Sky's the Limit: Major Air Traffic Control Outage Causes Chaos Across UK Airports

Air passengers in the UK faced massive disruption following a brief air traffic control outage that brought major airports to a standstill. The technical issue, which was radar-related, lasted only 20 minutes but resulted in severe delays and the grounding of thousands of flights across key airports like Heathrow, Stansted, Manchester, and Edinburgh. By 22:00 BST, over 150 flights had been canceled as a result.

The air traffic control company NATS worked quickly to restore the system by switching to a back-up and significantly reduced air traffic for safety reasons, stating there was no evidence of cyberattack involvement. The UK government is currently collaborating with NATS to investigate the cause of the outage, which is notably the second incident of its kind in two years.

During the downtime, many flights were held on the tarmac, and passengers experienced long delays. For instance, Asha, an 18-year-old traveling for her first interrailing holiday, found herself stuck on an EasyJet flight that had to turn around after only 50 minutes in the air, leading to frustration among passengers.

Airlines including British Airways and EasyJet issued apologies to travelers and advised them to monitor flight statuses closely. Passengers experienced a range of emotions, from frustration over cancellations to disappointment over missed connections, such as John Carr, who was en route to his brother’s wedding in Norway.

Political leaders have voiced concerns over the situation, with Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey calling for a thorough investigation into the outage, which he labeled unacceptable. The COO of Ryanair, Neal McMahon, demanded accountability from NATS, insisting that the continued failures in the air traffic control system are unacceptable. Flight data revealed that 84 departures and 71 arrivals had been canceled due to the disruption, particularly concentrated at Heathrow, leading to widespread travel chaos across the UK.