Major UK Airports Disrupted by NATS Technical Fault

On September 8, the United Kingdom’s air-traffic-control provider National Air Traffic Services (NATS) identified a fault in its flight-processing system. The problem halted or restricted departures at Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Belfast and several other airports while airspace remained open. Engineers were deployed to the Swanwick and Prestwick control centres and a fix was implemented in the late afternoon, after which the system began to recover.

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NATS supplies air-traffic-control services to 15 UK airports and manages the eastern North-Atlantic sector. The organisation operates under a mixed public-private ownership structure (49 % Crown, 42 % Airline Group, 4 % Heathrow Airport, 5 % employee trust). A similar outage on August 28 2023 forced a six-hour reduction in UK air-space capacity and affected roughly 1 500 flights. A further disruption on July 30 2025 was described as “radar-related” and cancelled more than 150 flights. After the 2023 incident, the Civil Aviation Authority required NATS to review its contingency plans.

UK flight delays after NATS technical failure hits Heathrow, Gatwick and other airports

Reported cancellations vary: FlightRadar24 counted 425 flights cancelled by 5 p.m. BST; CBC cited more than 600; the Independent noted over 400; and TimesLive reported that up to a thousand flights were affected. Delays were also extensive—FlightRadar24 showed almost 300 cancellations and hundreds of delayed movements at the major airports. Ryanair said 65 000 passengers were disrupted and more than 50 flights cancelled.

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NATS issued updates stating that engineers were on site, a fix had been applied and the flight-processing system was “starting to recover.” The agency emphasized that safety was not compromised and that airspace remained open. Heathrow Airport confirmed it was working with NATS and advised passengers to check with their airlines. Gatwick and Manchester issued similar advisories. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander posted on X that she was aware of the issue, apologized to passengers and urged them to verify flight status with airlines. British Airways, EasyJet and Ryanair each released statements acknowledging the disruption and promising to contact affected customers.

BBC NewsAir Traffic Control Issue Disrupts Flights at Heathrow, Gatwick and Other UK Airports BBC NewsThe IndependentUpdated: Nats applies fix after technical fault causes widespread UK flight delays NBC NewsCBC NewsThe National NewsHeathrow and Gatwick Flights Grounded After Air Traffic Control Technical Failure

Airlines and industry groups called for accountability. Ryanair’s chief operating officer Neal McMahon demanded the resignation of NATS chief executive Martin Rolfe, arguing that repeated failures were unacceptable.

UK air traffic control failure: NATS disruption cancels hundreds of flights

• “Flights are still departing and airspace is open, but recovery will take some time.” — NATS, Heathrow spokesman

The Straits Times

• “A critical national infrastructure provider should not repeatedly bring the aviation system to a standstill. Nats is simply not fit for purpose in its current form,” — Wizz Air

Times of South Africa

Sources differ on the total number of cancelled flights, ranging from 200 to about 1 000. No outlet provided a definitive cause for the September 8 fault beyond the generic “flight-processing system” failure, and NATS has not disclosed whether the same software component failed as in the 2023 incident. The Civil Aviation Authority will request a full report from NATS, but the timing of that report remains unspecified.

UK air traffic control failure: NATS disruption cancels hundreds of flights

NATS has pledged to share a comprehensive incident report with Britain’s aviation regulator. The regulator will assess whether additional measures are needed to strengthen the resilience of the UK’s air-traffic-control infrastructure ahead of the busy autumn travel period. Passengers are advised to continue monitoring airline communications and the NATS website for updates.

Times of South Africa