A technical connectivity failure at the National Air Traffic Services (Nats) Prestwick Centre in Scotland caused flight delays across multiple UK airports on September 21, 2026. Engineers resolved the issue at the South Ayrshire-based centre, which manages air traffic over Scotland and northern England, but residual traffic management measures continued to delay flights.
Airports Affected by Delays and Cancellations
Delays and cancellations were reported at Manchester, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Belfast City, East Midlands, Dundee, and Benbecula airports. Manchester Airports Group confirmed some flights at Manchester Airport were delayed by up to one hour, while East Midlands Airport also experienced operational delays. Belfast City Airport canceled several
arrivals and departures, affecting routes to Manchester, Amsterdam, London City, Glasgow, and Edinburgh.
Flight Statistics and Passenger Impact
Ryanair reported that 140 flights were impacted by the fault, affecting approximately 25,000 passengers on UK and Ireland routes. Nearly 200 flights faced delays overall, with multiple British Airways and EasyJet cancellations reported, particularly at Belfast City Airport. Passengers encountered extended waits on runways and some missed connecting flights, including a case of a traveler unable to make a scheduled connection to Chicago. Disrupted travel plans led some passengers to rebook flights or arrange overnight accommodations due to missed connections.
Official Comments and Airline Reactions
Nats stated the issue at Prestwick Centre
was fixed and that it was collaborating with airports and airlines to safely lift air traffic regulations and reduce disruptions. UK Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander acknowledged the difficulties passengers faced and confirmed the problem’s resolution. Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney pledged to engage with Nats to enhance system resilience. AGS, the operator of Glasgow Airport, confirmed ongoing delays and warned of further network-wide knock-on effects.
Airline executives expressed frustration over recurrent failures. Ryanair’s Chief Operations Officer Neal McMahon criticized Nats for the repeat outage just days after mitigation plans were introduced. Ryanair called for the resignation of Nats CEO Martin
Rolfe. Jet2 CEO Steve Heapy also condemned the repeated disruptions experienced by customers and airlines. British Airways described the disruption as “disappointing” following yet another technical fault at Nats.
Background on Recent Air Traffic Control Disruptions
The technical issue on September 21 involved a network connectivity failure at the Prestwick Centre and was unrelated to a software defect that caused more than 2,000 flight cancellations on September 8, 2026. Nats has faced four major national air traffic incidents in the past three years, including a computer shutdown in 2023 affecting 700,000 passengers and a smaller 2025 outage causing 150 cancellations. The Prestwick Centre oversees air traffic for
Scotland and northern England, linking operations across multiple airports and creating nationwide delays when faults occur.
