Airports across the United Kingdom faced widespread flight delays and cancellations after an air traffic control system failure disrupted operations at some of the country’s busiest airports.
The disruption, which began on Tuesday, affected London’s Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports, as well as Manchester Airport, leaving thousands of passengers stranded or facing lengthy delays.
Aircraft tracking service Flightradar24 reported that about 1,300 flights to or from UK airports were cancelled on Tuesday. By Wednesday, another 177 cancellations had been recorded, with most occurring at Heathrow.
Heathrow Airport, one of Europe’s busiest aviation hubs, said departures had resumed but arrivals remained affected, warning passengers that disruption was expected to continue as airlines worked to clear the backlog.
The National Air Traffic Services, NATS, which manages the UK’s air traffic control system, said the technical problem had been resolved but acknowledged that restoring normal operations was taking longer than expected.
“We know this is hugely frustrating and apologise unreservedly,” NATS said, adding that its systems were operating normally while efforts continued to clear the backlog.
The incident triggered frustration among passengers, with images and videos showing long queues and crowded terminals circulating widely on social media.
Ryanair said about 65,000 of its passengers were affected and that more than 50 scheduled flights had been cancelled.
The airline subsequently called for NATS chief executive Martin Rolfe to resign, accusing the organisation of failing passengers.
Ryanair chief operating officer Neal McMahon pointed to a similar air traffic control failure in 2023, arguing that travellers were once again bearing the consequences of a major system breakdown.
Rolfe, however, defended NATS, telling the BBC that its systems remained fit for purpose while apologising for the latest disruption.
The impact also extended beyond the UK. Air India said the outage forced it to divert, delay or cancel several flights operating to and from British airports, while Qatar Airways warned passengers of possible delays and route changes.
The latest disruption comes after several major incidents have affected UK aviation in recent years.
Heathrow was forced to close in 2025 following a major power outage linked to a nearby fire, while a global IT failure in 2024 caused widespread problems for airlines and airports around the world.
UK Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said the government was seeking assurances that lessons would be learned and that systems supporting the country’s aviation sector were capable of handling future disruptions.
