# In the departure lounge? Air traffic control chief faces showdown with minister over flights carnage – as he confirms misery wasn’t caused by cyber attack

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/in-the-departure-lounge-air-traffic-control-chief-faces-showdown-with-minister-over-flights-carnage-as-he-confirms-misery-wasnt-caused-by-cyber-attack/
- Published: 2026-09-09T08:57:17+00:00
- Original publisher: Daily Mail (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16116673/Nats-boss-rules-cyber-attack-cause-air-traffic-control-meltdown.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490
- Topics: Art, Business, Culture, Cybersecurity, Government, Markets, Politics, Technology, Travel, World

## Key points

- NATS boss Martin Rolfe faces resignation calls after flight chaos
- Confirmed no cyber attack; called the failure "inevitable"
- 1,300+ flights disrupted; Wizz Air says it's the third such incident

## Summary

Martin Rolfe, chief executive of National Air Traffic Services (NATS), faces a showdown with Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander amid calls for his resignation after a systems failure caused widespread flight disruption across the UK. In a BBC Radio 4 interview, Rolfe confirmed the chaos was not the result of a cyber attack, promised a "very, very thorough" investigation, and apologised, while arguing that such incidents were ultimately "inevitable" in complex systems.

Around 1,300 flights to and from UK airports were disrupted, with knock-on cancellations and delays continuing into the following morning at hubs including Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and Stansted; by 6am, 246 flights had been cancelled at Heathrow and 33 at Gatwick. Rolfe said this was an unprecedented type of fault in NATS's 50-year history and highlighted over £1 billion invested in technology since partial privatisation 25 years ago, but Wizz Air UK's Yvonne Moynihan said it was the third such failure during peak periods, affecting over 10,000 passengers, and raised serious questions about the system's resilience and Rolfe's position.

## Coverage

- [Daily Mail: In the departure lounge? Air traffic control chief faces showdown with minister over flights carnage – as he confirms misery wasn’t caused by cyber attack](https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16116673/Nats-boss-rules-cyber-attack-cause-air-traffic-control-meltdown.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490)
- [Daily Mail: Fresh misery for travellers as hundreds more flights cancelled today with air traffic control meltdown leaving passengers trapped on planes for hours and forced to sleep on airport floors - as NATS boss faces pressure to quit](https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16116543/Hundreds-flights-cancelled-passengers-travel-chaos.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490)

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.