Airlines Confidential · Wednesday, September 16, 2026
Despite significant disruption caused by the NATS air traffic control system failure, passengers are unlikely to receive compensation under UK passenger protection rules. The Civil Aviation Authority indicated the incident would likely be considered 'extraordinary circumstances,' a category typically reserved for events like severe weather or political unrest.
“There was an interesting issue of who's on the hook for compensating passengers under European passenger protection rules. Uh, looks like no one.”
“The Civil Aviation Authority in the UK said this was likely to be considered the result of extraordinary circumstances, that's the phrase, under passenger rights rules, which means passengers are unlikely to be entitled to compensation.”
“Extraordinary circumstances usually applies to political unrest or severe weather situations. I'm not sure why NATS isn't on the hook for this.”