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Air traffic control boss says he was ‘most disliked person in the UK’ after flight chaos
Nats chief executive Martin Rolfe said he became “the most disliked person in the UK” after two air traffic control failures in September disrupted flights. Airlines, led by Ryanair, called for him to resign, while Rolfe said he had not considered stepping down and had “quite enjoyed” ignoring repeated demands from Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary.
The first outage, on 8 September, affected a day when Nats expected to handle about 8,000 flights; 6,000 flew, many after long delays, and airlines said the disruption cost tens of millions of pounds. A second fault at Prestwick on 21 September led to more than 200 cancellations. Rolfe said the specific faults had been fixed but would not rule out future outages; a Civil Aviation Authority review is due to report to Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander in early 2027.
In short
- Two September failures disrupted flights across the UK.
- Airlines called for Nats chief Martin Rolfe to resign.
- A regulator’s findings are expected in early 2027.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Rolfe could argue that resigning before the independent review reports would not necessarily improve safety or resilience, and that his responsibility now is to fix the faults and account for what happened. The failures were serious, but the reported fixes and forthcoming CAA review provide a basis for waiting for evidence before deciding whether leadership change is warranted.
The case against
Airlines could argue that two failures in a short period caused major disruption, cancellations and substantial costs, undermining confidence in Nats’ reliability. They may see the chief executive’s departure as necessary to demonstrate accountability and restore trust, particularly while future outages cannot be ruled out.
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