UK airports hit by air traffic control fault causing flight delays

dailystar.co.uk — September 8, 2026 at 04:01 PM UTC

A technical issue at National Air Traffic Services (NATS) has caused major disruption at 10 UK airports, including Heathrow and Gatwick, grounding planes and delaying flights, with operations expected to return to normal by 9pm UK time. NATS identified the problem in its flight processing system and engineers are working to resolve it. While airspace remains open and flights are departing, recovery will take time. Affected airports include Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Manchester, East Midlands, Birmingham, Bristol, Stansted, Gatwick, Heathrow, and London City, with passengers advised to check with their airlines. This incident follows previous NATS failures, including a radar-related issue last July and a technical glitch in August 2023 that disrupted over 700,000 passengers. The current disruption has sparked complaints from travellers stuck on tarmacs, and airports like Belfast City and Jersey have also reported potential impacts.

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