Boss of UK’s air traffic control system sees his pay double this year to £1.3million

THE boss of the UK’s air traffic control system has seen his pay double this year to £1.3million.

Martin Rolfe, 51, got a basic £477,000 boosted by a £281,000 annual bonus, pensions benefits and a backdated £555,000 long-term incentive plan.

This is despite National Air Traffic Services admitting in its annual report to having to rely on “ageing systems” beyond their “use by” date.

It is working on a new network, but it could be years before it is fully operational.

Mr Rolfe, who has a £2million Hampshire home, joined NATS in 2012 and became CEO in 2015.

He hit the headlines last year when he got a £1.2million bonus despite NATS cutting costs as the industry battled back from the pandemic.

NATS said at the time that targets were being met.

Last night his wife Anna, a firefighter, insisted he was working around the clock to fix the chaos.

She said: “I haven’t seen him since yesterday. He went to work as soon as it happened.”