Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the statistics from Eurocontrol that on 28 August over 2,000 flights were cancelled; whether they have assessed why those figures differ from the figure supplied by NATS that 1,500 were cancelled; and what is their explanation for the difference between the NATS figure that 575 flights were delayed and the higher figures supplied by airlines.

NATS Preliminary Report into the Technical Failure of 28 August, stated that, while at that time it was not clear exactly how many flights had been cancelled the number was likely to exceed 1,500 with around a further 575 being delayed.

The independent review, announced by the Civil Aviation Authority on 6 September 2023 will include an assessment of the findings of NATS’ preliminary report. It is important that we now await the outcome of the review, which will include looking at the information on consumer impact including the number of cancellations and delays and the lessons are learned from the events of 28 August.