Air Traffic Control Outage Triggers 1,300 UK Flight Cancellations

Airport officials warned that disruption could continue as airlines reposition aircraft and crews.

, and TIPP Staff

September 9, 2026 . 6:56 AM

2 min read

Major disruption continued at UK airports Wednesday after an hours-long air traffic control outage caused widespread delays and cancellations, according to CNN. Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted were among the affected airports.

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Aircraft tracker Flightradar24 reported about 1,300 cancellations to and from UK airports on Tuesday. It said another 177 flights had been canceled by Wednesday morning, most at Heathrow. Airport officials warned that disruption could continue as airlines reposition aircraft and crews.

NATS, the UK’s air traffic control provider, said its systems were operating normally after the fault was fixed, but acknowledged that recovery was taking longer than expected. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander summoned NATS chief executive Martin Rolfe for a meeting.

Airlines sharply criticized the handling of the outage. Ryanair called for leadership changes, while British Airways canceled more than 190 flights. Air India and Qatar Airways also reported international disruptions linked to the UK airport chaos.

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