More than 2,000 flights were cancelled across over 15 UK airports, including London Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Luton, and Edinburgh, on September 8 and 9, 2026, due to a major technical failure in the NATS air traffic control flight data system. The outages disrupted travel for approximately 300,000 passengers, with Heathrow alone cancelling 182 flights.
Cause and Background of the Disruption
The failure originated from a fault within the NATS flight data system, marking the second major outage by the organization in three years. Previous shutdowns occurred in August 2023 and July 2025. Transport Minister Heidi Alexander confirmed the issue was not caused by a cyberattack and
stated, “I do not believe this issue was unavoidable.” The government has directed NATS CEO Martin Rolfe to investigate the failure and produce a report within one week. An independent review by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) will analyze the root cause and provide findings within six months.
Airline Impact and Financial Losses
British Airways cancelled 81 flights, while easyJet cancelled 24, making them among the most affected carriers. Ryanair faced the largest airline impact with 260 flight cancellations affecting 48,000 passengers and reported losses of £3 million from the outage. Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary described the outage as “an absolute rerun” of the 2023
shutdown and called for NATS CEO Martin Rolfe to resign. Ryanair is pursuing legal action against NATS over the 2023 outage, seeking more than £7 million.
Official Statements and Industry Response
Transport Minister Heidi Alexander emphasized that passengers should not endure such disruption and tasked the CAA with conducting an independent review to ensure air traffic control reliability. A NATS spokeswoman confirmed a full investigation to identify the root cause and necessary actions. Airlines UK CEO Tim Alderslade said, “The latest NATS failure has again exposed a gap in the UK’s aviation regulatory framework,” and expressed concern that airlines must absorb disruption costs even when
outside their control.
Passenger Guidance and Compensation
Airports including Heathrow and Gatwick resumed operations gradually but warned of ongoing delays due to aircraft and crew repositioning. Passengers faced cancellations and delays affecting travel plans but are entitled to refunds, rebooking, meals, accommodation, and reasonable expenses for disrupted flights. Compensation is generally not payable as the disruption qualifies under “extraordinary circumstances” according to the CAA.
NATS Ownership, Dividends, and Regulatory Scrutiny
NATS operates as a public-private partnership partly owned by airlines including British Airways and easyJet, pension funds, and the UK government. In 2025, NATS paid £175 million in dividends to its owners during a year in which it also experienced
prior outages. The UK government continues to scrutinize the regulatory and operational resilience of UK air traffic control systems in light of repeated failures.
