NATS’ “MITIGATION PLAN” EXPOSED AS WORTHLESS AFTER FURTHER SYSTEM FAILURE JUST 3 DAYS AFTER PUBLICATION OF REPORT INTO 8^TH SEPT FAILURE

MORE THAN 140 RYANAIR FLIGHTS DELAYED, WITH OVER 25,000 PASSENGERS FACING DELAYS OF UP TO 3 HOURS

TRANSPORT SECRETARY HEIDI ALEXANDER MUST FIRE MARTIN ROLFE

Ryanair, the UK’s No.1 airline, today (Mon, 21 Sept) called on failed NATS CEO Martin Rolfe to resign immediately, or for Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander to remove him, after yet another NATS’ flight data processing system at Prestwick failed again this morning, less than 2 weeks after the same system collapsed in NATS’ London Centre on 8 Sept and disrupted more than 2,000 flights across the UK and Europe.

This latest NATS failure which is affecting NATS’ Prestwick Control Centre is disrupting flights operating to and from Dublin, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Manchester and a range of airports across Scotland, Northern England, and Ireland. So far, more than 25,000 Ryanair passengers are expected to be disrupted, with over 140 Ryanair flights delayed and delays exceeding three hours, as NATS continues to provide no indication of when normal service will resume.

Remarkably, this latest system failure comes just three days after NATS published its preliminary report into the 8 Sept collapse. In that report, NATS claimed that “mitigation plans” had been introduced to reduce the risk of recurrence and that, in the “unlikely event” of a further failure, a quicker recovery process was available.

Those assurances have already been proven worthless.

The report also confirmed that the permanent software fix identified following the 8 Sept collapse had not yet been implemented and remained under testing. Today’s disruption raises serious questions about NATS’ operational resilience and why, after repeated system failures, there is still no effective back-up system capable of preventing widespread passenger disruption.

Ryanair again calls on Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander to fire Martin Rolfe and put someone competent in charge of NATS. UK passengers cannot continue to suffer repeated disruption because of system failures, inadequate back-up procedures and failed management

Ryanair’s Chief Operations Officer, Neal McMahon, said:

“Just three days after NATS assured airlines and passengers that it had introduced a robust ‘mitigation plans’, its flight data processing system has failed again. More than 25,000 Ryanair passengers have already suffered disruption, with over 140 Ryanair flights delayed, yet NATS still cannot tell passengers when this disruption will end.

Martin Rolfe’s report claimed that another failure was ‘unlikely’ and that NATS could recover more quickly if one occurred. Those claims have been exposed as completely worthless. Just three days later, passengers are once again suffering lengthy delays because NATS has failed to deliver either a reliable system or an effective back-up.

After the August 2023 collapse, Martin Rolfe assured Parliament that it was a ‘once-in-a-lifetime event’. Then NATS collapsed again on 8 Sept, disrupting more than 2,000 flights. Now, just 13 days later, the same flight data processing system has failed once more. How many times must UK passengers suffer disruption before Martin Rolfe is replaced by somebody competent?

Another review, another report and another round of empty promises will not fix NATS. Martin Rolfe has presided over repeated system failures, repeated passenger disruption and repeated failures to deliver an effective back-up system. Enough is enough.Martin Rolfe should resign today. If he will not, then Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander should fire him and appoint somebody capable of delivering the resilient ATC service that UK passengers and airlines deserve.”