Passengers travelling from several UK airports faced significant disruption on Tuesday afternoon after a technical problem affecting NATS, the organisation responsible for operating the UK’s air traffic control system, caused delays and grounded departing flights.
NATS confirmed that its air traffic control network was experiencing a technical problem and said engineers were working on site to identify and resolve the fault.
“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,” NATS said.
The organisation apologised for the disruption and urged passengers to check directly with their airline for the latest information regarding their flight.
The impact was particularly significant at Heathrow and Gatwick, where passengers were warned of delays to outbound services. Heathrow said that, although departing flights were affected, inbound flights were continuing to operate.
In a statement posted on X, Heathrow said: “The air traffic control service is experiencing a technical issue which is impacting departing flights at UK airports. Arriving flights are not currently impacted. We are supporting our local NATS team in their efforts to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.”
The airport added that it would provide further information as it became available, while apologising to affected passengers and advising them to check with their airline for the latest flight information.
The disruption was not limited to London. Manchester and Edinburgh were also among the airports warning passengers that the NATS fault could affect departing services.
Manchester Airport confirmed that the technical problem could lead to delays for some flights leaving the airport on Tuesday.
“We are aware of an issue affecting Nats’ air traffic control service at UK airports, which may result in delays to some departing flights from Manchester Airport today,” the airport said in a statement posted on X.
Manchester Airport advised passengers due to travel to check the latest status of their flight with their airline. It also said it would continue monitoring the situation and provide further updates as more information became available.
Edinburgh Airport likewise confirmed that it was monitoring the NATS fault and warned that its operations could be affected.
“We are aware of a technical issue affecting @NATS which may impact operations. We are working closely with air traffic control, airlines and other partners, and hope @NATS can resolve the issue as quickly as possible,” the airport said in a post on X.
With several major airports affected, passengers across the UK were advised to check their flight status with their airline before travelling, as airport operations remained subject to developments in the NATS technical issue.
