Airlines Criticise UK Air Traffic Control After Second Technical Glitch

Airline EasyJet has reported a second technical issue in two weeks, causing significant disruptions to UK flights. The problem, which occurred at Prestwick airport, affected airports across Scotland, Northern Ireland, and northern England, resulting in the cancellation of around 150 flights.

National Air Traffic Services (Nats) has attributed the disruption to a connectivity issue. According to Nats, this issue had "nothing to do" with a separate software defect at Swanwick that led to the cancellation of 2,000 flights earlier in September.

Airports across Scotland, Northern Ireland, and northern England were affected by the technical problem. As of 13:45 BST, Cirium reported that at least 200 flights had been cancelled or did not fly on Monday. Airlines have expressed frustration with the situation, calling for urgent reform of Nats.

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Industry leaders, including Yvonne Moynihan from Wizz Air UK and Steve Heapy from Jet2, have urged "urgent and accountable" action to bolster the UK's air traffic control infrastructure. They argue that passengers and airlines deserve better service after recent failures.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander acknowledged the situation is "deeply frustrating" for passengers. A Nats spokesperson apologized, stating: "In the real world, technology can and sometimes does fail. Our job is to minimize disruption where possible.

Safety is always our top priority."

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The latest outage affected 140 of Jet2's flights and 25,000 passengers. This is the second failure at Nats in less than a fortnight. The Swanwick incident last month impacted hundreds of thousands of passengers.

EasyJet's description of the technical problem as causing "major disruption" highlights the impact on air travel. Airlines are under pressure to ensure that their operations can withstand such disruptions. The incident has raised concerns about the reliability and effectiveness of Nats.

The situation has also led to a national confidence crisis in Nats. With some airlines questioning its leadership and ability to manage air traffic control services. Industry leaders are calling for reform and greater accountability within the organization.