Delays and Cancellations Persist After Major Disruption at U.K. Airports

By the Editorial Team · Thursday, September 10, 2026

A technical fault in the UK's National Air Traffic Services system caused over 2,000 flight disruptions and hundreds of cancellations across major airports, particularly at London Heathrow. The widespread delays affected around 300,000 passengers, prompting ongoing investigations and warnings of continued travel disruptions throughout the week.

Hundreds of additional flight cancellations were reported across the United Kingdom on Wednesday, following a major air traffic control system failure that disrupted over 2,000 flights and significantly affected passengers, especially at London Heathrow Airport.

The disruption began on Tuesday when National Air Traffic Services (NATS), the primary provider of Britain’s air traffic control, identified a technical fault in one of its flight management computer systems. Although engineers addressed the problem overnight and operations stabilized by Wednesday, the effects continued with residual delays and cancellations. As of early Wednesday afternoon, approximately 320 flights remained canceled nationwide, with Heathrow being the most severely impacted airport.

Passengers described chaotic conditions at major airports. At Heathrow, travelers faced long queues, delays in baggage handling, and difficulties securing accommodations as local hotels quickly reached capacity. Gatwick Airport saw some passengers remain on grounded planes for up to six hours, while others impacted at London Stansted resorted to sleeping on the floor. Jeanette Clement, a passenger affected by cancellations at Heathrow on Tuesday, described the experience as "depressing," criticizing the lack of information and support while waiting for assistance. She ultimately canceled her planned trip after being rebooked for a flight later that day.

NATS has pledged to conduct a full investigation into the incident. The company acknowledged the complexity of the recovery process and warned that the disruption had wide-ranging consequences across Britain’s aviation network. Martin Rolfe, NATS chief executive, apologized for the inconvenience and dismissed suggestions that the failure was related to a cyberattack.

Cirium, an aviation analytics firm, reported that on Tuesday, more than 1,700 flights were canceled or failed to depart as scheduled, affecting airports beyond London, including Edinburgh and Manchester. The cumulative impact has left an estimated 300,000 passengers affected over the two days.

The cascading effects extended internationally, with Malaysia Airlines canceling its Wednesday flight from Heathrow to Kuala Lumpur due to the inbound flight being diverted to Manchester. Jason Leong, a passenger on the diverted flight, described long baggage retrieval delays and an unexpected overnight stay in Manchester, opting to travel to London by train to avoid further disruptions.

Major airlines responded with differing assessments. British Airlines reported operating nearly 80 percent of its flights on Wednesday and managing to rebook the majority of impacted customers. In contrast, Ryanair criticized NATS and the UK government, calling for intervention after more than 65,000 of its passengers were affected. Neal McMahon, Ryanair’s chief operations officer, accused the air traffic control provider of failing airlines and travelers.

The incident continues a pattern of technical problems experienced by NATS in recent years. In August 2023, a separate air traffic control failure disrupted travel for an estimated 700,000 passengers over several days. Earlier, in July 2025, flights were briefly grounded due to a radar system issue.

Airports including Gatwick, Luton, and Stansted remain operational but have urged travelers to anticipate further delays and disruptions for the remainder of the week as the aviation sector works to normalize schedules.

This article was reported by synthesizing coverage from multiple independent news outlets to present a balanced, unbiased account. Read about our editorial standards. Spotted an error? Let us know.