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More than 1,000 flights have been cancelled across Britain following a major failure in the country’s air traffic control system, leaving thousands of passengers stranded and facing hours of delays at airports.
The disruption affected at least 15 airports, including London Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and London City, as well as Manchester and Birmingham. Airlines were left struggling to manage the growing backlog after flights were delayed, cancelled or diverted.
At Gatwick Airport, passenger Josie Donoghue described the experience as an “absolute nightmare” after spending about three hours on a Ryanair aircraft before the flight was eventually cancelled.
The UK’s National Air Traffic Services (NATS) later said it had fixed the technical problem in its flight processing system. However, the organisation warned that resolving the fault did not mean an immediate return to normal operations, as airlines still had to deal with the huge backlog created by the disruption.
At Heathrow, departures resumed but arrivals were suspended for the rest of the night as airport authorities and airlines worked to stabilise operations. Travellers were warned to expect further delays.
One British Airways flight heading to Baltimore was reportedly held on the ground at Heathrow for about four hours before passengers were allowed to leave the aircraft. During the wait, cabin crew served food while some passengers watched films or walked around the plane.
The problems did not end after passengers left their aircraft. Further disruption was reported around baggage collection, with some travellers complaining that they struggled to find staff available to assist them.
British Airways said it had cancelled or diverted more than 100 flights because of the incident, warning that the effects would continue to be felt across its operations.
“The severity of the issue means there will be a significant knock-on impact,” the airline said, describing the situation as frustrating for both passengers and staff.
Ryanair also said the disruption had affected more than 65,000 passengers and resulted in the cancellation of over 50 scheduled flights.
EasyJet reported that some of its flights were unable to operate, saying the air traffic control system failure had contributed to delays across parts of its European network.
The incident triggered widespread frustration among passengers, many of whom took to social media to complain about long waits inside terminals and on aircraft, as well as what they considered poor communication from airlines.
Although NATS confirmed that the technical fault had been resolved, the disruption continued to ripple through the aviation network. Airlines still had to reposition aircraft and crews while working through the backlog of passengers whose travel plans had been thrown into chaos.
Passengers travelling through affected UK airports have been advised to check with their airlines for the latest flight information before heading to the airport.
