United Kingdom: NATS air traffic control technical failure causes hundreds of cancellations

In recent hours, some flights departing from the main British airports have suffered disruptions due to a technical problem encountered by the air traffic control service provider NATS. Among the airports affected by the restrictions and delays are Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and Stansted. This was reported by the Reuters agency. And among other things, some companies, including EasyJet, report that the problem is causing widespread inconvenience in much of the European continent. According to Ryanair, for example, the technical failure in the United Kingdom is affecting around 65 thousand passengers with around fifty flights cancelled.

Nearly 300 flights canceled and thousands of passengers stranded

According to the "Daily Mail", hundreds of flights have been canceled at airports across the United Kingdom due to the "technical fault" in the air traffic control system. In particular, there is talk of a total of 425 flights, including departures and arrivals at British airports, canceled by 5pm today. Thousands of passengers across the country are finding themselves having to face hours of delays for their flights, with disruption expected until at least 9pm this evening.

The technical problem

"We have identified the issue in our flight processing system. Our technicians are on site and working urgently to restore normal operations as soon as possible," NATS said in a statement. “Flights continue to depart and the airspace is open, but recovery will take time,” it was further explained. Heathrow, Britain's main hub, said it would work closely with NATS to try to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. Edinburgh Airport said the issue could have a direct impact on flight operations. Dublin Airport in Ireland also reported disruption to departing and arriving flights.

At least ten airports affected by the disruptions

Confirmation of the situation also comes from the Flightradar24 portal, according to which at least ten airports in the United Kingdom are suffering inconveniences of varying degrees due to the problem encountered in recent hours. These include Aberdeen International Airport, Edinburgh Airport, Manchester Airport, Nottingham East Midlands Airport, Birmingham Airport, Bristol Airport and, as mentioned, London Stansted, Gatwick, Heathrow and City Airports.

The post of the Minister of Transport

Transport Minister Heidi Alexander confirmed that work is underway to repair the fault. “I know this will be frustrating for passengers and I'm sorry,” he wrote in a post on X.

A sign of recovery

NATS itself declared around 6pm Italian time that its air traffic control system is starting to recover after hundreds of flights departing from the main British airports were interrupted. “We have implemented a fix and our air traffic control system is starting to recover,” was reported in a post on X.

The controversy

"A provider of critical national infrastructure should not repeatedly cripple the aviation system. NATS, in its current form, is simply not fit for purpose." A spokesperson for Wizz Air said this in a statement. Ryanair also criticized the agency and called for the resignation of its CEO, Martin Rolfe. “After the collapse of 2023, we were told that we would learn our lessons. We were told that resilience would improve. We were told that systems had been fixed. Yet here we are again,” Ryanair chief operating officer Neal McMahon stressed.