LONDON — Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has summoned NATS Chief Executive Martin Rolfe to an emergency meeting this morning, seeking an urgent explanation for the major air traffic control failure that stranded thousands of passengers and forced the cancellation of hundreds of flights across London’s airports yesterday.
The high-level summons follows intense pressure from airline operators, led by Ryanair, which publicly called for Rolfe’s resignation over the systemic failure.
Addressing Members of Parliament this morning, Alexander is set to confirm that the government has “categorically” ruled out a cyber attack as the source of the meltdown. Senior officials close to the investigation indicate that the breakdown was instead triggered by an internal software malfunction within the automated system.
The meeting between Alexander and Rolfe is expected to focus on how a single software issue could breach redundancy protocols and cripple one of the world’s busiest airspace networks. Airlines are pressing for immediate accountability and assurance that technical failsafes will prevent a repeat performance as airports work to clear the massive backlog of stranded travelers.
