UK flights grounded after air traffic control fault disrupts 625 services

Hundreds of UK flights were grounded on September 8, 2026, after a technical problem with the air traffic control system, impacting at least 625 flights across the country. The issue, caused by a fault in National Air Traffic Services' flight processing system, affected major airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, and Edinburgh. NATS confirmed the problem was resolved by evening, but airlines warned of significant knock-on delays for passengers. British Airways cancelled or diverted over 100 flights, while Ryanair reported more than 65,000 passengers delayed by up to eight hours. UK Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander apologized and said lessons would be learned from the disruption.