More than 250 flights were cancelled across the United Kingdom on Wednesday, 9 September 2026, as a technical glitch in the country’s air traffic control system disrupted operations. FlightRadar24 reported 177 cancellations for the day at the time of reporting, following 1,300 cancellations on Tuesday, 8 September 2026. Nearly all of Wednesday’s cancelled flights were at London’s Heathrow Airport.
NATS Technical Glitch and Recovery Efforts
The disruption originated from a system issue within National Air Traffic Services (NATS), the UK’s air traffic control provider. NATS announced late Tuesday that the fault had been resolved but noted that recovery was “very complex” and would take time. The
organisation apologised for the disruption, stating it was “working as hard as possible to clear the backlog of flights” and that assisting airlines and airports remained its priority.
Affected Airports Across the UK and Ireland
In addition to Heathrow, the disruption impacted several other UK airports including Gatwick in London, Liverpool, Birmingham and Edinburgh. Dublin Airport in Ireland also cancelled dozens of flights due to the situation. Heathrow was forced to suspend arrivals temporarily on Tuesday but resumed departures by late that day. The airport warned that “disruption is expected to continue” and advised passengers to verify flight status with their airlines before travelling.
Airlines and Passenger Impact
British Airways cancelled
or diverted over 100 flights amid the disruption, affecting tens of thousands of customers. Irish budget carrier Ryanair cancelled more than 50 flights, resulting in interruptions for over 65,000 passengers. The technical difficulties caused long delays and cancellations, with some passengers stranded on runways for hours. Gatwick passenger Josie Donoghue described her experience after being stuck on a flight to Ireland for three hours as “an absolute nightmare.” The delay to an Arsenal football team flight also led to the cancellation of a Champions League news conference scheduled for Wednesday.
Official Responses and Industry Criticism
NATS issued an unreserved apology for the frustration caused and
emphasised the complexity of recovery. Heathrow Airport echoed warnings of ongoing disruption. British Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander stated she was seeking assurances that lessons would be learned and that aviation support systems were reliable. Ryanair COO Neal McMahon publicly called for the removal of NATS chief executive Martin Rolfe, saying he “failed UK travellers” again and demanded government intervention to appoint leadership capable of managing the system effectively.
The incident follows a similar major air traffic control failure in 2023 that disrupted over 700,000 passengers and a notable technical glitch in July 2025, highlighting ongoing vulnerabilities in the UK’s aviation
infrastructure.
