RYA Ryanair Holdings Plc

--The U.K.'s CAA said NATS (En Route) Ltd. failed to provide enough staff at Stansted and Luton airports

--CAA investigation followed complaints by Ryanair and Stansted Airport about air traffic flow management delays

--NATS refuted the CAA's findings, blaming increased traffic demands and delays in mainland Europe

By Anthony O. Goriainoff and Jaime Llinares Taboada

The U.K.'s Civil Aviation Authority said Thursday that it has provisionally found that NATS (En Route) Ltd. contravened its duties between January 2019 and March 2020 in relation to the provision of sufficient staffing at Stansted and Luton airports, allegations refuted by the company.

The aviation regulator said NATS--which provides en-route air-traffic-control services above the U.K. and the North Atlantic--was investigated following complaints by Ryanair and Stansted Airport about air-traffic flow-management delays experienced by airlines and passengers of both airports.

A spokesperson for NATS said the company strongly refutes the CAA's findings, adding that one of the main reasons for the delays was the need to safely manage the capacity of the airspace. "We saw more traffic demand than the airspace can safely accommodate, which means we must limit how much can travel through it at any one time," NATS said. The company said that many of the affected flights were further "impacted by an increase in delays across mainland Europe, especially in France and Germany through which many Stansted and Luton flights travel."

The investigation follows an earlier investigation addressing similar complaints brought by Ryanair and Stansted Airport in 2016, the regulator said.

The CAA said that in relation to other parts of the investigation--including on airspace capacity, coding and discrimination--NATS didn't contravene its duties and obligations.

"In making these provisional findings, we have taken account of the very difficult circumstances faced by the aviation sector and that air traffic volumes have reduced significantly, following the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic," the CAA said.

The regulator said it welcomes the views of all stakeholders on these provisional findings by Oct. 19, and that it intends to issue a final decision later this year.

Write to Anthony O. Goriainoff at anthony.orunagoriainoff@dowjones.com; Jaime Llinares Taboada at jaime.llinares@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 17, 2020 08:44 ET (12:44 GMT)

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