Ryanair Slams UK CAA for Allowing Increased ATC Charges

 

The Civil Aviation Authority's decision to grant the National Air Traffic Services (NATS) request to raise fees by 26% between 2023 and 2027 has been sharply criticized by Ryanair. The airline pointed to the summertime operational deficit of NATS and the network failure on August 28th, which resulted in the cancellation of 2,000 flights and the impact on over a million passengers. 

The Irish low-cost airline is not the only one to voice strong opinions; Loganair recently released a statement along these lines.

O'Leary criticizes the "mismanagement" of NATS.

NATS is just one of the significant charge increases that the UK Air authority must first obtain clearance from the CAA before implementing. 

Still, it is understandable that the CAA's decision to permit a 26% increase in air traffic taxes from 2023 to 2027 has caused some despair. The airline made note of the fact that NATS can determine its own prices and CEO compensation because it is governed by a license.

The CEO of Ryanair, Michal O'Leary, is renowned for speaking his mind 

"We are astonished at the CAA’s decision to award NATS another 26% increase in their already high charges after a summer where NATS repeatedly delayed flights due to badly managed staff rosters and mismanaged operations which collapsed altogether on 28 August last in circumstances which remain unexplained. NATS continues to call for last-minute schedule cuts at Gatwick through Sept and October due to mismanaged rosters in the ATC tower.

NATS should not be rewarded for its mismanagement with further price increases which will only go to fund more undeserved dividends to its shareholders. What we need in NATS is new and competent management and the Govt should start by sacking the overpaid, but incompetent CEO, Martin Rolfe.

Ryanair proceeded to label NATS CEO Martin Rolfe as "overpaid" for his yearly salary of £1.3 million ($1.57 million) and demanded his resignation in a statement. They continued by saying that the business overcharges client airlines, and understaffs, and gives yearly dividends of £50 million ($60.3 million) in order to satisfy its shareholders.

An opinion shared by others

Notably, Ryanair is not the only company to criticise NATS and the CAA's approval of a raise. CEO of Loganair Jonathan Hinkles called the announcements from the CAA and NATS "airway robbery" and highlighted a number of other errors. The proposed 2027 tariff of £64 ($76.2) per unit is noteworthy since it is based on inaccurate exchange rate data and is lower than what NATS presently charges. Additionally, the UK is already 20% more expensive than other European countries, even though the CAA claims that it would continue to charge in line with its rivals. Hinkles stated as he concluded his post,

"This whole episode is a disgrace – pure and simple. The impact on consumers through loss of choice as some regional air routes become unviable through these charges...NATS has done a comprehensive job of bamboozling its regulator with figures dressed up as facts, and the CAA has fallen for it."

Loganair would be severely impacted by the tax rise due to its heavy usage of UK airspace; according to Hinkles, the carrier is already paying 33% more this year for the same amount of passengers.

Unpopular as the NATS rise is, it comes precisely two months after an ATC outage during the busiest summer travel days, prompting airlines to demand solid guarantees before discussing charge increases. NATS, however, is likely to contend that it need additional funds in order to fulfil its commitments, which will result in a never-ending cycle of broken promises and suffering for passengers.

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