Nats chief Martin Rolfe says the faults behind September’s air-traffic-control failures have been fixed. That is a necessary operational response, but it is not yet an adequate public answer to two disruptions that affected hundreds of thousands of passengers.
Speaking at an aviation conference in London, Rolfe said he had not considered resigning after airlines, led by Ryanair, called for him to go. He described himself as “the most disliked person in the UK” during September and said he accepted the personal accountability that comes with disruption. The issue, however, is not whether a chief executive can withstand criticism. It is whether Nats and ministers can show that the system’s weak points have been addressed and tested.
The Guardian reports that Nats experienced two technical failures within a fortnight. On 8 September, an issue in its flight-control systems disrupted operations; Nats had expected about 8,000 flights and said 6,000 flew, though many faced delays. A further fault at Prestwick on 21 September led to more than 200 cancellations. Rolfe called the causes unprecedented and said they would not recur, while also acknowledging that no one can credibly guarantee a complex technical system will never fail again.
That qualification is more useful than a blanket reassurance. Complex systems cannot offer zero risk, but passengers and airlines are entitled to evidence that known failure points have been corrected, resilience measures have been tested, and responsibility follows where standards fell short. Transport secretary Heidi Alexander called the disruption “simply unacceptable” and said she would await the Civil Aviation Authority’s findings before acting.
The CAA is reviewing Nats’s early report and is expected to report to Alexander in early 2027, according to the Guardian. Until then, Rolfe’s repair claim remains an assurance from the operator, not a substitute for the independent account of what failed and what must change.
Sources
- The Guardian · UK · Source date: 2026-11-11
Independent editorial content. WUA is not affiliated with any political party. 2026-11-11