LONDON: Glitch in UK Air Traffic Control Technical Glitch, more than 600 flights to and from UK airports were cancelled Tuesday due to what the country’s air traffic control service said was a “technical issue”, in the latest glitch to cause disruption.
A total of 625 flights to and from British airports had been axed by 5:00 pm (1700 GMT) amid the problem, according to the aircraft tracking website FlightRadar24.
As of 1700 UTC, 625 flights have been canceled at airports in the UK following an earlier technical problem at NATS’ Shanwick ATC facility.
easyJet: 218
British Airways: 132
Ryanair 41
KLM 37
Eurowings 22 pic.twitter.com/4hHZYmjFJv— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) September 8, 2026
“We have implemented a fix and our flight system is starting to recover,” Britain’s air traffic control service, known as NATS, said on X.
ℹ️ Technical issue
We have implemented a fix and our flight system is starting to recover. We are continuing to work closely with our airline and airport customers on recovery. (1/2) https://t.co/MEDLS3UUWT
— NATS (@NATS) September 8, 2026
“We are continuing to work closely with our airline and airport customers on recovery,” it added, apologising for the disruption to travellers’ journeys.
Glitch in UK Air Traffic Control
The issues follow a technical glitch in July last year that saw scores of flights to and from the UK cancelled and which prompted anger from airline chiefs.Meanwhile, the country saw its worst air systems failure in almost a decade in 2023, with hundreds of flights delayed or cancelled and more than 700,000 passengers impacted.
Heathrow Airport, Britain’s largest and busiest airport in west London, confirmed it was among those newly impacted Tuesday, along with Gatwick to the south of the UK capital.
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Due to Glitch in UK Air Traffic Control, Liverpool, Birmingham and Edinburgh airports were also affected, while Dublin Airport in Ireland said it had cancelled dozens of flights.“I’m aware of a technical issue impacting flights at airports including Heathrow and Gatwick,” British Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said on social media.
I’m aware of a technical issue impacting flights at airports including Heathrow and Gatwick.
Technicians have idenfitied the issue and are fixing it as we speak. I know this will be frustrating for passengers and I’m sorry. Please check with your airline for latest advice.
— Heidi Alexander MP (@Heidi_Labour) September 8, 2026
“Technicians have identified the issue, working on reesovle the glitch in UK Air Traffic Control and are fixing it as we speak.“I know this will be frustrating for passengers and I’m sorry,” she added, advising travellers to check with airlines.
Why Glitch in UK Air Traffic Control ?
The UK Air Traffic Control glitch was caused by a technical problem in NATS’s flight-processing system, which handles flight data used to manage aircraft movements. NATS said its engineers identified the problem and implemented a fix, after which the system began recovering.
The disruption began on September 8, 2026, affecting major airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and Stansted. Although UK airspace remained open and flights continued to operate at reduced capacity, the system failure forced significant restrictions on departures and later affected arrivals as well.
The main reason the problem caused such widespread disruption is that air traffic control depends on accurate, real-time flight processing. Once the system malfunctioned, flights had to be regulated to maintain safety, creating a backlog that continued even after the technical fault was fixed. More than 1,000 flights were reported cancelled, with hundreds more delayed.
NATS said the issue was resolved, but recovery took longer because aircraft, crews and airport schedules had to be brought back into position.
The incident has also renewed concerns about the reliability and resilience of the UK’s air traffic control infrastructure, following previous technical disruptions.
