A technical fault in the UK’s National Air Traffic Service (Nats) flight processing system grounded departing flights across major UK airports from around 1pm on September 8, 2026. The fault led to the cancellation of more than 1,000 flights by 8pm, affecting departures and arrivals nationwide.
Flight Cancellations and Delays Across Major Airlines
Ryanair reported 65,000 passengers delayed with 50 flights cancelled. EasyJet had 137 flights cancelled, British Airways 111, KLM 26, Eurowings 22, and Ryanair 21 cancelled flights by 5pm. British Airways also diverted or cancelled over 100 flights on Tuesday afternoon, offering free rebooking until Friday, with operations expected to be affected through Wednesday.
Affected Airports and Flight Operations
The
disruption began at departures from London Heathrow and Gatwick airports, spreading to Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, and Belfast airports. Departures at Heathrow resumed in the evening with some disruption, but arrivals were suspended for the rest of Tuesday night. Eurocontrol reported that inbound flights to southern England and some European routes were held abroad due to the fault.
Official Responses and Industry Reactions
Martin Rolfe, CEO of Nats, apologized and took responsibility, stating, “We absolutely take responsibility for this.” He described the recovery as “very complex” and ongoing across the entire UK aviation network. A Nats spokesperson said a fix was implemented at 4:40pm but significant
delays remained, adding, “We are continuing to work closely with our airline and airport customers on recovery” and apologized for the disruption.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander confirmed technicians identified and were fixing the issue, saying, “I know this will be frustrating for passengers and I’m sorry.” Ryanair’s COO Neal McMahon called for Nats leadership change, saying, “Families travelling on holiday, people travelling for work and thousands of visitors to the UK have once again paid the price for Nats’ abhorrent failure.” Wizz Air stated the Nats system is “not fit for purpose.”
Recovery Timeline and Context
This incident is the third large-scale Nats-related air
traffic control stoppage in just over three years, distinct from outages in 2023 and 2025. The technical fault was identified and a fix implemented roughly four hours later, but recovery remained difficult with delays extending into the following day. British Airways warned operational impacts would continue through Wednesday. A similar full grounding in August 2023 prompted a parliamentary inquiry.
