UK Flights Resume Following Major Air Traffic Control Outage Citing Nearly 2,000 Cancellations
Flights are back in the air across the UK following a massive air traffic control outage that caused the cancellation of nearly 2,000 flights, though officials warn that delays will persist.
Flights across the United Kingdom are returning to the skies following a major technical issue with air traffic control that forced nearly 2,000 flights to be grounded on Tuesday. The hours-long outage impacted hundreds of thousands of passengers. Although planes have begun operating again as of Wednesday, airports and industry officials warn that it will take time for normal operations to resume, with ongoing delays expected.
The disruption has been officially recognized by air traffic control provider NATS. NATS boss Martin Rolfe appeared on Radio 4's Today programme to apologize for the widespread travel disruptions. "I absolutely understand the frustration... we absolutely take accountability and responsibility for that," Rolfe stated. Additionally, Transport Minister Heidi Alexander is scheduled to meet with Rolfe to review how the outage happened and discuss preventive measures for the future. NATS has explicitly ruled out a cyber attack as the cause of the system failure.
Major travel hubs like Heathrow and Gatwick airports have cautioned travelers that restoring full operational functionality will take time. While flights have successfully departed from Gatwick airport, passengers continue to experience lingering schedule disruptions, with reported delays ranging anywhere from ten minutes up to two hours.
Sources
- Gamereactor UKSecondary publication · recorded Sep 10, 2026UK flights back in the air after nearly 2,000 were cancelled, but more delays are expected