UK Flights Delayed Briefly After Air Traffic Control Causes Disruption: ‘Technical Issue’

A technical fault at the UK's National Air Traffic Service (NATS) caused flight delays across Britain on Wednesday.

Image used for represenatation.

Source : Freepik

A technical issue led to flight delays briefly in Britain on Wednesday before the engineers were able to restore the system, the  air traffic control operator said. According to a report by Aljazeera, the National Air Traffic Service, or NATS, reported a “technical issue”, but later said the glitch had been resolved. In a statement, it later said that departures at all airports have resumed and that teams are working with affected airlines and airports to “clear the backlog safely.”

ℹ️ Technical issue at Swanwick

Our systems are fully operational and air traffic capacity is returning to normal.
(1/2) https://t.co/69ftwzLeSK pic.twitter.com/KKDercVfqa

— NATS (@NATS) July 30, 2025

“Our systems are fully operational and air traffic capacity is returning to normal,” it said.

According to news agency AP, the NATS said that the glitch happened at its control center at Swanwick, southwest of London, and required the service to limit the number of aircraft flying to ensure safety.

The Gatwick Airport in London said that the issue affected outbound flights across the UK. Some inbound flights were put into holding patterns or diverted. 

Another airport, Stansted, said “many departures and arrivals” were affected and advised passengers to check with their airlines.

According to the report, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said, "I am aware of a technical issue that impacted NATS’ operations, causing travel disruption this afternoon.

“I have been informed systems have now been restored but continued disruption is expected, and passengers should check with individual airports for advice," she said.

Since 2002, the NATS system has suffered several software-related failures since it opened in 2002.