Air traffic control – latest: Airlines demand compensation reform as NATS outage sees 2,000 flights cancelled

Airlines have demanded compensation reform as air traffic control chaos has seen 2,000 flights cancelled across Europe.

More than 2,000 flights have been cancelled in the last three days, following an hours-long air control system failure that sent flight schedules into meltdown and left thousands of travellers stranded.

Industry body Iata projected a £100m loss in revenue for airlines as customers reclaim the costs for food, accommodation and alternative travel, urging the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to review the compensation system and make the National Air Traffic Services (Nats) contribute to the cost.

“It’s very unfair because the air traffic control system, which was at the heart of this failure, doesn’t pay a single penny”, Willie Walsh, the director general of Iata, told the BBC.

He added that the UK should “look at the way passenger compensation is dealt with to ensure that the people who are responsible for the delays and cancellations ultimately bear the costs.”

The UK’s air traffic control boss, Martin Rolfe, said the glitch – caused by “dodgy” flight data – has been fixed and will not occur in the future.

Have you been affected by delays? If so email maanya.sachdeva@independent.co.uk

Key Points

French airline’s ‘dodgy flight plan’ set system meltdown in motion, sources tell Simon Calder
Technical issue ‘identified and remedied’, National Air Traffic Services says
Faulty data hitting air traffic control ‘demonstrates huge weakness’, ex-BA boss says
UK air traffic control meltdown fault won’t happen again, Nats chief says

AMA with Simon Calder: Holiday interrupted

Wednesday 30 August 2023 09:41 , Maanya Sachdeva

“We were informed that our Jet2 flight out to Gran Canaria and subsequent holiday were cancelled not because of the NATS issue, but because the knock on delay meant although the fresh crew could fly their first sector (and us) out, they would be out of hours to complete the return and this be stuck away from Bristol.

“As the company has apparently decided not to fly our flight, can compensation be claimed for this as it was a Jet2 scheduling decision not as a direct cause of the NATS problem?”

SC: An interesting question, but I am afraid that the airline can mount the reasonable explanation as follows: that the extreme disarray caused by Monday’s air-traffic control collapse, and in the process of trying to recover the schedule it is not feasible to night stop the crew and aircraft in Gran Canaria.

AMA with Simon Calder: Stress and expense

Wednesday 30 August 2023 09:44 , Maanya Sachdeva

“Hello Simon!

“Can we claim compensation under EU regulations or is this situation exempt because it is considered an ‘extraordinary’?

“Our flight from Amsterdam was cancelled at very short notice on Monday night. Next earliest EasyJet flight available is Thursday evening. Has caused us stress and expense.

“I will claim for accommodation and food costs from EasyJet and hope they pay up without any quibbling.

“Can we also claim compensation under EU rules?

SC: Sorry to hear about your situation and stress. Sadly, European air passengers’ rights rules on compensation (which would be £220 for a short hop from Amsterdam to the UK) do not apply when the airline is not responsible.

But I am concerned to read: “Earliest easyJet flight available is Thursday evening.” That is entirely irrelevant. Plenty of other planes as well as ferries and trains are going from Amsterdam to the UK, and easyJet must cover the cost of getting you home as soon as possible.

Whatever the cause of a cancellation, and regardless of the amount of notice that is given, you can insist upon replacement transport: the airline must get you to your destination as soon as possible if that is what you want.

If you are flown to a different arrival airport, the airline must also meet reasonable onward travel costs.

Find out more here:

Caught in the air traffic control nightmare? Your rights when flights go wrong

AMA with Simon Calder: Compensation claims

Wednesday 30 August 2023 09:53 , Maanya Sachdeva

“We had our flights with Ryanair from France to Manchester cancelled on Monday.

“Rebooked new flights with them as soon as we heard but weren’t any available until Saturday.

“Will we be entitled to compensation for the additional 5 days accommodation, car parking charges at Manchester airport or loss of earnings at work?”

SC: Will we be entitled to compensation for the additional 5 days accommodation? Yes, as well as meals, but keep the receipts and make sure they are itemised.

Car parking charges at Manchester airport? Possibly, but some car parking firms are letting people off if their flights are delayed.

Loss of earnings at work? No.

