More than 400 flights were cancelled across the UK on Tuesday, September 8, after a technical fault disrupted air traffic control services at airports including Heathrow and Manchester. The total rose from an earlier estimate of nearly 300 to about 425 arrivals and departures, according to Flightradar24 figures reported by The Associated Press.
British Airways, easyJet, KLM and Lufthansa were among the affected airlines. NATS, the UK air traffic services provider, identified a problem in its flight processing system and later announced that a fix had been implemented.
Heathrow and Gatwick face hundreds of delays
Heathrow recorded about 100 cancellations and 367 delayed flights, according to FlightAware data cited by Reuters. Gatwick had around 250 delayed flights, equivalent to approximately 31 per cent of its schedule.
Stansted, Luton, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Glasgow also reported disruption. Flight movements were restricted, but UK airspace remained open.
NATS said during the incident: ‘Flights are still departing and airspace is open, but recovery will take some time.’
Engineers implement system fix
NATS first reported the technical issue at 1:46 pm UK time. By 4:40 pm, it had announced a fix, although airlines continued to deal with cancellations and delays.
The provider said: ‘We have implemented a fix and our flight system is starting to recover.’ The update was carried in The Guardian’s live coverage.
Eurocontrol reported that some flights heading towards the UK were being held at airports abroad. Disruption was expected to continue into the evening.
Irish and Scottish airports affected
Dublin Airport recorded 44 cancellations by 5 pm, comprising 23 departures and 21 arrivals, according to The Irish Sun. Dublin was not experiencing the technical fault itself, but its services were affected by the UK disruption.
The report also recorded disruption to services at Shannon and Knock. Ryanair reported more than 65,000 affected passengers, over 50 cancellations and delays of up to eight hours.
In Scotland, 29 flights were cancelled at Edinburgh and 18 at Glasgow International. Almost 60 per cent of Edinburgh’s flights were delayed, according to Flightradar24 figures reported by The Scottish Sun.
Airlines seek changes at NATS
Wizz Air and Ryanair called for an overhaul of NATS following the failure. Ryanair also renewed its demand for chief executive Martin Rolfe to resign, Reuters reported.
A Wizz Air spokesperson said: ‘NATS is simply not fit for purpose in its current form.’
The Civil Aviation Authority was in contact with NATS and expected a full incident report before deciding whether further action was needed. As of the latest updates, the system was recovering, but disrupted schedules had not fully returned to normal.