STORY
More than 600 flights to and from British airports were cancelled after a technical failure affected the UK’s air traffic control system. NATS said the problem occurred within its flight processing system and affected services at airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, London City, Manchester and Birmingham, as well as airports in Scotland.
NATS subsequently implemented a fix and said its system was beginning to recover, although airlines warned that disruption would continue while aircraft and crews were moved back into position. Flightradar24 recorded at least 625 cancellations, with British Airways, easyJet, KLM and Lufthansa among the affected carriers. The cause of the technical failure has not yet been established publicly.
Wizz Air described NATS as unfit for purpose in its present form, while Ryanair called for chief executive Martin Rolfe to resign. Both airlines referred to the major NATS failure in August 2023, after which the Civil Aviation Authority instructed the company to strengthen its contingency arrangements. The regulator has requested a full report and said it will consider whether further measures are needed to protect the reliability of Britain’s air traffic control system.