{
  "id": 8945663,
  "title": "Airlines criticise air traffic control as second glitch causes more disruption",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/21/airlines-criticise-air-traffic-control-as-second-glitch-causes-more-8945663",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-21T15:19:27.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "BBC Business",
    "slug": "bbc-business",
    "url": "https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cqp80p78mxx5o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Airlines have voiced their criticism of the UK's air traffic control system following a second technical failure in just two weeks. EasyJet reported that Monday's incident once again raises questions about the reliability of the service. Wizz Air described the situation as a \"national confidence crisis\" with the National Air Traffic Services (Nats) running the UK's air traffic. The technical issue at Prestwick in Ayrshire caused delays at airports across Scotland, Northern Ireland, and northern England. Nats attributed the disruption to a connectivity problem, stating it had nothing to do with a separate software defect that caused the cancellation of 2,000 flights earlier in September. However, Nats has since resolved the underlying issue and is running at full capacity. At least 200 flights were cancelled or delayed on Monday, including 100 flights arriving in the UK and 99 departing from the country. EasyJet was the most affected airline, with 47 out of 670 scheduled departures cancelled. British Airways faced 11 cancellations from its 513 scheduled departures. The UK Civil Aviation Authority stated that passengers affected by the disruption are unlikely to be entitled to compensation, as the technical issue is likely to be considered extraordinary circumstances under passenger rights rules. Airlines UK, the industry representative body, called for urgent reform of Nats, with Wizz Air UK's Yvonne Moynihan demanding an urgent review of Nats' leadership. Jet2's Steve Heapy urged for accountable action to strengthen the UK's air traffic control infrastructure, while Ryanair reiterated its calls for Nats chief Martin Rolfe to resign. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander acknowledged the frustration passengers are experiencing due to the repeated technical faults with Nats.",
  "summary": "Airlines are angry about the delays, with EasyJet saying the latest incident \"once again calls into question the resilience\" of the system.",
  "key_points": [
    "UK's air traffic control faces second technical failure in two weeks",
    "Prestwick incident caused delays across Scotland, Northern Ireland, and northern England",
    "Airlines call for urgent reform of National Air Traffic Services (Nats)"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Euronews",
        "title": "More flight disruption in UK after second air traffic control glitch this month",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/21/more-flight-disruption-in-uk-after-second-air-traffic-control-glitch",
        "published": "2026-09-21T13:18:06.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "BBC News",
        "title": "Airlines criticise air traffic control as second glitch causes more disruption",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/21/airlines-criticise-air-traffic-control-as-second-glitch-causes-more",
        "published": "2026-09-21T14:33:41.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "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."
}