Sky F1 commentator Martin Brundle has publicly condemned British Airways and Heathrow Airport following a nine-hour ordeal on a grounded aircraft.
The 67-year-old former Formula 1 driver turned television analyst vented his frustration on social media on Tuesday evening as chaos gripped UK airports.
Brundle revealed he had been stranded aboard a British Airways flight at Heathrow, calling the airline and airport’s response “pathetic and dangerous.”
The disruption was caused by a technical fault with the UK air traffic control system Nats, which grounded hundreds of flights across the country.
Nats chief executive Martin Rolfe confirmed the technical glitch impacted services for a “ballpark” six hours before the issue was resolved.
Despite the fault being fixed, the knock-on effects were expected to be felt well into Wednesday, with a massive backlog of flights requiring clearance.
Reports suggest that more than 1,000 flights in total were disrupted by the Nats failure, making it one of the most significant aviation incidents in recent UK history.
There is no suggestion the technical failure was the result of a cyber attack, with investigators pointing solely to a systems-related glitch within Nats infrastructure.
Brundle was particularly angry that passengers, including a mother with a baby and someone with a medical condition, were unable to leave the aircraft during the prolonged delay.
He wrote: “Great work BA and Heathrow? Nine hours and counting sitting on a plane which has travelled nowhere.”
Brundle continued: “At a remote parking bay, no food throughout, and mother/baby and a person with a medical condition desperate to get off.”
He added: “Toilets no longer available as blocked. No sign of steps or buses. And that’s before the wait for luggage.”
Brundle concluded his damning post with the words: “Pathetic and dangerous lack of corporate contingency and responsibility.”
The incident drew widespread attention given Brundle’s public profile, shining a spotlight on the wider suffering experienced by thousands of stranded passengers across the UK that day.