More than 1,000 flights were cancelled across the UK after a major technical failure at the country’s air traffic control provider caused widespread disruption at some of Britain’s busiest airports.
The failure affected the flight data processing system operated by National Air Traffic Services (NATS) on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, leaving thousands of passengers facing cancellations, lengthy delays and disrupted travel plans.
Although NATS later confirmed that the technical problem had been resolved, the impact continued into Wednesday as airlines and airports worked to reposition aircraft and crews and clear the backlog.
NATS technical failure causes widespread disruption
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NATS said the disruption was linked to an issue with its flight data processing system.
The problem affected the organisation’s ability to manage flight operations efficiently, creating a knock-on effect across the UK aviation network.
NATS later said the system had been restored and that operations had returned to normal, but warned that recovering from the disruption was complex.
The organisation also said safety had not been compromised during the incident.
The outage highlighted how quickly a technical problem affecting air traffic control can spread across a highly interconnected aviation network.
More than 1,000 flights cancelled
Data from FlightRadar24 showed that around 1,300 flights to and from UK airports were cancelled during Tuesday’s disruption.
Hundreds more flights were delayed, affecting passengers travelling through major airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, London City, Luton, Edinburgh and Bristol.
Heathrow, Britain’s busiest airport, was among the airports significantly affected.
By Tuesday evening, Heathrow said arrivals had been suspended for the remainder of the day, while departures had resumed. However, passengers were warned that disruption would continue as airlines attempted to restore normal schedules.
Airlines hit by cancellations
Several major airlines were badly affected by the air traffic control failure.
British Airways cancelled or diverted around 100 flights, while Ryanair said more than 200 of its flights were cancelled.
Ryanair said approximately 150,000 of its passengers were affected by delays of up to eight hours.
The airline’s chief operating officer, Neal McMahon, sharply criticised NATS and renewed calls for chief executive Martin Rolfe to resign.
Wizz Air also called for major reforms, arguing that repeated failures had created unacceptable consequences for passengers and airlines.
Passengers left stranded
The disruption left travellers across Britain dealing with long waits, cancelled journeys and uncertainty over when they would reach their destinations.
Passengers were advised to check directly with their airlines before travelling to airports because flight schedules were changing rapidly.
Airports also warned that even after the technical problem was fixed, the disruption could continue because aircraft and crew were no longer in their planned locations.
Heathrow said passengers should check with their airline before setting off because schedules would have changed as a result of Tuesday’s disruption.
NATS chief faces growing pressure
The latest failure has renewed questions about the reliability of Britain’s air traffic control infrastructure.
It comes three years after another major NATS failure in August 2023 caused widespread disruption across the UK.
That earlier incident resulted in significant financial losses for airlines and prompted the Civil Aviation Authority to require NATS to review its contingency arrangements.
A further radar-related technical problem disrupted flights in July 2025.
The recurrence of major failures has increased pressure on NATS and its leadership.
Ryanair has again called for Martin Rolfe to resign, while Wizz Air has demanded urgent reform of the organisation.
Government demands answers
The latest disruption has also attracted the attention of the UK government.
Transport Minister Heidi Alexander summoned NATS chief executive Martin Rolfe to explain what happened and to provide assurances about the reliability of the system.
The Civil Aviation Authority said it expects NATS to provide a full report on the incident before considering whether further action is necessary.
The regulator is expected to examine the cause of the failure and whether additional measures are required to improve the resilience of Britain’s air traffic control system.
Flights resume but disruption continues
By Wednesday morning, flights had resumed across UK airports following the resolution of the technical problem.
However, passengers were warned that the effects of the outage would not disappear immediately.
Airlines needed to reposition aircraft and crew, while airports had to deal with large numbers of passengers whose original flights had been cancelled or delayed.
Heathrow and Gatwick both advised passengers to check their flight status before travelling to the airport.
A major warning for UK aviation
The latest air traffic control failure has exposed the vulnerability of Britain’s aviation network to technical problems.
While NATS maintained that safety was never compromised, the scale of the disruption has raised questions about whether existing systems and backup arrangements are sufficiently resilient.
With more than 1,000 flights cancelled and hundreds of thousands of passengers affected, the incident is likely to trigger renewed scrutiny of NATS and Britain’s aviation infrastructure.
For passengers, the immediate priority remains checking with airlines before travelling and allowing extra time as the industry works to clear the backlog.
The technical fault may now be resolved, but its impact on Britain’s aviation network is expected to continue for some time.
