Jet2 repatriates thousands of customers and calls for urgent change after latest NATS failure

After successfully mobilising a major operation to get thousands of customers home following the latest NATS technical fault last week, Jet2 is now calling for urgent action on behalf of holidaymakers.

Having brought thousands of customers home and supported many others whose journeys were disrupted, Jet2 is now demanding urgent, clear action to improve National Air Traffic Services (NATS), so that holidaymakers can look forward to their trips without the fear of critical infrastructure failures causing unnecessary stress, delays and uncertainty.

At the peak of the disruption, around 7,200 Jet2 customers who were due to fly back to the UK required additional assistance and repatriation support. Jet2 swiftly arranged extra flights, deployed additional teams, and used all available spare aircraft capacity to help fly customers home from destinations including Greece, Turkey, Spain and Malta. More than a dozen extra flights were mobilised as part of the operation, alongside ground transport support in the UK and third-party capacity where required.

Throughout the disruption, colleagues from across the business, including flight crews, operational teams and the company's dedicated Red Team, worked around the clock to support affected customers, including arranging overnight hotel accommodation where possible. 

While some flights from the UK were unfortunately cancelled as a direct result of the air traffic control issues, Jet2 said it focused on making clear and timely decisions, ensuring customers received support and information as quickly as possible. Customers whose plans were cancelled will receive a full refund.

Steve Heapy, CEO of Jet2, said: "Our teams went above and beyond to look after customers, get people home and recover our operation after last week's latest NATS failure. By arranging extra flying and deploying every available resource, we have been able to help thousands of customers return home as quickly as possible. I would like to thank our fantastic colleagues, who have once again demonstrated the award-winning customer service and customer-first approach that Jet2 is known for. Their effort has been exceptional, but the simple fact is that hardworking holidaymakers should never have been put in this position in the first place."

He added: "This latest failure caused significant disruption to thousands of our customers through no fault of their own, and once again airlines, colleagues and customers were left to pick up the pieces because critical national infrastructure failed. That is completely unacceptable and holidaymakers deserve much better. The Government has a direct responsibility given its 49% ownership of NATS, and with customers needing confidence and airlines needing certainty, proper answers are required following this latest failure."