Flybe voices anger over NATS ‘fiasco’
Flybe has hit out at air traffic controllers for washing their hands of any financial compensation to passengers hit by the flight "fiasco" at the weekend.
The airline said it’s unacceptable that airlines have to act as the "insurers of last resort yet again" under European law.
Chief commercial officer Paul Simmons said: "It’s clearly not a fair system when NATS can wash their hands of any financial compensation to the millions of passengers who were let down. But the airlines once again have to act as ‘the Insurers of last resort’ and pick up the tab. That’s really not acceptable."
Simmons said Flybe had 170 flights scheduled for Saturday December 7 but only 27% of our services got away within 15 minutes of their scheduled time and four were cancelled.
He paid tribute to the work of staff who helped deal with the disruption.
Ryanair has also criticised NATS and its regulator Civil Aviation Authority, calling on contingency plans to be put in place.
NATS is currently carrying out an investigation of what went wrong with its internal phone systems.
A spokesman for the CAA said it was waiting for the outcome of that review before a decision will be made on compensation.
He said airlines pay a fee for NATS services and that its performance was regulated over set periods of time.
"It’s too early to say whether there could be any reduction in fees for airlines," he said.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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