One per cent of all flights at UK airports cancelled on third day of disruptions

Wednesday 30 August 2023 10:24 , Maanya Sachdeva

Aviation analytics company Cirium said 64 flights due to serve UK airports on Wednesday were cancelled as of 9am.

This is equivalent to around one per cent of all flights.

Heathrow has the most cancellations, followed by Edinburgh and Aberdeen.

Cirium said 1,585 flights were cancelled on Monday when the air traffic control failure happened, and 345 were axed on Tuesday.

UK air traffic control meltdown fault won’t happen again, Nats chief says

Wednesday 30 August 2023 10:52 , Maanya Sachdeva

The air traffic control glitch which caused thousands of flight cancellations and delays into and out of Britain has been fixed and will not be repeated, the head of Nats, the country’s air traffic control provider, said on Wednesday.

Thousands of Britons remain stranded abroad after 2,000 flights were cancelled on Monday and disruption to schedules persisted into Tuesday. The peak holiday period means those affected are not being offered alternative flights for days.

Martin Rolfe, the CEO of Nats said the technical problem was caused by a flight plan which was “not sufficiently standard”. He said the issue had been fixed.

“We’ve worked incredibly hard since we restored the service back on Monday to make sure that this type of event can’t happen again,” he told the BBC.

Ryanair criticised Nats on Tuesday for not having a back-up system. With crews and planes in the wrong places, airlines are now scrambling to get passengers home, a process with which Nats is involved.

EasyJet said it was adding five extra flights from holiday hotspots in Portugal and Spain later this week to fly people home.

Faulty data hitting air traffic control ‘demonstrates huge weakness’, ex-BA boss says

Wednesday 30 August 2023 12:00 , Maanya Sachdeva

It is “staggering” that the UK’s air traffic control system was caused to “collapse” by a piece of incorrect data, according to former British Airways boss Willie Walsh.

National Air Traffic Services (Nats) chief executive Martin Rolfe said the widespread disruption which started on Monday “relates to some of the flight data we received”.

Mr Walsh, director-general of global airline body the International Air Transport Association (Iata), told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I find it staggering, I really do.

“This system should be designed to reject data that’s incorrect, not to collapse the system.

“If that is true, it demonstrates a considerable weakness that must have been there for some time and I’m amazed if that is the cause of this.

“Clearly we’ll wait for the full evaluation of the problem but that explanation doesn’t stand up from what I know of the system.”

International Airlines Group chief executive Willie Walsh (Niall Carson/PA) (PA Archive)

ICYMI: EasyJet to send ‘rescue flights’ for passengers stranded by air traffic control chaos

Wednesday 30 August 2023 12:37 , Maanya Sachdeva

Britain’s largest budget airline will send “rescue flights” for passengers stranded abroad by air traffic control chaos.

As hundreds of flights were cancelled on Tuesday, easyJet confirmed it would operate five repatriation flights to London Gatwick over the coming days.

The rescue flights will operate from Palma and Faro on 30 August, Tenerife and Enfidha on 31 August and Rhodes on 1 September.

Find out more here:

EasyJet to send ‘rescue flights’ for passengers stranded by air traffic control chaos

Stranded passengers ‘sleeping on floors’ at airports as they wait for flights home

Wednesday 30 August 2023 13:00 , Maanya Sachdeva

Many affected travellers are being told to wait several days for flights home.

Some have been forced to sleep on floors or makeshift beds at airports, or take long routes by land after their flights were cancelled.

Airlines were criticised for failing to book hotel rooms for many people who were delayed overnight.

Transport Secretary Mark Harper said on Tuesday night: “Airlines are clear about their responsibilities to their customers and I stand ready to provide further appropriate support from the Government should the industry request it.

“Although the air traffic control system is back up and running, the knock-on effects of (Monday’s) disruption are likely to continue over the coming days.”

Rory Boland, editor of consumer magazine Which? Travel, said: “We’re seeing worrying reports of passengers being left stranded without support, and airlines failing to properly communicate with their passengers or fulfil their legal obligations such as offering timely rerouting or providing overnight accommodation.

British family stuck in south of France until Sunday after flights cancelled

Wednesday 30 August 2023 13:20 , Eleanor Noyce

A British family are stuck in France until Sunday and must fly back from an airport hours away from where they were staying after the air traffic control failure.

