More than 2,000 flights were cancelled across the United Kingdom on September 8 and 9, 2026, following a technical failure in National Air Traffic Services’ (NATS) flight data processing system. The outage began at 1:46 p.m. local time on 8 September and a fix was applied around 4:40 p.m. Flight operations were sharply reduced during the outage, severely limiting takeoffs and landings at multiple UK airports.
British Airways cancelled nearly 550 flights, affecting more than 85,000 customers, while Ryanair cancelled over 50 flights, impacting roughly 48,000 passengers and recording estimated losses of about £3 million. EasyJet cancelled approximately 200 flights.
Airlines including Air India and Qatar Airways also reported delays and cancellations.
The disruption affected at least fifteen UK airports, including major hubs such as Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Birmingham, Stansted, Luton, London City, and Edinburgh. Heathrow Airport, the UK’s busiest with over 84 million passengers in 2025, highlighted ongoing risks of delays due to aircraft and crew repositioning following the outage.
Government and Industry Response
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander confirmed the failure was not caused by a cyberattack and announced a one-week deadline for NATS CEO Martin Rolfe to report on the incident. Alexander also ordered an independent review by the Civil Aviation Authority
(CAA), scheduled to report back in six months. She stated, “I am clear that passengers should not have to face this disruption. I have therefore asked the CAA to conduct an independent review to establish the cause and ensure that our air traffic control systems can get passengers to where they need to be.”
An official NATS spokeswoman said a full investigation would be conducted to determine the root cause and any necessary further actions. Airlines UK CEO Tim Alderslade criticized the regulatory gap that requires airlines to absorb disruption costs beyond their control, saying, “The latest NATS failure has
again exposed a gap in the UK’s aviation regulatory framework.”
Ryanair’s COO Neal McMahon called for the resignation of NATS CEO Rolfe, with Ryanair’s CEO Michael O’Leary denouncing the failure as a repeat of the 2023 shutdown caused by a rogue flight plan. Ryanair is currently suing NATS for more than £7 million over the 2023 outage.
Passenger Impact and Compensation
Over 2,000 cancellations over Tuesday and Wednesday combined disrupted travel for hundreds of thousands of passengers. British Airways rebooked more than 60,000 customers on alternative flights and offered free changes until 13 September. Due to the classification of the outage as an extraordinary
circumstance by the CAA, fixed compensation claims are unlikely to apply. However, passengers remain entitled to assistance, refunds, rebooking, meals, and accommodation when flights are cancelled.
The significant reduction of permitted takeoffs and landings during the outage extended delays as aircraft and crews repositioned across affected airports. Heathrow Airport warned of knock-on delays continuing after the outage.
Background on NATS Failures
This incident marks the third major NATS failure in three years. Previous outages include an August 2023 automatic flight plan processing fault and a radar fault in July 2025, both of which caused extensive flight disruptions at major UK airports. NATS is a
public-private partnership partially owned by airlines such as British Airways and easyJet, pension funds, and the UK government. In 2025, NATS paid £175 million in dividends to its owners.
During the 2026 outage, NATS used its operational controls to severely limit the number of takeoffs and landings until the fault was resolved, leading to extensive cancellations and delays across affected airports.
