On September 8, 2026, a technical malfunction in the flight data processing system of UK air traffic control provider NATS led to the cancellation of nearly 300 flights across 15 airports in the United Kingdom, including Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, and Birmingham.
Airline Flight Cancellations and Passenger Delays
EasyJet cancelled 200 flights, while British Airways cancelled or diverted over 100 flights during the disruption. Ryanair reported delays impacting more than 65,000 passengers, with delays extending up to eight hours across multiple routes.
Operational Impact at Major UK Airports
Departures at Heathrow and Gatwick airports were temporarily halted on the afternoon of September 8. The grounding of departures caused limited ground space, which adversely
affected arrivals as aircraft could not disembark at gates. Thirteen flights originally scheduled to land at Heathrow were diverted to other UK and European airports. At Heathrow, passengers reported planes parked on taxiways with gates unavailable due to congestion.
Official Responses to the Disruption
NATS CEO Martin Rolfe issued an apology for the failure and announced a full investigation into the technical fault. A British Airways spokesperson confirmed more than 100 cancellations and diversions occurred on the afternoon of September 8. The airline urged customers with cancelled flights not to travel to airports and noted their call centres were overwhelmed. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander stated
that it would take time for flight operations to fully resume and said she is seeking assurances that aviation support systems are fit for purpose.
Passenger Accounts and Advice
Passengers affected by the disruption included Chloe Davis, who was delayed on a Virgin Airlines flight at Heathrow scheduled to depart at 13:40 BST. She described aircraft parked on taxiways due to gate shortages. Another passenger, Phil White at Gatwick, waited on the tarmac for hours after being informed flights could not take off due to the radar being down. Authorities and airlines advised passengers to confirm flight statuses with their carriers and avoid travelling
to airports if flights had been cancelled.
Context on NATS Technical Failures and Industry Concerns
The technical issue involved NATS’ flight data processing system, which handles flight plans and operational data used by controllers to manage UK airspace. This incident follows prior disruptions linked to NATS, prompting calls from airlines such as Ryanair and Wizz Air for an organisational overhaul. NATS emphasized that the fault was unrelated to the air traffic control system outage experienced during the August Bank Holiday weekend in 2023.