Rory Dollard, 40, a cricket journalist at PA Media, said he and his wife Joanne, 40, and children Emily, 10, and Arthur, eight, of Skipton, North Yorkshire, were left waiting for five hours at Bergerac Dordogne Perigord Airport on Monday after their Ryanair flight could not take off.

After being sent to spend the night at a hotel in an industrial estate, they returned to the airport to find out about flights, but there were no staff around.

Mr Dollard said: “We hired a car at the airport and travelled to visit some friends and that’s how we’re spending the next few days.

“Six days, it’s remarkable really, I’ve been to the airport again today and the flights had restarted for Ryanair, but they were all full already so it wasn’t a case that we could book on to the next flight.

“We’re having to wait for the next available route, which is a couple of hours’ drive away at a different airport, Limoges, on Sunday afternoon.

“It feels like there’s been a lack of information for passengers, really, I understand that there’s a lot of people affected across the continent, it feels like the weight of people affected has overloaded the system.

“We were told we would hear from somebody the following morning and we still haven’t heard from anyone and frankly we’re not expecting at this stage to hear from anyone at all, I guess we’ll be dealing with it once we get back to England.”

Queues at Bergerac Dordogne Perigord Airport, where journalist Rory Dollard at his family are suffering delays (PA)

Rory Dollard's wife Joanne and their children Emily, 10, and Arthur, eight at Bergerac Dordogne Perigord Airport (PA)

Couple estimates ‘about £2,200’ loss due to flight disruption

Wednesday 30 August 2023 13:40 , Eleanor Noyce

A “gutted” sales executive said he estimates he and his wife are “about £2,200 out of pocket” due to an air traffic control glitch which resulted in their flight from Crete being cancelled.

Tom Perry, 31, who is based in Cornwall, said that he and his wife discovered their easyJet flight for Monday night from Heraklion airport to Luton had been cancelled about an hour before they planned to leave for the airport.

The couple ultimately booked flights home for Friday for £1,172 and are “gutted” to have to pay for new flights with a different airline without getting a refund for their original booking, Mr Perry said.

Mr Perry said they have had to pay “around £300” towards extending their stay at a villa in Sissi, Crete, as well as paying for a parking space for additional days at Luton airport and their dog to stay at a kennel.

Mr Perry’s wife, Ella, 27, is an NHS nurse who could “lose pay or annual leave”, he said.

He had become concerned that his flight might be affected by the air traffic control glitch on the day of his flight.

He said: “Earlier in the day, probably six or seven hours previous, we saw that there were delays so I was keeping an eye on that.”

He said the couple’s flight was initially pushed back until 7am the following day “but as the day went on it got better and better and better and then eventually got to an hour and a half delay from the original time of the flight.”

Then, about an hour before they left for the airport, the easyJet app announced that their flight had been cancelled, Mr Perry said.

He said: “The communication was very, very poor, I would say. We got an email eventually, probably about an hour after the app updated, to say it was cancelled, to say, ‘Yes, it’s cancelled.”’

Mr Perry discovered their easyJet flight for Monday night from Heraklion airport to Luton had been cancelled about an hour before they planned to leave (PA)

In pictures: Passengers stranded as more than 2,000 flights cancelled

Wednesday 30 August 2023 14:00 , Eleanor Noyce

An “unusual piece of data” caused widespread flight disruption, an air traffic control (ATC) boss said, as airlines are under growing pressure over their treatment of passengers waiting in airports across Europe to return home.

Many UK holidaymakers are stranded overseas after around 2,000 flights were cancelled because of the issue.

There is speculation the ATC failure was caused by a French airline submitting a flight plan to National Air Traffic Services (Nats) in the wrong format.

Downing Street did not rule out that possibility, while Nats declined to comment on whether that was what happened.

