Britain’s Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has summoned National Air Traffic Service (NATS) Chief Executive Martin Rolfe to explain a technical failure at the Swanwick control centre that grounded or diverted over 150 flights across the UK on Wednesday. The issue, reported at 4:05 pm, forced NATS to limit aircraft movement in the London area, with full operations restored by 5:10 pm. Alexander’s meeting with Rolfe aims to uncover the cause and ensure preventive measures.

The disruption, described by NATS as a “technical issue,” led to significant cancellations, with British Airways reducing flights from 45 to 32 per hour for over two hours. Business Minister Gareth Thomas told Times Radio that prior measures, implemented after a similar incident two years ago, proved inadequate. “We need to understand exactly what went wrong,” Thomas said, emphasizing the urgency of the probe.

Industry expert Graham Lake, former director general of Canso, noted that technical failures are inevitable across industries, citing frequent rail signal issues. “The key is planning contingencies to keep operations safe,” Lake told the BBC. However, NATS’ history of software glitches, including a 2023 failure that disrupted 700,000 passengers during peak summer travel, has raised concerns about system reliability. Airlines expressed frustration, but experts caution that expecting zero failures is unrealistic. The ongoing investigation will scrutinize NATS’ preparedness and response to prevent future disruptions.

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