The state of play in UK flight disruption today
Time for a quick recap…
Flights around the UK are facing delays and disruption due to an air traffic control issue which has affected a string of airports including Heathrow and Gatwick, and recovery may take time.
According to aeroplane tracker Flightrader, there have been “nearly 300 cancellations so far this afternoon”, with British Airways and easyJet most affected.
Departures from London airports are most severely affected, with few take-offs since a fault was reported early on Tuesday afternoon.
The air traffic control service Nats said at 1.46pm that it was “investigating a technical issue which is causing some disruption to flight departures”.
Nats added: “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.”
The UK’s biggest airport, Heathrow, said planes were continuing to arrive, although Eurocontrol said some inbound flights were being held at airports abroad, with disruption likely to continue until the evening.
Nats later added that its engineers are “working urgently” to fix the problem, but warned that “recovery will take some time”.
Ryanair has revealed that 65,000 of its passengers have been delayed up to 8 hours, and called for the head of Nats to quit.
Here’s our news story on the disruption:
I’m handing this blog over now to my colleague Charlie Maloney.
Key events
Some departures from Newcastle Airport have been delayed amid the flight disruption, according to a Newcastle Airport spokesperson.
“We are aware of a technical issue affecting Nats which is impacting some flights at airports across the UK”, the spokesperson said in a statement.
“While some departures from Newcastle are experiencing delays, our operations have not been affected to the same extent as those at some airports in the south of the country.
“Passengers are advised to check with their airline for the latest flight information.”
ShareNATS “apologise sincerely” and say flight system starting to recover
Nats said its flight system is “starting to recover” after a fix was implemented following a technical issue.
In a post on X, it said: “We have implemented a fix and our flight system is starting to recover.
“We are continuing to work closely with our airline and airport customers on recovery.
“We apologise sincerely for the disruption to people’s journeys today and they should continue to check with their airline.”
ShareThe state of play in UK flight disruption today
Time for a quick recap…
Flights around the UK are facing delays and disruption due to an air traffic control issue which has affected a string of airports including Heathrow and Gatwick, and recovery may take time.
According to aeroplane tracker Flightrader, there have been “nearly 300 cancellations so far this afternoon”, with British Airways and easyJet most affected.
Departures from London airports are most severely affected, with few take-offs since a fault was reported early on Tuesday afternoon.
The air traffic control service Nats said at 1.46pm that it was “investigating a technical issue which is causing some disruption to flight departures”.
Nats added: “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.”
The UK’s biggest airport, Heathrow, said planes were continuing to arrive, although Eurocontrol said some inbound flights were being held at airports abroad, with disruption likely to continue until the evening.
Nats later added that its engineers are “working urgently” to fix the problem, but warned that “recovery will take some time”.
Ryanair has revealed that 65,000 of its passengers have been delayed up to 8 hours, and called for the head of Nats to quit.
Here’s our news story on the disruption:
I’m handing this blog over now to my colleague Charlie Maloney.
Flightrader 24 has posted on X:
double quotation markNearly 300 cancellations so far this afternoon as NATs systems return to normal.
British Airways: 96
easyJet: 92
KLM: 20
Lufthansa: 12
Swiss: 11
ShareNearly 300 flights cancelled due to air traffic problem
Nearly 300 flights have been cancelled as a result of the UK air traffic control issue, FlightRadar24 has said.
The worst affected airports are Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and Birmingham.
The air tracker found 352 flights to and from Heathrow were delayed out of its daily average of about 1,300.
Meanwhile 281 Gatwick flights were delayed out of its 850 total operations average. This was 249 out of 650 for Manchester, and 101 out of 300 for Birmingham, the Press Association report.
Updated at 11.40 EDT
Ryanair calls for NATS CEO to quit
Budget airline Ryanair has blasted “overpaid failing NATS CEO Martin Rolfe” over today’s disruption, and demanded (not for the first time) that he quits his job.
According to Ryanair, over 65,000 of its passengers have been delayed today, with more than 50 flights cancelled, after today’s air traffic control technical problems.
Ryanair COO, Neal McMahon, says:
double quotation mark“How many more failures do passengers have to suffer before overpaid failure NATS CEO, Martin Rolfe, accepts responsibility for his repeated mismanagement and resigns? Over three years after NATS’ catastrophic 2023 system meltdown, it’s clear that nothing has changed, with UK passengers once again suffering avoidable ATC delays of up to 8 hours today due a critical NATS ATC system failing. Families travelling on holiday, people travelling for work and thousands of visitors to the UK have once again paid the price for NATS’ abhorrent failure.
The astonishing part is that NATS continues to charge airlines and passengers more each year while delivering a worse service. Following the 2023 collapse, we were told lessons would be learned. We were told “resilience would improve”. We were told the systems had been fixed. Yet here we are again. This is a pattern of repeated failure with Rolfe in charge getting paid over £1.4m in bonuses p.a. while he delivers failure after failure.
The UK Government, the CAA and the NATS Board must stop making excuses for repeated NATS failures and appoint a new leader capable of running the UK ATC system without repeated failures. Its time for overpaid failure Martin Rolfe to go.”
Back in March, Rolfe argued that the criticism over the 2023 technical meltdown was unfair, as Nats had only suffered four incidents in 12 years.
ShareHeidi Alexander: Passengers will be frustrated
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has posted on X about the disruption, saying:
double quotation markI’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.
