- Wizz Air joins Ryanair in demanding NATS overhaul
- NATS labelled not fit for purpose in current form
- More than 600 flights cancelled on 8 September 2026
- England’s ATC charges increased 28pc since 2022
- CAA requests full incident report from NATS
Wizz Air has joined forces with Ryanair in demanding an urgent overhaul of National Air Traffic Services following a major technical failure that grounded hundreds of flights on 8 September 2026. Wizz Air has labelled NATS as simply not fit for purpose in its current form, stressing that critical infrastructure should not repeatedly bring aviation to a standstill. Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O’Leary has called for the immediate resignation or dismissal of NATS CEO Martin Rolfe, labelling England’s ATC as one of Europe’s most expensive systems that keeps repeatedly failing.
The technical fault, which took place within NATS’ flight-plan processing system, led to the cancellation of more than 600 flights across England on 8 September alone, triggering delays of up to eight hours. Ryanair alone reported that over 65,000 of its passengers were affected after being forced to cancel more than 50 flights. Ryanair’s Chief Operating Officer Neal McMahon pointed out that England’s ATC charges have soared 28pc since 2022 while overall service reliability has deteriorated.
England Civil Aviation Authority has intervened, requesting a full incident report from NATS to determine whether further regulatory measures are required to secure the reliability of England airspace. This follows previous warnings from the CAA in 2024, which ordered NATS to review its contingency planning after a catastrophic 2023 meltdown left airlines facing over £100m in refund and compensation claims.
