Latest news with #NealMcMahon
Sinar Daily
24 minutes ago
- Sinar Daily
Over 120 flights disrupted by UK tech glitch
The number of aircraft in London's air space was limited by the service, known as NATS, as a result of a technical issue which was quickly resolved. 31 Jul 2025 08:35am A photograph taken on March 21, 2025 shows a plane parked on the tarmac at Heathrow airport. (Photo by BENJAMIN CREMEL / AFP) LONDON - Scores of flights to and from UK airports were cancelled Wednesday due to a technical glitch, according to the air traffic control service, prompting anger from airline chiefs. The number of aircraft in London's air space was limited by the service, known as NATS, as a result of a technical issue which was quickly resolved. Airports including London's Heathrow and Gatwick and Edinburgh were affected. Heathrow is Europe's busiest air hub. There were 67 departures and 55 arrivals cancelled as of 7:30 pm (1830 GMT) while a number of flights were also diverted, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. In 2023 NATS suffered the country's worst systems failure in almost 10 years, stranding thousands of passengers. Airline chiefs reacted angrily to the cancellations which came at the peak of the UK summer holiday travel season. Ryanair CEO Neal McMahon called for NATS's chief executive Martin Rolfe to resign over the failure. "It is outrageous that passengers are once again being hit with delays and disruption," said McMahon. "It is clear that no lessons have been learnt since the August 2023 NATS system outage." EasyJet CEO David Morgan said it was "extremely disappointing" to again see a failure "causing disruption to our customers at this busy and important time of year for travel". "While our priority today is supporting our customers, we will want to understand from NATS what steps they are taking to ensure issues don't continue," he added. A Department for Transport spokesperson said it was "working closely" with NATS to understand the cause of the glitch and the "implications for the resilience systems in place". The "technical issue" responsible for the disruption was at the service's control centre in Swanwick in southwest England, it said. It first announced problems at around 4:00 pm (1500 GMT) and in an update an hour later said systems were fully operational and that departures had resumed at all airports. - AFP More Like This
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Technical glitch disrupts over 120 flights at UK airports, including Heathrow
Scores of flights to and from UK airports were cancelled Wednesday due to a technical glitch, according to the air traffic control service, prompting anger from airline chiefs. Passengers wait at Heathrow Airport, after radar failure led to the suspension of outbound flights across the UK, in Hounslow, London, Britain, July 30, 2025. (REUTERS) The number of aircraft in London's air space was limited by the service, known as NATS, as a result of a technical issue which was quickly resolved. Airports including London's Heathrow and Gatwick and Edinburgh were affected. Heathrow is Europe's busiest air hub. There were 67 departures and 55 arrivals cancelled as of 7:30 pm (1830 GMT) while a number of flights were also diverted, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. In 2023 NATS suffered the country's worst systems failure in almost 10 years, stranding thousands of passengers. Airline chiefs reacted angrily to the cancellations which came at the peak of the UK summer holiday travel season. Ryanair CEO Neal McMahon called for NATS's chief executive Martin Rolfe to resign over the failure. "It is outrageous that passengers are once again being hit with delays and disruption," said McMahon. "It is clear that no lessons have been learnt since the August 2023 NATS system outage." EasyJet CEO David Morgan said it was "extremely disappointing" to again see a failure "causing disruption to our customers at this busy and important time of year for travel". "While our priority today is supporting our customers, we will want to understand from NATS what steps they are taking to ensure issues don't continue," he added. A Department for Transport spokesperson said it was "working closely" with NATS to understand the cause of the glitch and the "implications for the resilience systems in place". The "technical issue" responsible for the disruption was at the service's control centre in Swanwick in southwest England, it said. It first announced problems at around 4:00 pm (1500 GMT) and in an update an hour later said systems were fully operational and that departures had resumed at all airports.
