Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary says government are ‘trying to protect’ £1.4m-a-year air traffic control boss and its ‘beyond comprehension’ he’s still in a job after another system meltdown
Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary has renewed his call for Martin Rolfe, head of National Air Traffic Services (NATS), to be sacked after technical failures caused a third consecutive day of flight disruption across the UK. Speaking in Dublin, O'Leary accused the government of shielding Rolfe because it holds a 49 per cent stake in NATS, calling it "beyond comprehension" that Rolfe was overseeing the investigation into his own organisation's failures rather than being removed.
A total of 51 flights were cancelled at UK airports on the day of the report, with Heathrow worst hit by 28 cancellations, followed by Gatwick with 11 and Glasgow with five. Rolfe, who earned £1.42 million last year despite presiding over three major NATS collapses, was summoned by Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander, who blamed a technical fault at the Swanwick site, ruled out a cyber-attack, and ordered an independent review by the Civil Aviation Authority while giving Rolfe a week to report back. Downing Street said the Prime Minister retained confidence in Rolfe, even as the wider disruption, which has affected some 330,000 passengers since Tuesday, began easing.
In short
- O'Leary demands NATS boss Martin Rolfe be sacked over outages
- 51 UK flights cancelled as disruption enters third day
- Government orders independent CAA review but backs Rolfe for now
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Ryanair’s case is that repeated failures in an essential national service, affecting hundreds of thousands of passengers, warrant clear accountability at the top. O’Leary argues that allowing NATS’s chief executive to oversee an inquiry into his own organisation risks undermining public confidence, and that his high pay makes scrutiny of performance especially reasonable.
The case against
The case for retaining Rolfe while the failures are independently investigated is that the causes and responsibility should be established before deciding whether a dismissal is justified. The government has ordered a Civil Aviation Authority review and set a deadline for a report; keeping experienced leadership in place during that process may support continuity and avoid prejudging its findings.
Explained simply
National Air Traffic Services (NATS) manages air traffic control across the UK, helping aircraft travel safely through busy airspace. It is a partly state-owned company: the government holds a 49 per cent stake, with the rest owned by other investors.
Michael O’Leary runs Ryanair, one of Europe’s largest airlines, and has criticised NATS over repeated technical failures. Martin Rolfe is NATS’s chief executive, while the transport secretary oversees the government’s response and the Civil Aviation Authority regulates aviation.
Air traffic control problems can delay or cancel flights and affect passengers across several airlines. The dispute raises questions about how NATS is managed and held accountable, and what role the government should play as a part-owner.
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