Nearly 2,100 flights have been cancelled at British airports after a technical fault hit the flight processing system and once again exposed the fragility of air traffic management in the United Kingdom. As passengers continue to face delays and cancellations, pressure has shifted to Nats executives to provide a full explanation within a week.
The fault began on Tuesday and hit major airports
The problem emerged at around 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday in the flight processing system of Nats, the company that manages air traffic control in the United Kingdom. The impact was felt immediately at several of the country’s biggest air hubs, including Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and Stansted.
According to the company’s account, the system returned to normal operation around four hours after the incident began, but the consequences on the ground did not end there. The aviation network, Nats said, needed more time to return fully to normal.
Cancellation figures show the scale of the disruption
Data from Cirium analysts points to around 2,100 flights cancelled at British airports as a result of the fault. On Tuesday alone, about 1,750 flights were removed from the schedule out of 5,800 planned, while 541 of them were at Heathrow.
The fallout continued on Wednesday, with more than 300 additional flights cancelled. At Heathrow, the initial restriction affected departures, but the chain of disruption later also led to arriving aircraft being diverted to other European airports.
Airlines demand accountability, not just explanations
Airlines reacted sharply to the way the situation was handled. Ryanair said its cancellations had exceeded 250 flights and warned that the cost of the disruption would run into the millions.
Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary called for the resignation or dismissal of Martin Rolfe, arguing that repeated problems in air traffic control show ongoing failure. Yvonne Moynihan of Wizz Air UK also urged Rolfe to consider stepping down, stressing that after several major failures, leaders should be held accountable.
Nats promises investigation, but doubts remain
Nats chief executive Martin Rolfe has one week to report on the technical fault that caused the mass disruption. He has said that a full investigation will be carried out to determine the cause of the incident.
According to Rolfe, the possibility of a cyberattack has been ruled out at this stage. Nats has also insisted that this is not the same fault that caused major disruption in 2023 and 2025, yet the industry response shows that the official explanations are not enough.
Passengers were left amid the chaos and the costs of the crisis
British travel association Abta called for clarification on what failed and emphasized support for affected passengers. In practice, the first burden of the crisis fell on travelers, who faced waits, cancellations and forced itinerary changes.
British Airways said it had been forced to cancel nearly 550 flights, affecting more than 85,000 passengers. The company described the fault as an issue outside its control and said that despite the disruption, it had operated around 80% of its normal schedule.
The incident has reopened questions about the resilience of the systems that keep British air traffic running and about leadership responsibility when failures are repeated.
For now, the investigation promised by Nats and the report expected within the week will be the first real test of whether this was an isolated breakdown or a deeper systemic problem.