A technical connectivity fault at the National Air Traffic Services (NATS) Prestwick centre in South Ayrshire, Scotland, was resolved around 11 am local time on September 21, 2026. The centre manages air traffic over Scotland and northern England. Despite the fix, delays and cancellations remain widespread at multiple airports across the UK.
Flight Disruptions at UK Airports Persist
Flight operations continue to experience disruption at Glasgow, Edinburgh, Prestwick, Manchester, Newcastle, Belfast City, East Midlands, Dundee, and Benbecula airports. Manchester Airports Group reported delays of up to one hour at Manchester Airport and continued disruptions at East Midlands Airport. Belfast City Airport cancelled several arrivals and departures,
affecting services to Manchester, Amsterdam, London City, Glasgow, and Edinburgh. AGS, which operates Glasgow, Aberdeen, and Southampton airports, indicated Glasgow Airport was the worst affected, producing knock-on delays across its network. Highlands and Islands Airports confirmed impact on schedules at 11 regional airports under its management.
Official Statements and Passenger Experiences
NATS confirmed the Prestwick centre issue was fixed and said it is working with airlines and airports to lift air traffic restrictions safely. A NATS spokesperson said: “The issue in our Prestwick centre is now fixed. We are working with airports and airlines to safely lift air traffic regulations as quickly as we can
to minimise any further disruption.” UK Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander described the situation as “deeply frustrating for passengers after the previous issue.” Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney pledged government engagement with NATS to ensure system resilience.
Ryanair characterized the disruption as an “equipment failure” affecting flights in the UK and Ireland. The airline reported 140 of its flights and 25,000 passengers were impacted by this incident. Ryanair’s Chief Operations Officer Neal McMahon called for NATS CEO Martin Rolfe to resign, criticizing the company’s inability to maintain a reliable system. Ryanair stated: “Just three days after Nats assured airlines and passengers
that it had introduced robust ‘mitigation plans’, its flight data processing system has failed again. Martin Rolfe’s report claimed that another failure was ‘unlikely’ and that Nats could recover more quickly if one occurred. Those claims have been exposed as completely worthless.” Jet2 Chief Executive Steve Heapy said customers should not face repeated delays from “unreliable air traffic control systems.” British Airways deemed the disruption “disappointing.”
Passengers also reported cancellations and delays. Nicole McCloskey from Kilmarnock had her flight to Paris cancelled but managed to rebook for later the same day. Frank Bonner’s Glasgow-to-London flight was cancelled, jeopardizing his onward
connection to Las Vegas. Lewis Fraser was stuck on the runway at Glasgow Airport facing a possible missed connecting flight to Chicago.
Background of NATS System Failures
NATS handles about 2.5 million flights annually and has faced four major national air traffic incidents over the past three years. In August 2023, a computer shutdown disrupted 700,000 passengers during the bank holiday weekend. A smaller outage in 2025 caused approximately 150 cancellations. The September 21, 2026, Prestwick issue is distinct from an earlier software defect in early September 2026 that led to the cancellation of 2,000 flights nationwide. These incidents have drawn increasing scrutiny on NATS’
system reliability and emergency preparedness. CEO Martin Rolfe defended his leadership and described the software fault as “very, very obscure.”
