EasyJet demands UK air traffic chief’s sacking over ‘ongoing failure’ to tackle disruption

EasyJet has called on the board of the UK’s air traffic control provider to sack chief executive Martin Rolfe over his handling of repeated bouts of disruption over the past two summers. Johan Lundgren, the low-cost airline’s CE, wrote this week to the board of National Air Traffic Services (Nats) to demand a leadership change. He accused Rolfe of downplaying problems at the company, a lack of transparency and giving “misleading information” about disruption. Lundgren joins Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary, who has repeatedly called for Rolfe’s departure over the past year. “I am deeply concerned by the ongoing failure of the CEO to recognise the scale of the problem and to communicate honestly about it,” Lundgren wrote in the letter, a copy of which was seen by the Financial Times. However, Nats chair Warren East expressed support for Rolfe, and said he had arranged to meet Lundgren.  “The Nats board is confident that Martin Rolfe and his team have done everything they can to address the issues,” he said. Nats is a public-private partnership and owned by the British government, pension funds and a group of airlines including easyJet and British Airways. The provider runs the airspace over the UK and the eastern part of the Atlantic, and also provides air traffic control services at many of the UK’s busiest airports. An easyJet executive sits on the board as a representative of Nats’ private shareholders, which together own 42% of the company. EasyJet alone holds a stake of about 6%. Nats has come under severe pressure from airlines for its performance over the past 18 months.<br/>