Thousands of air passengers across the United Kingdom were caught up in widespread travel disruption after a technical problem affected the country’s air traffic control network.
The incident caused major problems at several airports, including London Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted, as well as Manchester Airport.
Travellers reported long waits, cancelled flights and crowded terminals as airlines struggled to return to normal schedules.
Flight-tracking company Flightradar24 estimated that roughly 1,300 flights involving UK airports were cancelled on Tuesday. Another 177 cancellations were recorded the following day, with Heathrow accounting for the largest share.
Although flights were beginning to depart from Heathrow, the airport said incoming services were still experiencing difficulties. Passengers were warned that delays could persist while airlines dealt with aircraft and crew displaced by the disruption.
The UK’s air navigation provider, National Air Traffic Services (NATS), said engineers had fixed the technical fault. However, the organisation cautioned that resolving the wider disruption would take time because of the backlog created by the failure.
NATS apologised to affected travellers and said its systems were functioning normally as efforts continued to restore the flight network.
The disruption quickly became a source of anger among passengers. Videos and photographs posted online showed packed airport halls and lengthy queues as travellers waited for information about their flights.
Ryanair said the incident had affected around 65,000 of its customers and resulted in the cancellation of more than 50 flights. The airline later demanded the resignation of NATS chief executive Martin Rolfe, arguing that passengers had once again suffered because of failures within the air traffic control system.
Ryanair chief operating officer Neal McMahon cited another major NATS disruption in 2023, saying the latest incident demonstrated that lessons had not been adequately applied.
Rolfe rejected criticism of the organisation, telling the BBC that NATS’s systems remained suitable for their intended purpose. He nevertheless apologised to passengers affected by the latest failure.
The consequences were not limited to domestic travel. International carriers were also forced to alter their operations. Air India reported that some flights connected to British airports had been cancelled, delayed or diverted, while Qatar Airways warned customers that they could face delays and changes to planned routes.
The incident is the latest in a series of serious setbacks for Britain’s aviation infrastructure. Heathrow experienced a major closure in 2025 after a power failure associated with a nearby fire, while a worldwide technology outage in 2024 disrupted airline and airport operations across numerous countries.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said the government was seeking guarantees that the aviation systems on which the country depends were sufficiently resilient and that appropriate lessons would be taken from the latest disruption.
Airlines and airport authorities are now working to clear the backlog and return services to their regular schedules.
