A technical failure in the United Kingdom’s air traffic control system disrupted hundreds of flights Tuesday, Sept. 8, affecting major airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and Stansted. The National Air Traffic Service (NATS), the country’s air navigation services provider, later said it had identified the problem and implemented a fix, but warned that the recovery would take time.
NATS Fixes Flight-Processing System as Disruptions Spread
The problem was traced to NATS’ flight-processing system, which is used to process flight information needed for air traffic control operations. NATS initially said its engineers were investigating a “technical issue” before later confirming that a fix had been implemented.
“We have implemented a fix and our flight system is starting to recover,” NATS said, adding, “We are continuing to work closely with our airline and airport customers on recovery”
The disruption affected departures at airports across Britain, with the impact extending beyond the country as aircraft and crews were left out of position. According to recent reports, nearly 1,000 flights have been delayed or canceled. British Airways, easyJet, Ryanair, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Lufthansa were among the airlines affected. Ryanair said more than 65,000 of its passengers experienced delays of up to eight hours, while more than 50 of its flights were canceled.
The disruption did not end when the technical fault was fixed. With aircraft and crews displaced across the network, airlines faced the difficult task of rebuilding schedules and getting passengers and planes to their intended destinations.
Ryanair and Wizz Air Demand Overhaul of NATS
The failure has prompted renewed criticism of Britain’s air traffic control system, three years after a separate NATS system failure caused widespread disruption across the country. Wizz Air said the latest incident demonstrated that the organization needed significant changes.
“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,” a Wizz Air spokesperson said.
Ryanair went further, calling for NATS Chief Executive Martin Rolfe to resign. The airline’s Chief Operating Officer, Neal McMahon, said passengers had once again been left dealing with the consequences of an air traffic control failure.
“Following the 2023 collapse, we were told lessons would be learned. We were told ‘resilience would improve’. We were told the system had been fixed. Yet here we are again,” McMahon said.
The Civil Aviation Authority said it has contacted NATS and is awaiting a full report on the incident. The regulator said it will consider whether further steps are needed after reviewing the cause of failure and NATS’s response. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander also called for assurances that the necessary improvements will be made following the disruption.
Latest updates indicate that disruption is expected to continue for the rest of the day. The air traffic control provider admitted the recovery of regular flights was taking longer than they hoped despite system issue being resolved.
This is a developing story. Follow Travel Radar for the updates as more information becomes available.
