Chaos erupted at UK airports after massive technical glitch

On the evening of September 8, NATS announced that specialists had implemented a fix, and the flight data processing system had begun to recover. The operator stated that it continues to cooperate with airlines and airports to return operations to normal as quickly as possible.

The problem affected not only London. Disruptions also occurred in Stansted, London City, Manchester, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Liverpool, Cardiff, Aberdeen, Glasgow, and Southampton, as well as at Belfast City, Jersey, and Southend airports. Dublin Airport in Ireland also reported delays.

According to Flightradar24 data, by evening the number of cancelled flights approached 300 and continued to increase. Cirium reported that by 4:15 PM local time, about 90 flights had been cancelled at Heathrow and Gatwick.

Ryanair stated that the delays affected more than 65,000 of the airline's passengers, and more than 50 flights were cancelled. easyJet noted that the consequences of the failure were felt across Europe, with some flights unable to depart. Passengers on cancelled flights were promised free ticket rebooking or refunds, and if necessary, food and a hotel.

Airlines again criticized NATS's work. Ryanair stated that this was the third major failure of the operator in the last three years and called on NATS head Martin Rolfe to resign. Wizz Air also stated that an operator of critical national infrastructure should not repeatedly shut down the aviation system.

UK Transport Minister Heidi Alexander apologized to passengers. She stated that specialists had identified the problem and were working to resolve it.

Initially, around 1:46 PM local time, NATS reported a technical failure that disrupted flight schedules. Later, the operator clarified that the cause was in the flight data processing system.

Due to the failure, problems even arose for passengers who had already arrived in the UK. Some people were forced to remain on planes after landing, waiting for transport to the terminals.

The malfunction also affected sporting events. Due to a flight delay to Naples, Arsenal FC was forced to cancel its scheduled pre-match press conference before the first game of the Champions League group stage.

This is not the first major failure in the British aviation system. In August 2023, the automatic processing of flight plans failed, causing widespread chaos at the country's airports. At the time, the incident was called extremely unlikely – with a probability of one case in 15 million. According to airline executives, it cost them more than 100 million pounds in compensation and refunds to passengers.

And in spring 2025, serious disruptions at Heathrow occurred after a major fire at an electrical substation. More than 1,300 flights and about 200,000 passengers were affected. Later, an investigation showed that the cause of the fire was a preventable defect related to moisture ingress, and the version of deliberate arson was ruled out.

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