More than 2,000 flights were cancelled between September 8 and 9, 2026, due to a technical failure within NATS’ air traffic control flight data system, affecting major UK airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Luton, and Edinburgh. The disruption grounded approximately 30% of scheduled departures on September 8 and 5% on September 9, impacting around 300,000 passengers nationwide.
Airline Losses and Passenger Disruption
Ryanair cancelled 260 flights, disrupting 48,000 passengers, and reported losses of £3 million from the outage. British Airways cancelled or diverted 100 flights on September 8 and cancelled 190 flights as operations continued the following day. British Airways alone cancelled 81 flights on
September 8. EasyJet had 24 flights cancelled. Heathrow, Gatwick, and Manchester airports experienced significant knock-on effects, with Heathrow advising passengers to check flight statuses due to aircraft and crew repositioning delays.
Government Response and Official Statements
Transport Minister Heidi Alexander summoned NATS CEO Martin Rolfe to explain the failure and ordered a full report within one week. Alexander stated, “I do not believe this issue was unavoidable,” and directed the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to conduct an independent review with findings expected in six months. She emphasized passengers should not have to endure such disruption and tasked the CAA to ensure reliability of air traffic
control systems.
Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary described the incident as “an absolute rerun” of the 2023 outage caused by a rogue flight plan and reiterated calls for Rolfe’s resignation. Airlines UK CEO Tim Alderslade said the failure exposed gaps in the UK aviation regulatory framework whereby airlines bear the costs of disruptions even if caused outside their control.
Investigations and Regulatory Context
NATS confirmed the failure was caused by a fault in their flight data system and denied any cyberattack involvement. They pledged a full investigation to establish the root cause and identify necessary remedial actions. This marks the second major outage in three
years following the 2023 failure linked to a rogue flight plan and a 2025 radar-related technical issue affecting Heathrow and other airports.
The CAA stated passengers are unlikely to be entitled to compensation as the disruption qualifies as an extraordinary circumstance. Airlines remain responsible for providing refunds, rebooking, meals, accommodation, and reasonable expenses to affected passengers.
Impact on Passengers and Airlines
Approximately 300,000 passengers faced cancellations and delays across key UK airports. British Airways and Ryanair cancellations affected tens of thousands of customers. The CAA clarified that under current regulations, compensation claims are generally not applicable for this type of system failure, though airlines must
assist passengers with rebooking and accommodations.
Industry Ownership and Legal Actions
NATS is a public-private partnership partially owned by airlines including British Airways and easyJet, pension funds, and the government. The company paid £175 million in dividends to its owners in 2025. Ryanair is suing NATS for more than £7 million relating to the 2023 outage and criticized the operator for insufficient investment in performance and staffing improvements to prevent repeated failures.