Travellers have been cautioned that flight disturbances might endure for several days (EPA)

26-year-old drama student Matthew Creed, from Harthill in Scotland, has been sleeping at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam after his flight with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines to Edinburgh was cancelled (PA)

A departure board at Heathrow Airport as disruption from air traffic control issues continues across the UK and Ireland (PA)

A technical breakdown in the UK’s air traffic control system resulted in hundreds of thousands of passengers being either stuck or experiencing delays during the summer bank holiday (EPA)

Passengers queue at Heathrow Airport, 30 August 2023 (EPA)

Lib Dems: Air Traffic control boss ‘should not receive any bonuses unless affected passengers receive compensation’

Wednesday 30 August 2023 14:12 , Eleanor Noyce

Air Traffic control boss Martin Rolfe should not be entitled to any bonuses unless passengers are fully compensated for missed flights following the travel chaos that has struck UK airports this week, say the Lib Dems.

This year, Mr Rolfe’s basic annual pay of £477,000 was boosted by £281,000 in a yearly bonus, alongside pension bonuses and a backdated £555,000 on a long-term incentive plan. This comes on top of a £1.2m bonus he received last year.

Liberal Democrat Transport spokesperson, Wera Hobhouse MP said: “No-one should be left out of pocket through no fault of their own. Martin Rolfe should not receive any bonuses unless affected passengers receive compensation from those responsible.

“Ministers have led a pitiful response to this disruption, with thousands of families’ holidays ruined and left to pick up the bill for other people’s failings.

“That has to change. Until it does, bonuses leading to million pound pay packets need to be withheld. Anything less would be a slap in the face to all those caught up in this week’s mayhem.”

Caught in the air traffic control nightmare? Your rights when flights go wrong

Wednesday 30 August 2023 14:30 , Eleanor Noyce

Hundreds of thousands of passengers booked to travel to or from the UK have had their flights cancelled or delayed after the air-traffic control system was hit by a technical issue.

The National Air Traffic Services (NATS), the country’s leading provider of air traffic control services, said it had applied traffic flow restrictions on Monday to maintain safety.

The group announced later that the issue had been “identified and remedied”. But passengers are still facing travel chaos, with more than 500 flights already cancelled and many more delayed.

Here, The Independent’s travel expert Simon Calder explains what you can do if you are caught up in the chaos.

Caught in the air traffic control nightmare? Your rights when flights go wrong

Simon Calder: What is causing the air traffic control chaos? The authorities have some explaining to do

Wednesday 30 August 2023 14:47 , Eleanor Noyce

It’s the £80m question: why are airlines facing enormous financial losses while their passengers endure extreme distress?

The last week of August is a time of high demand for air travel, especially from returning holidaymakers. Because of the UK’s limited airport infrastructure, especially in southeast England, there is precious little slack in the system: Heathrow and Gatwick are, respectively, the busiest two-runway and single-runway airports in the world.

So the UK’s normally well-regarded air traffic control (ATC) system needed to be working perfectly on bank holiday Monday.

At 11.24am on Monday I began to get reports from airlines of an “ATC failure affecting entire UK airspace”. Within 15 minutes I asked Nats, the national air traffic service, what was happening.

Simon Calder reports:

Simon Calder: What is causing the air traffic control chaos?

Gatwick profits leap despite ‘challenges’ across Europe

Wednesday 30 August 2023 15:05 , Eleanor Noyce

Gatwick Airport has seen half-year profits jump by nearly two-thirds as travel demand surged, but said air traffic remains below pre-pandemic levels due to “challenging” restrictions across Europe.

The airport, near Crawley in West Sussex, reported pre-tax profits of £100.2 million for the six months to June 30, up 65% from £60.7 million a year ago.

Underlying earnings rose 59% to £235.7 million from £148.3 million a year ago, with early 2022 still affected by pandemic travel restrictions.

The group said air traffic remained below levels seen in 2019 before Covid-19 struck, at 86%, as it faced a “challenging” operating environment in Europe, beset by air traffic control (ATC) restrictions and industrial action, causing cancellations and delays across airlines.

Holly Williams reports:

Gatwick profits leap despite ‘challenges’ across Europe

Air traffic control chaos a ‘catastrophic disaster’ for aviation industry, expert says

Wednesday 30 August 2023 15:25 , Eleanor Noyce

Experts believe that the air traffic control chaos sweeping Europe could be a “catastrophic disaster” for the aviation industry.

“Despite the technical error now being resolved, does this leave more questions than answers? How secure is the air traffic system and how safe is it with more flights taking to the skies than ever before”, tourism and aviation specialist Beverley Boden told The Mirror.

