Lucrezia Ciotti A fault in the air traffic control system paralyzed flights in the United Kingdom , causing over a thousand cancellations and disruption to tens of thousands of passengers. The problem has been resolved, but the return to normality remains gradual. Here's what happened in detail.
Air traffic control failure cancels over 1,000 flights in the UK
A problem with the flight planning system at NATS , the British air traffic control agency , has caused another day of chaos at UK airports. The grounding of departures affected London's Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, and Southend airports , as well as Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool, the Isle of Man, and Jersey , with repercussions also on international connections and European airports, including Dublin and Paris.
The number of cancellations, initially exceeding 600, rose to 1.055 flights to and from the UK by 20 p.m. Italian time last night, according to Flightradar24. Tens of thousands of travelers, including many Italians, were affected by the late summer disruptions: British Airways cancelled or diverted over 100 flights, while Ryanair reported more than 65.000 passengers affected and over 50 cancelled flights.
Nats engineers intervened to restore service, and after the restart, the agency announced in the evening that the problem " has been resolved ." " We are operating normally and working as hard as possible to clear the backlog of flights ," it added, apologizing for the inconvenience. The return to normality, however, has been gradual, and so far no evidence has emerged linking the failure to malicious intent or a cyberattack.
Stranded passengers and furious airlines: NATS requested a report
At the institutional level, the British Civil Aviation Authority has called for a " full report " on the incident, while Transport Minister Heidi Alexander has asked for " reassurances that lessons will be learned and that aviation support systems are up to the task ."
Airlines have also reacted harshly : Wizz Air has questioned the reliability of a critical national infrastructure, while Ryanair's chief operating officer, Neal McMahon, is said to have renewed his call for the removal of Nats CEO Martin Rolfe: " Enough is enough, it's time for the UK government to step in... and put someone in charge who can do the job ."
The new episode draws attention to previous incidents: the 2023 failure, which affected over 700.000 passengers, a further technical breakdown in July last year, and the fire at the North Hyde electrical substation, which paralyzed Heathrow for around 18 hours in March 2025, with serious consequences for air traffic.