British travellers faced a second day of disruption on Wednesday as the country's air traffic control operator worked to recover from a technical failure that grounded hundreds of flights. More than 150 flights were scrapped, with the majority at London's Heathrow airport, according to flight tracking service FlightRadar24.
The National Air Traffic Services (NATS) said late on Tuesday that it was still resolving the aftermath of a "system issue" that had caused chaos across the network. "Work is continuing to assist airlines and airports recover from today's disruption," NATS posted on X, adding that the recovery was complex and would take time.
Heathrow confirmed that departures had resumed after the glitch forced a temporary suspension of arrivals, but warned passengers to expect continued disruption and to check with their airlines before travelling. The airport's advice came as thousands of travellers faced delays and cancellations, with many expressing frustration.
Widespread impact across the UK and beyond
The technical failure on Tuesday led to more than 1,300 cancellations to and from UK airports, affecting an estimated 700,000 passengers. Airports in Liverpool, Birmingham, and Edinburgh were also hit, while Dublin Airport in Ireland cancelled dozens of flights. British Airways said it had to cancel or divert over 100 flights, impacting tens of thousands of customers. Ryanair reported that more than 65,000 of its passengers were disrupted, with over 50 flights cancelled.
Passengers described scenes of confusion and long waits. Josie Donoghue, a healthcare worker, told the Press Association that after spending three hours on a runway at Gatwick, she had to disembark her flight to Ireland. "Getting through that airport was like trying to get out of Alcatraz," she said.
The disruption also had knock-on effects beyond the UK. Arsenal's Champions League match against Napoli in the Italian city of Naples was affected when the team's flight was delayed, forcing the cancellation of a pre-match news conference.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said on X that she was "seeking assurances that lessons will be learned and systems that support aviation are up to the job." Her comments came as Ryanair's chief operations officer, Neal McMahon, renewed calls for NATS chief executive Martin Rolfe to be sacked, accusing him of failing UK travellers once again.
This is not the first time NATS has faced such criticism. In 2023, a similar technical glitch led to the worst air systems failure in years, affecting more than 700,000 passengers. That incident prompted anger from airline executives and raised questions about the resilience of the UK's aviation infrastructure.
As the recovery continues, passengers are advised to stay in contact with their airlines and allow extra time for travel. The full scale of the disruption is expected to become clearer in the coming days as airlines work to clear the backlog of stranded passengers.
