More flight cancellations as fallout from air traffic control glitch continues

More flight cancellations as fallout from air traffic control glitch continues. Image source, Dan Kitwood /Getty ImagesImage caption, More than 2,000 flights have been cancelled due to the air traffic control outageByEmer MoreauBusiness reporterPublished9 September 2026A technical failure of the UK's air traffic control system that has caused widespread flight chaos was avoidable, the transport secretary has said.

What happened

The glitch occurred at Nats' Swanwick Centre in Hampshire, where one of its two air traffic control centres are. This processes flight plans and other operational information used by controllers to manage air traffic. It continually updates flight information as aircraft progress through UK airspace, helping controllers maintain a safe and orderly flow of traffic. Departures from a number of airports are affected by a technical problem affecting air traffic control provider Nats. Published5 days ago'It's been a nightmare': Passengers face airport chaos after air traffic issuePublished4 days agoIt is not the first time disruption has blighted Nats' control system.

The couple are among the many thousands of air passengers caught up in the chaos caused by the four-hour shutdown of the UK's air traffic control system on Tuesday. But not this time, because the air traffic control issues were beyond airlines' control.

The wider picture

"Mather said the kind of disruption cause by the failure of air traffic control provider Nats on Tuesday was "unacceptable". More than 2,000 flights have been cancelled as disruption continued for a second day with passengers stuggling to fly out of and into the UK. "The CAA said passengers were unlikely to be entitled to compensation – though it reminded airlines of their responsibilities to look after passengers whose flights had been delayed or cancelled. It added that the disruption caused by the Nats issue was "likely to be considered the result of 'extraordinary circumstances'", meaning passengers were "unlikely to be entitled to compensation for delays or cancellations that were directly caused by the incident".

What are my rights if my flight is cancelled or delayed? There was another, smaller Nats outage in 2025, which caused 150 cancellations. Nats is a public-private partnership, with the government holding the controlling stake. Nats first confirmed it was investigating a "technical issue" at 13:46 BST on Tuesday, "which is causing some disruption to flight departures".

What has been reported

Around 90 minutes later, it said it had identified that the issue was with its flight processing system. By 19:30, Nats said the system issue had been resolved and it was working to clear the backlog of flights. However, by Wednesday evening, the number of flights that had been cancelled or failed to take off since the fault first emerged had grown to more than 2,000, according to flight analytics firm Cirium. The worst affected airports were Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and Birmingham, according to tracker FlightRadar24.

"Flights are operating today but we are expecting knock-on impacts as aircraft and crew reposition," it said. At Gatwick, a spokesperson said: "Flights have now resumed from London Gatwick. "Manchester, Luton, Stansted, Bristol and Belfast City Airports all said on Wednesday that flights had resumed, though Bristol, Belfast and Luton said there continued to be knock-on effects. 'Honeymoon in Gatwick'Sasha and James from south London were due to fly to Madeira for their honeymoon yesterday afternoon when their flight was cancelled.

After getting married at the weekend, the couple were boarding their flight to Funchal from Gatwick Airport when they say they were "turned right back around".

What happens next

They eventually went back home to London for the night, and managed to book on to a different flight leaving Gatwick on Wednesday afternoon. It means their holiday to Slovenia has been cancelled and – although their flight was refunded by British Airways – they estimate being left £1,300 out of pocket from unused accommodation and excursions. Catie, 30, and Phil, 34, were sat on a British Airways flight to Ljubljana on Tuesday that never took off. If a flight is cancelled, airlines must get customers to their destination as quickly as possible at no extra cost, even if it is with a rival carrier.

Alternatively, passengers can take a refund, which should also be offered for flight delays of more than five hours. In Catie and Phil's case, the alternative flight offered would not have arrived until Saturday morning – four days into their week-long holiday. This is different to package holidays, which are covered in full if a flight is cancelled.

The report has been compiled by The Daily Waves using information reported across bbc.co.uk. Details are presented according to the information available at the time of publication and may change as authorities, organisers or other relevant parties provide updates.