Budget airline Ryanair cancels 1,000 flights and 'collapse' blamed

Ryanair confirmed it cancelled 1,000 flights in September, blaming part of the disruption on a “collapse” in Britain’s air traffic control system. The carrier said the cancellations followed two separate ATC failures within a fortnight, plus ATC strikes in Belgium and widespread European disruption caused by volcanic ash from Mount Etna. Nats chief Martin Rolfe has faced growing calls to step down after a series of air traffic failures left hundreds of thousands of passengers stranded. Ryanair said the latest incident was triggered by a “connectivity issue” at its Prestwick centre in Scotland, not linked to an ATC software fault on September 8. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander will meet Nats chairman Sir Warren East.