More than 1,000 flights were cancelled across the UK on Tuesday after a technical problem disrupted the country’s air traffic control system, leaving thousands of passengers stranded at airports.
Flight-tracking website FlightRadar24 recorded 1,055 cancellations by 8pm, with major airports across the UK and neighbouring Ireland affected.
The UK’s air traffic control provider, NATS, said the technical problem had been fixed but warned that clearing the backlog would take time.
“Recovery from today’s system issue has taken longer than we had hoped,” NATS said, apologising to passengers affected by the disruption.
Heathrow and Gatwick airports were among those hit, while Liverpool, Birmingham and Edinburgh also reported disruption.
Dublin Airport in Ireland said dozens of flights had been cancelled.
Passengers described chaotic scenes, with some spending hours on aircraft before their flights were eventually cancelled or diverted.
Healthcare worker Josie Donoghue told the Press Association that she spent about three hours stuck on the runway at Gatwick before leaving her flight to Ireland.
“Getting through that airport was like trying to get out of Alcatraz,” she said.
British Airways cancelled or diverted more than 100 flights, affecting tens of thousands of passengers.
Irish carrier Ryanair said more than 65,000 passengers were affected and more than 50 flights cancelled.
The disruption also affected Arsenal’s travel plans ahead of their Champions League match against Napoli in southern Italy.
The club cancelled a scheduled press conference after the team’s flight was delayed.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said she was seeking assurances that lessons would be learned and that the systems supporting Britain’s aviation sector could cope with demand.
The latest failure has renewed criticism of NATS. A technical problem in July last year also caused widespread cancellations, while Britain suffered an even larger air traffic systems failure in 2023 that delayed or cancelled hundreds of flights and affected more than 700,000 passengers.
Ryanair Chief Operating Officer Neal McMahon again called for NATS chief executive Martin Rolfe to be removed, accusing the organisation of repeatedly failing passengers.
“Enough is enough, it’s time for the UK government to intervene,” McMahon said, calling for someone else to be put in charge of the system.
