A technical failure at the NATS air traffic control centre in Prestwick, Scotland, on Monday, September 21, 2026, reduced flight capacity in Scottish-controlled airspace by approximately 60%. The disruption forced EasyJet to cancel more than 20 flights and led to at least 24 flight cancellations across affected UK airports, with British Airways and KLM flights also impacted, according to Cedar News.
Flight Disruptions Across Northern UK Airports
The failure caused significant operational issues at Edinburgh and Glasgow airports, resulting in substantial delays and cancellations. Flights involving Northern Ireland and northern England were also affected, while airports south of Manchester remained broadly unaffected, NATS confirmed.
Capacity Cuts Affect Transatlantic Routes and Flight Processing
Eurocontrol data
showed capacity for some transatlantic departures was reduced by around 40%, disrupting routes between Britain, Europe, and North America. Due to the ongoing technical problems, some flight processing had to be handled manually. Engineers remain on site at the Prestwick centre investigating and working to resolve the failure.
Official Statements and Incident Clarifications
NATS stated the September 21 incident at Prestwick is unrelated to the earlier major UK air traffic control outage in the same month. The agency reiterated that airports south of Manchester were largely unaffected but advised that flights to and from Scottish and northern UK airports may continue to face restrictions and
delays.
