summer travel season, according to AP News.
This urgent meeting, confirmed by Business Minister Gareth Thomas, aims to scrutinise an incident bearing striking resemblance to NATS’ system collapse in August 2023, raising serious questions about whether sufficient resilience measures were implemented following the previous crisis.
“Clearly, an incident happened two years ago and measures were taken then. It looks like those measures weren’t enough, but we need to get to the bottom of what exactly happened, and conversations will take place today,” Thomas stated.
The latest disruption centred on NATS’ Swanwick control centre where a radar-related technical fault emerged shortly after 4 p.m. on Wednesday. NATS swiftly imposed flow restrictions limiting aircraft numbers in London airspace as a safety precaution.
While engineers restored the primary system within approximately 20 minutes by switching to a backup, declaring it “fully operational” by 5:10 p.m., the repercussions cascaded across the nation’s airports.
Over 150 flights were cancelled outright, encompassing 67 departures and 55 arrivals, with hundreds more subjected to extensive delays and diversions.
Major hubs including Heathrow, Gatwick, Edinburgh, Manchester, and Birmingham experienced severe disruption, stranding thousands of passengers during one of the busiest travel periods of the year.
