Ryanair has demanded the resignation of National Air Traffic Services (NATS) chief executive Martin Rolfe following an air traffic control systems failure at Bristol Airport that led to flight cancellations, lengthy delays, and widespread disruption for passengers.
The low-cost carrier reported that four of its flights were cancelled and more than 2,000 passengers experienced delays exceeding three hours after the outage on Monday, 22 June. The disruption followed severe thunderstorms that swept across the region on Monday evening, forcing Bristol Airport to close temporarily after a storm damaged critical air traffic control infrastructure.
Airport Closure and Impact on Passengers
Hundreds of passengers were left stranded when the airport suspended all arrivals and departures while engineers investigated faults affecting both its ground radar and communication systems. The closure resulted in dozens of cancellations and delays, disrupting journeys to destinations across the UK and Europe.
In a statement issued on Monday, Bristol Airport said: "Following the earlier electrical storm, Bristol Airport remains closed to arriving and departing aircraft whilst engineers investigate a fault with Air Traffic Control systems. Customers should contact their airline with any specific flight queries."
Flight operations resumed on Tuesday morning, although some delays continued as airlines and airport teams worked to clear the backlog created by the closure. Passengers were advised to check the status of their flights before travelling to the airport.
Ryanair's Criticism of NATS Resilience
Ryanair argued that the incident exposed concerns about the resilience of NATS systems, questioning how both primary and backup air traffic control systems could fail simultaneously at a major UK airport. The airline asserted that passengers should be able to rely on contingency systems, particularly for critical national infrastructure.
According to Ryanair, the Bristol disruption is the latest in a series of operational failures involving NATS, following previous concerns about the organisation's resilience and service standards. The carrier claimed airlines and passengers continue to face increasing costs while experiencing recurring operational issues that lead to significant travel disruption.
Ryanair's Chief Operations Officer Neal McMahon sharply criticised NATS management and called for leadership changes. He said: “It is unacceptable that 4 Ryanair flights were cancelled and 2,000 Ryanair passengers were forced to endure delays of over 3 hours, along with multiple diversions, due to yet another NATS ATC system failure at Bristol Airport on Mon (22 Jun). It is simply inexplicable that both the primary and backup ATC systems failed when they were needed. Despite the hugely critical independent CAA review of NATS resilience in 2024, there has been no improvement to resilience by NATS and families are the ones to suffer. This level of failure would not be tolerated in any other senior role in the UK and it’s time that CEO Martin Rolfe resigns and let’s someone competent do the job.”
Broader Scrutiny of NATS
The comments add to ongoing scrutiny of NATS, which manages UK airspace and provides air traffic control services at several major airports. The organisation has faced criticism in recent years for a number of high-profile operational disruptions affecting airlines and passengers nationwide.
The Bristol incident has renewed debate over the robustness of the UK's aviation infrastructure, particularly the effectiveness of back-up systems designed to maintain operations during unexpected failures. For passengers caught up in the disruption, the impact extended beyond delayed departures. Several flights were diverted, while others were cancelled altogether, leaving travellers facing extended waits, rebooking arrangements and uncertainty over onward journeys.
The disruption came at the start of a busy summer travel period, when airports and airlines are preparing for increased passenger numbers ahead of the school holidays. While operations at Bristol Airport have now resumed, the incident is likely to prompt further questions from airlines and industry stakeholders about the resilience of air traffic control systems and the measures in place to prevent similar disruptions in future.
Ryanair's call for the resignation of the NATS chief executive marks one of the strongest responses yet from an airline following the Bristol outage and is likely to increase pressure on the organisation as investigations into the failure continue.
