Nats is fit for purpose, says air traffic control bosspublished at 22:18 BST 8 September
Katy Austin
Transport correspondent
Martin Rolfe, the chief executive of Nats, tells the BBC that his organisation’s systems are fit for purpose, and has apologised for Tuesday’s issue.
Speaking to the BBC, he says that while the system was now operating normally, “of course, there’s a huge backlog” of flights and passengers.
When pushed on how long systems weren’t working properly, Rolfe wasn’t sure but agrees it was “probably” in the ballpark of six hours.
Rolfe says the focus is “about recovery” and they are “having a full investigation” into what went wrong.
Asked if an incident like this showed Nats’ systems aren’t fit for purpose, he responds: “I don’t think so, no.”
He says: “Whilst we never want these things to happen – and I absolutely apologise for the fact it has happened today – I do think we’re fit for purpose.”
Asked if he is considering his position, Rolfe says: “I’m obviously focusing on making sure that we get this solved.
“My focus today has been making sure the team’s in the right place, we have the right resources, the technical issues are being investigated, and the recovery happens.
“There’ll be lots of time for that later, but that’s not now,” he adds.