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
UK flight chaos as tech glitch disrupts 120+ flights
LONDON: A major technical failure at the UK's air traffic control system disrupted over 120 flights on Wednesday, triggering cancellations and delays during peak summer travel. The National Air Traffic Services (NATS) confirmed the glitch forced temporary airspace restrictions before being resolved. Heathrow, Europe's busiest airport, along with Gatwick and Edinburgh, faced significant disruptions. Aviation data firm Cirium reported 67 departures and 55 arrivals cancelled by evening, with additional flights diverted. The incident echoed NATS's 2023 system collapse, which stranded thousands. Airline executives expressed outrage, with Ryanair CEO Neal McMahon demanding NATS chief Martin Rolfe's resignation. 'It is outrageous that passengers are once again being hit with delays and disruption,' McMahon said. 'No lessons have been learned since the August 2023 outage.' EasyJet CEO David Morgan called the recurrence 'extremely disappointing,' urging NATS to address systemic flaws. The UK Department for Transport stated it was investigating the Swanwick control centre failure. NATS restored operations by 5:00 PM GMT, but passenger frustration lingered. - AFP
Western Telegraph
3 hours ago
- Business
- Western Telegraph
Airlines demand answers from air traffic control provider over technical glitch
Thousands of passengers trying to fly both in and out of the country faced major disruption on Wednesday afternoon. UK airports saw 84 departures and 71 arrivals cancelled as of 10pm on Wednesday – with the highest number of cancellations at London's Heathrow Airport – while a number of inbound flights were also diverted to European cities, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. EasyJet's chief operating officer David Morgan said: 'It's extremely disappointing to see an ATC failure once again causing disruption to our customers at this busy and important time of year for travel. 'While our priority today is supporting our customers, we will want to understand from Nats what steps they are taking to ensure issues don't continue.' Ryanair called for Nats' chief executive Martin Rolfe to resign in the wake of the fault, claiming 'no lessons have been learnt' since the August 2023 system outage. The airline's chief operating officer Neal McMahon said: 'It is outrageous that passengers are once again being hit with delays and disruption due to Martin Rolfe's continued mismanagement of Nats. 'It is clear that no lessons have been learnt since the August 2023 Nats system outage, and passengers continue to suffer as a result of Martin Rolfe's incompetence.' If Nats CEO Martin Rolfe fails to resign on the back of this latest Nats system outage that has disrupted thousands of passengers yet again, then UK transport minister Heidi Alexander must act without delay to remove Martin Rolfe and deliver urgent reform Neal McMahon, Ryanair More than 700,000 passengers suffered disruption when flights were grounded at UK airports on August 28 2023 when Nats suffered a technical glitch while processing a flight plan. Mr McMahon continued: 'If Nats CEO Martin Rolfe fails to resign on the back of this latest Nats system outage that has disrupted thousands of passengers yet again, then UK transport minister Heidi Alexander must act without delay to remove Martin Rolfe and deliver urgent reform of Nats' shambolic ATC service, so that airlines and passengers are no longer forced to endure these preventable delays caused by persistent Nats failures.' The Department for Transport (DfT) noted that the Transport Secretary does not have any direct control over Nats and has no powers on staffing decisions. Nats has been contacted for comment. The Liberal Democrats called for a full investigation into the glitch. The Government should launch an urgent investigation to ensure the system is fit for purpose, including ruling out hostile action as a cause Sir Ed Davey, Liberal Democrats The party's leader Sir Ed Davey said: 'It is utterly unacceptable that after a major disruption just two years ago, air traffic control has once again been hit by a technical fault. 'The Government should launch an urgent investigation to ensure the system is fit for purpose, including ruling out hostile action as a cause.' A DfT spokesperson said the department is 'working closely' with Nats to understand the cause of the glitch and the 'implications for the resilience systems in place'. The 'technical issue' responsible for the disruption was at Nats' control centre in Swanwick, Hampshire, according to the company. Thousands of passengers were affected (Jonathan Brady/PA) It first announced problems at around 4pm on Wednesday, and in an update an hour later said systems were fully operational and that departures had resumed at all airports. John Carr, a chiropodist from Stourbridge, was on his way to Norway with a group of friends to help set up his brother's wedding, for which he is best man, when he found out after checking in that his flight was cancelled. The 35-year-old told the PA news agency at Heathrow Airport: 'I'm pretty gutted. We've got loads of stuff in the suitcases to set up the venue, because we're obviously flying to Norway. We've got the wedding rehearsal to do. It's quite stressful.' He said they did not receive any warning of the cancellation before it happened. 