A lightning strike on Air Traffic Control equipment at London Luton Airport caused a suspension of flight operations between 17:40 and 19:15 BST on August 27, 2026, leading to approximately 30 flight cancellations and diversions. Flights have since resumed.
Severe thunderstorms across southeast England coincided with the incident, triggering flash flooding on local roads and the airport approach, worsening operational impacts at Luton Airport.
Several flights were cancelled or diverted, including Wizz Air flight W95378 from Turin, which was diverted to Gatwick Airport, and Wizz Air flight W92601 from Prague, redirected to Stansted Airport. Airlines are continuing to recover schedules,
but some delays remain.
Passengers faced disrupted travel plans: Gary Nash from Barton-le-Clay, Bedfordshire, had his Alicante-bound flight cancelled and traveled to Birmingham Airport to catch an alternative flight. Kika Rocha from London had her Ibiza trip cancelled and rebooked for a different destination in Spain amid chaotic conditions inside the airport. Jeff Chan’s flight to Venice was delayed by six hours.
Flash flooding also affected surface transportation near Luton Airport, causing some bus cancellations, though the Luton DART shuttle service remained operational despite the conditions.
A Luton Airport spokesperson confirmed the operations suspension and the resulting cancellations and diversions
affecting about 30 flights. The spokesperson said, “Flights to and from London Luton Airport have now resumed following an earlier suspension of operations caused by a lightning strike affecting Air Traffic Control equipment.” The spokesperson added that the disruption “coincided with a period of severe weather across the area, resulting in flash flooding on local roads, and the airport approach.” They apologized to affected passengers.
A NATS spokesperson, representing Air Traffic Control services, confirmed that severe thunderstorms affected Luton and Stansted airports: “Severe thunderstorms have affected parts of the south east this evening, causing significant disruption to flights at London
Luton and Stansted airports. Flights to and from London Luton Airport have now resumed following an earlier suspension caused by a lightning strike affecting Air Traffic Control equipment. We apologise for the disruption caused.”
Gary Nash described the situation as chaotic, stating, “When you’ve got 200 or 300 people on different flights that have been cancelled, maybe even more people, 1,000, it’s chaotic.” Kika Rocha said, “At 20:00, the customer service stopped and we were reliant on the people who are at the airport to help us. Thankfully we managed to get our flight rebooked for tomorrow, but not to
Ibiza. We’re going somewhere else in Spain and trying to connect, but it’s pretty chaotic inside [the airport] at the moment.” Jeff Chan commented on the confusion caused by lack of communication: “Lots of people are travelling with kids and they don’t know what they’re doing. People are calling friends and family. They know there are delays, but no one knows how long for.”
