An air traffic control failure has disrupted flights across parts of the UK, roughly two weeks after a software glitch caused widespread flight chaos. Because nothing says "we've learned our lesson" like a sequel arriving ahead of schedule.
The technical fault hit National Air Traffic Services (Nats)' second control centre at Prestwick in Scotland, severely delaying departing and arriving flights across Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England. Flights at Manchester Airport were delayed, and both easyJet and British Airways warned passengers they might face delays. Nats insisted the issue was unrelated to the earlier problems this month, when more than 2,000 flights were cancelled to and from the UK due to a NATS software glitch, disrupting travel plans for hundreds of thousands of passengers.
In a statement, a Nats spokesperson said: "We are investigating a technical issue at our Prestwick centre in Scotland. To maintain safety, air traffic regulations have been applied to manage traffic demand. Engineers are on site investigating and working to resolve the issue. The issue is unrelated to the technical problems experienced earlier this month. We apologise for the disruption and any delays to passengers' journeys. Passengers should check with their airline for the latest information on their flight."
UK transport secretary Heidi Alexander later confirmed the Prestwick issue had been fixed, warning there could be "some delays as things reset." She added: "There has been a further IT issue affecting @NATS. Engineers have fixed the problem and systems are resuming. I know this will be deeply frustrating for passengers after the previous issue. There may be some delays as things reset. Please check with your airline for updates."
A Flight Data Processing System (FDPS) failure at Prestwick Centre continued to disrupt Scottish-controlled airspace, with restrictions extended until 14:00 UTC. The disruption affected the wider Scottish control area - not just Prestwick Airport - with delays reported at Glasgow, Edinburgh and Prestwick. Cirium analysts counted 24 flights cancelled across UK airports so far, though many flights continued to operate. Manchester Airport posted the Nats statement on Twitter, advising passengers to watch for airline updates.
Ryanair, never one to let a crisis go unweaponised, stepped up calls for Nats chief executive Martin Rolfe to resign immediately - or for transport secretary Heidi Alexander to sack him. The airline said more than 25,000 Ryanair passengers were expected to be affected, with over 140 Ryanair flights delayed and delays exceeding three hours, hitting flights to and from Dublin, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Manchester and a range of airports across Scotland, Northern England and Ireland. The failure came just days after Nats published its preliminary report into the 8 September failure - a report that confirmed the permanent software fix identified after that incident had not yet been implemented and remained under testing.
Ryanair's chief operations officer, Neal McMahon, said: "Just three days after NATS assured airlines and passengers that it had introduced a robust 'mitigation plans', its flight data processing system has failed again. More than 25,000 Ryanair passengers have already suffered disruption, with over 140 Ryanair flights delayed, yet NATS still cannot tell passengers when this disruption will end. Martin Rolfe's report claimed that another failure was 'unlikely' and that NATS could recover more quickly if one occurred. Those claims have been exposed as completely worthless. Just three days later, passengers are once again suffering lengthy delays because Nats has failed to deliver either a reliable system or an effective back-up. After the August 2023 collapse, Martin Rolfe assured parliament that it was a 'once-in-a-lifetime event'. Then Nats collapsed again on 8 September, disrupting more than 2,000 flights. Now, just 13 days later, the same flight data processing system has failed once more. How many times must UK passengers suffer disruption before Martin Rolfe is replaced by somebody competent? Another review, another report and another round of empty promises will not fix NATS. Martin Rolfe has presided over repeated system failures, repeated passenger disruption and repeated failures to deliver an effective back-up system. Enough is enough. Martin Rolfe should resign today. If he will not, then Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander should fire him and appoint somebody capable of delivering the resilient ATC service that UK passengers and airlines deserve."
In other news, Airbus is expected to hire as many as 900 more workers in north Wales to build its long-range A321 jet, investing £150m to ramp up jet production. The company has a backlog of more than 5,000 of the planes and will make an initial 480 new hires at its wing production centre in Broughton to meet soaring demand, with a similar number of hires planned next year at factories that currently employ about 6,000 people. The move includes restarting production at its West Factory, which used to make wings for its double-decker A380 jet before being converted into a warehouse after the company made 1,700 people redundant across its UK sites during the pandemic. The West Factory will be retooled to build the new aircraft, which can fly 240 passengers from the UK to the east coast of the US. Jerome Blandin, head of Airbus Wing, said: "Investing in our capacity strengthens our industrial footprint, creates high value jobs that support the wider UK aerospace sector and ensures we remain competitive in the years to come." Airbus also plans to expand a wing factory in Belfast over the next few years to build more of its smaller A220 planes.
Meanwhile, locking the UK out of a new EU scheme to protect industries from Chinese competition would be an "own goal" and risk up to 250,000 jobs in the bloc, the British car industry warned. Most of those jobs - 69,000 - would be jeopardised in Germany, France and Spain, but also in central and Eastern Europe, according to a new study by Oxford Economics commissioned by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). The SMMT's argument came days after chancellor John Healy urged EU finance ministers to include the UK in its definition of Made in Europe legislation, fearing that if UK industry is locked out, EU manufacturers may no longer buy British parts for assembly lines. The government also warned it won't commit to a second EU-UK summit unless Made in Europe is discussed, amid fears over French opposition to including Britain and other countries such as Japan, which is warning that its EU bases should be included. The SMMT said: "The EU is rightly focused on strengthening its industrial base, but the UK remains fundamental to Europe's automotive ecosystem and is therefore essential to that ambition. Excluding the UK from 'Made in Europe' would be an own goal, weakening competitiveness, reducing scale and limiting consumer choice."
Bitcoin jumped through $80,000, hitting the highest levels since May and touching $84,721 in morning trading. Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, said: "It has been months since bitcoin has seen the world above $80,000, but it has finally managed to breach the May highs in early trading today. Financial markets have rediscovered a risk-on frame of mind after being consumed with worry about government bond yields, debt piles and the prospect of a return to tighter policy at the world's most powerful central bank. Cryptocurrencies are advancing in a group this morning, a move given strength by recent inflows and one likely to attract even more of those vital funds. Perhaps investors are realising that they can live in a world of higher US [interest] rates, though falling oil prices certainly help too."
And for anyone still hoping to buy a home: fixed-rate mortgage costs have jumped to multi-year highs in the UK. The average two-year fixed residential mortgage rate rose to 5.88%, its highest since 16 April and up from 5.84% last Friday, while the average five-year hit 5.92%, its highest since October 2023, up from 5.88%. Rachel Springall, finance expert at Moneyfacts, said: "Borrowers will be frustrated to see fixed mortgage rates soar, with around £150 added to monthly mortgage payments, based on a typical mortgage [of £250,000 over 25 years], since the start of March 2026. There were notable rate hikes last week from the major brands, some increasing for the second time this month to catch up with rising swap rates." The average two-year fixed rate is approaching its highest point seen this year, rising by over 1% since the period covered in the data.