A technical fault at the Prestwick Centre, which manages air traffic control across Scotland and northern England, was resolved on 21 September 2026, yet flight disruptions remain at multiple UK airports.
Delays and cancellations across UK airports
Manchester Airport experienced flight delays of up to one hour, according to Manchester Airports Group, while East Midlands Airport also faced delays on affected routes. Belfast City Airport cancelled several arrivals and departures, including flights connecting to Manchester, Amsterdam, London City, Glasgow, and Edinburgh. Disruptions extended to Glasgow, Prestwick, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Dundee, and Benbecula airports. The Highlands and Islands airports network reported impacts on schedules across 11 regional stations.
Official responses to ongoing disruption
Nats confirmed the issue at the Prestwick Centre has been fixed and said it is working closely with airlines and airports to lift air traffic restrictions safely and limit further disruption. UK Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander called the problems “deeply frustrating for passengers after the previous issue.” Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney pledged to engage with Nats to improve system resilience in air traffic control. The operator AGS highlighted that Glasgow Airport was primarily affected, with ongoing network knock-on effects.
Passenger experiences and airline criticism
Passengers reported long delays on the ground, including one at Glasgow Airport who said wait times on the runway had
reached possibly one hour and 45 minutes. Travelers faced cancellations often requiring rebooking and additional overnight stays. Ryanair reported that 140 flights and 25,000 passengers were impacted by the equipment failure and demanded the resignation of Nats CEO Martin Rolfe. Jet2’s CEO Steve Heapy described repeated Nats failures as “simply not good enough,” emphasizing the disruption for customers and airlines alike. British Airways called the disturbance “disappointing” due to yet another Nats technical fault.
Background on Nats air traffic incidents
This is the second significant Nats technical issue affecting UK airports in two weeks, separate from a software defect on 8 September 2026 that led to
2,000 flight cancellations. Nats, which manages approximately 2.5 million flights annually, has faced four national air traffic control incidents in the past three years, including a major 2023 computer shutdown impacting 700,000 passengers and a 2025 outage causing 150 cancellations.
Calls for accountability amid travel disruption
Flight delays and cancellations on 21 September 2026 have disrupted passenger plans across Scotland, northern England, and other parts of the UK. Ryanair COO Neal McMahon criticized Nats’ failure to deliver reliable systems or effective backups days after claiming improvements, stressing the impact on passengers. Travelers like Frank Bonner and Nicole McCloskey shared their disrupted itineraries caused by cancellations and
delays. Industry leaders continue to demand increased reliability and accountability from the UK’s air traffic control provider.
