National Air Traffic Services has apologised after a technical fault caused more than 1,900 flight cancellations over two days, disrupting operations across UK airports including Heathrow and Gatwick.
NATS, which provides air traffic control services to 15 UK airports, has apologised after a technical fault caused widespread flight disruption over two consecutive days.
More than 1,900 flights had been cancelled by 5am on 9 September, according to aviation analytics company Cirium. On 8 September, more than 1,750 flights arriving into and departing from UK airports were cancelled, comprising 902 departures and 860 arrivals out of 5,800 scheduled services, against a normal cancellation rate of under two per cent. By the morning of 9 September, a further 153 flights had been cancelled.
Separate figures from Flightradar24 recorded around 1,300 cancellations on 8 September, with a further 279 recorded early on 9 September.
London Heathrow Airport (LHR) and London Gatwick Airport (LGW) were among the airports most affected, with departures severely delayed after aircraft were unable to take off safely. Engineers identified and resolved the technical issue approximately four hours after the disruption began, though knock-on effects continued into the second day.
Transport secretary summons NATS chief
The transport secretary has summoned NATS chief executive Martin Rolfe to answer questions over the disruption and the organisation’s response. NATS has ruled out a cyber attack as the cause.
In a statement issued at 22:10 on 8 September, NATS said: “Work is continuing to assist airlines and airports recover from today’s disruption. This has been a very complex recovery and has created difficulties for the whole aviation network, from which it will take time to recover. We apologise again for the disruption caused.”
Passengers have been advised to check flight status directly with their airline before travelling.
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