Government must sack air traffic control boss after ‘long line of cock ups,’ Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary says
Thousands of passengers have had their flights cancelled at Heathrow and Gatwick Airport due to air traffic control staff shortages.
The new Labour government must sack the head of the UK’s air traffic control service after the latest in a “long line of cock ups,” Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary has said.
Thousands of passengers have had their flights cancelled at Heathrow and Gatwick Airport this morning due to bad weather and staff shortages at the National Air Traffic Service (NATs).
“This is the latest in a long line of cock ups by UK NATS, which has yet again disrupted multiple flights and thousands of passengers at Gatwick,” O’Leary, who has launched repeat calls for NATs boss Martin Rolfe to resign over the last year, said in a statement.
“Airlines and passengers deserve better. Ryanair again calls on UK NATS chief Martin Rolfe to step down and allow someone competent to run an efficient UK ATC service, which airlines and passengers are entitled to expect.”
“If he won’t go, then new Transport Minister, Louise Haigh, should sack him,” the boss of Ryanair said.
The chaos has impacted a string of major carriers including British Airways, Wizz Air and Gatwick’s primary airline Easyjet.
It follows long-running criticism of NATs, the public-private partnership which manages UK airspace after an unprecedented IT meltdown last August caused untold disruption.
The disaster prompted regulatory scrutiny and led airlines to question whether the organisation was “fit for purpose.”
The salary of NATs boss Martin Rolfe, which stood at £1.3m in 2023, has fuelled further backlash amid stinging criticism of the body’s leadership.
Despite the most recent disruption, shares in London-listed Easyjet and Wizz Air had risen 1.27 and 3.27 per cent by mid-morning on Monday, to the bemusement of analysts.
“Perhaps the market hasn’t cottoned on to the likely setback to earnings,” Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said.
“Airlines across the board are extremely frustrated by the constant disruption to service. Hundreds of thousands of travellers are being affected each year and the airline industry is suffering both reputational and financial damage.”
