UK: Nats Flight Data System Fault Disrupts Flights at Major AirportsYour support helps us to tell the story

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Tens of thousands of passengers plunged into travel chaos this week are unlikely to get compensation, the regulator has warned.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), which is conducting an independent review, has told those impacted that the “disruption caused by the Nats outage is likely to be considered the result of ‘extraordinary circumstances’ under passenger rights rules”.

This means passengers are “unlikely to be entitled to compensation for delays or cancellations that were directly caused by the incident,” it said.

More than 2,000 flights to and from the UK were cancelled or delayed on Tuesday and Wednesday due to a “technical issue”.

London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Manchester and Stansted airports were among the most disrupted aviation hubs on Wednesday.

National Air Traffic Control Service (Nats) chief Martin Rolfe was summoned at lunchtime on Wednesday to see Heidi Alexander, the transport secretary, after reporting a problem with the organisation’s flight data processing system.

Asked whether Ms Alexander and the prime minister still have confidence in Rolfe, a spokesperson said: “We have confidence in him and he’s been tasked with an investigation.”

Have you been affected by airport delays? Get in touch by emailing sophie.dickinson@independent.co.uk

British Airways operated 80 per cent of flights on Wednesday

British Airways said it operated almost 80 per cent of its flight schedule on Wednesday, with flights rebooked for “the vast majority of our customers”.

Natalie Wilson10 September 2026 09:32

Virgin Atlantic customers told to ‘come on time’ to airport

Airlines have advised passengers to arrive at the airport on time as the aviation industry recovers.

Virgin Atlantic said: “Following the widespread disruption from the technical issue affecting the Nats air traffic control system, we expect to operate our planned flying programme on Thursday 10 September, and ask that customers come to the airport on time for their departure.”

(Reuters)

Natalie Wilson10 September 2026 09:02

What counts as ‘extraordinary circumstances’ – and why can they prevent refunds?

The Civil Aviation Authority has said that “disruption caused by the Nats outage is likely to be considered the result of ‘extraordinary circumstances’.”

This means passengers are “unlikely to be entitled to compensation.”

But what counts as extraordinary circumstances?

Typically, the phrase is understood to mean “political instability, meteorological conditions incompatible with the operation of the flight concerned, security risks, unexpected flight safety shortcomings and strikes”.

Court cases have gradually refined the concept of “extraordinary circumstances” to exclude mechanical problems. A judge ruled such issues are “inherent in the normal exercise of the activity of the air carrier”.

Ryanair says: “Only a small number of claims will be eligible for compensation. Most delays/cancellations are out of Ryanair’s control.”

Sophie Dickinson10 September 2026 08:56

Operations at Gatwick have ‘returned largely to normal’

In a post on Wednesday evening, Gatwick airport said that operations have “returned largely to normal, although a small number of residual delays may still occur” following the Nats technical issue.

Passengers are still advised to check with their airline for the latest information on their flights before heading to the airport.

Natalie Wilson10 September 2026 08:41

Flight delays recovering in London

As of 8am Thursday, flight tracking service Flightradar24 shows 58 delayed flights at London Heathrow, with an average delay of 14 minutes.

At London Gatwick, 74 flights are delayed by an average of 13 minutes, with 45 flights delayed by an average of just nine minutes at London Stansted.

Natalie Wilson10 September 2026 08:22

Delays ‘very distressing for elderly people’, says Independent reader

An reader from Australia, Jill Parkes, has shared her experience of the disruption.

“We are two women in our seventies,” she writes. After her flight from Zurich to Melbourne (via Heathrow and Kuala Lumpur) was cancelled on Tuesday, she says there were “no BA support staff in the airport. Dnata staff told us to take our luggage and find accommodation at our own expense, with no assurance of new flights.

“Very distressing for elderly people with no experience in booking online, or without access to surplus funds to cover these unexpected costs. So far it has cost more than CHF600 (£545).

“We have had to pay for two nights’ accommodation, plus taxis and food bought at Aldi.

“At midnight on the first night, we were offered new flights with Thai from Zurich, via Bangkok. We readily accepted, but the flights are not until today, 10 September.

“So we’re still in Zurich.”

Sophie Dickinson10 September 2026 07:32

‘Fraudsters tried to sell me fake BA flights’, stranded passengers say

Holidaymakers Geoff and Janina McBride are warning people about a scam that NatWest fortunately rescued them from.

The McBrides, from Hampshire, were trying to travel to Lisbon and then on to the Azores to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary – but their flight was cancelled.

Former government nanotechnology scientist Mr McBride, 63, told PA they called a phone number on what they thought was the official BA website.

A fraudster pretending to work for the airline tried to offer them alternative flights from London City, Gatwick or Heathrow airports and via Munich.

The false flights were about £600 each, but the payments to him were not going through.

His wife, 64, called NatWest to ask why and they told her “get off the phone to them immediately”, Mr McBride said.

His card was blocked and the payments cancelled, he added, telling PA: “What do you do when you’re in a drama?

“I’m very well-versed in cybersecurity, but it’s that one click, isn’t it?

“And it looked legitimate, proper, he sounded proper, he was going through all the different flights, had all the details, so he can pull that off the internet and speak to me down the phone, credit card details – so I was lucky, very lucky.”

Mr McBride added: “We were in a panic – that’s when they get you.”

(PA)

Harriette Boucher10 September 2026 05:00

In depth: Inside the IT ‘glitch’ that triggered UK flight chaos – and the warnings issued three years ago

As airport passengers began seeing flights delayed on departure boards at Heathrow and Gatwick, National Air Traffic Services (Nats), the UK’s air traffic control provider, issued an alert over a “technical issue” causing disruption.

An hour and a half later, amid heightened chaos that had spread to other major airports across the country, the public-private partnership body sent out an update, explaining that the issue in “our flight processing system” had been identified. Some 75 minutes later it said had been fixed and systems were recovering – but with a warning that the disruption could last days.

Such a recovery took longer than hoped, conceded Nats in a further statement at 7.30pm, as the increasingly under-fire body offered an unreserved apology to the growing thousands of passengers stranded at airports, including Bristol, Birmingham and Manchester.

To the hardened airline traveller, it brought, perhaps, a sense of déjà vu.

Harriette Boucher10 September 2026 04:00

Ryanair repeats calls for ‘overpaid failing’ air traffic boss to be sacked

Ryanair has taken another jab at the ‘overpaid failing” boss of Nats, repeating calls for him to sacked after yesterday’s technical glitch.

Chief operating officer Neal McMahon said: “The last thing UK passengers and airlines need after yet another NATS system collapse is another ‘review’ or ‘report’.

“Asking failed CEO Martin Rolfe to conduct this report is similar to asking a failed student to mark his own exam paper!”

He added: “Martin Rolfe, after the Aug 2023 NATS system collapse promised Parliament that this wouldn’t happen again, and that an effective back-up system would be introduced. UK passengers learned yesterday that these assurances were worthless. The NATS ATC system collapsed again, and yet again, there was no back-up system.

“Martin Rolfe, the overpaid failing CEO cannot be trusted to report on his own failings. He should be sacked and replaced with someone competent to run the UK ATC system and to prevent repeated collapses of UK ATC and it’s non-existent back-up systems.”

Harriette Boucher10 September 2026 03:00

In pictures: Hundreds of flights cancelled on Wednesday as disruption continued across UK(Getty)(Getty)(Getty)

Harriette Boucher10 September 2026 00:00