Over 1,000 flights were cancelled across Britain on Tuesday after a technical problem with the country's air traffic control system led to major disruption. More than 65,000 passengers were reportedly left stranded for hours at airports and onboard aircraft.
The problem affected at least 15 UK airports, including London Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and City, as well as Manchester, Birmingham, Luton, Liverpool and Edinburgh. The disruption also spread to flights operating beyond the UK, including at Dublin Airport, news agency AP reported.
Why flights in UK were cancelled
The National Air Traffic Services (NATS), which manages air traffic control in the UK, said it had identified a technical problem with its flight-processing system and engineers worked to restore normal operations.
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Later, the air traffic control operator said the system was operating normally again and that efforts were under way to clear the backlog.
{{/usCountry}}Later, the air traffic control operator said the system was operating normally again and that efforts were under way to clear the backlog.
{{/usCountry}}NATS chief executive Martin Rolfe defended the organisation as being “fit for purpose”, while acknowledging the scale of the backlog of aircraft and passengers, according to the BBC.
65,000+ passengers affected
Over 1,000 flights had been cancelled, flight-tracking website Flightradar24 reported. Initially, the number had been 600.
Ryanair said over 65,000 passengers had been affected. Some travellers faced delays of up to eight hours. The airline cancelled more than 50 scheduled flights, as per AP.
British Airways said it had been forced to cancel or divert more than 100 flights. A British Airways spokesperson said the scale of the disruption would have a “significant knock-on impact”, adding that the incident was outside the airline’s control and had left aircraft and crews in the wrong locations.
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EasyJet also said some of its flights were unable to operate and that the system failure had caused delays across Europe, as per Reuters.
Heathrow suspends arrivals
London Heathrow, one of the world's busiest airports, was among the airports badly affected. The airport resumed departures but suspended arrivals for the remainder of Tuesday evening.
Heathrow said that delays would continue as airlines worked through the backlog.
Manchester Airport said it expected to operate a full schedule on Wednesday, although it added that the airport could be busier than usual as cancelled and delayed flights were rescheduled.
East Midlands Airport also said it expected a full schedule on Wednesday.
‘Absolute nightmare’
Passengers reported lengthy waits on aircraft and in terminals. Josie Donoghue told AP that she spent about three hours on a plane at Gatwick Airport before her Ryanair flight to Ireland was cancelled.
“Getting through that airport was like trying to get out of Alcatraz," she said. “It’s just an absolute nightmare down there. It’s the only word I can use to describe it.”
At Heathrow, passengers on a British Airways flight bound for Baltimore spent around four hours on the ground before disembarking. During the wait, cabin crew served food and passengers watched films or walked through the aircraft.
After leaving the plane, passengers encountered further problems at baggage claim and were told to submit claims for their luggage.
Airports warn passengers to check flights
Airports across Britain advised passengers to check with their airlines before travelling because schedules remained subject to change.
Bristol Airport said flights were arriving and departing again, but said it may be continuously disrupted. Manchester and East Midlands airports also said they expected operations to improve on Wednesday, as per Euro News.
Government seeks assurances from NATS
Transport secretary Heidi Alexander welcomed the restoration of the NATS system but warned that normal flight operations would not return immediately.
She said passengers should continue checking with airlines. “It will take time to fully resume flights, so continue to check with airlines. I am seeking assurances that lessons will be learned and systems that support aviation are up to the job,” she wrote on X.