Flight delays are expected to continue on Wednesday after a major air traffic control problem cancelled hundreds of flights across the UK. Tens of thousands of passengers were affected by the widespread disruption, with tracking website FlightRadar24 reporting that up to 1,000 flights were cancelled following a technical glitch at air traffic control provider Nats.
The head of Nats, Martin Rolfe, apologised for the incident and promised a full investigation into what went wrong, after the organisation admitted that resolving the issue had taken "longer than hoped." Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has summoned Rolfe to a meeting on Wednesday to answer questions regarding the disruption and the official response. She is also expected to tell MPs that a cyber attack was "categorically" not the cause of the fault.
With very few aircraft able to take off, landings were restricted, which left some flights unable to depart from overseas airports. The fault was widespread across the UK and beyond, with airports in Scotland and Ireland also reporting disruption. EasyJet made 200 cancellations, while British Airways cancelled or diverted more than 100 flights on Tuesday afternoon.
This is not the first time that technical disruption has blighted the control system managed by Nats. In response to the failure, Ryanair and Wizz Air called for an immediate overhaul of the organisation, with Wizz Air stating that Nats was "not fit for purpose" in its current form. When asked whether he was considering his position, Rolfe said there would be "lots of time for that later" but emphasized that his current focus is on making sure the problem is solved.
Europe's busiest airline, Ryanair, reported on Tuesday that more than 65,000 of its passengers had been delayed by up to eight hours. At Heathrow, one of the busiest airports in Europe, departures were initially paused around lunchtime. Although traffic resumed, the airport faced further disruption in the afternoon and ultimately ran out of space for incoming flights because planes had not been departing. Thirteen Heathrow-bound flights were diverted to other airports in the UK and Europe.
Passengers have been advised to contact their airlines to check the status of their flights. British Airways said in a statement that it was anticipating knock-on effects. "We were forced to cancel or divert more than 100 flights on Tuesday afternoon," a spokesperson said. "We're doing everything we can to keep our customers updated and make arrangements for them to continue their journeys." Airports across the UK reported cancellations and delays, advising travellers to check their flight details before heading to the airport. According to FlightRadar, the worst affected airports were Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, and Birmingham. Ryanair also stated that affected passengers would be notified.
Phil White from Bexhill recounted his experience, explaining that his flight to Lanzarote boarded on time but he was left sitting on the tarmac at Gatwick for hours. "We've been told the radar is down and we can't take off," Phil said. "It's comfortable enough but the pilots been on every 20 minutes saying they are waiting for information from air traffic control and when he finds anything out he will let us know."
Even though Nats has resolved the issue with its flight processing system, the disruption is likely to persist due to significant backlogs. Rolfe explained that the issue occurred in Nats' flight data processing system, clarifying that it was not the same system that failed during an incident in 2023 over the August Bank Holiday weekend. Although the technical issue affected departures, arrivals were also hit as space on the ground became increasingly restricted.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander noted that "it will take time to fully resume flights, so continue to check with airlines." Writing on X, she added: "I am seeking assurances that lessons will be learned and systems that support aviation are up to the job." According to Nats, the flight processing system processes flight plans and other operational information used by air traffic controllers to manage air traffic. The system continually updates flight information as aircraft progress through UK airspace, helping controllers maintain a safe and orderly flow of traffic.
Chloe Davis, an 18-year-old from Cambridgeshire, was left sitting on a Virgin plane at Heathrow waiting to fly to Orlando. She had been due to depart at 13:40 BST. "I'm not concerned, I would just like to know what's going on," she said. "There [are] planes parked up on the taxi way because there's no gates for them to go to."
