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Second Day of Chaos at UK Airports After Air Traffic Control Glitch

Nats ruled out a cyberattack and said a thorough investigation is under way after airlines reported delays for more than 250,000 passengers.

  • On Tuesday, a major technical failure in the Nats air traffic control system grounded flights across the UK, causing more than 1,900 cancellations and widespread disruption that persisted into Wednesday.
  • This week's outage represents the third major disruption for Nats in three years, reigniting fierce criticism from airline executives who demanded leadership resignations following system collapses in 2023 and 2025.
  • Travel expert Simon Calder told the BBC that an estimated 250,000 passengers woke up Wednesday "where they did not intend to be" after roughly 5,800 flights were scheduled for Tuesday.
  • Nats chief executive Martin Rolfe apologized Wednesday, promising a "very, very thorough" investigation into the technical failure, while Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander summoned him to demand formal assurances on system redundancies.
  • Operational delays will persist throughout the week as airlines reposition crews and aircraft, with some passengers facing potential waits until the weekend to reach their final destinations.
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21 Articles

Lean Right

The problem with air traffic control at British airports has been resolved, but the backlog causes further deletions. A cyber attack is already ruled out as a cause.

·Berlin, Germany
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A technical failure in a UK air control system left more than 2,037 flights cancelled.

At least 1,900 flights have been delayed or cancelled since 8 September, leaving and to 15 airports, including London, Birmingham, Manchester or Edinburgh, as well as Dublin, due to a technical problem within the national air traffic control system. The agency's boss was summoned on Wednesday 9 September. The air traffic control agency ruled out the possibility of a cyberattack.

·Issy-les-Moulineaux, France
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Lean Left

The British air traffic control agency assured that it had resolved the malfunction, but at least 327 flights were cancelled again on Wednesday, compared with more than 1,746 the previous day, according to Air Data Specialist Cirium.

·Paris, France
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The National broke the news in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (the) on Wednesday, September 9, 2026.
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