UK UK Airports Chaos: Flights Grounded by Air Traffic Outage

[webfact]

Picture courtesy of EPA via BBC

 

British travellers faced a turbulent day as a sudden air traffic control glitch wreaked havoc across UK airports. A brief, 20-minute technical glitch paralysed Heathrow, Stansted, Manchester, and Edinburgh airports, leading to significant delays and frustration for holidaygoers.

 

Thousands of flights were grounded, leaving over 120 cancellations as of 19:30. The air traffic control firm, NATS, reported the issue was "radar-related" and quickly switched to a backup system to restore order. Fortunately, there was no evidence of cyber interference, but the government is working closely with NATS to uncover the root of the problem.

 

It's the second major outage NATS has experienced in the past two years. Back in August 2023, a similar incident disrupted the travel plans of over 700,000 passengers during the summer holiday weekend.

 

This time, the technical hitch was traced back to the Swanwick air traffic control centre in Hampshire, which caused a temporary restriction on flights in the London area, reported BBC.

 

NATS assured passengers that engineers had swiftly restored the affected system. Despite this, the ground stop forced many flights to divert to alternate airports, while others remained stuck at their departure points. Once flights resumed, NATS confirmed they were collaborating with airlines to alleviate the backlog safely.

 

British Airways acknowledged the lingering impact and expressed apologies for the inconvenience. "This is entirely outside our control, and we're working hard to get journeys back on track," assured a spokesperson. Meanwhile, budget airline EasyJet advised passengers to keep tabs on their flight status and promised to contact those affected directly.

 

Travellers were advised by Heathrow officials to check with airlines before heading to the airport. NATS swiftly apologised to all those affected by the chaos.

 

Stranded passengers shared a variety of stories about their experiences. Asha, 18, from Manchester, found herself trapped on an EasyJet plane at Manchester Airport, her anticipated rail holiday plans in tatters. Her Amsterdam-bound flight, scheduled to depart at 15:10, experienced a brief 50-minute journey before returning. She, like many others, hoped for some snacks as compensation for the inconvenience.

 

Another passenger, Robin Ilott from Waterlooville, endured a two-hour and 20-minute delay at Heathrow. However, he remained optimistic, stating, "It's preferable to be safe than regrettable."

 

John Carr, en route to his brother's wedding in Norway, saw his flight axed, causing stress for the bridal party awaiting rehearsal. His companion, James Hedges, lamented the lack of a proper warning, calling the experience "rubbish."

 

As frustration mounted, political figures reacted. Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey labelled the incident "utterly unacceptable," demanding a government probe. He voiced concerns over ruined holiday plans for countless families.

 

Meanwhile, Ryanair's chief operating officer, Neal McMahon, was outspoken, describing the disruption as "outrageous," and even called for NATS chief executive Martin Rolfe's resignation.

 

Data from flight tracking firm Cirium showed that by 19:30, a total of 67 departures and 55 arrivals had been called off across UK airports.

 

The disruption primarily affected London Heathrow, resulting in cancellations of 24 departures and 14 arrivals. However, not all cancellations can be pinned on the outage, reminding everyone of the complex web of reasons affecting air travel.

 

It’s a scenario none wish to revisit, which emphasises the necessity of robust systems. As the skies clear, airlines and passengers alike will be keen to put this aerial ordeal behind them and hope smooth travels lie ahead.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from BBC 2025-07-31

 

 

[Hakuna Matata]

A retaliatory attack by Russian Aeroflot?

 

Probably, the British MI 6 was behind the recent cyber attack on Russian Aeroflot the other day.

[newbee2022]

Well, you have to plug in the devices.

Old school rule.

[JonnyF]

Sounds like it was a calm day at the windfarm. 

[Watawattana]

15 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

Sounds like it was a calm day at the windfarm. 

Never heard the UK's Air Traffic Control HQ called a wind farm.  Quite apt though, bearing mind the ridiculous number of 'managers' & HR people they have; that HQ sure is a wonderful source of hot air.

 

NATS got rid of the vast majority of their experienced engineers during COVID with no plan to replace that experience afterwards.  The fiasco in 2023 was a repeat incident from before they got rid of those engineers (including the guy who knew all about the system that failed), so the CEO's BS statements were totally false, but he wouldn't have known it, but then again he's accountable.  Ryanair are almost correct in saying that Rolfe should resign; in fact he should be fired.

 

In this case if NATS are saying 'radar-related', chances are it's the system that takes in every radar source they got access to, processes it, then outputs the right picture to the right ATC position.  Too early to speculate what happened, but it was likely totally avoidable.