A technical failure in Britain's air traffic control system disrupted flights at several major airports on Tuesday, including Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and Stansted, triggering delays and restrictions as engineers worked to restore normal operations.
National Air Traffic Services (NATS), Britain's air traffic control provider, said it had traced the problem to its flight processing system and engineers were working urgently to resolve it. British airspace remained open and flights continued to depart, although NATS warned that recovery would take time. Heathrow, the country's busiest airport, said it was working with NATS to resolve the disruption, while passengers were advised to check their flight status with airlines before travelling.
Disruption spreads across airports
The problem was not confined to London's main airports. Edinburgh and Birmingham were among other airports reporting potential or actual disruption, while flights to and from Dublin were also affected. Flight movements within the London flight information region were heavily regulated as authorities sought to manage traffic during the technical failure.
Departing services appeared to bear the brunt of the disruption, with significant delays reported at several airports. Heathrow initially said arriving flights were not affected, although the wider restrictions on air traffic raised the prospect of knock-on delays as the day progressed.
The latest disruption again puts the resilience of Britain's air traffic control infrastructure under scrutiny. NATS has faced previous major technical failures, including an outage in 2023 that caused widespread disruption and forced the cancellation or delay of thousands of flights. Britain's aviation regulator subsequently called for improvements to contingency arrangements, while airlines said the disruption had cost the industry more than £100 million.
Another technical problem involving Britain's air traffic control system disrupted flights for several hours in July 2025. Tuesday's failure is therefore likely to renew questions over the ability of the country's aviation infrastructure to withstand major system faults, particularly at a time when airports are handling heavy passenger traffic.