'We had no idea,' Mr Carr told PA. John Carr (right) said he is stressed about getting to his brother's wedding in Norway as he and his friend James Hedges waited at Heathrow (Lily Shanagher/PA) 'There was nothing that the airport had said out on the speaker phones, or anything like that. There was no warning from them or the airline that said it was cancelled. It's rubbish. There's nothing we can do. 'We don't know what we're going to do tonight in terms of accommodation. 'We have put our cars in special car compounds for the next six days.' Baptiste, who did not want to give his full name, said he was told his flight had been cancelled while on the tarmac. He is travelling home to France with his family and told PA: 'We have no information. When we arrived, we were stopped on the tarmac and in the plane. We learned that our flight had been cancelled. 'We're going to Geneva in Switzerland, so we're trying to find a flight for tomorrow and a hotel.'
Daily Mail
19-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Ryanair demands urgent intervention as passengers face long delays and missed flights at major airport
Ryanair has demanded the Portuguese government 'urgently fix' staffing issues at airports across the country that have led to almost 300 passengers miss their flights. Europe's largest budget airline said the those that have managed to fly, including many travelling with young children, were being left to endure delays of up to two and a half hours. The problems are 'completely unacceptable', said Ryanair. Ongoing border control staff shortages at Faro, Lisbon, and Porto airports have been blamed for the issue, which are leading to 'excessive' queues. The carrier said that 'urgent action' is needed, especially during the peak morning period. It claims that during the two-week period from 26 May to 9 June, 270 passengers departing the affected airports missed their flights. Neal McMahon, Ryanair COO, criticised airport operator ANA Aeroportos de Portugal for the chaos. He blamed it for failing to ensure that 'adequate staff are in place to manage border control'. He added: 'This is not good enough, and the problem will only worsen as we go further into the summer season and traffic numbers increase.' Earlier this month, Portugal's minister of infrastructure, Miguel Pinto Luz, attempted to reassure tourists, promising that issues around border control would be 'resolved within two weeks', according to The Mirror. Ivaylo Danailov, CEO of airline compensation specialists SkyRefund, is warning that those caught up in the problems could be in line for some money under European Union rules. 'When severe border control delays at Portugal's major airports cause missed flights, airline passengers may be entitled to compensation or rerouting under EU Regulation 261/2004, especially if the airline could have mitigated the disruption. However, he added that it's a 'grey area'. 'Airlines are not required to pay compensation if a delay or missed flight was due to factors outside their control, such as political instability, extreme weather, or airport staff strikes (which includes border control issues not managed by the airline). 'But, if the airline could have reasonably foreseen the disruption, for example, repeated border delays and failed to act, it has been known for courts to have sometimes ruled in favour of the passenger. 'For instance, they may argue the airline should have allowed more time for security and border procedures or co-ordinated better. 'Either way passengers have a right to care and rebooking.' Vinci Airports, which operates the three airports under its ANA Aeroportos de Portugal subsidiary, has been contacted for comment. British tourists have begun using e-gates at Faro Airport after a deal was struck with the UK government. Since Brexit, Britons arriving at EU airports have generally been forced to queue for manned desks to have their passports stamped, rather than use automated gates with facial recognition technology – leading to long waits, particularly during peak periods. The Portuguese airport has started the rollout of e-gate access to British arrivals after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer confirmed an agreement with EU leaders last month. It hopes the deal will smooth over 'legal barriers to e-gates use for UK nationals', once a new stamp-free biometric Entry/Exit System (EES) launches in October.
