{
  "id": 6479304,
  "title": "UK backs air traffic control chief after travel chaos",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/09/uk-backs-air-traffic-control-chief-after-travel-chaos",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-09T21:44:13.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Qatar Tribune",
    "slug": "qatar-tribune",
    "url": "https://www.qatar-tribune.com/article/253003/world/uk-backs-air-traffic-control-chief-after-travel-chaos"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The head of Britain's air traffic control provider, Nats, Martin Rolfe, remains supported by the government despite widespread travel chaos caused by a system issue on Tuesday. The prime minister's Downing Street office confirmed this on Wednesday. Thousands of travelers faced disruption, with the problem persisting into Wednesday and causing further cancellations and delays at major airports such as Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, and Stansted.\n\nRolfe has faced criticism from airlines like Wizz Air and calls for his resignation from Ryanair following the incident. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander met with Rolfe on Wednesday morning, expressing \"significant concerns\" about the scale of the disruption on behalf of the industry and passengers. She tasked him with conducting a comprehensive investigation into the incident to ensure lessons are learned to prevent such occurrences in the future.\n\nWhen asked if the government's confidence in Rolfe was based on the outcome of the investigation, a spokesperson for the prime minister stated that they still have confidence in him and have assigned him the task of conducting the investigation, which is expected to report in a week's time.",
  "summary": "dpalondonThe chief of Britain’s beleaguered air traffic control provider Nats still has the confidence of the government, the prime minister’s Downing Street office said on Wednesd...",
  "key_points": [
    "UK government backs Nats chief Martin Rolfe despite travel chaos",
    "Prime Minister's office confirmed Rolfe's support on Wednesday",
    "Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander tasked Rolfe with investigation"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}