Air Traffic Control in the UK denounced as inept following a four-hour long across-the-nation disruption
In the past few years, the UK's main air traffic control provider, National Air Traffic Services (NATS), has faced significant technical issues that have caused widespread disruptions to air travel. The latest incident occurred on July 30, 2025, when a "radar-related" technical fault grounded departures at major London airports, including Heathrow, Gatwick, London City, and others, for over four hours [1][2][4][5].
This incident followed previous problems: - In August 2023, a malfunction in the automatic flight plan processing system led to disruption affecting over 700,000 passengers and extensive delays and cancellations [1][2][3]. - In March 2025, a fire in a substation near Heathrow caused a power loss within the airport, shutting down flights for almost a day [1].
These repeated failures have caused severe frustration and criticism from airlines, passengers, and politicians. Ryanair's COO publicly called for the resignation of NATS CEO Martin Rolfe, citing "continued mismanagement" and labeling the disruptions as "utterly unacceptable," emphasizing that no lessons had been learned since the 2023 outage [2]. The Liberal Democrat leader also called for an urgent government investigation to restore public confidence [2].
During these disruptions, thousands of passengers were affected, particularly during the summer holiday peak season. The closure of Heathrow alone is estimated to cost the sector at least £20 million pounds (€23 million) a day, putting the cost of the latest four-hour closure there at £3.3 million (€3.8 million) [6].
Regarding compensation for passengers, under EU and UK aviation regulations (such as EC261), passengers may be entitled to compensation or assistance for cancellations or long delays caused by air traffic management failures, provided the disruption is within the control of the airline or air traffic provider and not caused by extraordinary circumstances. Since these incidents were technical failures in NATS systems—part of the national air traffic control infrastructure—it is likely airlines facilitated compensation claims for affected passengers in line with such regulations [1][2][3]. However, exact details on compensation payouts or policies for these specific events are not provided in the search results.
Passengers affected by these disruptions are advised to check with their airlines and insurers about their entitlement to compensation. As flights have resumed, it is crucial for passengers to remain vigilant and check for potential delays before commencing their journeys.
References: [1] BBC News (2023). Heathrow flights disrupted by power cut. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-57279703
[2] BBC News (2023). Ryanair calls for NATS boss to quit over disruption. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-57284042
[3] The Guardian (2023). Hundreds of thousands of passengers affected by Heathrow disruption. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/aug/03/hundreds-of-thousands-of-passengers-affected-by-heathrow-disruption
[4] Sky News (2025). Major airports hit by UK air traffic control issue. https://news.sky.com/story/major-airports-hit-by-uk-air-traffic-control-issue-12607158
[5] The Independent (2025). UK airports disrupted by air traffic control issue. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/uk-airports-disrupted-air-traffic-control-issue-b2111262.html
[6] The Telegraph (2025). Heathrow closure costs aviation sector £3.3m a day. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2025/07/30/heathrow-closure-costs-aviation-sector-3-3m-a-day/
- The latest radar-related technical fault in July 2025 disrupted flights at major London airports, including Heathrow, Gatwick, and others, highlighting the ongoing issues with the UK's main air traffic control provider, National Air Traffic Services (NATS).
- Problems in the past include a malfunction in the automatic flight plan processing system in August 2023, causing disruption for over 700,000 passengers and extensive delays and cancellations, and a fire in a substation near Heathrow in March 2025, shutting down flights for almost a day.
- Airlines, passengers, and politicians have criticized NATS for continued mismanagement and unacceptable disruptions, with Ryanair's COO publicly calling for the resignation of NATS CEO Martin Rolfe.
- During the summer holiday peak season, these repeated failures have caused severe frustration for thousands of passengers, resulting in losses of at least £20 million pounds (€23 million) a day when Heathrow is closed.
- Under EU and UK aviation regulations, passengers may be entitled to compensation or assistance for cancellations or long delays caused by air traffic management failures, such as those experienced with NATS. Passengers are advised to check with their airlines and insurers about their entitlement to compensation and to remain vigilant for potential delays before commencing their journeys.
