Which? responds to National Air Traffic Services' report on last week's air traffic control outages

Rory Boland, Which? Travel Editor, said: 

“The air traffic control outages last week caused complete chaos for UK travellers - with many sleeping on airport floors or left out-of-pocket after paying for extra accommodation or new flights to get home. 

"While passengers understood that this was not an issue caused by airlines, they were understandably frustrated by the poor communication and lack of care they received from carriers. During travel crises, we see repeat offending from airlines looking to wriggle out of their legal responsibilities knowing that they're unlikely to face any real consequences for leaving passengers high and dry during periods of disruption. 

"The Civil Aviation Authority urgently needs to investigate what caused the air traffic control outages, as well as airlines' response, to ensure passengers are never left in this situation again. The Prime Minister must also give the Civil Aviation Authority stronger enforcement powers in the King’s Speech later this year, so that this ongoing cycle of poor behaviour from airlines can finally be broken.”

ENDS