A technical fault in the UK’s National Air Traffic Services (NATS) flight processing system at the Swanwick centre caused the cancellation of more than 1,300 flights on Tuesday, September 8, 2026. The failure grounded departing flights at Heathrow, Gatwick, and approximately 15 other UK airports, forcing airlines to cancel or divert services and leading to widespread delays into the following day.
On Wednesday, September 9, 2026, airlines cancelled an additional 177 flights while working to clear the backlog. The issue first came to light when NATS confirmed it was investigating the problem at 1:46 pm on Tuesday.
Airports Affected by NATS System Failure
Besides Heathrow and
Gatwick, airports impacted included Manchester, Edinburgh, London Stansted, London City, Aberdeen, East Midlands, Birmingham, and Bristol. The disruption extended beyond UK borders, affecting operations at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris and Alicante Airport in Spain.
Heathrow temporarily suspended arrivals but resumed departures shortly after. Manchester Airport warned of delays on outbound services, while Edinburgh and Stansted airports also reported significant operational impacts, including passengers stranded on planes on the tarmac.
Airline Flight Cancellations and Passenger Impact
British Airways cancelled or diverted more than 100 flights linked to the disruption, affecting tens of thousands of passengers. Ryanair announced over 50 flight cancellations, with more than 65,000
passengers impacted, some spending as long as three hours aboard flights at Gatwick before cancellation was confirmed.
Air India was forced to divert, delay, or cancel multiple flights to and from UK airports due to the NATS fault, warning of additional delays on other services as aircraft and crews remained out of position. EasyJet reported delays across Europe as the UK air traffic controller failure had ripple effects on continental operations.
Passenger Experiences and On-Ground Delays
Passengers endured long waits both on aircraft and within terminals. At Gatwick, healthcare worker Josie Donoghue described spending about three hours onboard a Ryanair flight before its cancellation, calling
the experience an “absolute nightmare” and likening airport exit delays to “trying to get out of Alcatraz.”
At Heathrow, passengers on a British Airways flight bound for Baltimore waited approximately four hours on the ground before disembarking. Subsequent disruptions extended to the terminal, with reports of difficulties retrieving luggage.
Official Responses and Recovery Efforts
NATS reported resolving the technical fault but cautioned that full recovery of normal operations would take time. “Work is continuing to assist airlines and airports recover from today’s disruption,” the provider said. “This has been a very complex recovery and has created difficulties for the whole aviation network, from which it
will take time to recover.” NATS confirmed that engineers were on site and the investigation remained ongoing.
British Airways characterized the incident as “entirely out of our control,” emphasizing significant knock-on effects with aircraft and crews displaced. Air India confirmed flights to and from UK airports were impacted and underscored delays from aircraft and crew misalignment.
Heathrow Airport stated that while arrivals were not currently affected, departures were disrupted. Manchester Airport advised passengers to verify flight status with their airline. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said the government is seeking assurances from NATS, stressing that systems must be resilient enough to
handle such disruptions and that lessons need to be learned.
Ryanair’s chief operating officer Neal McMahon called for the removal of NATS Chief Executive Martin Rolfe, criticizing the provider’s failure to serve UK travelers effectively.
