Heathrow and Gatwick airport delays see thousands of passengers affected | UK News
Ryanair boss calls for Air Traffic Control head to step down after flights delayed at Gatwick
The CEO of Ryanair, Michael O’Leary, has called for the chief executive of air traffic control (ATC) provider Nats to resign.
Drama in the airline sector comes after thousands of passengers travelling through Gatwick Airport yesterday were affected by problems blamed on staff shortages.
Flights at the airport south of London have frequently been disrupted by ATC staffing issues and it seems Mr O’Leary has now had enough (or, more accurately, continues to have had enough, given this is not the first time he’s said this).
He urged Martin Rolfe to step down and ‘allow someone competent’ to take over.
Nats is responsible for air traffic control at major UK airports including atwick, Heathrow, London City, Luton, and Manchester.
A spokesperson for Gatwick wrote on X yesterday: ‘Due to short notice absence in the Air Traffic Control tower, temporary restrictions have been put in place today, in addition to existing restrictions in place due to adverse weather across the UK and Europe. These may result in some delays and cancellations.’
Nats previously said it is ‘working in line’ with a staffing plan agreed with Gatwick bosses when it took over the provision of ATC services at the airport in October 2022, which includes training further controllers.
Mr O’Leary said: ‘UK Nats staff shortages caused multiple flight delays and cancellations at Gatwick Airport yesterday, Sunday September 8.
‘This is the latest in a long line of cock-ups by UK Nats, which has yet again disrupted multiple flights and thousands of passengers at Gatwick. Airlines and passengers deserve better.
‘Ryanair again calls on UK Nats chief executive Martin Rolfe to step down and allow someone competent to run an efficient UK ATC service, which airlines and passengers are entitled to expect.
‘If he won’t go, then (new Transport Secretary) Louise Haigh should sack him.’
He previously had hit out at Mr Rolfe over the widespread disruption at UK airports during last year’s August Bank Holiday Monday, which was caused by a Nats technical failure.