Technical issue at air traffic control provider Nats grounds flights to and from UK airports for second day; oil prices rise towards $100 a barrel for first time since July
17m agoOil prices rise towards $100 a barrel
33m agoAir traffic control boss to meet UK transport secretary as second day of flight chaos takes cancellations past 1,300
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The boss of the air traffic control provider Nats has been summoned by the UK transport secretary, as flight chaos carried on into a second day after a system issue, with after more than 1,300 flights cancelled to and from UK airports.
National Air Traffic Services provides air traffic control services to 15 UK airports. Its chief executive Martin Rolfe is due to speak to Heidi Alexander, before she addresses MPs in the Commons for the second reading of the Civil Aviation Bill.
Tens of thousands of passengers have been caught up in the chaos, with more cancellations and delays expected as airlines deal with the knock-on effects at airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and Stansted.
According to FlightRadar, 246 flights had been cancelled at Heathrow Airport by 6am on Wednesday, while Gatwick passengers faced 33 cancellations.
Rolfe said he “always accept(s) full responsibility” when asked if he was considering his position after the incident.
I am the CEO of a piece of critical infrastructure, so it is my job to take responsibility for that. What I absolutely take responsibility for is keeping people safe and delivering the best service we possibly can on a day like today. You will understand my focus is entirely about how we actually resolve this issue, get things back to normal, help our airlines, our airport customers and the travelling public.
I am the CEO of a piece of critical infrastructure, so it is my job to take responsibility for that.
What I absolutely take responsibility for is keeping people safe and delivering the best service we possibly can on a day like today.
You will understand my focus is entirely about how we actually resolve this issue, get things back to normal, help our airlines, our airport customers and the travelling public.
The “technical issue” at the air traffic control services provider Nats caused Britain’s third major stoppage in just over three years. Nats said on Tuesday evening:
This has been a very complex recovery and has created difficulties for the whole aviation network, from which it will take time to recover.
The breakdown started at about 1pm on Tuesday and affected departing flights at many of Britain’s biggest airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and Stansted. By the time Nats said it had fixed its flight processing system almost four hours later, most flights scheduled to depart were yet to take off. The disruption spread to include incoming flights to much of southern England.
In the markets, oil prices are rising towards the $100 a barrel level for the first time since July.
Brent crude has jumped 1.5% to $99.36 a barrel, as escalating attacks across the Middle East are fuelling fears over supply disruptions.
Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen launched strikes on several Saudi cities while US forces hit several Iranian oil tankers and Iran targeted a US base in Jordan and attacked ships.
There is some confusion over the situation at Heathrow airport.
Heathrow said on X this morning:
Following yesterday’s NATS technical issue, flights are operating today, but some disruption may continue as airlines reposition aircraft and crew. Please check your flight status with your airline before travelling to the airport and only travel if your flight is confirmed to be operating. We apologise to those affected and have extra colleagues across our terminals to support passengers while we work with NATS and airline partners to restore normal operations as quickly as possible.
Following yesterday’s NATS technical issue, flights are operating today, but some disruption may continue as airlines reposition aircraft and crew. Please check your flight status with your airline before travelling to the airport and only travel if your flight is confirmed to be operating.
We apologise to those affected and have extra colleagues across our terminals to support passengers while we work with NATS and airline partners to restore normal operations as quickly as possible.
However, the flight tracking website Flightradar24 says 177 flights have been cancelled so far on Wednesday, nearly all at London-Heathrow.