“There is little consolation from Nats, a global leader in air traffic management, who many will look to to respond to the crisis as to why and how this happened. This catastrophic and costly error requires a full enquiry, as many passengers will seek compensation while airline bosses look to government for answers”, she added.

Public services ‘should be in public ownership’, says researcher of air traffic control chaos

Wednesday 30 August 2023 15:45 , Eleanor Noyce

A left-wing writer and researcher has said that public services “should be in public ownership” following the air traffic control chaos.

“Britain’s air traffic control system collapsed on the busiest day of the year because once again a private company prioritised huge bosses’ salaries and shareholder dividends over basic infrastructural investment”, David Osland, former Labour Research Department and Labour Briefing contributor, tweeted.

“Public services should be in public ownership”, Mr Osland added.

Britain's air traffic control system collapsed on the busiest day of the year because once again a private company prioritised huge bosses' salaries and shareholder dividends over basic infrastructural investment. Public services should be in public ownership.
— David__Osland (@David__Osland) August 30, 2023

Couple’s hope for compensation from easyJet for disruption after rejection

Wednesday 30 August 2023 16:05 , Eleanor Noyce

A sales executive who estimated he and his wife were “about £2,200 out of pocket” after their flight from Crete was cancelled due to an air traffic control glitch are hopeful about receiving compensation after initially being denied by easyJet.

Tom Perry, 31, told the PA news agency on Tuesday that their easyJet flights for the night before from Heraklion airport to Luton had been cancelled due to the glitch.

The couple, based in Cornwall, were offered new easyJet flights home for the following Monday, free of charge, which they accepted as “that was the only [direct flights] available” at the time, Mr Perry said.

Mr Perry said: “Then, about an hour later, I looked online and found one that goes from Crete airport this coming Friday with Jet2, so we booked with them to go back to Bristol.”

The couple paid £1,172 for the Friday flights and requested a refund for the Monday return flights the couple were no longer availing of, but easyJet had declined.

The flight cancellation forced the couple to pay for an extended stay at their accommodation in Sissi for around £250, a parking space for additional days at Luton airport for around £120, and an extended stay for their dog at a kennel.

Mr Perry’s wife, Ella, 27, is an NHS nurse who could “lose pay or annual leave”, he said.

He said he “spent six hours on live chats and calls, albeit probably 4.5 hours was trying to get through” and easyJet were “refusing to refund”.

On Wednesday morning, easyJet provided the couple with the opportunity to apply for compensation for the expenses they have accumulated due to the flight disruption.

Mr Perry told the PA news agency: “Obviously I’m not going to get my hopes up too much until it comes through but yeah, obviously, it does make a difference.

“The lady on the phone today has been really, really helpful, but what I can’t quite understand is why we weren’t offered this option yesterday.”

Simon Calder explains how travellers can get money back in air traffic control chaos

Wednesday 30 August 2023 16:20 , Eleanor Noyce

The Independent’s Travel Correspondent Simon Calder has outlined how stranded Brits can get money back from airlines following the air traffic control failure.

Simon has clarified the difference between compensation and reimbursements.

He said: “If your flight is cancelled, the airline has a strict obligation to deliver a duty of care.

“This includes getting you back as soon as possible, getting you a hotel room, getting your meals. All of that the airline has to do and if they’re not booking a hotel for you, then you keep the receipts and claim it back.

“But, nobody is going to get cash compensation because it’s clearly not the airline’s fault.”

Watch:

Simon Calder explains how travellers can get money back in air traffic control chaos

ICYMI: EasyJet to send ‘rescue flights’ for passengers stranded by air traffic control chaos

Wednesday 30 August 2023 16:40 , Eleanor Noyce

Britain’s largest budget airline will send “rescue flights” for passengers stranded abroad by air traffic control chaos.

As hundreds of flights were cancelled on Tuesday, easyJet confirmed it would operate five repatriation flights to London Gatwick over the coming days.

The rescue flights will operate from Palma and Faro on 30 August, Tenerife and Enfidha on 31 August and Rhodes on 1 September.

More than 1,200 flights to, from and within the UK were grounded by the failure at the national air traffic provider Nats, with around 200,000 people sleeping at airports overnight.

