UK airports plunged into chaos as 200 flights cancelled across Britain due to major issue

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British airports are facing extensive delays after a technical issue

Around 200 flights have been cancelled after a technical problem with the UK's air traffic control system caused widespread disruption at airports across the country.

The number of cancellations is expected to rise, with Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and Birmingham among the worst-affected airports.

Nats, which provides air traffic control services to 15 UK airports, said an issue with its "flight processing system" was causing disruption to flight departures.

Flights are still departing and UK airspace remains open, but Nats warned that "recovery will take some time".

Passengers due to fly have been advised to check directly with their airline for the latest information before travelling.

Flightradar24 found 352 flights to and from Heathrow were delayed, out of a daily average of about 1,300.

At Gatwick, 281 flights were delayed out of an average 850 daily operations, while Manchester saw 249 delays out of around 650 flights.

Birmingham recorded 101 delayed flights, compared with an average of around 300 daily operations.

Nats said its engineers were working to resolve the problem.

A spokesman for the National Air Traffic Services said: "We are investigating a technical issue which is causing some disruption to flight departures.

"Our engineers are on site and we will provide an update as soon as we can. We apologise for the delay this will cause to journeys, passengers should check with their airline on the status of their flight."

They added: "Flights are still departing and airspace is open, but recovery will take some time. We will provide further updates as soon as possible."

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said technicians had identified the problem and were working to fix it.

She said: "I’m aware of a technical issue impacting flights at airports including Heathrow and Gatwick. Technicians have identified the issue and are fixing it as we speak.

"I know this will be frustrating for passengers and I'm sorry. Please check with your airline for latest advice."

Heathrow said the Nats technical issue was affecting departing flights at UK airports, but that arriving flights were not currently impacted.

A spokesman for the airport said: "We are supporting our local Nats team in their efforts to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.

"We will provide updated information when we have it. We apologise to those disrupted and advise passengers to check with their airline for latest flight information."

Birmingham Airport said the issue was affecting airspace in the south of the UK and was impacting a significant number of departing flights across the country.

A spokesman for the Midlands airport said: "We apologise to customers whose journeys have been impacted. Passengers are advised to arrive at Birmingham Airport (BHX) in line with their airline’s check-in requirements and to contact their airline directly for the latest flight information and updates."

A spokesman said: "We are aware of an issue affecting Nats’ air traffic control service, which is causing disruption to flights at London Stansted and across the UK.

"Passengers due to travel should check the status of their flight directly with their airline.

"We’ll continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as more information becomes available."

Edinburgh Airport said the technical issue affecting Nats "may impact operations".

In a post on X, it said: "We are working closely with air traffic control, airlines and other partners, and hope @NATS can resolve the issue as quickly as possible."

Belfast City Airport also warned passengers of "some disruption" to flights.

The airport said: "Due to the technical issue referenced below, there may be some disruption to flights due to arrive in and depart from Belfast City Airport."

Aberdeen, Glasgow and Southampton airports are also seeing some disruption.

An AGS spokesperson said: "A technical issue affecting NATS air traffic control services is causing disruption to some flight departures. As a result, some services operating to and from our airports may experience delays.

"We apologise for any inconvenience and advise passengers to check with their airline for the latest flight information before travelling."

Nats is responsible for providing air traffic control services at 15 UK airports, including Manchester, Stansted, East Midlands and Birmingham.

The organisation has not yet said exactly what caused the technical problem with its flight processing system.

The disruption comes after previous technical failures have caused major problems for passengers.

Last July, a "radar-related issue" caused an air traffic control failure that grounded flights across the UK, disrupting thousands of passengers and forcing the cancellation of more than 160 flights.

The problem happened at Nats' control centre in Swanwick, Hampshire, and affected the vast majority of England and Wales.

A Government source said the failure lasted around 20 minutes, with the level of disruption similar to a day with bad weather.

In August 2023, more than 700,000 passengers suffered disruption when flights were grounded at UK airports after Nats suffered a technical glitch while processing a flight plan.