• A NATS technical fault has caused significant disruption to departing flights at airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and Edinburgh.
• Heathrow said inbound flights were continuing, while NATS engineers worked to resolve the issue and restore normal departure operations.
• Airports are monitoring the situation and advising travellers to check with their airline for the latest flight status before travelling.

Passengers at airports including Heathrow and Gatwick have faced significant disruption after a technical problem affecting the UK’s air traffic control network led to delays and the grounding of departing flights.

The disruption began on Tuesday afternoon, with outbound services affected while engineers worked to resolve the fault. NATS, which operates the UK’s air traffic control system, said: “We are investigating a technical issue which is causing some disruption to flight departures. 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.”

Heathrow said the problem was affecting departing flights at airports across the UK, although inbound services were continuing to operate. In a statement posted on X, the airport said: “The air traffic control service is experiencing a technical issue which is impacting departing flights at UK airports. Arriving flights are not currently impacted. We are supporting our local NATS team in their efforts to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.

“We will provide updated information when we have it. We apologise to those disrupted and advise passengers to check with their airline for latest flight information.”

The air traffic control disruption has also spread beyond London, with Manchester and Edinburgh among the UK airports warning passengers of potential delays to departing services.

Manchester Airport said the technical problem affecting NATS could disrupt some flights leaving the airport on Tuesday. In a statement posted on X, it said: “We are aware of an issue affecting Nats’ air traffic control service at UK airports, which may result in delays to some departing flights from Manchester Airport today.

“Passengers due to travel are advised to check the latest status of their flight with their airline.

“We will continue to monitor the situation and share further updates as more information becomes available.”

Edinburgh Airport also confirmed it was monitoring the NATS fault and warned that it could affect its operations. The airport said in a post on X: “We are aware of a technical issue affecting @NATS which may impact operations. We are working closely with air traffic control, airlines and other partners, and hope @NATS can resolve the issue as quickly as possible.”

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