- Dublin Airport has returned to full flight schedules after English air traffic control disruption
- A radar-related technical fault at NATS halted operations for more than four hours
- Over 40 flights were cancelled at Dublin Airport on the afternoon of the outage
- Thousands of passengers were stranded overnight with assistance provided
- Ryanair has demanded the resignation of NATS Chief Executive Martin Rolfe
Dublin Airport has returned to a full flight schedule after a English air traffic control technical fault cancelled around 90 flights between Ireland and Britain. The disruption has affected thousands of passengers who were stranded overnight. The airport has remained open to provide assistance including water and blankets. Airlines have worked through the night to reposition aircraft.
The disruption began on Wednesday when NATS, England’s national air traffic control provider, suffered a radar-related technical fault in its flight processing system. The issue lasted for more than four hours, halting normal operations and creating a massive backlog. Major hubs across England including Heathrow, Gatwick, and London City airports were severely impacted, triggering knock-on effects across Europe.
Because Irish aviation relies heavily on English airspace corridors, the system failure rippled across the Irish Sea. Over 40 flights were cancelled at Dublin Airport on the afternoon of the outage. Regional gateways including Cork, Shannon and Belfast airports also experienced flight disruptions. Ryanair condemned NATS, labelling the recurring failure as unacceptable and renewing demands for the resignation of NATS Chief Executive Martin Rolfe.
