Ryanair confirmed more than 1,000 flight cancellations across UK airports in September 2026, attributing the disruptions to repeated failures in the UK air traffic control system.
On September 8, a National Air Traffic Services (NATS) system failure grounded over 1,300 flights at Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, and Stansted airports. The outage halted operations across these major hubs, significantly affecting the UK airspace.
Officials identified a “spurious flight plan” as the trigger for the September 8 NATS outage. Additional disruptions arose from Belgian air traffic controllers’ strikes and volcanic ash clouds originating from Mount Etna. Later in September, a connectivity problem at
the NATS Scottish control centre in Prestwick caused further cancellations.
Passenger Numbers and Flight Operations
Despite cancellations, Ryanair transported 20.1 million passengers on more than 111,700 flights during September 2026, marking a 4% rise over the previous year. Rival airline Wizz Air saw a 24% increase in passenger numbers to 7.78 million in the same period but announced plans to reduce capacity by 5% later this year due to rising jet fuel costs and Middle East conflicts.
Official Reactions and Industry Response
Ryanair chief operating officer Neal McMahon condemned NATS chief executive Martin Rolfe, calling him an “overpaid failure” and demanding his resignation following the repeated air traffic control breakdowns.
McMahon highlighted that the September 8 fault mirrored a similar collapse in August 2023 caused by a single French flight plan that stranded approximately 700,000 passengers.
NATS chief executive Martin Rolfe apologized for the disruptions on BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme, explaining that “things do go wrong in complex systems” but rejecting any suggestion of cyber attacks or safety compromises. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander summoned NATS chairman Sir Warren East for urgent talks to address the failures.
Travel Impact and Government Intervention
The multiple air traffic service failures in September 2026 led to thousands of flight delays and cancellations across UK airports, severely disrupting travel
plans. Ministerial demands have called for assurances that air traffic control infrastructure will be improved to prevent future shutdowns that strand passengers.