Read more:

EasyJet to send ‘rescue flights’ for passengers stranded by air traffic control chaos

British Airways: more cancellations for Thursday

Wednesday 30 August 2023 16:57 , Simon Calder

British Airways has made at least a dozen short-haul cancellations to Thursday. Two flights from London Heathrow to Berlin and back are grounded, along with flights to Brussels. Jersey, Luxembourg and Naples.

BA has extended its “postpone for free” option for short-haul flights departing up to and including Friday 1 September.

Passengers are being told when checking in online: “Your flight is due to depart as planned but, in order to offer you more flexibility, we’re giving you the option to move your booking.”

The airline is also extending the temporary policy of filling the middle seat in the Club Europe (business class) cabin on inbound European routes. The aim is to increase capacity for stranded travellers.

Simon Calder issues advice on flight cancellations and compensation as air traffic chaos continues

Wednesday 30 August 2023 17:42 , Eleanor Noyce

At the height of holiday season travellers are still facing disruption following a failure of the main air-traffic control system across the UK.

As a result of the system failure on bank holiday Monday, almost 1,600 flights were cancelled – grounding around 250,000 holidaymakers.

On Tuesday, around 300 departures were cancelled as airlines struggled with aircraft and crew being out of position.

Wednesday has seen further disruption for holidaymakers, with more than 2,000 flights grounded in total.

Many stranded travellers have been left wondering whether they can claim compensation and what airlines are required to do to help them. Others are concerned about future holidays and how long before things will return to normal.

More here:

Simon Calder issues advice on flight cancellations and compensation

Caught in the air traffic control nightmare? Your rights when flights go wrong

Wednesday 30 August 2023 18:05 , Eleanor Noyce

Hundreds of thousands of passengers booked to travel to or from the UK have had their flights cancelled or delayed after the air-traffic control system was hit by a technical issue.

The National Air Traffic Services (NATS), the country’s leading provider of air traffic control services, said it had applied traffic flow restrictions on Monday to maintain safety.

The group announced later that the issue had been “identified and remedied”. But passengers are still facing travel chaos, with more than 500 flights already cancelled and many more delayed.

Here, The Independent’s travel expert Simon Calder explains what you can do if you are caught up in the chaos.

Caught in the air traffic control nightmare? Your rights when flights go wrong

Air traffic control outage ‘unacceptable’, says Gatwick chief

Wednesday 30 August 2023 18:30 , Eleanor Noyce

Gatwick’s chief executive has labelled the UK air traffic control outage “unacceptable.”

“I’m sure everybody, including Nats, as a result of that will want to see even more resilience added to Nats systems so that we don’t see a recurrence of this particular issue,” Stewart Wingate, Gatwick Airport’s chief executive, told the Financial Times, labelling the IT problem “unacceptable.”

EasyJet to send ‘rescue flights’ for passengers stranded by air traffic control chaos

Wednesday 30 August 2023 18:55 , Eleanor Noyce

Britain’s largest budget airline will send “rescue flights” for passengers stranded abroad by air traffic control chaos.

As hundreds of flights were cancelled on Tuesday, easyJet confirmed it would operate five repatriation flights to London Gatwick over the coming days.

The rescue flights will operate from Palma and Faro on 30 August, Tenerife and Enfidha on 31 August and Rhodes on 1 September.

More than 1,200 flights to, from and within the UK were grounded by the failure at the national air traffic provider Nats, with around 200,000 people sleeping at airports overnight.

More here:

EasyJet to send ‘rescue flights’ for passengers stranded by air traffic control chaos

Simon Calder explains how travellers can get money back in air traffic control chaos

Wednesday 30 August 2023 19:25 , Eleanor Noyce

The Independent’s Travel Correspondent Simon Calder has outlined how stranded Brits can get money back from airlines following the air traffic control failure.

Simon has clarified the difference between compensation and reimbursements.

He said: “If your flight is cancelled, the airline has a strict obligation to deliver a duty of care.

“But, nobody is going to get cash compensation because it’s clearly not the airline’s fault.”

Watch:

Simon Calder explains how travellers can get money back in air traffic control chaos

Couple’s hope for compensation from easyJet for disruption after rejection

Wednesday 30 August 2023 19:55 , Eleanor Noyce