A technical malfunction in the UK air traffic control system caused significant flight delays at airports nationwide on Wednesday. The problem, quickly resolved, suspended departures from several major hubs, including London’s Heathrow the UK’s busiest airport and one of Europe’s primary air travel hubs.
According to the National Air Traffic Services (NATS), the problem was resolved shortly after it emerged, with normal operations gradually resuming.
Systems are fully functioning and air traffic capacity is normalizing,” NATS tweeted on X. “Departures at all airports have returned and we are resuming journeys with impacted airlines and airports safely clearing the backlog. We apologize to all affected by this situation.
The outage, initially reported by NATS only 20 minutes prior to resolution, affected several airports. Heathrow assured that the flights were back and recommended travellers contact airlines prior to travelling to the airport. Gatwick and Edinburgh airports also reported that the services were now running normal.
London City Airport also suffered from the same problems during the day, although the duration of the outage is yet unclear.
This is the latest glitch after a serious incident in August 2023, when the automatic flight plan processing system failed, causing mass delays. This forced Britain’s aviation regulator to push NATS for tougher contingency procedures. Then, airlines claimed losses of over £100 million ($133 million) through refunds and compensation.
Even though Wednesday’s problem was fixed quicker, it again raised questions about the dependability of the nation’s air traffic infrastructure. There were delays and disruptions for passengers, as airlines struggled to clear the flight backlog and get back to regular schedules.
Travelers are warned to check airline announcements as operations settle.
