Over 600 flights cancelled at UK airports due to air traffic control failure

Hundreds of flights at major British airports faced delays and cancellations on Tuesday after a technical problem at air traffic control provider National Air Traffic Services (NATS) disrupted flight processing systems, affecting operations at Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Stansted and several other airports.

Although flights continued to depart and British airspace remained open, the disruption caused widespread delays, with NATS later saying it had implemented a fix and that its systems were beginning to recover.

NATS initially said the problem had been traced to its flight processing system and that engineers were working to restore normal operations.

"We have identified that the issue was in our flight processing system. Our engineers are on site and working urgently to resume normal operations as quickly as possible," NATS said in a statement, as quoted by Reuters. "Flights are still departing and airspace is open, but recovery will take some time," it added.

Heathrow, Britain's largest airport, said it was coordinating with NATS to resolve the disruption. Flight-tracking website Flightradar24 said arrivals and departures were being regulated at airports across



the London flight information region because of the technical problem.

The disruption quickly translated into significant delays and cancellations. FlightAware data showed that around 100 flights had been cancelled at Heathrow, while 367 were delayed.

At Gatwick, about 250 flights were delayed, accounting for roughly 31% of the airport's total flights. Nearly 300 cancellations were reported across affected airports by Tuesday afternoon as NATS systems began returning to normal.

Airports beyond London were also affected. Edinburgh Airport warned passengers that the technical issue could have an impact on its operations, while Dublin Airport said flights arriving from and departing for Britain were also facing disruption. Luton and Birmingham airports, along with Aberdeen and Glasgow, reported delays or cancellations.

Airlines were also forced to adjust their operations. British Airways said it was experiencing disruption because of the NATS problem.

"This is entirely out of our control, and we're in touch with our customers whilst our teams work to get them on their way as quickly as possible," the airline said in a statement cited by Reuters.