UK airport chaos: Gatwick and Heathrow face mass flight delays as air traffic control chief called to quit

Thousands of passengers flying to and from the UK have had their flights cancelled after a combination of bad weather and Around 3,500 passengers expecting to fly to or from London on 20 flights on Monday morning have been grounded. Most are booked on , which cancelled its first flight of the day, to Ibiza, and six others including links to Naples and Nice. Passengers were told the cause was “air-traffic control restrictions” The cancellations are in addition to 64 flights grounded by easyJet on Sunday due to .

At least 100 flights were cancelled on Sunday evening at Gatwick, and others ran extremely late – such as the Wizz Air flight to Rome that was due to arrive soon after midnight but actually arrived in the Italian capital shortly before 6am, and an easyJet departure to Lyon that ran four hours behind schedule. Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has called for the resignation of the chief executive of air traffic control (ATC) provider Nats. , Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has issued fresh calls for the resignation of the chief executive of air traffic control (ATC) provider Nats.



Mr O’Leary urged Martin Rolfe to step down and “allow someone competent” to take over after flights were disrupted at Gatwick Airport on Sunday due to “Nats staff shortages”. Mr O’Leary said: “UK Nats staff shortages caused multiple flight delays and cancellations at Gatwick Airport yesterday, Sunday September 8. “This is the latest in a long line of cock-ups by UK Nats, which has yet again disrupted multiple flights and thousands of passengers at Gatwick.

Airlines and passengers deserve better. “Ryanair again calls on UK Nats chief executive Martin Rolfe to step down and allow someone competent to run an efficient UK ATC service, which airlines and passengers are entitled to expect. “If he won’t go, then (new Transport Secretary) Louise Haigh should sack him.

” , Welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of the mass flight delays and cancellations across the UK. Follow for the latest updates..