Britain’s aviation systems have come under scrutiny following a major Air traffic failure that has disrupted operation of flights.
On Tuesday several British Airports experienced a tech outage resulting in the cancellation of more than 1,000 flights.
Thousands of passengers are currently stranded.
Transport minister Heidi Alexander admitted there were challenges and summoned the flight control boss to explain the shutdown.
This is not the first time the Airports have suffered disruptions of this magnitude.
The last system meltdown was in August 2023, when cancelled flights on one of the busiest travel days of the year cost airlines U$135 million.
A radar-related technical issue also disrupted flights in July 2025, affecting major airports including Britain’s largest, Heathrow.
“I am seeking assurances that lessons will be learned and systems that support aviation are up to the job,” Alexander said on X.
Ryanair, Europe’s biggest airline, has been calling for Rolfe to resign since 2023, while Wizz Air’s UK managing director also said he should consider his position.
Rolfe, who apologised to those affected by the issue, denied that Britain was worse than other countries and said the country’s air traffic service was well regarded from a safety and resilience perspective.
“We have, at this point, ruled out cyber(attacks),” Rolfe told journalists when asked about the cause, adding he believed it would be different to previous outages.
