Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to (a) improve accountability for air traffic control delays and (b) provide access to compensation for affected passengers.

NATS, the provider of en-route Air Traffic Control (ATC) services in the UK is regulated against service targets set by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). NATS has annual incentives linked to its performance and if this falls below target levels it may incur penalties. However, NATS is not penalised for individual incidents such as the technical failure of August 2023.

UK airport tower ATC services operate in a commercial market, with contractual agreements in place between the provider and the airport concerned. Providers have responsibility for ensuring that they have sufficient staff to safely and efficiently operate these services.

Neither the Government nor the CAA has regulatory oversight of these commercial arrangements.

My officials and the CAA, however, have and continue to engage with ATC providers, airports, airlines and relevant stakeholders to ensure that robust plans are in place to minimise possible disruption and to prevent delays to flights.

Airlines are responsible for the rights of their passengers, including providing refunds or re-routing for cancelled flights and care and assistance, such as refreshments or hotel accommodation where an overnight stay is necessary, whilst passengers are waiting for their flight.