Flights at some of Britain’s largest airports have been disrupted following a technical failure affecting air traffic control systems, with departures from Heathrow and Gatwick among those hit.
The incident, involving equipment operated by National Air Traffic Services, caused delays across the UK aviation network on Tuesday, affecting airports from London to Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Nats said it was investigating the problem and warned that, while airspace remained open and flights continued to depart, it could take time for normal operations to resume.
A spokesman for the organisation said: “We are investigating a technical issue which is causing some disruption to flight departures.
“Our engineers are on site and we will provide an update as soon as we can. We apologise for the delay this will cause to journeys, passengers should check with their airline on the status of their flight.”
They added: “Flights are still departing and airspace is open, but recovery will take some time. We will provide further updates as soon as possible”
The disruption initially appeared to be concentrated on departing services, with Heathrow saying arriving flights had not been affected.
A spokesman from Heathrow Airport said: “The air traffic control service Nats is experiencing a technical issue which is impacting departing flights at UK airports. Arriving flights are not currently impacted.
“We are supporting our local Nats team in their efforts to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.
“We will provide updated information when we have it. We apologise to those disrupted and advise passengers to check with their airline for latest flight information.”
The scale of the disruption reflected the central role played by Nats in Britain’s aviation infrastructure. The organisation provides air traffic control services to 15 UK airports, including Manchester, Stansted, East Midlands and Birmingham.
Birmingham Airport said the problem was affecting airspace in southern England, creating knock-on effects across the wider network.
A Birmingham Airport spokesman said: “There is currently an air traffic technical issue affecting airspace in the south of the UK, which is impacting a significant number of departing flights across the country.
“We apologise to customers whose journeys have been impacted. Passengers are advised to arrive at Birmingham Airport (BHX) in line with their airline’s check-in requirements and to contact their airline directly for the latest flight information and updates.”
Airports across the country subsequently warned passengers of potential delays and cancellations.
Edinburgh Airport said it was aware that the Nats failure “may impact operations”.
A post on X said: “We are aware of a technical issue affecting @NATS which may impact operations.
“We are working closely with air traffic control, airlines and other partners, and hope @NATS can resolve the issue as quickly as possible.”
London Stansted also reported disruption.
A spokesman for the airport said: “We are aware of an issue affecting Nats’ air traffic control service, which is causing disruption to flights at London Stansted and across the UK.
“Passengers due to travel should check the status of their flight directly with their airline.
“We’ll continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as more information becomes available.”
Belfast City Airport warned that services arriving and departing from Northern Ireland could also be affected.
The airport said in a statement: “Due to the technical issue referenced below, there may be some disruption to flights due to arrive in and depart from Belfast City Airport.
Aberdeen, Glasgow and Southampton airports also reported disruption, underlining the extent to which a problem in one part of Britain’s air traffic management system can rapidly affect the national network.
An AGS spokesperson said: “A technical issue affecting NATS air traffic control services is causing disruption to some flight departures. As a result, some services operating to and from our airports may experience delays. We apologise for any inconvenience and advise passengers to check with their airline for the latest flight information before travelling.”
The incident is the latest in a series of high-profile failures to affect Britain’s aviation system in recent years.
Last July, a “radar-related issue” caused an air traffic control failure that grounded flights across the UK, disrupting thousands of passengers and forcing the cancellation of more than 160 flights.
The problem occurred at Nats’ control centre in Swanwick, Hampshire, and affected much of England and Wales. A Government source said the failure lasted around 20 minutes and caused disruption comparable to that experienced during severe weather.
A more serious incident occurred in August 2023, when a technical fault involving the processing of a flight plan led to widespread cancellations and delays. More than 700,000 passengers were affected after flights were grounded at airports across the country.
Tuesday’s disruption will again raise questions over the resilience of Britain’s air traffic control infrastructure, particularly given the speed with which technical failures can cascade through one of Europe’s busiest aviation networks.
For passengers, however, the immediate concern remained whether flights would depart as scheduled and how quickly Nats engineers could restore normal operations.
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