The boss of UK air traffic control provider Nats, Martin Rolfe, said he was “the most disliked person in the UK” after two failures in September disrupted flights for hundreds of thousands of passengers, but said he had not considered resigning despite repeated calls from airlines including Ryanair for his ouster.
Speaking at the Airlines 2026 conference in London on Wednesday, Rolfe said: “My name is Martin Rolfe, I’m the CEO of Nats – or as I like to think of myself, the most disliked person in the UK in September,” he said.
The first outage, on 8 September, stemmed from a problem in Nats’s flight control systems and disrupted flights. Rolfe said Nats had expected to handle about 8,000 flights that day; 6,000 flew, though he did not put a number on the long delays many of those experienced. A second glitch on 21 September at Nats’s second control centre in Prestwick, Scotland, led to more than 200 flight cancellations.
The government has commissioned an inquiry into the 8 September failure, and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is reviewing the findings, with a report due to Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander early in 2027.
Rolfe said the causes of both faults were unprecedented but had been fixed, and that the specific faults “will never recur”. He added: “Nobody standing on a stage like this can credibly promise that a complex technical system will never experience another fault.”
Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary has repeatedly called for Rolfe to resign, a demand dating back to flight disruptions on the August bank holiday in 2023. Rolfe said he was “quite enjoying” ignoring those calls. “To be fair, that is something he says all the time to pretty much everyone, so I’m not going to spend too much time worrying about that. In fact, I quite enjoy not doing that,” he said.
Speaking on stage later, Ryanair chief operating officer Neal McMahon criticised Rolfe for pointing out Nats’s usual reliability: “It’s like listening to the captain of the Titanic saying that 99% of the time it sailed just fine … We’re still left with two shitshows in September as a result of the system.”
Rolfe said he understood the disruption for people planning holidays and travel: “If I am the cause of that disruption, I would expect to come in for a lot of flak.” He added: “We do these jobs knowing that they come with that level of personal responsibility and accountability and that’s where I think we’re most tested. So yeah, I was definitely unpopular. There hasn’t been a poll, so I can’t say for sure.”
Alexander told the conference she expected the system to be resilient and was “angry when it fell short”. She said the disruption “was simply unacceptable” and that she would “do whatever it takes to ensure that lessons are learned”, but would not “jump the gun” before the CAA’s findings.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The two September outages affected hundreds of thousands of passengers and cost airlines tens of millions of pounds, highlighting the fragility of critical air traffic infrastructure
- The government-ordered inquiry and CAA review could lead to regulatory changes or management shake-ups at Nats, a publicly owned but commercially operated monopoly
- The public spat between Ryanair and Nats reflects broader tensions between airlines and the air traffic control provider over accountability for repeated failures
Background
Nats (National Air Traffic Control Services) provides air traffic control services for UK airports. Its two control centres, one near Swanwick in Hampshire and the other at Prestwick in Scotland, handle all flights in UK airspace. Rolfe has been CEO since 2014. The September 2026 outages followed earlier disruption on the August bank holiday in 2023, which also prompted Ryanair to call for his resignation. Airlines have been pushing for greater resilience and clearer accountability from Nats.
Key Perspectives
Martin Rolfe (Nats CEO): said the faults were unprecedented, had been fixed, and the specific causes “will never recur”, but that no one can promise no future faults. He said he had not considered resigning despite Ryanair’s calls.
Neal McMahon (Ryanair COO): likened Rolfe’s defence of Nats’s usual reliability to “the captain of the Titanic saying that 99% of the time it sailed just fine”, and called the September events “two shitshows”.
Heidi Alexander (Transport Secretary): said the disruption “was simply unacceptable” and she would “do whatever it takes to ensure that lessons are learned”, but would wait for the CAA report.
What to Watch
- The CAA’s report to the transport secretary, expected early 2027, which could recommend changes to Nats’s operations or leadership
- Whether the government-commissioned inquiry into the 8 September failure produces binding recommendations
- Any further technical failures at Nats, which would intensify pressure on Rolfe and the company’s governance
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 11 supported.
Show each claim
- Partly supportedRolfe was quoted as saying he was “the most disliked person in the UK,” without the source’s September qualifier.UK news | The Guardian: ““My name is Martin Rolfe, I’m the CEO of Nats – or as I like to think of myself, the most disliked person in the UK in September.””
- SupportedTwo air traffic control failures in September disrupted flights for hundreds of thousands of passengers.UK news | The Guardian: “The boss of Nats has said he was “the most disliked person in the UK” after air traffic control systems failed twice in September, disrupting flights for hundreds of thousands of passengers.”
- SupportedRolfe gave the quoted introduction describing himself as the most disliked person in the UK in September.UK news | The Guardian: ““My name is Martin Rolfe, I’m the CEO of Nats – or as I like to think of myself, the most disliked person in the UK in September.””
- SupportedNats expected to handle about 8,000 flights on 8 September, and 6,000 flew.UK news | The Guardian: “Rolfe told the Airlines 2026 conference in London on Wednesday that Nats had expected to handle about 8,000 flights that day and 6,000 had flown”
- SupportedThe 21 September glitch at Nats’s Prestwick control centre led to more than 200 flight cancellations.UK news | The Guardian: “On 21 September, a further glitch at Nats’s second control centre at Prestwick in Scotland led to more than 200 flight cancellations.”
- SupportedThe government commissioned an inquiry into the 8 September failure, and the CAA is due to report to Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander early in 2027.UK news | The Guardian: “The chaos that day stemmed from a problem in Nats’s flight control systems and is now the subject of a government-commissioned inquiry. ... The Civil Aviation Authority is reviewing the findings and will report to the transport secretary, Heidi Alexander, early in 2027.”
- SupportedRolfe said the causes of both September faults were unprecedented and had been fixed, and that the specific faults “will never recur”.UK news | The Guardian: “Rolfe said the causes for both events were unprecedented but had been fixed ... He said that the particular faults experienced in September “will never recur””
- SupportedRolfe said he had not considered resigning despite repeated calls from airlines, particularly Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary.UK news | The Guardian: “He said he had not considered resigning, despite repeated calls by airlines, particularly Ryanair’s O’Leary”
- SupportedO’Leary’s demand for Rolfe’s resignation dates back to flight disruptions on the August bank holiday in 2023.UK news | The Guardian: “who has demanded his sacking for several years since flights were grounded on the August bank holiday in 2023.”
- SupportedRolfe said he was “quite enjoying” ignoring the calls to resign.UK news | The Guardian: “Rolfe said he was “quite enjoying” ignoring the repeated calls from the Ryanair chief executive, Michael O’Leary, to quit.”
- SupportedRyanair COO Neal McMahon compared Nats’s reliability record to the Titanic and called the September failures “two shitshows”.UK news | The Guardian: ““It’s like listening to the captain of the Titanic saying that 99% of the time it sailed just fine … We’re still left with two shitshows in September as a result of the system.””
- SupportedAlexander said she expected the system to be resilient, was angry when it fell short, and would not jump the gun before the CAA findings.UK news | The Guardian: ““Like you, I expect that system to be resilient. And like you, I was angry when it fell short … [it] was simply unacceptable.” She said she would not “jump the gun” before the CAA findings”