Airlines urge action after UK flights delayed and cancelled again
News Source
•Mon, 21 Sep 2026 14:15:34 GMT
📰 What Happened
A technical fault at the UK's air traffic control centre in Prestwick, Scotland, disrupted flights on Monday. Airports in Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England were hit.
Dozens of flights were cancelled and many more delayed. The fault was fixed by about 10.30am.
Analysts at Cirium said at least 200 UK flights were expected to be cancelled by the end of the day. Airlines including Ryanair and easyJet demanded action and accountability.
🔍 The Backstory
This was the second air traffic fault in a fortnight. On 8 September, a software glitch caused more than 2,000 cancellations and disrupted hundreds of thousands of passengers.
Just three days before Monday's fault, Nats released a report promising to improve. Ryanair's chief operations officer said more than 25,000 of its passengers had already suffered and called on Nats chief Martin Rolfe to resign.
The government asked the Civil Aviation Authority to review Nats. Regulators said passengers are unlikely to get compensation, because the fault counts as “extraordinary circumstances”.
🎯 Why It Matters
Air traffic control is vital national infrastructure. Repeated failures hurt travellers and add pressure on the government to fix how it is run.
A technical fault at the UK's air traffic control centre in Prestwick, Scotland, disrupted flights on Monday. Airports in Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England were hit.
Dozens of flights were cancelled and many more delayed. The fault was fixed by about 10.30am.
Analysts at Cirium said at least 200 UK flights were expected to be cancelled by the end of the day. Airlines including Ryanair and easyJet demanded action and accountability.
This was the second air traffic fault in a fortnight. On 8 September, a software glitch caused more than 2,000 cancellations and disrupted hundreds of thousands of passengers.
Just three days before Monday's fault, Nats released a report promising to improve. Ryanair's chief operations officer said more than 25,000 of its passengers had already suffered and called on Nats chief Martin Rolfe to resign.
The government asked the Civil Aviation Authority to review Nats. Regulators said passengers are unlikely to get compensation, because the fault counts as “extraordinary circumstances”.
Air traffic control is vital national infrastructure. Repeated failures hurt travellers and add pressure on the government to fix how it is run.