A second major technical failure at Britain's National Air Traffic Services (NATS) in just two weeks has left hundreds of flights grounded and thousands of passengers stranded, triggering renewed pressure for the resignation of chief executive Martin Rolfe. A "connectivity issue" at NATS's Prestwick office in Scotland precipitated the disruption, coming merely 13 days after a computer error had previously cancelled 2,000 flights. The incident represents a critical failure of national infrastructure, with NATS being 49% taxpayer-owned, and has intensified the crisis already facing Rolfe, who was already under intense scrutiny from airlines and the public.

The scale of the disruption was substantial: Ryanair alone reported over 25,000 passengers affected and 140 flights delayed, whilst EasyJet suffered the worst impact, followed by British Airways, Loganair, Ryanair, Aer Lingus and KLM across major UK airports including Heathrow, Manchester and Glasgow. Rolfe, aged 54, has presided over four major failures in recent years and is Europe's highest-paid air traffic controller, earning £1.4 million annually and over £6 million in the past five years—considerably more than his Dutch counterpart at £225,000 per annum. The Prime Minister notably declined to defend Rolfe and deferred to the Transport Secretary for investigation, whilst Ryanair's boss stated bluntly that "Enough is enough. Martin Rolfe should resign today," with passengers unlikely to receive compensation as the disruptions were classified as "extraordinary circumstances."