Delays continued for a second day Wednesday, rippling across 15 U.K. airports and beyond as airlines and airports worked to clear a huge backlog of canceled and delayed flights. The problems stranded passengers for hours on airport runways and in terminals.
Flight delays were expected to continue through the day Wednesday as airlines rebook stranded passengers and work to reposition aircraft left at the wrong airports by the cancellations.
NATS, formerly known as National Air Traffic Services, which operates Britain’s air traffic control system, attributed the problems to “an issue in our flight processing system.” The company said it was supporting airlines and airports while they recover from the “ongoing disruption,” although the original technical issue was resolved Tuesday afternoon.
But airlines were furious, demanding that the head of NATS, Martin Rolfe, consider resigning after the second air traffic meltdown in three years.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander met with Rolfe on Wednesday and gave him one week to complete a full investigation into the incident to make sure lessons are learned. Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s office said Rolfe retains the confidence of the government.
