Flight chaos after tech failure is expected to last for DAYS after more than 1,000 jets were grounded: Calls for air traffic boss to quit grow as he is set to meet Transport Secretary this morning

The CEO of the UK's air traffic control service faced calls to resign last night after a technical issue sent the country's airports into turmoil. More than 1,000 departures and arrivals were cancelled on Tuesday after the National Air Traffic Services (NATS) reported an issue with its 'flight processing system'. It sparked chaos at a dozen major airports - including Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and Birmingham - as scores of planes were grounded and holidaymakers left stranded. Pictures showed huge queues spilling out of terminals across the country as passengers scrambled to find alternative routes. One instance saw holidaymakers flying from Heathrow to New York stranded on the runway for as long as nine hours. British Airways, meanwhile, revealed it was forced to cancel or divert more than 100 flights on Tuesday in a decision which impacted 'tens of thousands of customers'. Disruption is now expected to last for days as airlines try to find alternative routes home for customers, pilots and cabin crew members stuck in hotels abroad. The precise cause of the disruption is, however, yet to have been made clear. The ordeal prompted calls for NATS chief Martin Rolfe, who is paid £ 1.5 million a year, to resign after a string of similar issues in previous years cost airlines millions. National Air Traffic Service chief Martin Rolfe faced calls to resign on Tuesday after a technical issue sent the country's airports into turmoil Thousands of passengers were left stranded at Heathrow after having their flights delayed or cancelled Images showed queues spilling out of terminals across the country after the chaos unfolded yesterday afternoonRyanair COO Neal McMahon said more than 65,000 of the company's passengers had been affected before dubbing Mr Rolfe an 'overpaid failure'. He fumed: 'The UK Government, the CAA and the NATS Board must stop making excuses for repeated NATS failures and appoint a new leader capable of running the UK ATC system without repeated failures. It's time for overpaid failure Martin Rolfe to go.' Wizz Air later joined the Irish airline in its criticism of NATS, saying it was 'extremely disappointed' that yet another technical issue had plunged the country's airports into turmoil. 'A critical national infrastructure provider should not repeatedly bring the aviation system to a standstill,' the airline's social media page posted. 'NATS is simply not fit for purpose in its current form.' It came before Shadow Transport Minister Greg Smith also took aim at the service, which is 49 per cent Government-owned. He said: 'Yet again passengers are stuck on the tarmac wondering why Britain cannot keep its own skies open. The Government and NATS must explain what has happened and how they will make sure resilience is improved.'Mr Rolfe will meet with Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander on Wednesday morning, hours after he appeared on Sky News to apologise for NATS' latest blunder.Only last year, more than 150 flights were cancelled when a malfunction left air traffic controllers at a centre in Swanwick, Hampshire, with only a patchy view of the airspace. And in August 2023, a NATS technical glitch saw more than 700,000 passengers have their flights delayed or cancelled.Mr Rolfe apologised for the inconvenience that NATS caused thousands of passengers yesterday during an appearance on Sky News, describing the ordeal as 'unfortunate'. 'I am the CEO of a piece of critical infrastructure,' he said. 'So it is my job to take responsibility for that. A woman is seen rummaging through her suitcase after dozens of flights out of Stansted Airport were cancelled British Airways planes are seen grounded at Heathrow on Tuesday afternoon following the technical issue'What I absolutely take responsibility for is keeping people safe and delivering the best service we possibly can on a day like today. 'You will understand my focus is entirely about how we actually resolve the issue, get things back to normal, help our airlines, our airport customers and the travelling public.' He added that the service does 'not yet have an idea' of what caused the disruption. It was estimated that 352 flights to and from Heathrow were delayed yesterday out of its daily average of about 1,300, while 281 Gatwick flights were delayed out of an 850 daily average. This was 249 out of 650 for Manchester, and 101 out of 300 for Birmingham.In its latest statement issued on Tuesday night, NATS admitted that 'it will take time' to recover from the disruption its blunder caused. It continued: 'Work is continuing to assist airlines and airports recover from today's disruption.'This has been a very complex recovery and has created difficulties for the whole aviation network, from which it will take time to recover. 'We apologise again for the disruption caused. Passengers should check with their airline on the status of their flight tonight or tomorrow.'