UK airlines comment & letter to Transport Secretary following third NATS system failure in three years

September 9th, 2026

Airlines UK has today written to the Secretary of State for Transport, Rt Hon Heidi Alexander MP, to register serious concerns over yesterday’s technical failure at NATS – the third major system failure in three years – which has caused major disruption across the UK’s aviation network.

“The latest NATS failure has again exposed a gap in the UK’s aviation regulatory framework. Airlines are expected, in supporting passengers, to absorb the costs of disruption, even when the cause lies entirely outside their control.

“The result is a system where airlines pick up the bill for the mistakes of others, while the organisations responsible face little or no financial consequence. Accountability should sit where responsibility lies and the Civil Aviation Bill offers the opportunity to address this.”