ShareDisruption at London City Airport
London City Airport has confirmed it is experiencing disruption to departing flights, following the NATS technical problem today.
A spokesperson for London City Airport said:
double quotation mark“Due to an air traffic control issue affecting airports across London, London City Airport is experiencing disruption to departing flights.
“Passengers should check their flight status with their airline before travelling to the airport.
“We apologise for the inconvenience and thank passengers for their patience.”
ShareLung disease drug success for AstraZeneca
Julia Kollewe
Away from today’s flight disruption, a lung disease drug being developed by AstraZeneca for COPD has performed well in late-stage clinical trials, a welcome boost to Britain’s biggest pharmaceutical company following several setbacks recently.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a long-term lung condition that makes breathing harder over time through chronic inflammation of the airways, and can also lead to a chronic cough and excess mucus.
The company’s tozorakimab drug, administered once every four weeks, showed a reduction in moderate and severe COPD exacerbations (which lead to more than 2,500 emergency department visits a day in the US) in former smokers of up to 34%, and in current and former smokers by 30%, compared with a placebo. A total of 2,306 patients were involved.
The drug led to a reduction of 43% in exacerbations in patients with the highest level of of blood eosinophil, a biomarker. The data was presented at the European Respiratory Society Congress in Barcelona.
Frank Sciurba, professor of pulmonary and critical care medicine at the University of Pittsburgh and chief trial investigator, said:
double quotation mark“These unprecedented results, along with its favourable safety profile, underscore tozorakimab’s potential as an innovative treatment for the millions of people living with COPD who remain at risk despite treatment with inhaled standard of care.”
COPD is the third-biggest cause of death worldwide, excluding Covid-19. Only half of COPD patients live more than 3 ½ years after their first severe exacerbation.
AstraZeneca estimates peak annual revenues of $5bn for the treatment, which would make it one of its biggest selling drugs, while analysts at Morgan Stanley have pencilled in $6bn.
Updated at 11.36 EDT
Wizz Air: NATS needs urgent reform
Airline Wizz Air have lambasted NATS for today’s technical failure.
Wizz Air says it is “extremely disappointed” by the UK’s air traffic control issue.
The company adds that a critical national infrastructure provider should not repeatedly bring the aviation system to a standstill, declaring that NATS is simply not fit for purpose in its current form.
Updated at 11.15 EDT
Less happily, budget airline easyJet reports that the UK air traffic control system failure is causing delays to flights across Europe, with some flights unable to operate (Reuters reports).
Updated at 11.42 EDT
Happily, the impact at Cardiff Airport due to the air traffic technical issue is “currently minimal”.
A spokesperson for Cardiff Airport said:
double quotation mark“A technical issue affecting Nats Air Traffic is causing some disruption to flight departures across parts of the UK.
“The impact at Cardiff Airport is currently minimal though we’d encourage passengers to check directly with their airline or travel operator for the latest information on the status of their flight.”
Anna-Marie Duthie, travel insurance expert at financial ratings company Defaqto, has sent over some advice for passengers affected by today’s flight disruption:
double quotation mark“If there is a significant delay to your flight, your airline should be covering the costs of essentials you’ll need during that delay. Such as food and drink, phone calls and if necessary overnight accommodation including transport to the hotel.
Insurers and Airlines could class issues as ‘extraordinary circumstances’, which ultimately means it is a situation beyond their control and could not have been foreseen or avoided. As a result, you may not be entitled to compensation as it is not considered to be the airlines’ ‘fault’ and therefore they are not liable.
That being said, the above refers to ‘compensation’. Transport providers and tour operators do have a responsibility to either provide a reasonable alternative or a full refund should a flight not go ahead as planned. If a replacement flight is offered but is delayed, depending on the distance being travelled, the Civil Aviation Authority do set out under what circumstances you would have a legal right to claim for compensation.
Travel Insurance may also cover you if you cannot claim costs back from the airline, operator, or credit card but that will all depend on whether your policy includes cover for delay, travel disruption, missed connection or abandonment.”
Flightradar24 also shows that a Japan Airlines flight from Toyko to London is being diverted to Paris Charles de Gaulle airport.
The flightradar24 app suggests that a lot of planes at Heathrow Airport in London are pretty much static on the ground right now, with nothing obviously taking off or landing at this moment…
Screen grab taken from flightradar24 showing planes at Heathrow Airport in London. Photograph: Flightradar24/PAShareNATS: recovery will take some time
National Air Traffic Services have confirmed that the technical problem scuppering flights today is within its flight processing system.
It says staff are ‘working urgently’ to fix it, but warns that ‘recovery will take some time’.
Posting on X, it says:
double quotation markℹ️ Technical issue
We have identified that the issue was in our flight processing system. Our engineers are on site and working urgently to resume normal operations as quickly as possible. We recognise the ongoing disruption to travel, for which we sincerely apologise.
Flights are still departing and airspace is open, but recovery will take some time. We will provide further updates as soon as possible.
Passengers should check the status of their flight with their airline. We will provide further updates as soon as we have confirmed information, at https://nats.aero and on X at @NATS.
Updated at 10.46 EDT
BA: We’re being disrupted
British Airways has confirmed that it is “experiencing some flight disruption” as a result of a technical issue at NATS, and is in touch with customers.