Ryanair’s chief executive, Michael O’Leary, has publicly called on UK Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander to dismiss the head of National Air Traffic Services (Nats), Martin Rolfe, due to ongoing technical problems in the UK’s air traffic control system. O’Leary made the request in a video uploaded to YouTube, urging Alexander to replace Rolfe with someone “competent” to manage Nats. He criticized Rolfe for providing inconsistent explanations about a technical issue that occurred on 8 September, which is the third major system failure in three years. O’Leary pointed out that air traffic controllers had previously raised concerns about a similar problem that led to the 2023 system failure, which caused significant disruption to over 700,000 passengers. Nats, the organization responsible for managing UK airspace, clarified that the current issue was different from the 2023 event and affected the flight data system rather than the broader air traffic control infrastructure. O’Leary, however, accused Rolfe of downplaying the risks in 2023 when he told the Transport Committee that the system collapse was a one-time event and that a backup system would be in place if it happened again. O’Leary argued that such a backup system never existed and that Rolfe’s previous statements were “worthless.” This claim could not be independently confirmed. O’Leary also criticized Alexander for asking Rolfe to submit a report on the cause of the recent aviation issues within a week, comparing the request to “asking a failed student to mark his own exam paper.” Ryanair reported that over 65,000 of its passengers were affected, with more than 250 flights cancelled during the disruption. On Tuesday alone, around 2,163 flights were impacted, with delays and cancellations continuing into Wednesday, 9 September, at major UK airports like Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, and Manchester. A Nats spokesperson said the aviation network was recovering well and that a full investigation into the cause of the latest incident was underway. They apologized for the disruption and thanked other industry professionals for their support during the crisis. The situation highlights ongoing concerns about the reliability of the UK’s air traffic control system and the management of its operations.