Can out of pocket pax sue NATS ?? Are memebers of the 'Airline Group' owning 42% of NATS liable even if the airlines are not ;. after all they are a significant part of the the management
I'm no lawyer but there is no contract between NATS and the pax so what would be the basis of that action? There is a contract between the airline and the pax but what pax can claim is limited by legislation. There is a contract between NATS and the Airline but as the charging regime provides for penalties it would be unlikely that the airlines could sue NATS.
This is all quite deliberate. NATS was privatised just after the Hatfield rail crash where penalties for service standards had produced an adverse effect on safety. The Government of the day wanted to avoid any financial imperative that would have any effect on day to day operational decisions affecting safety. Hence yesterday the flow regulation could be imposed purely with regard to safety.
Note that the Airline Group is a separate entity from the Airlines who hold shares in it, indeed not all shareholders in the Airline Group are airlines. The Airline Group is a PLC limiting the liability of its shareholders and in turn NATS is a collection of Limited Companies limiting the liability of its shareholders.